Bhagavad Gita home study course

Mahatma Gandhi lived by its philosophy. Western scholars rate it as the most sophisticated of philosophical texts.  The text referred to here is the Bhagavad Gita. If you ever wanted to understand the Gita but didn’t know whom or where to learn it from, the Bhagavad Gita Home Study Course is for you.

Offered by the Arsha Vidya Gurukulum based in Coimbatore, this programme offers the Gita home study material. The course material, comprising a set of 4 volumes, is based on actual classroom teaching of the complete Bhagavad Gita in the three-year programme in Vedanta offered by the Gurukulum, besides an MP3 CD set which covers all classes of the three-year programme. The course includes contemporary examples to keep the readers from losing attention when the discussions turn complex. There is also a searchable online version of the course material.

The Gurukulum has an interesting suggestion to make your study more interesting and interactive — it recommends forming a group of 8 to 10 people in your neighbourhood or city, called the Gita Vicara Group, with a commitment to meet at regular intervals, like once in a week, and study together.

Verses from the Gita could be read aloud and then be discussed. If the group is unable to understand a concept, the question can be mailed to the Gurukulum, which would be addressed by one of the teachers.

There are other programmes conducted at the Gurukulum premises such as spiritual retreats, meditation camps, localised courses of various durations on Vedanta and Sanskrit.

You could even opt for the Gurukulum’s residential 3-year programme that explores Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, Vedanta prakaranas like Tattvabodha, Atmabodha, Panchadashi etc, the Brahmasutra and, of course, Sanskrit with Panini’s system of Grammar. All this would be interspersed with daily meditation, satsangs, and Q&A sessions. Many of those who have completed this course are now acharyas. Age is no bar.

The Arsha Vidya Gurukulam is located about 25 km from Coimbatore, in the Nilgiris mountains. Three other centres are located at Nagpur, Rishikesh and Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

The Gurukulam hosts a temple, lecture hall, bookstore, library etc.
The library includes digital images of palm leaf manuscripts and paper manuscripts of various scriptures running to around 5-6 lakh pages and video documentation of Vedic rituals running to more than 100 hours.

For further details, log on to www.arshavidya.in or contact Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Anaikatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu-641108. Ph: 0422-2657001. E-mail: [e-mail]