Learn to recite Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, one stunning jewel in the world's necklace of wisdom. And learn to do it right—the way it's done in India!

By hearing the Sanskrit sounds from one skilled in their proper intonation and then repeating them as a group, you not only move toward feeling their meaning, you start to memorize them instinctively as well. The process is a boon for anyone interested in the study of genuine Yoga, or other sacred subjects.

During this popular event, you'll get a handout with basic translation and easy markers to help group chanting of verses undertaken. Both new and past participants will enjoy the mix of fresh verses and selections from previous sessions. If you are new or timid, you'll enjoy blending your voice in anonymity. The whole group chants—you are not singled out.

These joyous one-hour sessions will help free your voice and open your heart to ancient wisdom that remains highly useful in today's world.

Four, one-hour classes on Thursday evenings

Instructor: Scott Roos
Dates: May 3rd, 17th, 31st, June 7th
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Cost: FREE!

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Beginner's Sanskrit starts again! Connect your heart and soul to one of the oldest sacred languages on earth. Others, who never thought they would learn basic Sanskrit, have done so. Why not you?

This stand-alone course will teach you to read, write and pronounce the Sanskrit alphabet—a huge advantage if you are into Yoga, Vastu, Vedanta, Ayurveda, Jyotisha, Vipassana, and similar topics.

Eight, two-hour classes on Wednesday evenings

Instructor: Steven Highburger
Dates: April 4, 11, 25, May 2, 9, 16, 30, June 6
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Cost: $150 payable by March 21 ($175 thereafter)

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The ongoing Tuesday and Thursday Sanskrit courses resume the week of April 2, 2007, after Vedic Vidya Institute's Spring Break.

The early registration deadline is March 19th; thereafter, course fees increase from $150 to $175. Sign up early to save money and avoid disappointment.

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If you're doing or learning Vedic astrology, you've come across five astrological patterns said to mark a great soul. Known in Sanskrit as a Pancha-Maha-Purusha Yoga, such a pattern often excites astrologers and through them, their clients. Rama, an incarnation of God in Hindu belief, had one.

More often than not, visions of riches, royalty, and refinement start to dance in people's head on discovery of even one signal for a great soul as seen in a horoscope. But will a full "punch" lie in every Pancha-Maha-Purusha Yoga, or will a singular pattern in an individual's horoscope take the juice out of the punch?

We look forward to seeing you in this one-of-a-kind seminar, where you will learn:

How to stop the madness of false promises promoted by wrong astrological analysis.

The meaning of a "great soul" in the context of Vedic astrology and Pancha-Maha-Purusha Yoga.

A trustworthy map of what genuine Vedic tradition says about Pancha-Maha-Purusha Yoga's design and thrust, singly or as a group.

Those constellations on the eastern horizon at someone's birth that strongly support the advent of a great soul.

The wider implication of "great soul"—why even dictators join saints, athletes, entertainers, and social reformers in the Pancha-Maha-Purusha club.

Why some Pancha-Maha-Purusha Yoga bearers fail the test of membership in the great soul club.

How the wedges of the local sky at the place of a great soul's birth predict the extent and arena of their soulfulness.

Other cool astrological patterns that use the great soul combinations as a stepping stone to amazing human states and events.

If you like and are serious about Vedic astrology a notch above the rest, come to this event!

This seminar is open to anyone with a background in the basic building blocks of Jyotish: Rashis, Grahas, Dignities, Aspects and Dashas.

Instructor: Penny Farrow
Dates: May 5th and 6th, 2007
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Cost: $150 due by April 20th ($175 thereafter)

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Did you know that every time you say "man," you're talking Sanskrit? Well you are—sort of. Yet despite the ease with which you say that three-letter word, you likely thought Sanskrit was tough, didn't you? Faced with learning Sanskrit, that ancient sacred language used in the Veda and its offspring, most people wilt. But Americans often pale more than others, partially because of a long-standing tradition of speaking English, a language exported worldwide by the British, who for several centuries ruled an empire where the sun never set.

Nonetheless, even hallowed English, last century's darling, has roots in Sanskrit, as do most dominant languages in Europe and North America. When you hear friends discuss karma, when news broadcasts inform millions with sound bytes from pundits, or when reporters say a coach's mantra is "defense, defense, defense," you know Sanskrit is on a roll—a worldwide comeback of sorts for a heavyweight champ among languages. Here then are a few eye-openers that reveal Sanskrit's reach and grandeur.

Imagine yourself as a scholar in eighteenth or nineteenth century Europe. Your country is a colonial power; you live in what you believe to be the cultural center of the world. Europe: hub of art, science, religion, literature, philosophy. Then it happens, the crack in your insular egg. Initially there is a trickle, then a river, finally a torrent of until then unheard-of Sanskrit. It's translated by linguists, missionaries, colonial administrators either drawn to Vedic culture or out to discredit it. But whatever the motive, more and more Sanskrit appears in translation, widening the crack in your insular egg.

How much Sanskrit begins to flow? Consider this: Maha-Bharata, just one popular epic among countless manuscripts, holds a staggering 100,000 or so mostly thirty-two syllable verses. The verses speak of breathtaking art, ethics, science, religion, literature, philosophy. It and other manuscripts offer ever more spectacular detail about love, spirit, politics, medicine, astronomy, architecture, and most everything else dear to people. As a scholar, you lose your breath on one page, catch it again when turning the page, and lose it yet more on the next. Such is your amazement. And many of the manuscripts date from an era well before the birth of Christ. Might this broaden your view as a citizen of a colonial power, perhaps even threaten it?

But back to "man," that simple three-letter word, and the many more like it that scholars trace back to Sanskrit. By now you may be wondering what man means in Sanskrit. Let's start with two chief meanings: "mind" and "think." That's "think" in the sense of a human's higher mental process as opposed to a tiger "thinking" it is hungry. Not much of a leap to "man" in its English sense, is it? In Sanskrit at least, man thinks—even though your husband might not. (If you're having gender angst, remember that English uses "man" to label a male; Sanskrit, to point to one who thinks!) Many indeed are the words that can be tracked to Sanskrit, even though such terms have partly changed guise over the years. The list includes titans like "god," which tracks back to a Sanskrit root that means "worship," and "wife," whose older Sanskrit version means "tremble," but don't ask a man why.

So the next time you come across Sanskrit, don't turn up your nose—it may be as easy as English. Of course if you have an interest in Yoga, Ayurveda, and similar subjects set out so fully in Sanskrit, then even simple tips on pronunciation will bring you closer to your goal. Then you and your guru will talk the same language at last.