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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Sthaneshwar Timalsina, Professor of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. He is also a qualified Acharya and has been trained in Sanskrit and Shastras since he was a child. He is an expert on Tantra and Abhinavagupta, a 10th century polymath genius who worked on philosophy, drama, math, music, aesthetics, and other areas. Acharya Sthaneshwar is also Founder of the Vimarsha Foundation, a 501c(3) non-profit that engages in expounding and maintaining the Kashmiri Shaivism tradition.
Join Mukunda Raghavan and Krishna Parthasarathy as they speak with Dushyanth Sridhar, a Pauranika scholar, public lecturer on Sanatana Dharma and Upanyasakar. He has spoken […]
Join Mukunda as he talks to Jodh Singh (Twitter@jungnihang) about Sikhism. We go through a detailed history of 10 Gurus, the socio-political environment in that period, the practices of the Sikhi Dharm and other topics. If you want to learn and understand Sikhism, this is the podcast episode for you.
Join Mukunda as he talks to Prof. Nicholas Sutton, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. They discuss Prof. Sutton’s journey into Hindu thought and his life of studying Dharma, Philosophy, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata and other texts/traditions. They delve into morality and ethics, the idea of Dharma, deontological morality, virtue ethics, diversity in Hindu thought, the conundrum of God in the world vis-a-vis Krishna and numerous other ideas.
You can check out Prof. Sutton’s lectures and talks at: https://www.youtube.com/user/HinduStudies
and you can get his books at:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nicholas+sutton&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
https://ochs.org.uk/people/dr-nicholas-sutton
Meru Media
www.meru.media
th**********@gm***.com
https://www.facebook.com/themerumedia
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meru-media/id1393232694
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/meru-media/meru-podcast
https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9tZXJ1Lm1lZGlhL2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA%3D%3D&hl=en
Subscribe to get new weekly content
Meru Media
www.meru.media
th**********@gm***.com
https://www.facebook.com/themerumedia
Join Mukunda and Professor Ramdas Lamb, Professor of Religious Studies and Hinduism at the University of Hawaii, Manoa and the author of Rapt in the Name: Ramnamis, Ramnam, and the Untouchable Religion in Central India. In this episode we discuss:
1. Ramdas Lamb’s fascinating journey from Watts, California and a Catholic background to India and Hinduism then to Hawaii. Prof. Lamb lived through such amazing times in both the USA and India from the 1950’s to the 1980’s, anyone who is interested how Hinduism and America intersected in this period, it is a great story from Prof. Lamb’s experience. His experiences meeting westerner sadhus and legendary gurus like Neem Karoli Baba, Muktananda and others.
2. We discuss the Ramananda sampradaya and Prof. Lamb’s experiences in the monastic life, secluded practices (tapasya and yoga) in the Himalayas and forests, sacred texts, views on caste, and bhakti. Prof. Lamb discusses the nature of a guru, surrendering to the guru and how it is important to find a dharmic guru. (starting 39 min mark)
3. Discussion on Valmiki Ramayana, Adhyatma Ramayana and Tulsidas’s Ramcharitamanas (starting at 1 hour and 9 minute mark)
4. Discussion on Untouchability, the Ramnamis, their beliefs, rituals, modernity, and Rama. (starting at 1 hour and 20 min mark). This is a fascinating section that deals with understanding the diversity of Hindu thought and practices that are developed within non-main stream communities.
5. Caste, Identity (Dalit vs Harijan vs SC/OBC/Adivasi), and Issues (starting at 1 hour and 52 mark)
6. Sahayog Foundation that Prof. Lamb started, it is a foundation that helps young low caste or Harijan girls go to school and get educated. (starting at 2 hour and 9 min mark) (if you want to contribute to this amazing cause please reach out to Sahayog Foundation and Ramdas Lamb at ra*******@gm***.com)
Ramdas Lamb teaches introductory religion courses as well as courses dealing with contemporary religion and society, fieldwork, and mysticism. The focus of his current research is on monastic traditions and religion among the low castes in central and northern India. He was a Hindu sadhu (monk) in north India in the Ramanandi sampradaya from 1969 until 1978.