Description
Course Description:
The Mahabharata, the longest epic in the world, is a timeless text and has been an integral part of the life of the people for eons. It is often considered the 5th Veda and has a vast repository of human contexts that offers one a possibility for a self- reflective exploration of their inner-worlds. As our world becomes more complex we need time to pause and introspect. The Mahabharata provides us with an excellent lens through which we can examine our inner processes. It also provides us with an amazing collection of “case studies” that covers almost all the situations one encounters in life. It is not commonly understood that the Mahabharata was written to make the subtle truths of the Vedas, Sankhya and Yoga Philosophy accessible to everybody.
Learning Outcome:-
- Awaken the archetypal characters from the Mahabharata in one’s own life through dialogue and reflective activities
- Develop greater insights into one’s own psyche and patterns of the mind through an experiential engagement with the Mahabharata
- Experience yoga as an integral science beyond postures (asanas) or breathing techniques (pranayama).
- To develop the sakhi bhava (friendliness) and sakshi bhava (meditative listening) to be able to listen to our own self and the others from a deeper space
- To evoke healing processes within oneself
In this course, we explore our psyche using stories of characters from the Mahabharata, with an aim to bring clarity and meaning in our life. This 11-week course requires a pre-work of reading select stories from the Mahabharata and writing reflections before attending each session.
Our exploration in this course is based on the teachings of Yogacharya T Krishnamacharya, the father of modern yoga, and his son Shri TKV Desikachar.
This course is not a didactic course on Mahabharata but enables one to delve into one’s psyche using the Mahabharata as a mirror into one’s mental processes. The course is dialogic and calls for a willingness to be self-reflective, share of oneself, and listen to others sensitively. This course is not recommended for anyone who is going through treatment for any psychological illness.
Required/Elective: Required
Prerequisites: Admission to the program of study
Faculty/Instructor: Sri Raghu Ananthanarayanan
Area of Study:- Yoga Studies
Start Date:- April 8, 2023
End Date:- June 24, 2023
Day:- Saturday
Time:- 10:00 am EST – 11:30 am EST (India – 7:30 pm IST – 9:00 pm IST)
Quarter Offered: Spring 2023
