Deepen your engagement and experience of Yoga through chanting

Introductory Workshop On Sanskrit Chanting

  • What is Sanskrit Chanting and Why Learn It

    We will explore the following:

    Learning objectives and overview of the workshop

    Tradition and Lineage

    Various types of Sanskrit chanting (śruti & smṛti) and an intro to / demo of each

    Practical: Learning to chant a simple Ganeśa śloka.

  • Precision of Sanskrit Sounds

    We will explore the following:

    The science and philosophy of uccāraṇa (pronunciation)

    Introduction of vowels, consonants and complex vowels

    Practising uccāraṇa with commonly used words in Yoga

    Rules of Sanskrit chanting

    Practical: Applying the rules to the Ganeśa chant.

  • Introduction to Vedic Chanting

    We will explore the following:

    What is Vedic & Veda Chanting?

    Rules of Veda Chanting

    Creating a saṅkalpa (intention) for the path going forward.

    Practical: Learning to chant a simple Veda Mantra

    **After you complete this intro workshop, you can move along to our weekly drop-in chanting class

Register Here

Workshop Details

  • This workshop will be held over 2 dates (part 1 and part 2) to accommodate for various time zones and so that we can cover all of the information in a relaxed and easeful way. 💚

    Part 1:
    Wednesday, March 5th
    7:00-9:00pm ET // 4:00-7:00pm PT
    IST: 5:30-7:30am Thursday March 6th

    Part 2:
    Saturday, March 15th
    10:00am-12:30pm ET// 7:00-9:30am PT
    IST: 7:30-10:00pm

    Recommended Rate: $108 with a pay from your heart slider available at checkout
    REGISTER HERE

  • The classes will be structured into modules, taking the students through different levels progressively, and will cover both practice and its related theory. The chanting of Veda mantras in this tradition focuses on the sound, its aesthetics and precision of utterance (guided by the six rules of chanting) held together with the intention. Though the overall meaning of the mantra will be shared, this approach does not focus on a word-by-word meaning of the Sanskrit words. Veda mantras are seen as an aid to Yoga Sadhana, comprising both antaraṅga (inner work) and bahiraṅga (body-breath work), and not as a devotional form of music or prayer. More on this will be shared during our sessions.

    Though traditionally, Veda mantras are learned by listening to and repeating after the teacher, we will use text (in Roman / Devanagari script) to aid our learning initially, and gradually learn to memorize the mantras through practice. After each class, a recording of the exercises and the mantras taught in the class will be shared with the students to aid their practice through the week.

    There is no requirement to be able to begin the program. In our tradition, just as being able to breathe is the only requirement for anyone to be able to practice āsanā–prāṇāyāma, anyone who can speak can learn and chant Veda Mantras. Technically, even those who cannot speak can learn and chant them in the mind. However, the teaching approach and pace will vary depending on the students’ ability to listen to & repeat basic musical notes, and pronounce Sanskrit sounds, and hence they will be grouped accordingly.

    To progress to the next level, students must be able to complete all the required coursework for each level.

  • “Stepping into the path of Vedic Chanting is something I have considered for over a decade... Sangeetha is a wonderful teacher, very knowledgeable, very clear, very warm and caring. Each lesson is rich and full, but not too much to be overwhelming. I feel a change in consciousness when I practice. I feel like my brain and my body are being rewired as I do my weekly lessons. And of course, the energy that comes through our weekly classes is so sweet for my soul. I pray I am able to learn and practice with Sangeetha for a long time. This journey is a tender one.”
    — Elyssa Marie Serrilli

    “I have found this course to be very beneficial in focusing my mental attention. After listening to the chants and practicing them a few times I feel more relaxed and focused and better able to tackle the challenges of my day in a centered way.
    — Amber O'Brien

  • Veda mantras are classified as śruti and can be imagined as cosmic vibrational patterns that were revealed to rishis (seers) in their deeply meditative states, in the form of sound. These mantras need to be learnt and chanted following specific rules of chanting, exactly the way they were originally received and passed on. And for this reason, it is important to learn Vedic chanting from teachers who come from a trusted lineage. Until about a century ago, the science, technique and art of Yoga and Vedic chanting largely remained accessible only to select male members of the Hindu society. Sri Krishnamacharya, considered to be among the primary revivers of Yoga in the modern times, made the knowledge widely accessible by breaking the barriers of race, religion, caste and gender. Sri Desikachar, his student, and son carried the tradition forward through the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram.

    According to this tradition, the core purpose of Yoga is to enable tapasya, the stoking and tending of the inner fire, so that we may burn the seeds of duḥkha and progressively experience the Divine Self within. This tradition which considers āsanā a form of dhāraṇā (focused attention) on the body, and prāṇāyāma a form of dhāraṇā on the breath, sees Vedic chanting as a form of dhāraṇā that connects to the very source of creation, nāda braḥmam, through sound.

    Since the Sanskrit language engages all part of the vocal system, chanting Sanskrit mantras are known to help develop clarity of speech, respiratory capacity, the ability to access our meditative mind, and so on. According to Atharva Veda, ‘yantram parimitam, mantram aparimitam’ (the form of yantra has limited benefits, and the sound of mantra has unlimited benefits).

  • There is no requirement to be able to begin the program.
    In our tradition, just as being able to breathe is the only requirement for anyone to be able to practice āsanā–prāṇāyāma, anyone who can speak can learn and chant mantras. Technically, even those who cannot speak can learn and chant them in the mind.
    However, the teaching approach and pace will vary depending on the students’ ability to listen to & repeat basic musical notes, and pronounce Sanskrit sounds, and hence they will be grouped accordingly.

Deepen your engagement and experience of Yoga through chanting.

Sanskrit chanting can be a powerful aid in one’s practice of yoga. The Sanskrit sounds, when uttered with the right intention and precision, have the power to connect us to the many aspects of the Divine and enhance our sādhanā. Amongst the many forms of chanting, Vedic chanting is the most powerful and profound. Veda mantras can be imagined as cosmic vibrational patterns that were revealed to ṛṣis (seers) in their deeply meditative states, in the form of sound.

Sri Krishnamacharya, often called Father of Modern Yoga for being among the primary revivers of Yoga in the modern times, made the knowledge of chanting widely accessible by breaking the barriers of race, religion, caste and gender. Sri Desikachar, his student and son, carried the tradition forward through the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. According to this tradition, the core purpose of Yoga is to enable tapasya, the stoking and tending of the inner fire, so that we may burn the seeds of duḥkha and progressively experience the Divine Self within. This tradition which considers āsana a form of dhāraṇa (focused attention) on the body, and prāṇāyāma a form of dhāraṇā on the breath, sees Vedic chanting as a form of dhāraṇa that connects to the very source of creation, nāda braḥmam, through sound.

Sanskrit engages all parts of the vocal system, and chanting Sanskrit mantras is known to help develop clarity of speech, respiratory capacity and the ability to access our meditative mind. According to Atharva Veda, ‘yantram parimitam, mantram aparimitam’ (the form of yantra has limited benefits, and the sound of mantra has unlimited benefits).

Learning to chant in Sanskrit requires a carefully crafted path of teaching and learning, undertaken with shraddhā, following certain rules and protocols with reverence. In this introductory course, we will understand the foundational concepts of Sanskrit chanting, the different forms and levels of learning and practise, and craft a customized path and pedagogy that works for each of us to aid our sādhanā.

Lead Teacher

Sangeetha Sriram

Sangeetha has spent over two decades engaging in many social experiments exploring what it means to be an effective change agent in a world of converging crises. Her personal search led her to Integral Yoga and Indic Wisdom, both of which she is a keen student of. Though Sangeetha grew up in a context of which chanting was an important part, she formally started learning and teaching Vedic chanting in Sri Krishnamacharya – Sri Desikachar tradition about eight years ago, integrating it into her sadhana. She is a steward of Vikalp Sangam, a community that aspires to weave together different systemic change initiatives across India. She is a steward of pūrṇam, an emerging community that endeavours to create spaces of inquiry into the nature of the Self and of the human condition, inspired by the praxis of pūrṇa yoga. She is also a writer and a classical musician, and currently lives with her family in Auroville.

Lead Teacher

Rajeev Natarajan

Rajeev is an engineer by training with over 20 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience in various organizations. He is now an organization development consultant, facilitator and a certified coach trained with Ritambhara and TAO Leadership Academy - both renowned for their work in the leadership space anchored in Indic wisdom blending worldwide best practices.

Born in a family that deeply respects the Hindu tradition and the Sanatana Dharma way of life, Rajeev has had the fortune of growing up in an environment where vedic, shloka, stotra chanting, immersive pujas, family temple tours, and Carnatic music were a part of life! He also went to a school that had weekly homa’s, and teachings from vedic texts as part of the curriculum. This set the stage for an interest in these practices.
While various questions and changes in worldview took him away from investing further in the practices in his 20s, the work with Ritambhara helped him get in touch with the wellspring of this wisdom and start to re-invest in the Indic traditions in a manner that is reflective, contemporary, and contextual. One of his current quests is to explore how Vedic Chanting can help deepen connection with the sound and through that with the silence from which it emerges.
He feels blessed to be on this journey with his partner, Sangeetha Sriram, the chanting community in Auroville and now in bringing this wisdom to the Shraddhā Yoga community for the a second year.

Lead Teacher

Shaalini Srinivasan

After working in the field of marketing communications for over 12 years Shaalini decided to follow her heart and set up a child photography service that created priceless memories and keepsakes for families.

Parallelly, volunteering with ServiceSpace.org, a global not-for-profit for more than a decade and experiencing Vipassana courses led her to focus on inner transformation inspiring her to put love and kindness in the centre of everything she does.

In 2016, Shaalini moved to Auroville in an effort to blur the boundaries between inner meditation and outer service and presently, she is working as a full-time facilitator at Deepanam, a middle school.

Fortunate to have grown up in a family that embraced multi-faith, she gained a deeper understanding about different wisdom traditions. She has been a student of Hatha Yoga since the age of 12 and completed aTeacher Training Course from the 105-year-old Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India, established by Shri Yogendra Ji. She developed a deep interest in Ashtanga Yoga, Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras thanks to this institute.

With her mother’s family following the Sama Veda and her father’s family following the Yajur Veda traditionally, she has absorbed the sounds of chants since childhood and is very grateful to be a student of Sangeetha Sriram for the past four years and learn Vedic chanting in the lineage of Krishnamacharya.

The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita continue to guide her in her daily life and she hopes to absorb the essence of the Gita someday. She also resonates deeply with the teachings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo and the notion of “surrender” is very alive for her. She is passionate about learning Sanskrit and dedicates her free time to learning some grammar.

As a homebody, she prioritizes spending time with her 15-year-old daughter - Simran and feels blessed to be able to grow in consciousness with her partner Deven, who shares similar values and aspirations.
In her free time, she loves playing volleyball, baking, reading and listening to music.

 

Interested but want to learn more?

We’re more than happy to answer your questions or schedule a call — just send us a message below.