"The mission of Muktabodha Indological Research Institute is to recover and preserve endangered treasures of India's religious and philosophical wisdom and make them accessible for study and scholarship, and ultimately as a resource for humanity." Behind these opening words on the http:/www.muktabodha.org [http:/www.muktabodha.org] site you will discover a dynamic, dedicated team that has successfully taken on one of the greatest challenges to the continuity of Hinduism in the modern age: the preservation of mankind's oldest scriptural heritage.
Founded in 1997 by Gurumayi Chid vilas ananda, head of Siddha Yoga Dham Association and successor to Baba Mukt ananda, the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute focuses on the Tantra and Agama traditions. The institute has programs in five areas: 1) a digital Internet library making rare Sanskrit manuscripts available to the world; 2) a Vedashala to preserve the traditional, oral education in Vedic recitation and ritual according to the Hiranyakeshi branch of the Taittiriya Krishna Yajur Veda; 3) publication of translations and commentaries on rare texts; 4) audio and video documentation of authentic performances of sacred chants and rituals; and 5) scholarships enabling outstanding Indian and Western students to receive training and research opportunities in this field to ensure a next generation of illumined scholars.
The institute has already made great achievements, continuing a digitization effort begun in 1995. After over 50,000 frames had been archived on microfilm, that method was replaced by digital photography. The first phase of the effort digitized Vedic Shrauta ritual and medieval Saivite manuscripts from libraries and private collections across India. The institute went on to collect and digitize the core texts of the Pratyabhijna, Spanda and Krama schools of the non-dual Saivism of Kashmir. A third initiative has been ongoing data entry to bring the texts into searchable online formats. The institute's most recent achievement is the digitization of 210,000 pages and over 2,000 mostly Saiva Siddhanta texts–all now online and accessible to the world–in collaboration with the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) and the French School of the Far East (EFEO). The current focus of work is to bring more searchable texts online for use by priests, scholars and translators. Interested readers are encouraged to contact the institute to make donations or offer collaborative support for the continuance of this important work. info@muktabodha.org