Raj Balkaran, PhD., is a Sanskrit scholar and lineal wisdom teacher whose work sits at the intersection of rigorous philology, living tradition, and transformative storytelling. He is the founder of the online Indian Wisdom School, a Continuing Studies Tutor at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, and the host of over 400 episodes of the New Books in Indian Religions podcast.

With over fifteen years of university-level teaching and invited lectures across four continents, his work integrates exacting scholarship with the kind of storytelling that lands in the body. A twelve-year apprenticeship with an awakened master and over twenty years of daily meditation ground his scholarship in living practice.

He leads transformative retreats internationally and works one-on-one with individuals navigating the deeper questions of inner life. He is the Purāṇa Section Convener at the World Sanskrit Conference.

His book The Stories Behind the Poses has found its way into yoga communities across six continents.