Veda Theory Masterclass

The course content is based on 10+ years of intensive personal research as well as long term study with the late Prof. R.L. Kashyap, who taught me to approach the Veda-s for personal growth and inspiration through a deep understanding of the deities and their collaborative functions with humans. Dr. Kashyap was the Founder of SAKSHI, an institute dedicated to the revival of Vedic knowledge. He received the Padmaśrī award from the President of India for his contribution to Literature & Education. Prof. Kashyap also taught me how to approach commentaries and how to be discerning with translations.

The uniqueness of this course is that I am a chanting practitioner. This is central to my life and teachings. All theory I study or teach, emerges from my practice of chanting the Veda, of which I have studied a very wide range of texts from my Guru, Sri. M.S. Sreenivasan. If I understand the nomenclature and arrangement of Veda, it is because I have been taught several of those texts in the Guru-Śiṣya parampara (1-2-1 mentoring) with full understanding of the source and arrangement of those texts. The knowledge passed on in this system of education cannot be found in published books. Therefore, the content of this course is entirely unique and cannot be found elsewhere – not in a course, nor in any single book.

Course objectives:

At the end of this course, the student will:

1. Have an overview of Indic Knowledge Systems & be able to clearly distinguish Veda from later texts.
2. Understand the general approach to commentaries and translations as undertaken in this course. Some book recommendations will be provided.
3. Understand the nomenclature of Veda – how mantras are organised in the Vedas – by function & structure. We will also list (with brief overviews) the vocabulary as related to nomenclature – maṇḍala, adhyāya, aṣṭakam, praśnaḥ etc.
4. Have an overview of the chronological layers of the Veda – Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka & Upaniṣat.
5. Understand the content of each Veda and their differences in each – Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma & Atharva Veda.
6. Understand some of the key terms and central themes of the Veda – Mantra, Ṛṣi, Devatā, Chandas, Sūktam, Yajña.
7. Get an insight into Taittirīya Prātiśākhyā – the rule book on how to recite the Veda in our lineage. We will therefore also go over an overview of the Śīkṣā Vedāṅga.
8. Learn how word meaning is assigned in the Veda with some case studies and approach based on works of Prof. R.L.Kashyap.
9. Be taken through an evolution of deities from Veda to the Purāṇa-s (Gaṇeśa, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, Indra) and also have an overview of the deities & deity groups (collective deities) of the Veda.
10. Have an introduction to some special and specific considerations – 1) Repetition of mantras in the Veda 2) The spirit of Khila mantras in Ṛgveda (later additions).

Course fee: €649

Pay in 3 instalments:

There are no scholarships available for this course. However, you can pay in three easy instalments. Once you make the first instalment, the other two instalments are required as well (if you withdraw from course, the remaining payments still need to be honoured).

€239 x3 monthly instalments from 23 August (NOT AVAILABLE CURRENTLY)

Dates and curriculum: Mon/Wed (4-5.15pm) Sat (4-5.30pm)

Class 01: Sept 04 : Introduction to course + Approach to translations & commentaries. IKS overview.
Class 02: Sept 06: Veda overviews: Differences & similarities between Ṛg. Yajur, Sāma & Atharva.
Class 03: Sept 11: Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka & Upaniṣat.
Class 04: Sept 13: Veda terminology, Mantra, Yajña, Chandas, Ṛṣi-s & Ṛṣikā-s.
Class 05: Sept 16: (SATURDAY 1.5hrs): Veda nomenclature (and terminology) – how is Veda organised?
Class 06: Sept 18: Ṛgveda & Yajurveda mantras overview
Class 07: Sept 20: Sāma/Atharva veda mantras overview
Class 08: Oct 02: Deities of Veda – Gods: Agni, Indra, Sūrya, Soma & deity groups.
Class 09: Oct 04: Deities of Veda – Goddesses: Aditi, Uṣā, Rātri and others.
Class 10: Oct 09: Evolution of deities from Veda to Purāṇa: Gaṇeśa, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, Durgā, Indra
Class 11: Oct 11: Sūrya: Special overview of Sūrya mantras including Aruṇa praśnaḥ.
Class 12: Oct 16: Śīkṣā & Taittirīya prātiśākhyā overview.
Class 13: Oct 18: Repetition of mantras in the Veda; Spirit of Khila mantras.
Class 14: Oct 21: (SATURDAY 1.5hrs): Word meaning assignment in Veda & Nirukta (etymology) overview.
Class 15: Oct 30: Vāstu & Jyotiṣa mantras in the Veda
Class 16: Nov 01: Summary, Closing words on understanding Veda, Quiz instructions & wrap up

Course Level: Intermediate to Advanced

This course is for:

• Those who have at least some experience chanting Veda and Vedic texts and wish to organise their knowledge.
• Students who are practising or teaching any Indic knowledge systems based practices (Yoga, Āyurveda, Jyotiṣa etc). This course will help understand their source texts – The Vedas.
• Anyone who has not had a comprehensive overview of Veda and would like to undertake an intensive course and are motivated to study!
• Students who are ok with not being clear about everything immediately – The Vedas take time, patience and some contemplation to figure out. You will possibly need to revisit this material in a few months.
• If you are a beginner, but still wish to go through this course, you are welcome to join us, with the understanding that there will be a lot of new information for you and perhaps not everything can be understood immediately. One needs to sit with this information and reflect, for it to become knowledge.

This course is NOT for:

• Students looking for a chanting practice – this course is entirely theory, although there will be loads of examples of chanting (no teaching of chanting!).
• Those looking to learn the mantra-s for which overviews will be presented, like the Vāstu, Jyotiṣa or Sūrya mantra-s. This is an entirely theoretical course to help practitioners of all Indic Knowledge based systems.
• Those looking for an academic level course. This course will not resolve any historical debates on dates, theories (AIT –  āryan invasion theory for example), or other academic level debates. I am not an academician, and my focus and perspective is entirely practitioner oriented, while also informed by the works of mainly Indian scholars and practising pundits in South India.

Included in this course:

• 16 Live classes taught with all Sanskrit words displayed on screen in English transliteration.
• Recordings of all classes organised in a self-paced course.
• Optional quiz & certificate – you can take the quiz anytime, certificate is issued on passing the quiz – There is no instructor interaction with the quiz.
• If you join LIVE, you will be able to ask questions and there will be Q&A at the end of each class to address some questions. Answering doubts and queries via email will not be possible through this course duration. You may send your questions, and what is possible to be addressed in the LIVE classes will be considered.