Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad. Dr. Ram-Prasad is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Religion and Philosophy at Lancaster University. He is the […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. T.S. Rukmani. Dr. T.S. Rukmani was a Professor and Chair of Hindu Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. T.S. Rukmani. Dr. T.S. Rukmani was a Professor and Chair of Hindu Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Ami Ganatra, author of Mahabharata Unravelled: Lesser-Known Facets of a Well-Known History. Ami Ganatra is a management professional who […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Arjuna Gallagher of Theology Unleashed Youtube Show. Arjuna belongs to the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition specifically the Hare Krsna and […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Ami Ganatra, author of Mahabharata Unravelled: Lesser-Known Facets of a Well-Known History. Ami Ganatra is a management professional who […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari, also known as Rami Sivan, of www.srimatham.com. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari is an Acharya of […]
Join Mukunda and Krishna as they speaks to Professor Bibek Debroy. Prof. Debroy is a polymath, polyglot and a man for all seasons. He is currently the Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on the Economic Advisory Council. He is additionally a translator of the Vedas, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita and now the Mahabharata. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:
00:01:10 Introduction to Professor Bibek Debroy and his background and how he went from economics to translating a huge corpus of Sanskrit literature
00:18:50 The inspiration and role of Dogs in Vedas and Itihasas, all three of us love dogs and have dogs
00:22:00 Mahabharata and Puranas translation process and inspirations, what is your methodology of translations
00:29:20 Bengali culture and translating of the Mahabharata
00:32:00 Veda Vyasa, Mahabharata and intertextual mesh with the Puranas
00:38:55 How did the translation process change you or your pre-conceived notions
00:41:30 Why is Indian society not very familiar with lifeblood of Hinduism, the Puranas
00:44:50 Story of Rama and the dog in the Ramayana
00:49:15 The Many Gitas of the Mahabharata and Puranas
00:57:15 What role do the Mahabharata and Puranas play in today in modern governance
01:04:20 How do we teach Dharma today, Dharma economic alternative to capitalism and socialism
01:15:30 Final points and love for discovery in the Shastras
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. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:
00:01:10 Introduction to Professor Balkaran and his background, unique journey into Hinduism and academia
00:20:00 The experience of being Hindu and Brown in the West
00:23:30 The difficultly of defining and teaching Hinduism, A profound diversity and ecosystem
00:34:30 The tapestry of the Shastras, in particular the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and the nature of violence
00:45:50 The paradox of Dharma, the Dharmic double helix
00:55:40 Narrative and Framing of Shastras, particularly the Puranas
01:00:30 Prof. Balkaran’s spiritual journey
01:12:30 Academia and the Shastras
01:19:00 Discussion on the Devi Mahatmya and the ring narrative
01:30:10 What is Markendaya’s role in the Puranas and Privritti and Nivritti Dharma
01:31:35 The importance of the Azhwars and how the pasurams become the Divya Prabandam
01:41:40 What role do the King and Merchant have in the Devi Mahatmya
01:48:50 Karma, Vasanas, Moksha and living in the world
01:54:40 Back and forth discussion on Free Will vs Karma
02:10:40 The Narrative power of the Shastras
02:16:10 Prof. Balkaran’s upcoming works and courses along with online education
02:21:00 Prof. Balkaran’s closing thoughts
02:23:10 Why the podcast is called Meru Media
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 speaks to Professor Lavanya Vemsani, Professor of Religious Studies and History at Shawnee State University in Ohio. She holds 2 Phd.s, one in History and the other in Religious Studies. She is also the Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Indic Studies. She has written extensively on comparative iconology, history, legends, and ideas between Hindu and Jaina thought, especially related to Krishna and Balarama in Jaina and Hindu thought. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:
0:01:30 Introduction to Prof. Vemsani and her background
0:05:40 Deep History and Continuity of Indian archeological sites and temple locations
0:16:00 Krishna and Balarama in the Hindu and Jaina contexts
0:18:20 Analysis of Balarama in Jaina traditions (Explanation of the Vasudeva, Baladeva, and Prati Vasudeva in Jaina Cosmology)
0:25:30 Historic Relationship and Interaction between Hindus and Jains
0:28:15 Return to Discussion on Balarama in Hindu vs. Jaina traditions
0:34:00 Narasimha and his connection sacred geography and cosmology, the Lord of the Middle
0:43:00 Integration and Pluralism of Hinduism and the practices
0:45:45 Academia, Colonialism and Hindu Studies: Built-in Western Bias and Lens
1:03:15 Aryan Invasion/Migration Theory and how it impacts everything about Indian studies, politics, and culture
1:05:05 Caste and how it is different from Varna and how it changed over time in Hindu society prior to British and even prior to 10th century
1:08:20 The flaws and discussion of the Aryan Invasion/Migration Theory (Genetic, Linguistic and Material Archeological issues)
1:31:35 How to approach providing controversial topics in school and education
1:35:30 Prof. Vemsani’s upcoming work and preliminary discussion of Heroines of the Mahabharata
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Lavanya Vemsani, Professor of Religious Studies and History at Shawnee State University in Ohio. She holds 2 Phd.s, one in History and the other in Religious Studies. She is also the Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Indic Studies. She has written extensively on comparative iconology, history, legends, and ideas between Hindu and Jaina thought, especially related to Krishna and Balarama in Jaina and Hindu thought. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:
0:01:30 Introduction to Prof. Vemsani and her background
0:05:40 Deep History and Continuity of Indian archeological sites and temple locations
0:16:00 Krishna and Balarama in the Hindu and Jaina contexts
0:18:20 Analysis of Balarama in Jaina traditions (Explanation of the Vasudeva, Baladeva, and Prati Vasudeva in Jaina Cosmology)
0:25:30 Historic Relationship and Interaction between Hindus and Jains
0:28:15 Return to Discussion on Balarama in Hindu vs. Jaina traditions
0:34:00 Narasimha and his connection sacred geography and cosmology, the Lord of the Middle
0:43:00 Integration and Pluralism of Hinduism and the practices
0:45:45 Academia, Colonialism and Hindu Studies: Built-in Western Bias and Lens
1:03:15 Aryan Invasion/Migration Theory and how it impacts everything about Indian studies, politics, and culture
1:05:05 Caste and how it is different from Varna and how it changed over time in Hindu society prior to British and even prior to 10th century
1:08:20 The flaws and discussion of the Aryan Invasion/Migration Theory (Genetic, Linguistic and Material Archeological issues)
1:31:35 How to approach providing controversial topics in school and education
1:35:30 Prof. Vemsani’s upcoming work and preliminary discussion of Heroines of the Mahabharata
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
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Mukunda and Prof. Joydeep Bagchee discuss Indology, Philology, Historism and the Mahabharata. We discuss the issues and history of Indology and Philology then we jump to the basics of the composition of the Mahabharata and the themes that it delves into. We broach many topics including racism in historical Indology, how modern Indology has shaken those roots, the Mahabharata as a text and how it was interpreted over the past 150 years, ahimsa, dharma and much more.
Meru Media Video Interview with Prof. Joydeep Bagchee Part 1 Mukunda and Prof. Joydeep Bagchee discuss Indology, Philology, Historism and the Mahabharata. We discuss the […]
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