Narratives, Life and Timeless Wisdom: A Conversation with Dr. Raj Balkaran

Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Raj Balkaran, Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies. He is a scholar of the Puranas and Narratives and the author of The Goddess and the King in Indian Myth. He is also the host of an amazing podcast called New Books in Indian Religions. Dr. Balkaran returns to the podcast after a year and in this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:

00:01:10 Discussion of the New Books of Indian Religions podcasts and how Dr. Balkaran picks the guests and authors for the podcast; Why is Hinduism only viewed and studied in “Indian” or South Asian studies/religions while there are Christian studies and Islamic studies

00:30:05 What is Life Coaching and how does having a background in Shastras and Hindu texts help one engage with people who need guidance, support and help?

00:48:00 How do we deal with commercialization of spiritual knowledge or practices?

01:02:05 Free Speech and Disrespecting the Devatas/Devis, how do we engage with these issues of freedom, right to defame and disrespect and how people can/should react?

01:06:11 How do the timeless truths of the Shastras impact and play in today’s world? Morality vs Principles? We discuss eating meat as an example of how Dharma can be thought about and applied

01:13:00 Dharma and Wisdom into the future of humanity and the planet

01:20:20 Dr. Balkaran’s upcoming work on Yoga

01:25:00 Conclusion

You can find Prof. Raj Balkaran at:
New Books in Indian Religion
https://blubrry.com/new_books_in_hindu_studies/
Online Courses
https://rajbalkaran.com/#courses
Consultation
https://rajbalkaran.com/consultation

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About Author

Mukunda

Mukunda Raghavan: Mukunda is a jack of all trades but master of none. His educational background is a mix of political science, criminology, psychological and philosophy. He received his Juris Doctorate in Law from Boston University and was simultaneously working on his Masters in Philosophy focusing on continental philosophy (not completed). He has practiced as a prosecutor in New York City, General Counsel and Operating Officer of a healthcare company in Southern California, Head of Business and Operations for a legal tech company in India and is now in Strategy and Development. Much like his career, Mukunda’s intellectual interests and knowledge is varied, he is interested in Indian and Western philosophy, world mythology, Quantum Physics, Consciousness Studies, Psychology and variety of other fields.

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