About Raj Balkaran

Dr. Raj Balkaran is a scholar of Indian mythology and seasoned online educator. He teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at his own virtual School of Indian Wisdom where he delivers original courses applying Indian wisdom teachings to modern life. Beyond teaching, speaking and research, Dr. Balkaran runs a thriving one-on-one life guidance practice and serves as McMaster University’s Chaplain of Indian Spirituality. See https://rajbalkaran.com for more information.

Raj Balkaran is a scholar of Sanskrit narrative texts. He teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at his own virtual School of Indian Wisdom. For information see rajbalkaran.com.

Raj's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Raj:

Pankaj Jain and Jeffery D. Long, "Indian and Western Philosophical Concepts in Religion" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2023)

March 14, 2024

Indian and Western Philosophical Concepts in Religion

Pankaj Jain and Jeffery D. Long
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Philosophical concepts are influential in the theories and methods to study the world religions. Even though the disciplines of anthropology and relig…

Religious Minorities Online

March 13, 2024

Religious Minorities Online

Erica Baffelli, Alexander van der Haven, and Michael Stausberg
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Religious Minorities Online (RMO) is the premier academic resource on religious minorities worldwide, reflecting the state of the art in scholarship. …

Laurie L. Patton, "Who Owns Religion?: Scholars and Their Publics in the Late Twentieth Century" (U Chicago Press, 2019)

March 7, 2024

Who Owns Religion?

Laurie L. Patton
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In Who Owns Religion?: Scholars and Their Publics in the Late Twentieth Century (U Chicago Press, 2019), scholar and noted university administrator La…

Open Access at Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing (HASP)

March 6, 2024

Open Access at Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing (HASP)

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Learn about the fascinating Ethno-Indology series now published at Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing which offers inexpensive peer-reviewed Open Acc…

Ina Marie Lunde Ilkama, "The Play of the Feminine" (HASP, 2023)

February 29, 2024

The Play of the Feminine

Ina Marie Lunde Ilkama
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In Tamil Nadu, the nine-night autumnal Navarātri festival can be viewed as a celebration of feminine powers in association with the goddess. Ina Marie…

Jeffery D. Long, "Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, Scientific" (MDPI Books, 2019)

February 22, 2024

Perspectives on Reincarnation

Jeffery D. Long
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

What happens after you die? The book brings together fascinating theological and religious studies perspectives on a controversial yet pervasive idea:…

Knut A. Jacobsen, "The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Diasporas" (Oxford UP, 2023)

February 22, 2024

The Oxford History of Hinduism

Knut A. Jacobsen
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Knut A. Jacobsen's edited volume The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Diaspora (Oxford UP, 2023) presents the histories and religious traditions of H…

Michael Stausberg, "Religions, Mumbai Style: Events-Media-Spaces" (Oxford UP, 2023)

February 15, 2024

Religions, Mumbai Style

Michael Stausberg
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Mumbai is generally recognized as an environment of extraordinary religious diversity. The city is known at one and the same time for a habitual cosmo…

Jeffery D. Long, "Discovering Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Thought" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

February 8, 2024

Discovering Indian Philosophy

Jeffery D. Long
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Jeffery D. Long's Indian Philosophy: An Introduction (Bloomsbury, 2023) helps readers discover how the many and varied schools of Indian thought can a…

Jon Paul Sydnor and Anthony J. Watson, "Nondualism: An Interreligious Exploration" (Lexington Books, 2023)

February 1, 2024

Nondualism

Jon Paul Sydnor and Anthony J. Watson
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The time has come for nondualism. As a fundamentally unifying concept, nondualism may seem out of place in an age of rising nationalism and bitter deg…

David J. Brick, "Widows Under Hindu Law" (Oxford UP, 2023)

January 25, 2024

Widows Under Hindu Law

David J. Brick
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

During British colonial rule in India, the treatment of high-caste Hindu widows became the subject of great controversy. Such women were not permitted…

Veena R. Howard, "Gandhi's Global Legacy: Moral Methods and Modern Challenges" (Lexington Books, 2022)

January 18, 2024

Gandhi's Global Legacy

Veena R. Howard
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

While there has been sustained interest in Gandhi's methods and continued academic inquiry, Gandhi's Global Legacy: Moral Methods and Modern Challenge…

Vera Lazzaretti and Kathinka Frøystad, "Beyond Courtrooms and Street Violence: Rethinking Religious Offence and Its Containment" (Routledge, 2022)

January 11, 2024

Beyond Courtrooms and Street Violence

Vera Lazzaretti and Kathinka Frøystad
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Drawing on the extensive empirical field research of six scholars of religion and politics, Vera Lazzaretti and Kathinka Frøystad's Beyond Courtrooms …

Tulasi Srinivas, "Wonder in South Asia: Histories, Aesthetics, Ethics" (SUNY Press, 2023)

January 11, 2024

Wonder in South Asia

Tulasi Srinivas
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Tulasi Srinivas' edited volume Wonder in South Asia: Histories, Aesthetics, Ethics (SUNY Press, 2023) brings together historians and ethnographers of …

Nilima Chitgopekar, "Shakti: An Exploration of the Divine Feminine" (DK Publishing, 2022)

January 4, 2024

Shakti

Nilima Chitgopekar
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

She is benevolent and nurturing, yet fierce and terrible, a warrior and a lover. She creates and gives life, is death personified, and the one who gra…

Ralph H. Craig, "Dancing in My Dreams: A Spiritual Biography of Tina Turner" (Eerdmans, 2023)

December 29, 2023

Dancing in My Dreams

Ralph H. Craig
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

When Tina Turner reclaimed her throne as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll in the 1980s, she attributed her comeback to one thing: the wisdom and power she f…

Daniel Soars, "The World and God Are Not-Two: A Hindu-Christian Conversation" (Fordham UP, 2022)

December 28, 2023

The World and God Are Not-Two

Daniel Soars
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The World and God Are Not-Two: A Hindu-Christian Conversation (Fordham UP, 2022) is a book about how the God in whom Christians believe ought to be un…

Ricardo Sousa Silvestre et al., "Vaiṣṇava Concepts of God: Philosophical Perspectives" (Routledge, 2023)

December 21, 2023

Vaiṣṇava Concepts of God

Ricardo Sousa Silvestre, Alan Constantine Herbert, and Benedikt Paul Göcke
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Vaiṣṇava Concepts of God: Philosophical Perspectives (Routledge, 2023) analyses the concepts of God in Vaiṣṇavism, which is commonly referred to as on…

Vineeta Sinha. "Temple Tracks: Labour, Piety and Railway Construction in Asia" (Berghahn Books, 2023)

December 20, 2023

Temple Tracks

Vineeta Sinha
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The notions of labour, mobility and piety have a complex and intertwined relationship. Using ethnographic methods and a historical perspective, Vineet…

Pankaj Jain, "Modern Jainism: A Historical Approach" (Springer, 2023)

December 14, 2023

Modern Jainism

Pankaj Jain
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Pankaj Jain's book Modern Jainism: A Historical Approach (Springer, 2023) presents a substantive yet accessible introduction to the modern thought of …

Russell T. McCutcheon, "Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion" (Routledge, 2023)

December 13, 2023

Critics Not Caretakers

Russell T. McCutcheon
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Russell T. McCutcheon's essay collection Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion (Routledge, 2023) argues that the study of …

Afsar Mohammad, "Remaking History: 1948 Police Action and the Muslims of Hyderabad" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

December 6, 2023

Remaking History

Afsar Mohammad
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The story Afsar Mohammad's book Remaking History: 1948 Police Action and the Muslims of Hyderabad (Cambridge UP, 2023) follows begins on August 15, 19…

Vedic Texts, Indus Script, Aryan Migration: A Conversation with Asko Parpola

November 30, 2023

Vedic Texts, Indus Script, Aryan Migration

Asko Parpola
Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Listen:

Seasoned scholar Asko Parpola discusses his Indological career, from how it began in the 1960s to what he’s working on now. Key themes include his lon…

Greg Bailey, "The Brahmavaivarta Purana (Ganesa Khanda): Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology" (Motilal Banarsidass, 2022)

November 23, 2023

The Brahmavaivarta Purana (Ganesa Khanda)

Greg Bailey
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Greg Bailey discusses his new translation of the Gaṇeśa Khaṇḍa of the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa, one of the few texts dedicated solely to the popular elep…