Autum Festival Workshops
Working with The Forefather Fortnight (Pitṛ Pakṣa) and The Nine Nights of the Goddess (Navarātri)
Workshop 1: Working with The Forefather Fortnight (Pitṛ Pakṣa)
2024 Festival Dates: September 18 – October 2, 2024
- What is the significance of the Forefather Fortnight?
- How do you observe it?
- How do you make the most of it for spiritual/personal growth?
The Forefather Fortnight (Pitṛ Pakṣa) is the prime annual juncture for clearing familial karmic patters and honoring departed ancestors. The ancients were well aware of the propensity for patterns to cycle generation after generation and provided tools for liberating oneself – and one’s family – from these karmic cycles.
This 90-minute workshop shares key concepts, practices, stories and techniques from living wisdom tradition for making the most of the Forefather Fortnight for personal, familial and spiritual evolution.
Workshop 2: Working with The Nine Nights of the Goddess (Navarātri)
2024 Festival Dates: October 3 – October 11, 2024
- What is the significance of Nine Night Goddess Festival?
- How do you observe it?
- How do you make the most of it for spiritual/personal growth?
Following the Forefather Fortnight, the Nine Nights (Navarātri) autumnal festival is the prime annual juncture for summoning the spiritual power (śakti) of the Great Goddess. Hers is the power tapped by humans and gods alike, for various worldly and other-worldly aims.
This 90-minute workshop shares key concepts, practices, stories and techniques from living wisdom tradition for connecting with the sacred feminine. Learn how to invoke the sacred feminine for personal empowerment and spiritual evolution.
"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.
