We love writing about the Vedas & chanting!
I sometimes post things I don't teach - stotrams, kavacams etc 🙂
My mother’s guru ❤️
Early this morning (02 Nov 2023), my mother's guru, Māta Ananthalakshmi Natarajan passed away and on to the lotus feet of her beloved Bhagavān Lord Rāma. She was a brilliant Sanskrit scholar and dedicated her entire life to the dissemination of Sanskrit and scriptural...
Rāṣṭragītā – Song for nations & its people
Rāṣṭragītā is the song for the nation(s) and its people. Not any one particular nation, but any and all nations and all its people. This is a prayer for the well-being of all. These mantras of Veda confirm yet again that the spread of knowledge becomes graceful by...
INDICA – Veda Studies chanting teacher training program
In collaboration with INDICA, we launched our first Chanting teacher training program in 2022, which comes to an end this month with a graduation ceremony on the 27 of May. Congratulations to all our graduating teachers! We present here a synopsis of this intensive...
Śaṅkara – the universal teacher
श्रुति स्मृति पुराणानामालयं करुणालयम् ।नमामि भगवत्पाद शङ्करं लोक शङ्करम् ॥ śrutismṛtipurāṇānāṃ ālayaṃ karuṇālayam |namāmi bhagavatpādaṃ śaṅkaraṃ lokaśaṅkaram || शङ्करं शङ्कराचार्यं केशवं बादरायणम् |सूत्रभाष्यकृतौ वन्दे भगवन्तौ पुनः पुनः || śaṅkaraṃ śaṅkarācāryaṃ...
Lineage based teaching – what does this mean?
The tradition of chanting has been passed down through Śruti Parampara over millennia in India. To this day it continues to be a profound practice of expressing devotion, learning and imbibing the teachings of ancient scriptures and an integral part of ritual,...
Hanumān stuti – a meditation
Hanumān Jayanti – appearance day of the son of Vāyu, also known as Āñjaneya, is celebrated on two different days in the year. Once in the month of Caitra – April 5 this year, and then again in December in the region I come from – Karnataka! I’m told that one is a “birthday” while the other is a “victory” day. Either way, more reasons to meditate on Hanumān is always a good thing!
Growing our team ❤️
We are exited to welcome Poornima, Silke and Marina to our little Veda Studies family. We have much to celebrate! It is our one year Gāyatrī anniversary – for the last year, a group of us have been meeting each week to practice our Gāyatrī upāsana – a meditative practice that includes making a Saṅkalpa (a determination), prāṇāyāma using the Gāyatrī mantra for count, Gāyatrī japa and contemplation in a seated posture (āsana).
Rāma rakṣā stotram – a protective meditation on Rāma
Rāmanavami is coming up soon and thanks to my teacher’s daughter Shreeraksha, I have been chanting the powerful Rāma rakṣā stotram in preparation. Said to have been revealed to Sage Budha Kauśika, (or Viśvāmitra with a different name) in his dream and uttered directly...
Path to becoming a chanting teacher
In collaboration with INDICA, we have been running a Chanting teacher training program, the first of which will soon be coming to an end. We will announce the next program starting January 2024. Learning to teach mantras from both the Veda as well as the daily prayer...
Nārāyaṇa – The Source of Happiness
Author: Poornima Mysore for Veda Studies Who is Nārāyana? In the Veda, Nārāyana is a name given to the creator of the universe, one of many such names given to the highest universal energy in scripture. Nārāyana is all pervading and is everything that can be...
Navarātri chanting – Tryaṅgam
The chanting of the Devī Mahātyam requires preparation and rigorous training not only on chanting quality but also on the protocols to be followed before, during & after chanting. These three chants referred to as the Tryañgam are required to be recited before Devi Mahātmyam pārāyaṇa.
Jean Le Mée – a tribute
A tribute to my friend and author Jean Le Mée, author of The Hymns from Rig Veda. He passed away on the 28th of June 2020 and I present here excerpts from his work in a 30 minute online memorial to honour his life and work.
How do the Vedas help me with Yoga?
How do the Vedas help my Yoga practice? Often when we think of the Vedas, we visualize ancient Indian people sitting around a fire, performing mystical rituals with little connection to what we know and learn as Yoga. Why are these texts the source of Yoga? What is in...
Why not just read the Vedas, why do we have to chant them?
The Vedas are the collective intelligence and experiences of over 400 super yogīs, or ṛṣi-s in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit word Ṛṣi literally translates to “seer”. Through their intense yogic practices, they had acquired a vision of how the universe functioned and our...
A luminous study together – learn saha nāvavatu
If you are a yoga student, teacher or a student of Vedanta, this mantra will probably be very familiar to you. Recited at the beginning of classes, it is an extraordinary prayer by both teacher and student to be blessed with protection, nourishment and a...
Rules for Veda Recitation
The Taittīrīya Upaniṣat's Sīkṣāvalli lists the responsibilities of students in their life long journey of discovering the Self. In the very beginning, students are encouraged to master the Vedic phonetics by adhering to strict rules of varṇa, svara, mātra, balam, sāma...
Benefits of Online Veda Recitation
This is such an ancient oral tradition, how can I study this online? Isn't it too difficult? Do I need to know Sanskrit? Shouldn't I be face to face with a teacher to study? How can I assess how I'm doing? These are some real questions and concerns. Online study of...
Developing a daily Mantra practice
There are over 20,226 mantras in the Saṃhita portion of the Veda alone. Then there are all those mantras not in the Vedas and also important. How do we get started developing a daily practice of Mantra and where do we begin?One way to start is to really think about...