Douglas Brooks

Douglas Brooks holds a PhD in the Study of Religion from Harvard University and has been a professor in the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester since 1986. As a Fulbright Fellow in Sanskrit at Madurai-Kamaraj University in 1984-85, he became a student of Sanskrit scholar Dr. Gopala Aiyar Sundaramoorthy ('Appa'), living in his home for years and continuing study with him until Appa's death in 1994.

Brooks founded the Rajanaka teaching tradition, publicly taught since 1999, offering seminars, publications, retreats and annual pilgrimage tours in India exploring mythology, yoga, philosophy and the arts rooted in South Indian Śrīvidyā tantra. His books include a student's edition of the Bhagavad Gita and Poised for Grace, a tantric reading of the Gita.