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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:
August 27, 2026
Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras
In Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras: A Yoga Teacher's Guide (Singing Dragon, 2026), experienced yoga teachers Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan pro…
August 20, 2026
Deciphering the Hidden Meaning
Deciphering the Hidden Meaning: Language and the Highest Good in Early Advaita Vedānta (Oxford UP, 2026) presents a transformative history of one of t…
August 13, 2026
God’s Own Land
God’s Own Land: Sacred Landscape, Pilgrim Economy and Religious Change in the Ganga Himalaya (Lever Press, 2026) follows the tectonic shift from tradi…
August 6, 2026
The Swasthani Vrata Katha
The Swasthani Vrata Katha is the most widely read, recited, and listened to Hindu devotional text, especially of local indigenous origin, among Hindu …
July 30, 2026
The Mahabharata, Volume 8
The Mahabharata, Volume 8 (U Chicago Press, 2026) is a translation of the twelfth book of The Mahābhārata, an epic tale of history and kingship, reinf…
July 23, 2026
South Asia Before Religion
South Asia Before Religion: Reflections on an Anachronistic Concept (Knowledge Commons Works, 2026) critically examines the applicability of the conce…
July 16, 2026
Pathika
A conversation featuring the editors of the new Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing series Pathika - Studies of South Asian Texts and Traditions (HAS,…
July 9, 2026
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hindu Ethics
With the plurality of Hinduism in mind, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hindu Ethics focuses on the human, sociological and situational ethical framework u…
July 2, 2026
Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas
Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas addresses the issue of whether members of all castes can become priests in Tamil Śiva temples.…
June 25, 2026
Sanskrit Hymns Across Traditions
Sanskrit hymns of praise (stotra/stuti/stava) have been popular and influential within multiple religious traditions for thousands of years. Sanskrit …
June 18, 2026
Batman and the Classics
Fans of Batman are used to seeing the Caped Crusader associate with the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman, but what if one were to put the Dark Knigh…
June 11, 2026
Surrender to God Across Languages
Surrender to God Across Languages: Multilingual Intellectual History of Premodern India (Oxford UP, 2026) explores the role of languages in the intell…
June 4, 2026
Baidehisha Bilasa
Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh bring into English for the first time a long-inaccessible masterpiece of South Asian literature. Composed in the late…
May 28, 2026
Sanskrit-Speaking' Villages, Linguistic Utopias and the Metaphysics of Development
Sanskrit-Speaking' Villages, Linguistic Utopias and the Metaphysics of Development (Routledge, 2026) is a recollection of the McCartney's journey acro…
May 21, 2026
Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism
Why have moral philosophers largely ignored colonialism? In Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism: The Irrationality of Oppression (Bloomsbury Academic,…
May 14, 2026
South Asian Animal Divination
South Asian Animal Divination: A Critical Anthology (Brill, 2025) examines the history and practice of animal omen divination in South Asia, comparing…
May 7, 2026
Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti
Manusmriti occupies a prominent place in Indian textual tradition as one of the authentic sources of dharma. However, contemporary engagement with the…
April 30, 2026
O Dharmaputri!
A parent's heartfelt letter to their daughter, Uma—and you—on abundant and conscious living—with the light of timeless Indian wisdom. Standing at the …
April 23, 2026
The MANTRAMS Project
Carola Lorea discusses the MANTRAMS project, a major ERC Synergy Grant initiative jointly hosted by Oxford, Vienna, and Tübingen dedicated to producin…
April 16, 2026
Scholar, Serpent, Yogin, and Devotee
Scholar, Serpent, Yogin, and Devotee: The Many Faces of Patañjali in Indian Traditions (Brill, 2025) illuminates the many faces of Patañjali in Indian…
April 9, 2026
Religion, Spirituality and Public Health
Religion, Spirituality and Public Health: Competing and Complementary Epistemes (British Academy, 2025) focuses on exploring the role of different 'wa…
April 2, 2026
Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature
Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature: Cultural Imaginings of a Postcolonial Nation (Routledge, 2025) illuminates individual and collecti…
April 1, 2026
Indology in Canada Conference
Introducing a new conference to showcase the breadth and vitality of Canadian research on premodern India. We discuss the vision behind the conference…
March 26, 2026
The Goddess in the Mirror
In The Goddess in the Mirror: An Anthropology of Beauty (Duke UP, 2025), Tulasi Srinivas offers a pathbreaking ethnography of contemporary Indian beau…