The vedashala, or school of Vedic study, is the traditional context for the preservation of the Vedic culture and recitation. In modern India the vedashala system is rapidly disappearing as fewer young people pursue these studies and as traditional sources of funding diminish.

Therefore the Muktabodha Institute founded the Swami Muktananda Vedashala in Satara in western India in 1998 to help ensure that the knowledge and chanting of the Vedic mantras and the wisdom they embody will be perpetuated as a living tradition generation after generation. The vedashala currently has 25 full-time resident students. Each year, the school adds to its student body, with a projected capacity of sixty. 

Students typically enter this residential school between the ages of ten and twelve and commit to a rigorous 12 to 15 year course taught according to the traditional oral system of education. The focus of their curriculum is on mastery of the entire Krishna Yajur Veda, the Sanskrit scripture that documents all the Vedic rituals and their meaning.

This mastery includes: memorizing all 20,000 verses, understanding their meaning and application, being able to break the words into their Sanskrit roots, reciting them in complex cyclical patterns such as ghanam, and reciting them with impeccable pronunciation, inflection and resonance. It also means becoming strong custodians of these powerful mantras and the traditions they support.

In addition they learn how to conduct yajnas and other potent rituals to invoke blessings. The subtleties of these esoteric rituals can only be learned from an expert through personal observation, practice and guidance. The students study Sanskrit and have undertaken the observation of one day a week when only Sanskrit is spoken throughout their everyday activities. In addition they have classes in English, computer technology, hatha yoga and classical Indian music to help them apply their skills in the contemporary world. Their studies are carried out with an effective blend of rigor and sweetness.

The principle teacher, Vedamurti Shri Vivek L. Godbole is an expert in the Krishna Yajur Veda, having studied in the traditional manner under his father, Vedamurti Shri Lakshman Godbole – who also teaches at the Swami Muktananda Vedashala, along with two additional teachers.

Shri Vivek is also accomplished in the lyrical Sama Veda, and has received many awards for his learned and inspired contributions to the preservation of traditional Vedic learning in Maharashtra.

When the students put on a play in Sanskrit depicting life in their vedashala from morning to night, they called the play Mantrananda -- the bliss of mantras. This is clearly how they experience their life. The innocent smiles of these bright, enthusiastic students underplay the weight of the knowledge they are imbibing and the tradition they are preserving.