Sri Aurobindo and Sanatana Dharma – 5-day FDP Course for College Faculty under IKS

Start Date: July 23, 2026

End Date: July 29, 2026

Venue: Online

From July 23 to July 29, 2026, BhāratShakti, Sri Aurobindo Society, in collaboration with Nucleus of Learning and Development (NLD) conducted a 5-day Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on the theme – Sri Aurobindo and Sanatana Dharma: An Introduction to Selected Themes.

NLD is a Vadodara based educational organization, founded in 2023 which aims to facilitate knowledge and skill advancement for maximum number of academicians and higher education faculty through online learning options such as webinars, workshops and faculty development programs. The organisation is driven by a goal to help rejuvenate and upgrade the teaching-learning experience in higher education institutions – for faculty, scholars and students.

The 5-session FDP course was designed by Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti in discussions with Dr. Nidhi Shendurnikar from NLD, who is in-charge of the organisation’s Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) programmes under which the present course was announced. Forty (40) people, primarily college and university faculty from across India, registered for the course. Dr. Mehra conducted all five sessions which were conducted online; each session focused on a specific topic connected with the larger theme of the course.

The course was inspired by the idea that in its widest, highest and deepest view, Sanatana Dharma is truly the soul of Bhārat. Sri Aurobindo speaks of Sanatana Dharma as an immense, many-sided and many-staged open framework for a spiritual self-building and self-finding by the individual; but this framework also seamlessly integrates all aspects of the collective dimension of life, including inner and outer progress and harmony.

While essentially eternal or Sanatana, there is also an evolving aspect to Dharma making it a truly progressive and liberal framework for organising individual and collective life. The course introduced the participants to selected aspects of the vast subject of Sanatana Dharma as interpreted in the integral vision of Sri Aurobindo. A set of specific learning objectives guided the design and delivery of the course sessions. By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:

Gain sufficient information on Sri Aurobindo as a multifaceted personality with a special focus on his writings on Indian Culture and Sanatana Dharma
Understand the difference between Dharma and Religion, and identify broad fundamentals of Sanatana Dharma as explained by Sri Aurobindo
Comprehend the life-affirming and life-fulfilling nature of Sanatana Dharma
Develop an appreciation for the diversity of paths in the Sanatana Dharma for self-development and spiritual growth
Gain an introduction to the broad categories of scriptures of Sanatana Dharma.

For each online session, Dr. Mehra curated selected insights from Sri Aurobindo’s vast writings on Indian spiritual culture, Veda, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita as well as his philosophical and yogic works such as The Life Divine and Synthesis of Yoga. She also relied on some of Sri Aurobindo’s poetry to explain some profound ideas. The sessions incorporated Dr. Mehra’s presentations followed by interactions with the participants. Following key topics were taken up, some more extensively than others depending on the time:

Brief introduction to Sri Aurobindo with specific focus on his Uttarpara speech
Difference between Dharma and Religion
Fundamentals of Sanatana Dharma
One God or Many?
Sanatana Dharma and Organisation of Life
Bhakti, Action or Meditation – why so many paths?
Overview of Shruti/Śruti and Smriti in Sanatana Dharma; Śāstra/Shāstra Within

While the majority of the course participants were relatively new to Sri Aurobindo’s Thought, some with prior background in Sri Aurobindo Studies added great value to the course by sharing several reference materials for their fellow course participants. This made the learning experience highly co-creative for all.

The course received very positive feedback from the participants. There was a request for a follow-up course sometime in the future, expanding on some of the ideas discussed in this introductory course.

Sample feedback for the course:

Gratitude Ma’am for very profound and elaborate discussions.
You explained very well of Sri Aurobindo thoughts.
Thank you so much, Ma’am! It was great to listen to you. Looking forward to more of your enlightening sessions.
You are one of the best speakers, this 5-day class has been very helpful for me. Thank you once again!