The Indian Wisdom 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: @IndianWisdomSchoolYouTube: https://youtube.com/@IndianWisdomPodcastPodcast: https://indianwisdompodcast.comCourses: https://indianwisdomschool.comPersonal Website: https://rajbalkaran.com

The Indian Wisdom Podcast is a religion podcast hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, with 61 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Dr. Raj Balkaran hosts The Indian Wisdom Podcast, a religion show with 61 episodes published.

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  The Indian Wisdom Podcast

  Ep 61 - Learning Vedic Chanting: A Conversation with Shantala Sriramaiah Pt. 2

  Mar 26, 202650 minS0

  <p>Shantala 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 Brothers. Born in Bangalore into a family of chanting — her mother taught for over thirty years — Shantala now leads a global community of thousands of students through rigorous online instruction grounded in Śīkṣā, the vedāṅga governing Vedic phonetics. Her courses range from foundational chanting to the full Śrī Rudram, and a Teacher Training Programme developed in partnership with INDICA. In this conversation, we explore what it means to carry a living oral tr...

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  The Indian Wisdom Podcast

  Ep 60 - Learning Vedic Chanting: A Conversation with Shantala Sriramaiah

  Dec 8, 202557 minS0

  <p>Dr. 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 discuss her platform Veda Studies and her newly published teaching resources.</p> <p>Here are some links to learn more about Shantala’s work:</p> <p>Website: https://www.vedastudies.com</p> <p>Spotify Artist Page: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2c2Xa...</p> <p>Nitya Prārthanā and Nitya Dhyāna: https://www.vedastudies.com/books/</p> <p>Free Veda chanting essentials course (on demand):

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  The Indian Wisdom Podcast

  Ep 59 - Learning Ancient Languages: A Conversation with Antonia Ruppel

  Aug 18, 20251h 38mS0

  <p>Sanskritist 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 teaching of ancient languages.</p> <p>Here are some links to learn more about Antonia’s work:</p> <p>https://www.antoniaruppel.com</p> <p>https://www.amazon.ca/Sanskrit-Band-Lehrbuch-Antonia-Ruppel/dp/B0FH2VS32K/</p> <p>https://www.amazon.ca/Sanskrit-Band-Arbeitsbuch-Antonia-Ruppel/dp/B0FH5143SY</p> <p>https://www.yogicstudies.com/greek-s-101</p> <p>The Indian Wisdom Podcast is hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, a Sanskrit scholar, seasoned storyteller and spiritual li...

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  The Indian Wisdom Podcast

  Ep 58 - Life Learning with Wendy Doniger

  Jun 12, 20251h 51mS0

  <p>Wendy 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 young scholar. It offers a rare glimpse into the formative experiences that shaped her future career in Indology. The personal letters of her younger self are in conversation with reflections of her older self. Using this work as a launchpad, this interview broaches Doniger's personal and professional life learning through the course of her prominent career, spanning over five decades. This conversation commemorates Dr. Raj’s 400th New Books Network podcast interview. As it...

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  The Indian Wisdom Podcast

  Ep 57 - New Devī Māhātmya Sanskrit Course

  May 3, 202534 minS0

  <p>Meet Anya Golovkova who is soon teaching an online 9-week Sanskrit Devī Māhātmya reading course at Yogic Studies – starts May 5!</p> <p> </p> <p>SKT 206 | Reading the Devīmāhātmya: https://www.yogicstudies.com/skt-206</p> <p> </p> <p>The Indian Wisdom Podcast is hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, a Sanskrit scholar, seasoned storyteller and spiritual lineage holder. He teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at The Indian Wisdom School. He is also the author of "The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology that Inspired 50 Yoga Postures” and runs a thriving one-on-one spiritual gui...

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