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EARLY BIRD: 30% OFF Until Sept 8, 2025
CLAIM DISCOUNTWhy has the Bhagavad Gītā remained relevant for so many centuries?
What are its core teachings?
How can it help navigate tumultuous times such as these?
The Bhagavad Gītā is one of the world’s most beloved wisdom texts—an intimate dialogue on the battlefield of life between the warrior Arjuna and his divine charioteer, Kṛṣṇa. At its heart lies a perennial question: What should I do in the face of crisis, conflict, and collapse?
This course takes you on a journey through the Gītā’s most essential teachings, not as abstract philosophy but as practical guidance for navigating the turbulence of our times. Together, we will explore how the Gītā illuminates human crisis, clarifies the path of dharma, expands vision to include the cosmic whole, and culminates in wisdom for living with courage, freedom, and trust.
Blending careful reading of key passages with lived reflection and practice, this course offers more than knowledge—it cultivates dharmic discernment, the ability to act with clarity in the midst of uncertainty.
This 4-part on-demand online course is taught by renowned scholar, storyteller and traditional wisdom lineage holder Dr. Raj Balkaran. He shares the fruit of hundreds of hours of living wisdom training and scholarship on Sanskrit texts such, especially the Bhagavad Gītā, which he has been studying for 20 years.
Pre-Recorded Modules Released
Fridays by 5pm EDT
- Module 1 Oct 3, 2025
- Module 2 Oct 10, 2025
- Module 3 Oct 17, 2025
- Module 4 Oct 24, 2025
Live Zoom Tutorial
Optional | Recordings Provided
Mondays @ 2pm EDT
- Tutorial 1 Oct 6, 2025 @ 2pm EDT
- Tutorial 2 Oct 13, 2025 @ 2pm EDT
- Tutorial 3 Oct 20, 2025 @ 2pm EDT
- Tutorial 4 Oct 27, 2025 @ 2pm EDT
Knowledge Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will:
- Understand the Bhagavad Gītā’s central narrative frame (Arjuna’s crisis) and its symbolic resonance with modern human dilemmas.
- Grasp the key teachings of Karma-yoga, Bhakti-yoga, Jñāna-yoga, and their integration in the Gītā.
- Recognize the Gītā’s use of crisis, duty, devotion, vision, and surrender as progressive stages of spiritual transformation.
- Appreciate how selective verses (BG 1–2, 2.47–50, 3.19, 9.22, 11.32, 11.54, 18.66) distill the Gītā’s essence.
- Situate the Gītā’s timeless teachings in relation to contemporary challenges such as uncertainty, burnout, polarization, and ecological crisis.
Skill Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Discern their own “battlefields” by identifying key personal and collective crises in their lives.
- Apply the principle of action without attachment (Karma-yoga) to reframe responsibility, activism, and professional life.
- Practice contemplative exercises that shift perception from narrow ego-vision to a larger, cosmic horizon.
- Cultivate devotion and trust as resources for resilience and anchoring in turbulent times.
- Integrate dharmic wisdom into decision-making without rigidity, balancing action with surrender.
- Create a personal guiding verse or mantra distilled from the course to serve as a lifelong compass for navigating tumultuous times.
Course Structure
Module 1: Crisis as Catalyst: Conflict, Collapse and the Call
Module 2: Dharmic Discernment: Doing Your Duty Despite Your Doubts
Module 3: Visions of Vastness: Devotion to the Divine
Module 4: Wisdom in the World: Finding Freedom, Finding Faith
6+ Hours of Video Lessons
Valuable for the simply curious, longtime yogis, expert practitioners and everyone in between
Downloadable Notes
Easily follow along with and refer back to the class slides
Access Anytime, Anywhere
Whether day or night, wherever you are, you have forever access to this on-demand course
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Applications
Learn mantra and other techniques to apply teachings to your life
Join The Indian Wisdom School
Become a part of our community and gain access to exclusive events and lessons
Yoga Alliance Credit
This course counts as 12 hours of YA Continuing Education Credit
"I first came across Dr. Balkaran through his work with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and have since taken a number of courses with him, all of which have been fabulous. Dr. Balkaran has a gift for synthesizing complex information and teaches with a storytelling style that supports comprehension."
Natalie Rousseau
Yoga Educator
"Dr. Balkaran is a teacher who understands the needs and quests of today’s spiritual seekers and practitioners and his School is a unique and a much-awaited opportunity for any interested-minded students to access the complex realm of the Indian philosophy and mythology explained in an approachable and engaging manner."
Aijan Kenenbaeva
Yoga Practitioner and Hinduism Student
"As a graduate student in the blossoming field of Yoga Studies, I cannot express the proper gratitude for Dr. Raj and his method of mystical swagger. He has tremendously assisted my personal understanding of inherently foreign concepts embedded within Indian wisdom and myth."
Dustin Nicholas Holmes
Naropa University, Wisdom Traditions
M.A. Yoga Studies
"I have greatly enjoyed taking Dr. Balkaran’s online classes! His style of presenting content is a rich synthesis of rigorous academic scholarship and his own experiential insights which add depth, humor and clarity to the often misconstrued concepts of Indian mythology."
Srinalini Sankar
French Teacher and Lifelong Student
Meet Your Instructor
Dr. Raj Balkaran is the founder of The Indian Wisdom School, scholar, and author of the popular book The Stories Behind the Poses. He teaches a number of courses through the Indian Wisdom School, the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Yogic Studies, and Embodied Philosophy. He also hosts the New Books in Indian Religions podcast.
Before becoming a scholar, Dr. Balkaran was initiated into Indian Wisdom Traditions by multiple lineal teachers and apprenticed with a renowned Indian spiritual master for twelve years. For the past two decades, he has been immersed in daily spiritual practice and study, cultivating a deep understanding of these traditions.
