From Veda to Tantra

From Veda to Tantra:
A Workshop with Dr. Douglas Brooks

Yoga means to engage our humanity: wherein lie our vulnerabilities and foibles, our unsung potentials and possibilities?  There is a storied and complex history here, one that we need to understand if we seek to create a meaningful future.  It simply won’t do to repeat ancient doctrines or claim that perennial truths will suffice to explain our world or meet our needs.

These sessions will address the dynamic between what yoga traditions have been and how  we can bring them into our modern lives.  We’ll begin with origins and earliest sources, work through classical definitions and evolutions of tradition, and bring ourselves to Tantra and Bhakti traditions---all to address our principal concerns, which are to create a clear-eyed understanding of the past and to suggest what continues to be relevant and helpful for a 21^st century yoga. 

Each session stands on its own. Come when you can.  This is the kind of learning that you will bring home to everyday life.

 Session One: The Origins of Yoga and the Question of Who is the Yogin?

Friday, April 4, 7:00 - 9:30 PM

Sessions Two & Three: Classical Yoga and its Alternatives and Evolutions

Saturday, April 5, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Saturday, April 5, 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Session Four: The Tantric Revolution and the Power of Love

Sunday, April 6, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Dr. Douglas Brooks is a scholar of Hinduism, South Asian languages and the comparative study of religions. He lived in India with his teacher, Dr Gopala Aiyar Sundaramoorthy, for many years studying and practicing Sri Vidya, Auspicious Wisdom and the modern traditions of goddess-centered Tantra. Currently Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester, he holds both master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. 

Follow Dr. Brooks on Substack

About Rajanaka

Rajanaka is a tradition of individual learning and community education. We study mythology and comparative philosophy, art, literature, and especially the expansive definitions of yoga. We are humanists studying spiritual and religious traditions because we are interested in furthering our personal understandings and learning together. We have deep roots in South India as well as in the study of comparative religions, critical theory, and Jungian psychology.  

The word “Rajanaka” comes from the Sanskrit language where it has been used to describe committed seekers whose accomplishments have been recognized for their agility and intelligence as well as for humility, depth of heart, and character.  Rajanaka was founded in South India by a group of scholars and seekers to be an inclusive conversation and a spacious exploration of shared human possibilities. We have no doctrines or articles of faith, aware that learning to learn is our passionate commitment, one we share with all purposeful study.

Rajanaka invites us to investigate ourselves more deeply and asks us how we might make ourselves a gift to others.  We have used the word “yoga” to describe this deeper engagement with life and, given our South Indian heritage, we share much with long-standing traditions such as Auspicious Wisdom, a Tantric tradition of the great goddess, and the mythos of Śiva, particularly Chidambaram Natarāja.

If this sounds unfamiliar and a bit quixotic let us make sure we understand Rajanaka learning to be as much practicable, sensible, and possible.  We’re “spiritual” because we love the human spirit when we are at our most curious and committed to learning about life, to becoming more reflective, and caring to become compassionate. It’s best to describe Rajanaka both by how we learn and by our interests.

https://rajanaka.com/