Dr. Anuradha Choudry firmly believes in the Mantric power of Sanskrit words and sounds

Dr. Anuradha Choudry is a graduate from the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Puducherry and completed her Ph.D in Sanskrit on Vedic Psychology under Dr. K.E Dharaneedharan from Pondicherry University where she sought to show the practical application of this new kind of psychology in our daily lives.

As a volunteer with Samskrita Bharati, she is an active advocate of Spoken Sanskrit and has conducted many 10 day Spoken Sanskrit camps in Bharatam and abroad. > more about Dr. Anuradha Choudry

Apart from her passion for Sanskrit she has participated in several workshops that encourage peace and harmony within various international youth groups. She firmly believes that the Mantric power of Sanskrit words and sounds can help to enhance internal and external peace and has had the opportunity to confirm this through her experience with Indian and foreign participants in different environments.

A highly motivated Sanskrit scholar dedicated to revealing the deeper secret of the Vedas and promoting Sanskrit as a living, modern, spoken language. She also seeks to create awareness about the transformative power of Sanskrit sounds which can serve as an aid to a more peaceful and healthier living.

Education

2007 – 2008 University of St.Andrews (UK) and Universita di Bergamo (Italy) M.Litt in Crossways in European Humanities, Dissertation topic ‘Psyche: East and West – the Problem of Identity and Strangeness’

2004  – 2007 Pondicherry University( India): Ph.D Sanskrit on the subject of  ‘Vedic Psychology in the Light of Sri Aurobindo’s Interpretation’ under Dr. K. E. Dharaneedharan

2003 – 2004 University of Geneva (Switzerland): Diploma in Human Rights

2001 – 2003 Pondicherry University: M.Phil Sanskrit

1999 – 2001 Pondicherry University: M.A Sanskrit

1995 – 1998 Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education:B.A-Integrated Graduation

Academic Achievements

Recipient of the Erasmus Mundus Scolarship ( European Union Commission, Sep 2007 – 2008)

Ph.D Sanskrit on the subject of  ‘Vedic Psychology in the Light of Sri Aurobindo’s Interpretation’ under Dr. K. E. Dharaneedharan (Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, 2004-2007)

Presented a paper on the following subjects:

‘Reviving the Vedic Aryan’, ‘Creating a Vibrant Sanskrit Media’, ‘An Analysis of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and its Application to Sanskrit’ in an International Conference on Human Empowerment (Chicago, Nov. 2008)

‘The Psychological Significance of the Vedic Sacrifice’ (in Sanskrit) in the 7th Brihanmaharashtra Prachya  Parishad (Mumbai University, May 2007)

‘Relevance of the Vedic Sacrifice in Modern Times’ in an International Conference, The Collective Yoga of Man: A World in Process, Centre for Indian Studies (Auroville, Jan 2007)

‘A Discussion on Anupalabdhi’ in a National Conference on Epistemology, ICPR, Kaladi University, (Kerala, Jan 2007)

‘Vedas as texts of Applied Psychology: A Synopsis’ in the 6th International Conference on ‘Vedic Ideas for Global Peace and Harmony in the Modern World’, Conducted by WAVES (World association of Vedic Studies) (Houston July 2006)

‘The Vedic Concept of the Seven-Headed Thought’ in the 5th International Integral Psychology Conference (New York, July 2006)

‘Womanhood in Ancient Bharatam’ as part of a session on Integral Feminism in a Human Empowerment Conference (HEC) by VHS (Virat Hindu Sabha), (LA, Nov 2006)

‘The Importance of Sanskrit’ at the International Ayurveda Conference (Normandy, France, May 2006)

‘Sri Aurobindo’s Concept of Moksha and Transformation’, ICPR, Vivekananda College (Chennai, March 2006)

‘The Angirasa Rishis and the Legend of the Lost Herd’ at an International Seminar on ‘Integral Psychology and Transformation’ at a International Conference (Auroville, Jan. 2005)

‘The Legend of the Lost Cows’ at a National Conference on ‘Psychology: The Indian Contribution’ (Pondicherry, Dec.2004)

‘The Importance of Sanskrit’ at a National Seminar on ‘The Aim of Life’ (Lucknow, 2004)

‘Sri Aurobindo on the Vedic Gods’ at a World Conferences on Vedic Sciences (Bangalore, Aug. 2004)

‘Sri Aurobindo On the Vedas’ at a WAVES Conference (Pondicherry, Dec. 2003)

Gave lectures on the following topics at the respective venues:

‘Tales from the Vedas of India: Their Symbolism and Relevance Today’, organized by Mythic links (Dublin, Mar 2009)

‘Reviving the Vedic Aryan’ in Stanford University and in the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (California, Nov 2008)

‘Vedic Psychology in the Light of Sri Aurobindo’s Interpretation’ in the Sri Aurobindo Centre (Singapore, Sep 2007)

‘Vedic Psychology’ in a workshop on Indian Psychology (Indian Psychology Institute, Pondicherry, May 2007); in the Sri Aurobindo Centre (Berlin, Sep 2006)

‘Vedic Psychology’ and ‘The Importance of Sanskrit’ in Stanford University (California, July 2006); to different groups (Dubai, Abu Dabi, Nov. 2006): [watch video]

Conducted Workshops on Mantras: The Power of Sound and Meaning, for:

Samedi 30 janvier, l’association Yogarennes organise la 8e fête du yoga.  Le thème abordé: les origines et perspectives du yoga. [watch video]

a French Performing Arts Company ‘Compagnie Prana’, (Rennes, France, Jan 2009; May 2008; Kerala, Aug & Jan 2007)

a Yoga Centre (St-Nazaire, France, Jan 2009)

Archee (Raizeux, France, Jan 2009)

Conducted a workshop on Sri Aurobindo’s epic poem ‘Savitri’(Auroville International, Netherlands, June 2008)

at the Sri Aurobindo Centre (Berlin, Sep. 2006)

Participated in an Interfaith Dialogue (London, Sep.2006

Conducted Workshops on The Art of Kolam: Psychology, Art, and Spirituality in Indian Traditions

Workshop held at Northampton Community College, Fall 2008    [watch video]

Bharatiya delegate for:

Fourth Annual Conflict Transformation Workshop organized by WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace) aimed at promoting Track 3 diplomacy between young Bharatiya and Pakistani entrepreneurs (New Delhi, Oct. 2005)

SAARC Conference for Youth and Human Unity organized in collaboration with UNESCO (Auroville, Feb 2005)

Selected as the only Bharatiya for a UN related scholarship for a Diploma Course on Human Rights the University of Geneva, (Geneva, 2003-4)

University topper for a Masters in Sanskrit in Pondicherry University (Pondicherry, 1999-2001)

Promoting Bharatiya Culture by conducting several 10-day (20hr) spoken Sanskrit Camps (Bharatam, Singapore, Malaysia, France)

Publications

[]   An Article on ‘The Legend of the Lost Cows’ selected for the ‘Handbook of Indian Psychology’
[]   An article on ‘Hidden Chamber of the Vedic Truth’ in an All-India Journal called ‘Mother India’

Professional Experience

School of Economics and Philosophy, Ireland
Assistant Sanskrit teacher in John Scottus Junior and Senior Schools (Feb – June 2009)
Helping to promote Sanskrit as a living spoken language among children from the ages of six to fifteen as well as for adults, to enable them to appreciate the universal value of the language and also to experience the power of Sanskrit chants.

Assistant for a Teacher Training Seminar (Mar 2008)
Assisted Dr Ramachandra Bhat, Pradhanacharya of the Veda Vijnana Gurukulam, Bangalore, to conduct a Teachers’ Training Seminar for the teachers of John Scottus Senior School, based on the methods prescribed in the Gita, Upanishads and other Shastras.

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore
Teacher for one week  Spoken Sanskrit Course (Sep 2007)
Taught basic Spoken Sanskrit to a varied age group of people from different walks of life, to enable them to understand and appreciate the rich contributions of the Sanatana Dharma (Hindu thought) through this medium.

Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Visiting Faculty (Aug 2007)
Gave a series of three lectures on ‘Sri Aurobindo on the Veda’ in the Centre for Sri Aurobindo Studies,
Department of Philosophy.

University of Washington
Guest Lecturer (Feb 2007)
Conducted a session on Mantras for students and faculty members to enable them to experience the power of chanting Sanskrit Mantras while understanding them.

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore
Brahmin Samaj, Malaysia
Teacher for a two Spoken Sanskrit Courses (May – June 2005)
Taught basic Spoken Sanskrit to a varied age group of people from different walks of life, to enable them to understand and appreciate the rich contributions of the Sanatana Dharma through this medium.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Kharagpur)
Teacher for a 10-day Spoken Sanskrit Course (Mar 2005)
Taught students and teachers basic Sanskrit to motivate them to delve into Bharatam’s untapped scientific knowledge

Last School ( Auroville)
Sanskrit Teacher (July 2004 till date)
Taught Spoken Sanskrit to students and adults coming from different Nationalities

Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (Deemed University, New Delhi)
Twice Teacher for a 3 month Certificate Course titled –‘Non-formal Sanskrit Education’
(July – Oct 2004  -date, January – March 2004)
Taught how to speak, read and write basic Sanskrit to people of all age groups and nationalities, coming from different walks of life.

University Grants Commission (UGC) (New Delhi)
Instructor for a 1 month Certificate Course titled –‘Simple Spoken Sanskrit Course’ through the Department of Sanskrit, Pondicherry University (2002 – 2003)
Taught 10 batches of Teachers, Students and Non-Teaching Staff
Created an awareness in the Campus that Sanskrit is a living and important language

Other

Languages
Fluent in Sanskrit, English, French, Bengali and Hindi,
Working knowledge of Italian, Tamil, Oriya, Spanish
Basic Japanese

Interests
Exploring the power of Sanskrit sound, understanding cultures and their philosophies, travelling, dancing, painting, acting, sports, trekking

Other Achievements
• Participated in several Kathak, Folkdance and drama programs throughout my Education in S.A.I.C.E
• Participated in a National Theatre Festival in a Tamil Play at Pune from Pondicherry University (2003)
• Represented Pondicherry in 3 Senior National Basketball Tournaments (2001, 2002, 2003)
• Represented Pondicherry University in several inter-University Basketball Tournaments.
• Best individual all-round athlete in the inter-department competitions in Pondicherry University (Mar. 2007)
• Short Story ‘Imprisoned for Life’ published in a compilation of Short Stories called ‘39 Emergency Exits’ by Fygleaves Limited, UK

Samskrita Bharati – an organisation established as an experiment in 1981 in Bangalore to bring Sanskrit back into daily life

Sanskrit Voice – a community of Sanskrit lovers
http://sanskritvoice.com

News in Sanskrit

A site for various online display and audio of Sanskrit tutorials, magazine from Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Sanskrit Language: The Most Scientific, Ancient, Spiritual
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Prof. Dean Brown points out that most European languages can be traced back to a root language that is also related to Sanskrit – the sacred language of the ancient Vedic Hindu religions of India. Many English words actually have Sanskrit origins. Similarly, many Vedic religious concepts can also be found in Western culture. He discusses the fundamental idea of the Upanishads – that the essence of each individual, the atman, is identical to the whole universe, the principle of brahman. In this sense, the polytheistic traditions of India can be said to be monistic at their very core.

Scientific Verification of Vedic Knowledge in Hinduism
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

A vast number of statements and materials presented in the ancient Vedic literatures can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings and they also reveal a highly developed scientific content in these literatures. The great cultural wealth of this knowledge is highly relevant in the modern world. Techniques used to show this agreement include:

Marine Archaeology of underwater sites (such as Dvaraka)

Satellite imagery of the Indus-Sarasvata River system

Carbon and Thermoluminiscence Dating of archaeological artifacts

Scientific Verification of Scriptural statements

Linguistic analysis of scripts found on archaeological artifacts

A Study of cultural continuity in all these categories.