Chanting the Yoga Sutras

An Interview with M.A. Jayashree, PhD To hear Dr. Jayashree chant the Yoga Sutras in Sanskrit is to be transported to the time when this great text was transmitted in the oral tradition. Her melodious voice, flawless pronunciation and classical articulation of the...

What Does “OM” Really Mean?

To truly comprehend the depth and profundity of “OM,” we have to go back to the ancient Indic texts known as the Vedic literature, to the seed-mantra, Omkara. But before this, it might be worthwhile to know that OM is not a sectarian sound, nor is it peculiar to Hindu...

Resources: Dictionaries/Pronunciation Guides

There are many good online resources for looking up Sanskrit words, finding books on the subject and finding help with pronunciation. We’ve listed some of the best and classic resources on the language. Dictionaries/Pronunciation Guides 1. The Monier-Williams Online...

Sanskrit: The Language of Enlightenment

Among the many marvelous gifts of the Sanskrit language is a rich spectrum of terminology that defines with impeccable precision a world of vision and clarity that opens through Yoga and meditation. Without this, the already difficult journey to self-knowledge could...

Sanskrit: a Sacred Model of Language, Part 3

From the perspective of Yoga, all life ultimately merges into samadhi. It could be said that samadhi is the essence of yoga, In the Yoga Sutras, samadhi is defined, “tad evaathamaatraanirbhaasam-svaruupa-shuunyam iva samaadhih” that (consciousness, engaged...