8:00 AM - 9:00 AM (IST)
Stories Of The Sages: Vedānta Embodied
SPEAKERS
Stories transmit what sūtras alone cannot: philosophy embodied. The sages of India’s great wisdom traditions did not philosophize in the abstract. Their insights were forged in life — in bodies broken, abandoned, and cloistered. It is through their stories that we encounter exemplars of wisdom in the world. This talk explores three Indic sage stories (from The Stories Behind the Poses), each illuminating core Vedāntic concepts — ātman, avidyā, karma, and mokṣa — through narrative rather than doctrine. From Aṣṭāvakra’s deformed body in Janaka’s court, to Matsyendra’s twelve years in the belly of a fish, to Bharadvāja’s three lifetimes of incomplete learning, these tales show that wisdom is not information but transformation. Stories teach you when you least expect it, which is why they’re so effective.
Speakers
Raj Balkaran
Raj Balkaran, Ph.D., is a Sanskrit scholar, author, and lineage holder who brings the insight traditions of ancient India into clear, contemporary expression. He has been teaching Vedānta philosophy at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies since 2020, with over 150 hours of recorded Gītā teachings and 100+ course iterations. A 12-year apprenticeship with an awakened master and 20+ years of daily meditation ground his scholarship in living practice. He is the founder of the online Indian Wisdom School and Purāṇa Section Convener at the World Sanskrit Conference. He has delivered 100+ invited talks across four continents and hosts 400+ episodes of the New Books in Indian Religions podcast. His book The Stories Behind the Poses has sold over 50,000 copies worldwide. Visit rajbalkaran.com for more information.