Calendar of Events

SCHEDULE for Sanskrit Weekend Workshop -
Fri, Nov 4, 7:45-9:00 PM, incl. contribution by Ashram Teacher
Sat, Nov 5, 9:45 AM - Noon, incl. contribution by Ashram Teacher;
2:30-5:00 PM; 7:45-9:30 PM, incl. contribution by Ashram Artist
Sun, Nov 6, 9:45 AM - Noon, incl. contribution by Ashram Teacher

In addition to the above schedule, the Ashram has its traditional daily programs as follows:
9:00-9:40 AM Fire Ceremony & Meditation
7:00-7:40 PM Fire Ceremony & Meditation
Ashram morning and evening programs are available freely to workshop participants and all Ashram residents and guests.

Special Day Guest Rate for participants in Sanskrit Weekend Workshop: $45 for all day Saturday and through lunch on Sunday (plus suggested tuition, see above)

“Anāhata Nāda is the unstruck sound, the sound of silence, the sound of the void. You can hear it, but you cannot tell what it is. You cannot miss it, but you cannot make any sense of it. It is that which transforms the world of the senses back into the cosmos of pure energy.”
- from Nāda Yoga by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati

Shanta and Indira, co-founders of the East-West Sanskrit Institute based in California, will introduce several techniques with the intention of bringing this electromagnetic sound -- this anāhata nāda -- into focus for use as a daily meditation practice. A key element is the quiet sitting after chanting, where one can really feel the effect on body, mind and beyond.

Throughout the weekend, the Nāda Yoga booklet will serve as a reference to explore the cosmic connection which the Sanskrit language has with this sound. The chanting of mantras and verses, as well as of verb and noun forms, will aid greatly in experiencing the transformation of “the world of the senses… into the cosmos of pure energy.”

Prof. Deven Patel will also contribute some powerful Sanskrit verses on the theme.

-- Note: The ISEWU admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin. --

Shanta Bulkin met Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati at Ananda Ashram in the summer of 1972. Some 50 years later, it has become his passion to help promote the Sanskrit language as a Tool for Meditation and to support the concept of paramparā, to help continue this “Science of Vibration” for the next generation.

Indira Bulkin met Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati in 1971 at Ananda Ashram. She immediately started studying and then teaching the Sanskrit language. In the early 1980s Guruji named her head of the Sanskrit Department at the Yoga Society of San Francisco, a position she held until 2010. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 1993 with a BA in the Sanskrit Language, before earning her Master’s degree in Physical Therapy. She co-founded the East-West Sanskrit Institute in 2010 with her husband Shanta Bulkin.

Deven M. Patel is a professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Culture in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches courses in literature, philosophy, mythology, literary theory, and translation studies. Deven writes on the history and interpretation of literature and translates from Sanskrit to English. His published works include Text to Tradition: The Naiṣadhīyacarita and Literary Community in South Asia and Kavirājamārgam: The Way of the King of Poets (co-authored with R.V.S. Sundaram).