Rajanaka Sessions, Seminars & Events
Winter Spring 2025 Schedule with Descriptions, Links & Archives
Monday, February 3, 2025
SCHEDULE OF SEMINARS, SESSIONS & EVENTS WINTER/SPRING 2025
Aho’ Rajanaka,
Apologies for any delay, I know folks need some time to plan. I’ve been listening to you and I’m ready now to offer the schedule of Seminars & Rajanaka Sessions that will take us through June and to Rajanaka Summer Camp in July. This email/posting describes the offerings, dates, links, and archives.
If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be. ---Yogi Berra
First, the Seminars Live and On-Line.
· February 21-23, Tru Yoga in Rochester, New York, honored to share a weekend Intensive of Asana and Philosophy with the amazing Christina Sell. There are, as I understand, still a few places remaining, and it’d be wonderful to see you. Rochester in winter is nothing short of paradise. I came here for the job but I stayed for the weather. (Okay, did that make you laugh?) Here’s the link: https://www.truyogaroc.com/events
· March 3, 10, 17, 24, all Monday Evenings, 6:00 p.m. – 9:15 pm Eastern
I’m teaming up with my old friend Todd Norian, founder of Ashaya Yoga, keeper of all things yoga in his heart, truly a magnificent soul and genuinely great teacher. Todd and I have taught many times together and it’s always been pretty darn wonderful. We’ll be doing FOUR Sessions all on ZOOM. There will be conversation and yoga, timely and worth your time, here’s the link: https://www.ashayayoga.com/tantra-intensive
· April 4-6, a weekend in Los Angeles called From Veda to Tantra. My aim will be to describe teachings from across the breadth of yoga traditions and ask what about them remains trenchant and relevant to our 21st century world. Join us. Here’s the link: https://tickets.brightstarevents.com/event/workshop-with-professor-douglas-brooks
RAJANAKA ZOOM SESSIONS BEGIN
· THURSDAYS @7 P.M. Eastern, The Lotus Goddess: Practice of the Inner Sacrifice, Five Sessions
Dates: February 13, 20, 27, March 6, 13 (Five Sessions)
Thursday Zoom Link: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/98183733328
Archive Recordings: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/3eqk3tfxk648zxc61d9bx/AH1-KrrbkpzybpyhLCHrOAs?rlkey=zl2uuzlqrh7sw190fqo634bnz&st=cve10s3l&dl=0
Our focus for these final five Sessions will be learning the mantras and meditations that accompany the Sixteen Lotus Goddesses. Access to all previous Sessions is on the Archive for download any time.
Tuition is $15 for every accessed Session, please use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8). If you need help in any way, send me a note.
BEGINNING MARCH 20th we will resume Buddhism studies, focusing on the reading of six principal sources of the Perfection of Wisdom centering on the philosophy of emptiness. Same time, Zoom link, and more details to follow. Six Sessions March 20, 27, April 10, 17, May 1, 8.
· SATURDAYS @5 P.M. Eastern, Hanuman and the Shadows of Greatness
Dates: February 8, 15, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 12, 19, May 3, 10
Saturday Zoom Links: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268
Archive Recordings: (these drop after each Session) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/fl8lkz3lv53lzmny28o55/AM5yQB5YSYn9WO2j7x3R4cU?rlkey=x604wds1ljxwyuhzvmhkjyozj&st=n82rcho5&dl=0
These Sessions trace the stories of Hanuman focusing on a little studied feature of his mythologies, the shadows with which he must contend to address his deeper struggles with identity, purpose, and meaning. In a preliminary Session we discussed this thesis and theory of Hanuman’s yoga. You can listen to that Session in preparation for this Course here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/oguj5ph8oo9twxmw4uuuo/AE3OQRd3R7_UNrzhW3TBITo?rlkey=w2mdhtude5cs5mpmkxw662azu&st=c2iurifi&dl=0
Tuition is $15 for every accessed Session, please use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8). If you need help in any way, send me a note.
· SUNDAYS @5 P.M. Eastern, The Mahabharata, A NEW BEGINNING
Dates: February 9, 16, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11
Sunday Zoom Link: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250
Archive Recordings: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wn3icbb418qcsrjqhk6ke/AGRZlDr4jD3CwECPGlLpoAc?rlkey=7otclsh4b0z7igpauy4y69e0t&st=dz9n4h7f&dl=0
After much consultation with the community, Mahabharata is going to remain our Sunday story telling centerpiece. Here’s the plan. First, there are two stories remaining that form the conclusion of the Book of the Forest, they stand alone and also as capstones to the hundreds of tales that are told while the Pandava are in exile. This Conclusion of the Forest Book will happen in our first Session. Then we will do a refresh to bring to life in summary the whole of the Epic. Yes, we are going back to the beginning with the intention of outlining the principal narrative (without the story digressions and other twists and turns) so that folks can really understand the core of the narrative and, most importantly, the development of the critical characters. We will use C.V. Narasimhan’s The Mahabharata (Columbia U. Press) as our outline. This will take us at least six Sessions and will be well worth your time, even if you are reasonably familiar with the story. And if you are not, here’s your chance to start with a real introduction that gives you entrée into the most important work in Indian literature. We will then turn our attentions to a handful of critical characters and follow their journeys as they evolve over the Epic. Our central focus will be on Karna and the way his relationship to Yudhisthira, Duryodana, and particularly Arjuna can be seen as the Epic’s critical fulcrum. If you’re not familiar with Karna, we’ll start at the beginning and take a deep dive together. Worth your every effort. There is nothing better than Mahabharata if you love the power of mythology to reveal and conceal the soul’s deepest secrets. This is an excellent opportunity to begin Epic studies.
Tuition is $15 for every accessed Session, please use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8). If you need help in any way, send me a note.
RAJANAKA SUMMER CAMP, BRISTOL, NEW YORK, STARTS THURSDAY, JULY 10TH, CONCLUDES MONDAY, JULY 14TH. There will be live Zoom and recorded archives. Bristol, our home in the Finger Lakes of western New York is especially beautiful in the summer. Our venue is Bristol Valley Vineyards, our hosts the Anselms, our dear neighbors. We’ve scheduled for the weekend after the 4th of July because accommodations and travel will be less expensive than during the holiday. Details to follow but feel free to write to me. We’ve been gathering for Summer Camp for almost 20 years now and each year gets better. Put Camp on your calendar and come see your friends.
There is an extensive recorded Archive of previous Courses, Sessions, Camps, and Seminars (unedited and in the wild). Our aim is to update the website and make all of this material more easily accessible. I’ll publish an annotated listing with recording links soon. There are thousands of hours of learning available. Rajanaka is a conversation among friends without dogmas or demands. Join us when you can. You are always welcome.
Yoga is an invitation, never an obligation, as Appa said.
Let’s talk soon, as ever and with affection, saprema
Douglas
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