Online Sanskrit Week 2026

8th - 14th August 2026, Online

The main theme will be a short but fundamental passage from the Upanishads which we will chant, study in depth, discuss and reflect on, so as to experience directly the truth being expressed in Advaita Vedanta.

Full study notes on the text will be provided, and there will be plenty of assistance to guide the study.

Additionally, there will be meditation, chanting, and opportunities to explore other aspects of the language.

There will be a range of groups to accommodate those who are learning the Sanskrit alphabet, right through to those who are familiar with the study of texts in Sanskrit.

Any queries?

Email Bhadrasheila

Registration closes 14 July

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Further Information

Schedule

Date	Time	Event
Sat 8 Aug 2026	11:00am- 12:00pm (BST)	Mr Jessup hosts Introductory Meeting
Sun 9 Aug - Fri 14 Aug 2026	6am - 6:45pm (BST)	Daily sessions beginning with meditation
Fri 14 Aug 2026	6am - 12:15pm (BST)	Final Day Programme

Programme might differ for other time zones
More detailed programme to follow.

Costs

There is no fee for the online week.
There will be an opportunity for donations at the end of the week.

Meet your Hosts

Warwick Jessup

Warwick Jessup read Sanskrit at Balliol College, Oxford in the early 1980s, specialising in Vedānta. He spent time in Pune studying Sanskrit with pandits and also took a Master of Arts degree in Sanskrit at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, followed by a Master of Philosophy degree in Advaita Vedānta, for which he translated Śaṅkara’s commentary on the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad.

For almost forty years now Warwick Jessup has been teaching Sanskrit at St James Schools in London. In the late 1980s he began, along with a team of teachers, to develop text books and Sanskrit resources, both physical and later online, for children aged 4 to 18 years of age.

Elena Jessup

A native New Yorker, Elena Jessup has been teaching Sanskrit to children and adults for twenty-eight years and is one of the main Sanskrit teachers at St James School in London. She received a Masters’ degree in Sanskrit Literature from London University (School of Oriental and African Studies) in 2008 and is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.   Elena has co-authored the St James series of Sanskrit textbooks and other translations of small treatises by Adi Shankara. She loves Vedic chanting and hopes her enthusiasm for all aspects of Sanskrit is shared by her students.

Feedback from 2025

A deeply spiritual week with opportunity to come to oneself through sound, cintana, knowledge and practice.
Wonderful, inspiring, deeply restful – nourishing.
Appreciated the way the verses are broken into daily practices, so the words & their meaning take root in the being.
Valued the opportunity to reflect on the verses, Mr. Jessup’s guidance and the good company of the groups.
The blend of grammar, meaning, and reflection made the program both intellectually rich and personally transformative.