The Indian Wisdom Podcast
by Dr. Raj Balkaran
Latest episode
Ep 61 - Learning Vedic Chanting: A Conversation with Shantala…
Ep 61 - Learning Vedic Chanting: A Conversation with Shantala…
About this podcast
Authentic ancient Indian wisdom teachings artfully applied to modern Western life. Grounded in scholarship and infused with live storytelling, this content is informative, entertaining, inspiring.
Hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, a Sanskrit scholar, storyteller and online educator. In addition to academic training, he was lineally trained by Mantriji, our sangha's parama-guru. He teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at The Indian Wisdom School where he applies ancient Indian wisdom to modern Western life. He is also the author of "The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology that Inspired 50 Yoga Postures."
Instagram: @IndianWisdomSchool
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@IndianWisdomPodcast
Podcast: https://indianwisdompodcast.com
Courses: https://indianwisdomschool.com
Personal Website: https://rajbalkaran.com
Episodes
The newest 20 of 61 episodes
- Ep 61 - Learning Vedic Chanting: A Conversation with Shantala Sriramaiah Pt. 2 · 50 minShantala Sriramaiah is the founder of Veda Studies and a Veda recitation teacher in the Mysore lineage, trained under Sri M.S. Sreenivasan and mentored by the Challakere…
- Ep 60 - Learning Vedic Chanting: A Conversation with Shantala Sriramaiah · 57 minDr. Raj speaks with Vedic chanting teacher Shantala Sriramaiah about life at the intersection of ancient lineage and modern online learning. In addition to Shantala’s journey, we…
- Ep 59 - Learning Ancient Languages: A Conversation with Antonia Ruppel · 1 h 38 minSanskritist and seasoned teacher Dr. Antonia Ruppel shares her views on the merits and pitfalls of academic enterprise, the brave new world of self-employed scholarship and the…
- Ep 58 - Life Learning with Wendy Doniger · 1 h 50 minWendy Doniger’s An American Girl in India: Letters and Recollections, 1963–64 (2022) is a memoir-style collection of letters and reflections from her first trip to India as a…
- Ep 57 - New Devī Māhātmya Sanskrit Course · 34 minMeet Anya Golovkova who is soon teaching an online 9-week Sanskrit Devī Māhātmya reading course at Yogic Studies – starts May 5! SKT 206 | Reading the Devīmāhātmya…
- Ep 56 - Dr. Raj Interviewed on Yoga, Tantra & Indian Spirituality · 2 h 1 minHave a listen to this longform podcast episode where Dr. Raj is interviewed on connections across mythology, yoga postures, tantra, powers, consciousness – and more! The…
- Ep 55 - Neither Night Nor Day: The Power of Paradox · 21 minWhat time is it when it is neither night not day? What space is neither indoors nor outdoors? Why would we even want to entertain such considerations? Hear the story of how Viṣṇu…
- Ep 54 - Viṣṇu's Yogic Sleep · 23 minWhy does Viṣṇu slumber at the end of the age? Is ‘being asleep’ not the opposite of being awakened, i.e., consciousness? Or does this sleep represent a different state of…
- Ep 53 - Anniversary Episode: Dr. Raj’s “Living in Alignment” Interview with Amy Landry · 59 minToday marks the one-year anniversary of The Indian Wisdom Podcast! As such we’re sharing a fascinating recent interview Dr. Raj gave on the Living in Alignment podcast with Amy…
- Ep 52 - Sarasvatī and Subtle Sound · 33 minWhy does Sarasvatī represent eloquence, artistry and sound itself? And what does she have to do with Vedic revelation? Learn about the interplay between Creator and Creativity…
- Ep 51 - Who's Your Gādhī? Swapping Sages and Kings · 36 minGādhī wants to become a Daddy and requests that his son-in-law Sage Ṛcīka to prepare a porridge for his wife to conceive a royal son. The sage prepares two brews: a royal brew…
- EP 50 - Śvetaketu’s Education: What Can’t Be Learnt at School · 23 minThe great sage Uddālaka sends his son Śvetaketu away for a proper education spanning 12 years from the ages of 12 to 24. Yet upon return, though learned, Śvetaketu still hasn’t…
- Ep 49 - Viṣṇu's Fish Incarnation: The Power of Protection · 21 minManu agrees to protect a tiny fish – why? This fish grows to mammoth proportions and reveals himself to be Viṣṇu himself. What does this tale teach about the function of…
- Ep 48 Viṣṇu’s Kuṇḍalinī Couch Time · 12 minWhy does Viṣṇu recline upon a serpent couch between cycles of creation? What does this represent? Learn the symbology of the serpent couch and its connection to ‘serpent power’…
- Ep 47 The Two-Headed Eagle · 16 minHear of how both Śiva and Viṣṇu incarnate as beasts and forget their divinity in this tale about the interplay between preservation and destruction. The answer of which of the…
- Ep 46 Sage Durvāsas: Blessings, Curses and Comfort within Discomfort · 30 minWhy is Durvāsas always throwing curses? Hear of three mythic moments where he issues curses and blessings alike as instruments if destiny. Learn to find the comfort within…
- Ep 45 The Sage with Eight Bends: A Tale of Pride and Prejudice · 23 minWhy do people discriminate against the disabled, or in general? Hear the tale of the sage who through physically debilitated ran laps around the luminaries of his day in terms of…
- Ep 44 The Three Strides: Pride Before the Fall · 24 minWhat is the difference between healthy pride and toxic pride? How do we navigate the two? Hear the tale of how Viṣṇu’s dwarf incarnation humbles the demon Bali. The Indian…
- Ep 43 Yoga Teacher Training 2.0: An Interview with Jen Goetchius · 42 minDr. Raj interviews Jen Goetchius about her rich yoga teacher training manual and programme in the Cleveland, Ohio area. They discuss and the need and applicability of Indian…
- Ep 42 Meeting Tumultuous Times: Wisdom for the Present Moment · 31 minProfound and practical wisdom from ancient India, China, and the Modern West alike, on meeting tumultuous times. The Indian Wisdom Podcast is hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, a…
