We love writing about the Vedas & chanting!
I sometimes post things I don't teach - stotrams, kavacams etc 🙂
The Mysticism of Sound
Merike Taza tells Veda Studies’ Sophie French how the ancient runo songs of Estonia share mystic similarities with ancient India’s Veda, and that’s not the only thing the two countries have in common.
The Unconditioned Reality of the Self
LA-Based Johanna Bennett couldn’t reconcile the West’s āsana-centric approach to yoga with how she experienced spirituality when she travelled to India, until she started studying Vedānta and reciting Veda. After that, there was only clarity.
Manifesting Sarasvatī
Artist Drdha Vrata Gorrick reveals how to turn a drawing into a vessel for the divine. In conversation with Veda Studies’ Sophie French.
The Healing Sound of Veda
Clinical Psychologist Katinka Thorne Salvesen tells Veda Studies’ Sophie French how reciting Veda can tame and train the mind to teach it new ways of being.
Mantra Made Me Realise What Voice Is…
Says Sanja Wieland as she felt she heard herself for the first time while practising mantras. She tells Veda Studies’ Sophie French about the many ways in which Veda recitation affected her body-mind-intellect.
Veda Recitation: An Artist’s Muse
Sand artist Anne Löper practises Veda recitation to invite Sarasvatī to inspire her and give her ideas, and she studies Vedānta for the clarity required to execute those ideas and turn them into art. In conversation with Veda Studies’ Sophie French…
Finding Unity in Diversity
Our way of celebrating our diverse but united community is to highlight the accomplishments of our students and community members who have put aside individual identities and issues to work towards a higher goal. This is the first in a series of interviews and blogs that will be written by Veda Studies’ Sophie French.
Community events 2024
I'd like to share a little background on how the Friday community classes came to be. When I first started to teach chanting, it was mainly to very small groups in Brussels, in a lovely space called Shanti Home where I felt at home. Friday evenings were mantra...
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...