Vedic Threads | Recorded
Prāṇa vs Śakti
This session explores the relationship between prāṇa and śakti, presenting them as interconnected yet distinct aspects of life force. Prāṇa is described as the vital breath or animating force sustaining life, while śakti is the deeper dynamic energy or creative power behind all movement and transformation. Through perspectives from Ayurveda, tantra, and embodied practices, the session highlights how prāṇa becomes effective when infused with awareness, and how śakti underlies all expression, from physical action to spiritual evolution. Together, they reveal a unified field of energy that shapes both individual experience and universal creation.
Guest Instructor
Dr N.Gopalakrishnan
Dr. N Gopalakrishan, an award winning research scientist in plant biochemistry, and international presenter, is also an acclaimed scholar in Indian knowledge systems. He has created a National Heritage Center in Thrissur, Kerala, India. His area of special interest is the Vedas. He has authored more than 150 books on different areas of Indian Knowledge systems. He is a guest instructor on Satsangam’s Vedic Threads membership-based online course.
Guest Instructor
Dr N.Gopalakrishnan
Dr Svoboda has been worshipping Shiva and meditating in cemeteries and cremation grounds for more than fifty years. He has personally cremated five people and has visited Benaras every year between 1984 & 2020. He is headed there again next month. He has also been intimately involved, as co-executor or something similar, with the estates of multiple people including his mentor, his mentor’s foster daughter and his parents.
Guest Instructor
Dr Robert Svoboda
Carolina Prada is a Colombian practitioner of Odissi, Mayurbhanj Chhau, and Kalaripayattu who has lived and trained in India since 2008. One of the few female soloists of her generation to professionally perform and teach both the male and female styles of Mayurbhanj Chhau under Guru Janmejoy Sai Babu, she has also studied Odissi under leading gurus of the Srijan tradition and trained in Kalaripayattu at Kalarigram. Her work bridges dance, martial practice, and spiritual discipline, and she has performed at major festivals in India and abroad while pioneering these traditions in Colombia through her company, OdissiYaatra.
Prāṇa vs Śakti
with Dr. Gopalakrishnan
Topics Covered:
- Introduction to prāṇa (life force) and śakti (dynamic energy) as foundational concepts
- Exploration of the relationship and distinction between prāṇa and śakti
- Understanding prāṇa as the animating force of life and śakti as the power behind manifestation and transformation
- Exposure to multiple layers and interpretations rather than fixed definitions
- Emphasis on experiential understanding over intellectual clarity
- Encouragement to reflect on one’s personal relationship with these concepts
Learning Objectives:
- Define prāṇa and śakti in a foundational way
- Understand that both concepts are multi-layered and context-dependent
- Begin to reflect on one’s own experiential understanding of life force and energy
Prāṇa vs Śakti
with Dr. Robert Svoboda & Carolina Prada
Topics Covered:
- Exploration of prāṇa and śakti across disciplines—Ayurveda, dance (Odissi), and martial arts (Kalaripayattu)
- Understanding śakti as divine feminine energy (Devi, Ma) and creative force
- Insight into prāṇa as breath infused with awareness
- Relationship between prāṇa (life force) and śakti (power of manifestation)
- Role of body, space, and discipline in cultivating connection with śakti
- Preparing the body-mind to receive and embody subtle energies
- Introduction to Śrī Vidyā and Śakta traditions
- Exploration of interconnectedness between matter, elements, and life force
Learning Objectives:
- Develop a personalized understanding of prāṇa and śakti
- Understand the relationship between prāṇa, śakti, and embodied practices
- Gain introductory awareness of Śrī Vidyā and Kalaripayattu as pathways of practice
Reflections & Integration
Topics Covered:
- Continued exploration of prāṇa and śakti through direct experience and reflection
- Understanding how prāṇa and śakti are felt within the body and awareness
- Relationship between prāṇa–śakti and puruṣa–prakṛti (consciousness and nature)
- Exploration of kuṇḍalinī, vāta, and subtle energetic movement
- Inquiry into the role of posture and alignment in facilitating prāṇa flow
- Introduction to Kalaripayattu and its connection to Ayurveda and marma points
- Insights into the three śaktis: icchā (will), jñāna (knowledge), kriyā (action)
- Clarifying distinctions between ahaṃkāra (ego) and kuṇḍalinī śakti
- Understanding where śrī vidyā fits within Indian knowledge systems
Learning Objectives:
- Reflect on how prāṇa and śakti are experienced in one’s own body and awareness
- Understand the relationship between prāṇa, śakti, and broader philosophical frameworks
- Gain introductory insight into the connection between Ayurveda, marma, and Kalaripayattu
About Vedic Threads
Every Indian wisdom tradition carries within it a vast web of ideas, stories, and living knowledge. Vedic Threads is an invitation to explore that web — one theme at a time, in the company of lifelong practitioners and sincere seekers from around the world. Join hosts Drs. Ramkumar and Claudia Welch and Navneet Raman, and our distinguished guest instructors, for conversations that deepen your understanding of Ayurveda, yoga, and the traditions they emerge from.
