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The Sutra Project

Bringing threads of wisdom to life

Sutras are threads of wisdom, ancient guides to rediscovering the beauty and true significance of human life.

These Sutra texts are time-tested anchors of wisdom, wholeness, and peace.

Presented here for you, the practitioner and seeker of truth, are contemporary and original translations of these texts by teacher, international best-selling author, and, lifetime scholar-practitioner, Christopher Wallis, Ph.D.

Or, as he is better known, Hareesh

The Shiva Sutras are a collection of seventy-seven wisdom teachings that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as Kashmir Shaivism.

These teachings, written for the upliftment of humankind, are considered one of Tantric Shaivism’s most important scriptures.

They describe the deep structure of reality and convey methods for liberating human consciousness, thereby equipping us to realize our unbounded and radically free true nature.

“Hareesh (has) planted a seed of hope that the world is a loving place and showed me how to tap into this loving energy. Silence, stillness, and deep breathing are now a vital part of my everyday life. I thank Hareesh for this.”

Anonymous. Course Participant

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is a spiritual road map for everyday living. It is a philosophy of actionable techniques and practices, enriching your life in every moment.

Illuminated here, for the first time in simple language,  this timeless wisdom speaks to the heart of the human condition.

Meet Hareesh: your teacher & guide to the sutras.

  • Christopher Wallis, known globally as Hareesh, is a world-renowned scholar-practitioner with over thirty years experience. Initiated into the practice of yogic meditation at sixteen his studies have earned him a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley.

    Additionally, he received traditional education at yoga āshrams in India upstate New York training in meditation, mantra-science, kīrtan, karma-yoga, and pedagogy.

    He is the author of, Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition and The Recognition Sutras: Illuminating a 1,000-year-old Spiritual Masterpiece.”

  • There are very few teachers in this field that combine academic rigor (including the ability to read Sanskrit fluently), passionate love for the subject, and the ability to articulate with crystal clarity, and Hareesh is one of them. The feature of his teaching that students consistently highlight is this balance of passion, clarity, and rigor. The goal of his teaching is to ensure that each sutra successfully lands in the heart & mind of the student, illuminating both their understanding and their experience.

  • Christopher Wallis is a gifted scholar. This course skillfully unpacks one of the key texts of yogic wisdom, and does so with thoroughness, insight and depth.

    I recommend this series to anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of the Yoga Sutra—not only of the meaning of the verses, but of how to apply them to your own practice and your own life.

    ~ Sally Kempton, Author of Awakening Shakti

    With this new work, Wallis is offering Oxford-quality Sanskrit education in sutra-sized chunks made for walking.

    Each 10-minute unpacking strikes a bargain between the personableness of oral tradition and the constraints of the ADHD age.

    His ear for poetry and paradox means that he doesn't sacrifice accuracy for inspiration. Somehow he renders the bitter ascetic verses precisely, but sweetened with the Tantric mood of his personal path.

    ~ Matthew Remski - Author

    “Ever wanted to deepen your knowledge of the Yoga Sutras but been put off by their complexity or overwhelmed by the number of translations? Well, no more. Dive into a real, living, digestible course that can illuminate these beautiful teachings. Unearth this wisdom through the prism of a Sanskrit scholar and long time practitioner whose passion for correct and true translations conveys both the obvious teachings and the more subtle and potent offerings.”

    Janet Stone - Global Yoga Teacher

    “You know how we are told to read/study 10 translations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra...and then we might start to grasp them? Also, you know how just a few hours with Christopher Wallis changes your life? This course is like that. My mind was blown and expanded by my teachers’ explanation of the first 4 sutra alone, even though I had read 5 translations and attended workshops with people who had read their 10 translations & could chant them all too.

    — - Current student with The Sutra Project

    “I also wanted to say a huge thank you for the Yoga Sutras course, it is exactly the kind of course I have been wanting and you have done such a fabulous job with it. I really appreciate the extra videos/audios regarding methodology/source material/ your translation techniques/ and yoga history.

    — PF- Current student with The Sutra Project

    “Prior to my 200hr TT, I knew “tid-bits” of the YS & later when I actually went through my 200hr TT, the (lack of) clear explanation and discussions of the text left me feeling somewhat...bewildered, comfortable with “the gist” of it and yet profoundly intrigued and thirsting for an in-depth understanding. I did search for other sources but hadn’t quite found any that felt well rounded and truly cohesive. In this course, Christopher translates and expounds on each of the sutras in an incredibly straightforward, succinct and intelligible way. I am really loving this course.

    — Current student with The Sutra Project

    “I just completed my 300hr yoga teacher training and I did an on-line course with Christopher Wallis on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that was so much more accessible and alive than what we covered in my teacher training. I would HIGHLY recommend it

    — ES - Current student with The Sutra Project

    “I just finished the Yoga Sutra Illuminated Course. I must say you have done a fantastic job! Very articulate, accurate, and concise. It helped me in my sadhana. Loved it.

    — DH - Current student with The Sutra Project

    “What a beautiful offering you have created to present to an expanded community in the form of the Sutra Project!

    The web platform, design, navigation and content are intuitive and beautifully potent. I have found it easeful to jump into your flowing invitation like a gentle stream. I appreciate the design of the course to allow me to swim to a shore and rest in contemplation of it all, or to forge ahead in the pull of the current.

    — AB - Current student with The Sutra Project

    If you would like to understand more about your fundamental nature then this course will be most helpful - more serenity and peace for you is the most likely result.

    — PER ~ Current student with The Sutra Project

    “I wish to express my gratitude for your guidance on this amazing journey. I simply love the way this is broken down and find myself returning over and over again to view these recordings multiples times…each time getting something more for contemplation.

    — P.G ~ Current student with The Sutra Project

    “An incredible experience. Clear, precise and just in time for me. Recommended to all who are interested in the subjuect, especially yoga practitioners. “Beginners Mind” is not just a concept :) Thank you for all this wonderful offering.

    — P.F ~ Current Student with The Sutra Project

One thousand years ago, in the valley of Kashmir, the great Tantric master Kshemaraja wrote one of the most powerful and revelatory spiritual masterpieces in world history: “The Essence of the Recognition Philosophy”

Written to introduce spiritual seekers to the Recognition philosophy in less formally philosophical, more approachable language, the Pratyabhijnahrdayam is one of the primary sources for the study and practice of nondual Tantrik Yoga.

Reflections on Hareesh & The Sutra Project

What to expect…

  • Simplicity

    The texts are presented in one sutra = one video format with audio tracks available for download when you are on the go.

  • Depth

    Study guides for each sutra are designed to evoke quiet contemplation as well as remove the need for you to take any of your own notes.

  • Insight

    Clear, concise yet detailed, and profound transmissions transform your practice and your life whilst aligning with your own rhythms.

  • Illumination

    Original translations of the texts that truly respect and honour the context in which they were written, whilst making them accessible to the contemporary practitioner.

Select the course that’s best for you…

Simply the most systematic and influential text on the science of meditation, yet surprisingly has never been adequately translated from the practitioner's perspective.

This course seeks to make the sutras perfectly clear in their application to real life and spiritual practice. With one concise (~10min) video per sutra, anyone can fit this course into their everyday life.

Christopher Wallis (aka Hareesh) took a year to complete a fresh and accessible translation of the first 120 sutras of the text, yet no translation of this elliptical text can stand on its own ~ it was designed to be explained by an expert in the field, and this course gives you access to such expertise.

The Recognition Sutra is to Tantrik Yoga what the Yoga-sutra is to classical Yoga: an indispensable manual for understanding the nature of reality and of consciousness.

A masterpiece in just 20 sutras that can only be explicated with a deep understanding of the original author’s commentary on his own sutras, The Recognition Sutra or Pratyabhijñā-hrdaya (lit., ‘essence of the teachings on recognition [of one’s innate divinity]) is a pivotal text in the history of yoga.

Though its philosophy has been studied in the West for decades, never have its teachings been presented so concisely and effectively, and never have its nine powerful yogic practices been taught clearly enough to actually practice them (the course includes audio-guided meditations).

The Shiva Sutras are a powerful journey to the full realization of the fundamental teachings of Tantric Yoga.

The Sutras cannot be summarized easily, for each of the 77 sentences of this scripture can be contemplated for weeks or months on end and still reveal more wisdom.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “These teachings sound interesting, but are they practical? Will they connect to my life?” In which case we would respond: they connect to Life itself, and so, if you’re a living being, they will connect to your life, if you are open enough to embark on this journey. And what could be more practical than a teaching that liberates you from your fears and worries, and gives you access to the source of all joy and freedom? Would that not impact your daily life?

"Understanding or believing the spiritual teachings makes you religious. Experiencing the state from which those teachings arose in the first place - that's what the spiritual path is about."

- Hareesh