The Sahyadri Varnasrama College (SVC) located at Sahyadri Sri Krishna Balarama Ksetra (SSKBK) in the district of Udupi, near the town of Hebri in South Karnataka, will once again be offering a series of courses during the year 2014 in three installments each covering a one month period.

The first installment will be conducted from January 1 to 31, the second will be held from May 15 to June 15 coinciding with the beginning of the sowing season and the third will be held from October 15 to November 15 coinciding with the harvest season at SSKBK.

The Sahyadri Varnasrama College, one of the educational facilities of the ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry (IDVM) in India, conducted it first courses in the year 2009 with some 20 students registered from 8 different countries. Up until year 2013, the courses have been offered during the first three months of January, February and March, however beginning January 2014 the courses will be divided in the above mentioned three one month periods.

Two categories of courses: “Practical (P)” and “Theoretical (T)”.

Faculty members and the courses offered during the month of January will include the following:

1.      Bhakti Raghava Swami (IDVM-India Minister):  Courses on (1) “Dharma Shastri” (T) and (2) “Vedic Governance”  (T)

2.      Madhava das (Gokul Dham, Karnataka): Courses on (1) “Prabhupada’s critic on modern civilization” (T),  (2) “Education” (T) and (3) “Infrastructure Development – interactive session” (T)

3.      Raya Ramananda das (Co-Director at SSKBK,): Courses on (1) “Bhagavad-gita” (T) and (2) “Introduction to Kalari” (P)

4.      Sundarananda das (Co-Director at SSKBK): Courses on (1) “Panchagavya Products” (P), (2) “Soap Making” (P)

5.      Manjunath (SVC Faculty): Courses on (1) “Kalari [Martial Arts]” (P) and (2) “Marma Chikitsa”  (T)

6.      Prananatha das (PhD in Yoga Therapy): Courses on (1) “Yoga Therapy” (P) and (2) “Health” (T)

7.      Gururaj das (Masters in Yoga Therapy): Courses on (1) “Astanga Yoga” (P)

8.      Venu Gopal  (Bhakti Shastri, Bhagavat Shastri): Courses on (1) “Introduction to Sankrit” (T) and (2) “Conversational
Sanskrit” (T)

9.      Giriraja das (Manager at SSKBK Goshala): Courses on (1) “Cow Based Agriculture” (P) and (2) “Go Seva” (P)

10.     Sri Jiva das (SSKBK Head Pujaree): Course on (1) “Sri Vigraha Seva”(P)

11.     Cherkadi Rao (Herb Specialist): Course on (1) “Identifying Local Herbs”  (P)

12.     Sri Ram Bhattacharya (Traditional Hotri): Course on (1) “Performing Vedic Yajnas” (P)

13.     Krishna Chandra das (Co-Director at SSKBK): Course on (1) “Gita Sara” (Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gita) (T)

14.     Sriman Srinivas (Professional): Course on (1) “Home Schooling” (T)

15.     Sriman Bhakti Bhusan (Specialist in Cow Products): Course on (1) “Simple Living” (T) and (2) “Pancha Gavya” (P)

16.     Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Srikumar (Veterinary Doctors): Course on (1) ”Cows and Cow Care” (T & P)

The one-month courses for the two other installments to be given in May and October will be announced later.

Since accommodations are limited (maximum 10 students), those interested to take the courses should contact the Director for Admissions, Raya Ramananda das, before December 25th, 2013 by writing at rayaramananda@yahoo.co.in  or Sundar Ananda das at sundarananddasa@yahoo.com.