Teachers

Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, also known as Ramamurti S. Mishra, M.D, was a prolific author on the science and philosophy of Yoga-Vedanta. He introduced thousands of people to meditation through his programs and his classic book, Fundamentals of Yoga. He integrated the universal message of these teachings with his deep knowledge of both Eastern and Western medicine and psychology. His areas of specialty ranged from Ayurveda to modern psychiatry and neurosurgery. He enjoyed the connections between modern physics and Yoga philosophy.

In his teaching he prominently used the medium of Sanskrit, emphasizing the chanting and study of mantras, hymns and scriptural texts as well as the study of the language itself as “science of vibration.” His written works include Fundamentals of Yoga, The Textbook of Yoga Psychology (a commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras), Self Analysis and Self Knowledge (on Shankaracharya’s Atma Bodha), translations of Upanishads and other ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as numerous essays.

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Indira (Ann) Bulkin met Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati in the summer of 1971 at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York. The following spring, she became a full time resident student at the newly established Yoga Society of San Francisco where she lived for several years. During that time, Shri Brahmananda, then known as Dr. Mishra, held Sanskrit classes for many hours a day, seven days a week and Indira fully participated in this program. In the summer of 1973, Dr. Mishra asked Indira to start teaching Sanskrit. In the early 1980s he named her as the head of the Sanskrit Department at the Yoga Society of San Francisco, a position she held until 2010. Indira was privileged to study Sanskrit with Professor Robert Goldman at UC Berkeley and in 1993 graduated with a B.A. in the Sanskrit language, before going on to earn her Master’s degree in physical therapy. She opened her own clinic, Balance in Motion Physical Therapy, in 2009. She was blessed to be able to continue her Sanskrit studies with Dr. Ram Karan Sharma for more than 17 years. She and her husband, Shanta, co-founder of the East West Sanskrit Institute, have been married for many years and have two grown sons and three grandchildren.

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Shanta Bulkin met Dr. Mishra in the summer of 1972 at Ananda Ashram. Dr. Mishra said, “If you want to stay here you must study Sanskrit”. Shanta took him at his word and felt the healing effect of this study begin to change his life. Shanta started teaching Sanskrit in the late 90s. He continued to grow as a Sanskritist, studying with world-renowned Sanskrit teacher and writer, Professor Ram Karan Sharma. In the past few years he has been teaching at the College of Ayurveda at the Mt. Madonna Institute, as well as several yoga centers around the Bay Area and elsewhere. Shanta’s professional career in construction (Shanta Design I Build) started when Dr. Mishra put him in charge of building the temple at the Yoga Society of San Francisco.

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Teaching Mentor

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The Late Dr. Ram Karan Sharma was an eminent scholar and educator, award-winning Sanskrit poet, prolific author and long-time President of the International Sanskrit Studies (IASS). He spent many years working with an Ayurvedic Practitioner to produce a definitive translation of the Caraka Samhita, the oldest text on Ayurveda.

Professor Sharma, began his Sanskrit study as a small boy in a traditional Gurukula in Northern India. He earned his PhD in Sanskrit at UC Berkeley as a Fulbright scholar in the 1950s. He taught as Professor of Sanskrit, Linguistics and Philosophy in India and the United States. He was a guest professor at Columbia, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania. He was the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious President’s Award of India. Dr. Sharma’s interest was in the unification of Sanskrit and other classical traditions of the world.

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Lineage and Teaching Approach

The Sanskrit language has existed for millennia as an oral tradition. Much of the literature was composed in verse or sutra form to facilitate memorization and transmittal. Sanskrit verses are primarily chanted, not spoken. Sanskrit has a very rich tradition of different meters which we chant in varied melodies, both traditional and new.

Our Guru, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, taught nouns and verbs, as well as mantras, using the powerful medium of chanting. At the East West Sanskrit Institute, we continue this tradition of teaching with chanting.

We use color-coded charts and handouts to facilitate understanding of the elements of grammar. From the beginning we introduce students to verses, which provides a context for the class material. We encourage thinking in Sanskrit by making basic sentences relevant to daily life.

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General Curriculum

  • Sanskrit alphabet and pronunciation
  • Yoga and Vedānta texts including the Bhavagad Gītā and the Yoga Sūtras
  • Sanskrit grammar targeted to immediate application of understanding texts
  • Pronunciation of āsana names, Āyurvedic terminology, Jyotiṣā terms etc.
  • Sanskrit metrics and chanting
  • Sanskrit Stotras or hymns
  • Pāṇinīan linguistics
  • Conversational Sanskrit
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Private Classes

Our entry level Sanskrit classes are taught one-on-one or in small groups. Private class times are flexible based on everyone’s schedule.

We are happy to start at any point, depending on your background. For students who are absolute beginners we will make sure that you are well-grounded in proper Sanskrit alphabet pronunciation, understanding the English with diacritical marks, and the writing of the Devanāgarī. From there, we can work together to tailor the class in whichever direction your interests lie, whether it be Ayurveda, Yoga, Grammar, Bhagavad Gita, mantra, shloka, etc.

Get in touch to schedule your first class: Email info@eastwestsanskritinstitute.com or call 415.812.4406

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Group Module Training

After decades of teaching Sanskrit, and after experimenting with using different formats and different texts, we are now rolling out a new approach to teaching. We are designing a curriculum that can be learned by people who can only meet for an hour and a half a week. We provide all the learning materials.  We are targeting our program for students who can commit to classes in 6 or 8 week blocks.

The first module is also structured to work well in a weekend retreat setting.  Our aim is to make texts on Yoga-Vedanta philosophy, devotional verses and simple short stories understandable as fast as possible. As part of the path, students will begin composing in Sanskrit as well, with simple conversational sentences. Every class will include a few minutes of meditation so we can feel the energy that comes with the Sanskrit chanting.  Our goal is to have the module training be a doorway to teacher certification.

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Module 1

Educational Objectives

Students will gain an understanding of:

  • Sanskrit as a tool for meditation
  • Correct pronunciation of the letters in the Sanskrit alphabet
  • Correct pronunciation of some common āsana names and key words
  • Understanding of the relationship between English with diacritical marks and correct pronunciation, including parts of the mouth etc
  • Writing the Devanāgari alphabet, including vowel and consonant combinations
  • Brief overview of Sanskrit oral tradition
  • Beginning chanting of Sanskrit verses, including how meter is determined
  • Meaning of a few verses with philosophical and/or devotional meaning

Click here to view our Schedule of Classes and Events or inquire about additional dates and availability of these modules: Email info@eastwestsanskritinstitute.com or call 415.812.4406

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Module 2

Educational Objectives

  • Make and translate sentences with:
    • Nouns ending in ‘a’- masculine and neuter, feminine in ‘ā’
    • Present tense verbs from several verb families
  • Learn beginning Sandhiḥ or letter changes
  • Gain a deeper understanding of Sanskrit as a tool for meditation
  • Progress with mantra chanting proficiency, including metrics

Click here to view our Schedule of Classes and Events or inquire about additional dates and availability of these modules: Email info@eastwestsanskritinstitute.com or call 415.812.4406

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Module 3 and Beyond

Educational Objectives – To Be Announced

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Testimonials

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Indira and Shanta Bulkin’s decades of practicing and sharing Sanskrit is invaluable to our Meru Institute students. Their depth of understanding and skillful approach provide practical and accessible lessons for beginning and advanced students alike. Having learned Sanskrit as adults gives them a unique perspective of the potential hurdles that an English speaking person may encounter when learning Sanskrit. Their support for students as they navigate the learning process is stellar. They are delightful to work with and learn from-their love of Sanskrit, masterful teaching, and joy of the spiritual life permeate every class.

—Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, Spiritual Director, Center for Spiritual Enlightenment

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Shanta and Indira Bulkin of East West Sanskrit Institute have been teaching Sanskrit for several years in all three academic levels at Mount Madonna Institute’s College of Ayurveda. We benefit greatly from the knowledge, inspiration, and experience both bring to enhance our curriculum. But the thing we love the most is their dedication to and love for this rich language, and the great joy they have in bringing the heart of Sanskrit to others! That is what makes their contributions to our programs so meaningful. 

—Savita K Brownfield, President and CEO, Mount Madonna Institute

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Shanta and Indira have been inspiring new and experienced students to learn, speak and write Sanskrit at Mount Madonna Institute College of Ayurveda since I was Dean. I was blessed to re-connect with him and arrange for his position at the school.  We had first met in the 1980’s studying with Shri Brahmananda Saraswati. Shanta has carried on that spiritual tradition of Sanskrit with great gusto and has the power in his voice to carry the innate meaning of each sound vibration to the student. 

—Cynthia Copple, Director, Lotus Holistic Health Institute

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Indira and Shanta teach Sanskrit in an approachable, accessible and thoughtful way. They encourage singing the Sanskrit alphabet and chanting Sanskrit mantras to teach their students proper pronunciation, vocabulary, reading and writing. It is an effective and joyful approach to learning Sanskrit.

—Monica Desai, student

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melissa-townsend

Shanta and Indira are truly the best!

Their approach to teaching Sanskrit is designed to give the fullest experience of Sanskrit possible, guiding the student thoughtfully and intelligently into the language both intellectually and energetically. No other method does such a perfect job of both teaching the language, with all its complex (and potentially overwhelming!) grammar, and getting out of the way, to let the powerful transformative vibration of the Sanskrit enter your being, awaken your soul, re-wire your brain, and refresh your heart.

Their method of teaching incorporates chanting (both of the grammar and of the more expected prayers, mantras, and stotrams), which engages the mind and the heart.

Their approach to the language reflects the familiarity and love that only decades of study and practice can bring. For the beginner, there is no better conduit into the depth and beauty of the Sanskrit language. For the more advanced student – their method remains deeply satisfying, and there are few in the world who can rival Indira’s knowledge and command of the Sanskrit language. It is not empty hyperbole to say that they are truly the best. I have been studying with them for 15 years, and from day one, have wondered at the great good fortune that brought me to them.

—Melissa (Manisha) Townsend, Author, Artist, Psychic

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I have known both Shanta and Indira for twenty years. I was a graduate student studying Sanskrit when I met them in San Francisco and now teach Sanskrit language and literature at a university in Philadelphia.  From 1997 to 2002, Indira and I were frequently in the same room with the esteemed Sanskrit pandit Ram Karan Sharma, studying traditional Sanskrit grammar.  Indira had studied the subject for many more years before our meeting, with her revered teacher and at university, and she has continued to sharpen her mastery year after year since.  Shanta and I were in a class where we read the great poet Kalidasa’s poem Raghuvamsa, among other literary classics.  I can say with certainty that Indira is among a handful — perhaps only one or two! — of people in the Bay Area who is a true expert of the great sage Panini’s traditional Sanskrit grammar.  If others exist, and are teaching, I have not met them nor do I know of them.  She speaks Sanskrit fluently and her learning is immense. Shanta is an extraordinarily sensitive reader of Sanskrit literature and philosophy. These two, to my mind, are among the finest teachers of Sanskrit grammar, literature, and philosophy available today. The Bay Area is fortunate to have their presence and I encourage all who are interested in gaining access to Sanskrit — and, thereby, to all the worldly insight and otherworldly wisdom available from its more than three-millennia history of literature  — to take advantage of their offerings.

—Deven M. Patel, Professor of Sanskrit, University of Pennsylvania

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Shanta is a remarkable teacher. He shares Sanskrit with such heart, authenticity and inspiration. He makes learning Sanskrit joyful and accessible.

—Danielle (Siri Radha) Knight, Ayurvedic Practitione

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