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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.

Raj's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Raj:

Indian Religions December 6, 2023

Remaking History

1948 Police Action and the Muslims of Hyderabad

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, 1947. As the new nation-states of India and …
Indian Religions November 30, 2023

Vedic Texts, Indus Script, Aryan Migration

A Conversation with Asko Parpola

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 longstanding work on Sāmaveda Jaiminīya …
Indian Religions November 23, 2023

The Brahmavaivarta Purana (Ganesa Khanda)

Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology

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 elephant-headed Indian god Gaṇeśa. About the …
Indian Religions November 22, 2023

Gāyatrī

Mantra and Mother of the Vedas

Dominik A. Haas

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
The mantra known as Gāyatrī or Sāvitrī (Ṛgveda III 62.10) is one of the most frequently recited texts of mankind. Over the course of time it has not only been …
Indian Religions November 21, 2023

Visions and Revisions in Sanskrit Narrative

Studies in the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas

Raj Balkaran and McComas Taylor

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Sanskrit narrative is the lifeblood of Indian culture, encapsulating and perpetuating insights and values central to Indian thought and practice. Raj Balkaran and McComas Taylor's edited volume Visions and Revisions in …
Indian Religions November 16, 2023

Like a Tree Universally Spread

Sri Sabhapati Swami And Śivarājayoga

Keith Cantú

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Keith Cantú's Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami And Śivarājayoga (Oxford UP, 2023) examines the life of a nineteenth- to early twentieth-century Tamil yogin named Sri Sabhapati Swami …
Indian Religions November 9, 2023

The Literary Life of Yājñavalkya

Steven E. Lindquist

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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In The Literary Life of Yājñavalkya (SUNY Press, 2023), Steven E. Lindquist investigates the intersections between historical context and literary production in the "life" of Yājñavalkya, the most important ancient …
Indian Religions November 8, 2023

Episode 300

Christopher Miller interviews "New Books in Indian Religions" host Raj Balkaran

Raj Balkaran

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
In honour of his 300th New Books Network podcast, a flip interview featuring a candid conversation with NBN host Raj Balkaran ranging from scholarship, to teaching, to entrepreneurship, and beyond …
Indian Religions November 2, 2023

Embodying Transnational Yoga

Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation

Christopher Jain Miller

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Listen:
Christopher Jain Miller's book Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge, 2023) is a refreshingly original, multi-sited ethnography of transnational yoga that obliges us to look beyond postural …
Indian Religions October 26, 2023

Portrayals of Women in Pakistan

An Analysis of Fahmīdah Riyāẓ's Urdu Poetry

Réka Máté

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Réka Máté's Portrayals of Women in Pakistan: An Analysis of Fahmīdah Riyāẓ's Urdu Poetry (de Gruyter, 2023) examines the connection between progressivism and feminist movements in the Indian subcontinent, scrutinizing …
Indian Religions October 19, 2023

From the Indian Goddess to Icelandic Spirits

A Conversation with Corinne Dempsey

Corinne Dempsey

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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A candid conversation with Corinne Dempsey on her wide-ranging, fascinating research in religion, from the Indian Goddess in New York and Icelandic Spirit Work. Books The Goddess Lives in Upstate …
Indian Religions October 12, 2023

Surrendering to the Self

Ramana Maharshi's Message for the Present

Patrick Laude

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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The Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879- 1950) is perhaps the most widely known Indian spiritual figure of the last century, second only to Gandhi. Patrick Laude's book Surrendering to the Self: Ramana …
Indian Religions October 9, 2023

The Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik

A Conversation with Nada Bruer

Nada Bruer

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Learn about the history and mandate of the Inter-University Centre, which is affiliated with over one hundred academic institutions across the globe. The Centre hosts international advanced academic events in a …
Indian Religions October 4, 2023

Against High-Caste Polygamy

An Annotated Translation

Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar (Translated by Brian A. Hatcher)

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Against High-Caste Polygamy: An Annotated Translation (Oxford UP, 2023) offers a complete, annotated translation of Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar's 1871 tract arguing against the practice of high-caste Kulin marriage in Bengal …
Higher Education October 4, 2023

Teaching (and Learning) at a University Online

A Discussion with Caleb Simmons of the University of Arizona

Caleb Simmons

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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There is a lot of talk about online learning, and particularly universities going online. Today I talked to Caleb Simmons, Executive Director of Arizona Online (and notable scholar of religion …
Indian Religions September 28, 2023

Local Selfhood, Global Turns

Akshay Kumar Dutta and Bengali Intellectual History in the Nineteenth Century

Sumit Chakrabarti

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Sumit Chakrabarti's book Local Selfhood, Global Turns: Akshay Kumar Dutta and Public Culture in Nineteenth-Century Bengal (Cambridge UP, 2023) examines the works of Akshay Kumar Dutta (1820-1886), who can be seen as …
Indian Religions September 25, 2023

Jain Studies and the Arihanta Institute

A Conversation with Christopher Jain Miller

Christopher Jain Miller

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Today I talked to Christopher Jain Miller about practicing and studying Jainism, the founding of Jain Studies professorships and the Arihanta Institute, an online learning platform. Also see:MA in Engaged Jain Studies Program …
Indian Religions September 21, 2023

Middle-Class Dharma

Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism

Jennifer D. Ortegren

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Middle-Class Dharma: Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism (Oxford UP, 2023) is a contemporary ethnography of class mobility among Hindus in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. Focusing on women …
Indian Religions September 14, 2023

Science and Society in the Sanskrit World

Vishal Sharma, Christopher T. Fleming, Toke Lindegaard Knudsen and Anuj Misra

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Science and Society in the Sanskrit World (Brill, 2023) lauds the remarkable career of Christopher Z. Minkowski, the erstwhile Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Balliol College, University of Oxford. The …
Indian Religions September 7, 2023

Between Hindu and Christian

Khrist Bhaktas, Catholics, and the Negotiation of Devotion in Banaras

Kerry P. C. San Chirico

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Listen:
On the second Saturday of each month, on the outskirts of the ancient city of Varanasi, Shiva's own city, thousands of shudra and Dalit devotees worship Yesu (Jesus) at a …
Indian Religions September 6, 2023

The Bhagavata Purana

Sacred Text and Living Tradition

Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Today I talked to Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey about The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition (Columbia UP, 2013) A vibrant example of living literature, the Bhagavata Purana is a …
Indian Religions August 31, 2023

Texts, Traditions, and Sacredness

Cultural Translation in Kristapurana

Annie Rachel Royson

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Annie Rachel Royson's book Texts, Traditions, and Sacredness: Cultural Translation in Kristapurana (Routledge, 2023) presents a critical reading of Kristapurāṇa, the first South Asian retelling of the Bible. In 1579 …
Indian Religions August 30, 2023

Religious Reading and Everyday Lives in Devotional Hinduism

Emilia Bachrach

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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Religious texts are not stable objects, passed down unchanged through generations. The way in which religious communities receive their scriptures changes over time and in different social contexts. Emilia Bachrach's …
Indian Religions August 24, 2023

World of Worldly Gods

The Persistence and Transformation of Shamanic Bon in Buddhist Bhutan

Kelzang T. Tashi

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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In World of Worldly Gods: The Persistence and Transformation of Shamanic Bon in Buddhist Bhutan (Oxford UP, 2023), Kelzang T. Tashi offers the first comprehensive examination of the tenacity of …