Certain concepts and subjects–like threads–are woven throughout the tapestries of Indian knowledge systems, adorning each and harmonizing each with the others.
There are hundreds of such shared concepts. Here’s a sampling of topics we’ve explored in past sessions and the world class guest instructors that have joined us:
- Prāṇa vs. śakti within the context of Ayurveda vs. traditional dance or martial arts; Dr. Robert Svoboda & Carolina Prada
- Śakti & Śri Vidya; Dr. Rishi Mannivanan
- Mantra in Vedic recitation vs. kirtan; Shantala Sriramiah & Nina Rao
- Rāga Cikitsa: Desire as Cause or Cure of Disease?; Dr. Shubham Kulkarni
- Kalā, Rasa and Rasika: The Arts & The Lovers; Navneet Raman
- The Heart & The Mind According to Sufism, Ayurveda and Yoga; Neha Tiwari & Laura Clarke Stelmok
- Tāla: Rhythmic Measure in Art, Architecture, Music and Dance; Drdha Vrata Gorrick & Vinay Srinivasan
- Pañca Mahā Yajña: 5 Major Sacrifices; Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar
- Prāṇa, the Mind and Haṭha Yoga; Robert Moses & Scott Blossom
- Rāga, Remedies & Constellations; Allison Dennis
We plan to explore many more kalās (arts), vidyās (sciences), teachers, texts and traditions of India and concepts that relate to all of them, gain insight into how they are employed within various Vedic knowledge systems, and how they can be meaningfully incorporated into our chosen subjects (Ayurveda, Yoga) and our lives in general.
This kind of exploration can help deepen our understanding of our chosen subject, connect us to related subjects and sometimes have a glimpse into the Oneness behind the variety. For an introduction into the interconnectedness of Vedic knowledge systems, and why this is important scroll down on the Life Map page to see a video session with Drs. Ramkumar and Welch.
Join hosts Drs. Ramkumar and Claudia Welch, world-class instructors, and about 100 sincere, curious participants (with usually about 15-20 showing up live) for intimate, enlightening conversations around these sorts of topics in this twice-monthly, live, online Vedic Threads membership and receive access to over 40 hours of past sessions. Together we’ll learn more about the cultural, scientific and philosophical context from and in which Indian knowledge systems like yoga and Ayurveda exist.
Course Structure & Cost
Structure:
Two 1.5 hour sessions each month on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month for about 90 minutes starting at 10:00am EDT / 7:00am PDT. Schedule details are available upon registration, on your main classroom page. Drs. Ramkumar and Claudia both intend to be present at all sessions and in many sessions we also enjoy the company of distinguished guest instructors. Each session relates to a “thread”–an idea, concept or subject that relates to, enhances or enriches our understanding of all Vedic knowledge systems. For each concept or subject, we plan to:
- Provide an overview of the concept or idea.
- Engage in a conversation–or multiple conversations–with sincere practitioners or students of various Vedic knowledge systems, to explore what the given concept means within the context of those knowledge systems.
- Allow time for questions, answers, discussion with class participants.
- Record each session for those who cannot attend live.
- Provide access to all previous Vedic Threads sessions for as long as you are a member of the course.
Cost: 35 USD/month. If you are in need of a discount, please contact us and let us know what you can pay and we can work with you.
