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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.
NBN Episodes hosted by Raj:
November 14, 2024
If All the World Were Paper
In If All the World Were Paper: A History of Writing in Hindi (Columbia UP, 2024), Tyler W. Williams puts questions of materiality, circulation, and p…
November 7, 2024
The Embassy, the Ambush, and the Ogre
The Embassy, the Ambush, and the Ogre: Greco-Roman Influence in Sanskrit Theater (Open Book, 2024) presents a sophisticated and intricate examination …
October 31, 2024
Shiva's Waterfront Temples
The vibrant red sandstone temples of India's Deccan Plateau, such as the Pattadakal temple cluster, have attracted visitors since the eighth century o…
October 24, 2024
From Tapas to Modern Yoga
Extensively based on fieldwork material, From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus' Understanding of Embodied Practices (Equinox, 2024) primarily analyses emb…
October 20, 2024
Mental Health Aware Yoga
When taught properly, yoga can be a healing and life-affirming practice for students experiencing mental illness. Lauren Tober's book Mental Health Aw…
October 17, 2024
The Monsoon Cloud
A wordsmith, an extempore poet and a satirist, Kāḷamēkam (also known as Kāḷamēka Pulavar; fifteenth century) is widely known for his taṉippāṭals or 's…
October 10, 2024
Existence and Perception in Medieval Vedānta
Existence and Perception in Medieval Vedānta: Vyāsatīrtha's Defence of Realism in the Nyāyāmṛta (de Gruyter, 2024) focuses on discussions of metaphysi…
October 3, 2024
The Battle for Sabarimala
The Battle for Sabarimala: Religion, Law, and Gender in Contemporary India (Oxford UP, 2024) tells the story of one of contemporary India’s most conte…
September 26, 2024
What is Hinduism?
Michael C. Baltutis' book What is Hinduism?: A Student's Introduction (Routledge, 2024) is an engaging introduction to the complex religious tradition…
September 19, 2024
Gulmini
Today I talked to Hari Dutt Sharma about Gulmini: An Anthology of Sanskrit Lyrics and Gazals (Rākā Prakāśana, 2023). The book presents 51 lyrical poem…
September 12, 2024
Bhakti Ethics, Emotions, and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics
Bhakti Ethics, Emotions, and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics (Lexington Books, 2024) explores the broader implications of understanding bhakti, “d…
September 5, 2024
Beacons of Dharma
Today’s globalized society faces some of humanity’s most unprecedented social and environmental challenges. Presenting new and insightful approaches t…
September 2, 2024
Gandhi's Thought and Liberal Democracy
Is religion indispensable to public life? What can Gandhi’s thought contribute to the modern state? With an intense focus on both the depth and practi…
August 29, 2024
Goddess Beyond Boundaries
The Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac, Michigan serves as a site of worship for the Hindu goddess Karumariamman, whose origins are in South India. In her …
August 26, 2024
Vedic Sentences
The ancient Indian Vedas contain sentences of rather varied content, including religious statements ("Varuṇa truly is the king of the gods"), words of…
August 22, 2024
Hinduism and Tribal Religions
Hinduism and Tribal Religions (Springer, 2021) offers an overview of Hinduism as found in India and the diaspora. Exploring Hinduism in India in dynam…
August 15, 2024
Hindu Astrology
Does Hindu astrology work? If so, why? When does it not work? Why? Where and how did Hindu astrology arise and develop? What are its similarities with…
August 8, 2024
Faces of God
Islamic art is often misrepresented as an iconophobic tradition. As a result of this assumption, the polyvalence of figural artworks made for South As…
August 1, 2024
Paranormal States
A number of converts to Buddhism report paranormal experiences. Their accounts describe psychic abilities like clairvoyance and precognition, out-of-b…
July 25, 2024
Hindu and Catholic, Priest and Scholar
This autobiography--Hindu and Catholic, Priest and Scholar: A Love Story (Bloomsbury, 2024)--traces Francis X. Clooney's intellectual and spiritual jo…
July 18, 2024
Hindu Mission, Christian Mission
For some four hundred years, Hindus and Christians have been engaged in a public controversy about conversion and missionary proselytization, especial…
July 11, 2024
Saving the Dead
Saving the Dead: Tibetan Funerary Rituals in the Tradition of the Sarvardurgatipariśodhana Tantra (WSTB, 2024) explores Tibetan funerary manuals based…
July 4, 2024
Śambūka's Death Toll: a History of Motives and Motifs in an Evolving Rāmāyaṇa Narrative
According to Vālmīki's Sanskrit Rāmāyaṇa (early centuries CE), Śambūka was practicing severe acts of austerity to enter heaven. In engaging in these a…
June 27, 2024
Yoga - Anticolonial Philosophy
Providing a decolonial, action-focused account of Yoga philosophy, Yoga - Anticolonial Philosophy: An Action-Focused Guide to Practice (Singing Dragon…