Yoga Vacation ProgramJune 4 — 5, 2026
Science and Yoga Philosophy
Prantik Kundu
This program explores the profound meeting point of modern science and yogic wisdom. Through the lens of contemporary neuroscience, we will discuss how neuroscience brings us to a truth long taught in yoga: that the world as ordinarily perceived is not ultimate reality, but a conditioned appearance shaped by the mind.
We will examine how what we take to be reality is, in many ways, a rendering assembled in the brain through sensation, memory, habit, and interpretation. We will discuss the yogic teaching that this veil of appearance is maya, and how, through the refinement of manas and buddhi, we begin to see through it. We will also explore how this refinement, first inspired by maya, continues to reveal deeper aspects of reality that are subtler and more truthful. Finally, we will consider the possibility that through this process, inquiry deepens to the point where creation itself becomes perceivable as emerging at the intersection of existence and non-existence.
We may then come to realize that the power of scientific perception can itself be understood as a form of yoga, allowing experience to become an instrument that offers greater stability, deeper insight, and renewed grounding in the pursuit of a purposeful existence.
Offered as 1 satsang and 1 workshop (subject to change).
The presentations associated with this Yoga Vacation Program begin with an 8pm satsang on the first day of the program and conclude with a 90-minute noon workshop on the last day of the program. Click here to read more about the Yoga Vacation Program details and view the ashram schedule for yoga classes and meals during your stay. We suggest you arrive at least one day prior to the start of your program for the optimal experience.
Prantik Kundu is a neuroscientist and biophysicist with specialities in magnetic resonance imaging and psychiatric disease. A senior scientist in a startup to make MRI technology more accessible, he draws from years of expertise from many years in academia and research.
He was an assistant professor in psychiatry and radiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for several years, where he still serves as adjunct professor.
Prantik received his training at the Brain Mapping Unit at the University of Cambridge, UK, and the Section on Functional Imaging Methods at the National Institute of Mental Health in Washington, DC. His papers have been published in Cerebral Cortex, NeuroImage, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Kundu also has strong interests in Indic philosophy, having completed an undergraduate independent study on the theoretical implications of Kali and having been a Research Fellow at the Mind and Life Summer Institute, where the interface between the Buddhist philosophy and the neurosciences is investigated and practiced.
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