A twice-monthly exploration of concepts that thread through Indian knowledge systems–and life in general–with a cross-disciplinary panel of practitioners
Certain concepts–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 past sessions and possible future topics:
- prāṇa and śakti within the context of Ayurveda vs. traditional dance or martial arts
- mantra in Vedic recitation vs. kirtan
- rāga (desire, attachment) as both cause and cure disease
- the four stages of life (āśramas) we each have the potential to experience
- the four aims of life (puruṣārtha) we each have the right to pursue
- the four stages of learning every student should undertake in order to honor and mature their knowledge: 1. study (adhīti) 2. internalize (bodha), 3. practice (ācaraṇa); 4. teach (pracaraṇa)
- teacher (guru)
- karma, and how this concept addresses fate vs. free will
In this course we intend to explore many of these shared concepts, and gain insight into how they are employed within various Vedic knowledge systems.
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 see the Life Map page to see a video session with Drs. Ramkumar and Welch.
Course Structure
We plan for this membership-based course to deliver two roughly 1.5 hour sessions each month —usually 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 most sessions we will also enjoy the company of distinguished guest instructors. Each session relates to a “thread”–an idea or concept that runs through Vedic knowledge systems. For each concept or idea, 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.
