SWAMI CHIDANANDA
Swami Chidananda is a Vedanta scholar, teacher of spirituality, representative of ancient wisdom, motivational speaker and writer with thirty years of Upanishads’ study and research behind him. People recognize him for his clarity of communication, freedom from bias and depth of insights. In his earlier avatar he has a Masters degree in Engineering from I I T Madras.
He served the Mission of Swami Chinmayananda for 18 years and the Education Centre of Krishnamurti Foundation in Varanasi for 10 years. As an Independent Resource Person, he currently speaks all over the world on the values and virtues of Upanishads, addressing anyone eager to resolve inner conflicts of human life.
A very down to earth person with a great sense of humor, he devotes his time between Solan in Himachal Pradesh, and his speaking engagements. He is the driving force of the content and programs of AUPA
INDIRA GAUTAM
Indira Gautam has been settled in the US for almost 50 years. She has been active in many different organizations and played an important role as the support behind the scenes for our Dear late friend, Dr. Sid Gautam. For many years Indira was working as a teacher to primary school children in North Carolina. Living in Fayetteville, NC, she has a daughter and two grandsons.
Thanks to her sincerity and genuine concern for others, she becomes friends with everyone that she talks to and offers support whenever she can to help those in need. She continues to spread words of happiness and knowledge by continuing the Happiness Yoga Program that her late husband Dr. Sid Gautam started many years ago. Her friends always offer to be by her side during trying times as they know she would do the same for them. Even during the busiest times of the year, Mrs. Gautam always has a smile on her face. Her smile and laughter are contagious ensuring that anyone that knows her leaves with a smiling face of their own.
She is a wonderful person and for anyone that does not know her, be sure to introduce yourself and you will see for yourself the joy and passion for others that she cant help but show.
DR S BOYAREDDI
(GASTROENTEROLOGIST FORT WOTH TX USA)
Subrahmanyam Boyareddi, MD, is a successful gastro-enterologist based in Texas. Very active on cultural and spiritual fronts, he is presently the chairman, Governing Council of the Hindu Temple of Greater Fort Worth.
He has long been associated with Vedanta studies and is much inspired by teachers like Swami Chinmayananda, Eknath Easwaran and Sivaya Subramunia Swami (Hawaii). Himself a gifted speaker, Dr. Boya (as his friends call him) is known for his social skills, putting together group studies and meditation.
He has interest in a wide range of philosophical studies, yoga, health and holistic development. His wife Subhashini and he are community leaders involved in many organizations like the Telugu Association of North America (TANA)
DR A R IYENGAR
SANSKRIT SCHOLAR, BENGALURU
Dr A R Iyengar : A Sanskrit teacher by profession, Dr. Iyengar has been with various oriental research institutes in India. . To name a few, All India Oriental Conference, Pune, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, Chinmaya International Foundation, Veliyanad, Kerala, Vidyasagara Prof. M P L Sastry Indological Reserch Centre, Bangalore and Amritadarshanam, International Centre for Spiritual Science, Amrita Vishvavidyalayam Deemed University, Kerala . He has served on various local and National Academic Institutions across the country for many years for the development of Indian Heritage and Sanskrit studies, some of them being the UGC Curriculum Development Committee: New Education Policy in Sanskrit(1996), NCERT National Steering Committee for Sanskrit (1999), Various State and Central Text Book Committees, University Bodies. He has also successfully guided many scholars for their Ph.D.
Dr. Iyengar worked at the Centre of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, and Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune , under the guidance of Dr. V.G.Rahurkar and got his Ph.D in Sanskrit for his work on a critical study of Sri Ramanuja Bhashya on the Bhagavadgita in 1981. He served as an Associate Editor of the Deccan College Post Graduate Institute’s Sanskrit Dictionary Project on Historical Principles at Pune. Before his appointment as Director at Chinmaya International Foundation in 1997, he was the Principal of SSMRV College of Science, Commerce and Management at Bangalore. He has instituted and executed several research projects and courses of study, besides authoring books, editing journals and contributing research papers on issues pertaining to Indology and Sanskrit Studies to research journals.
Dr. RANJINI MANIAN
GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS FOUNDATION
Dr. Ranjini Manian has spent over two decades as entrepreneur, cultural ambassador, author and philanthropist connecting global citizens to India. Founder of India’s premier relocation and cross‐cultural services company – Global Adjustments and editor of India’s only free cultural magazine for global citizens – Culturama, she has helped over 450 companies such as Amazon, Apple, BMW, and Ford succeed in India, and has facilitated the cultural immersion of thousands of worldwide business families. Ranjini has served on the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board and authored books such as “Doing Business in India for Dummies”, “Upworldly Mobile” and “Make it in India”.
She currently serves as the Founder-Chairperson of Global Adjustments Foundation whose mission is to empower women by providing them life coaching. Global Adjustments Foundation has touched over 70,000 lives in the past two years, in disparate groups such as homepreneurs, IT workers, nurses, police, soldiers, students and teachers. The Foundation’s goal is to maximise emotional, physical and leadership skills for a million women.
Dr. Manian studied psychology and French literature from Bombay University and Sorbonne University in Paris. She holds an honorary doctorate in literature recognising her leadership in promoting cultural understanding across the globe.
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VIBHA CHAITANYA
SPIRITUAL TEACHER, PUNE
Brni. Vibha Chaitanya is the managing trustee of FOWAI FORUM, a registered public charitable trust founded by Swami Chidananda ji in 2006. Educated in Mumbai and specializing in the paramedical discipline of clinical pathology, she spent years in the service of the poor in certain large hospitals run by Christian missionaries. Her spiritual thirst drew her to the study of the Vedanta (the Upanishads of the Vedas, and the Geeta). She underwent an intensive two years (1998 – 2000) course of study on the Hindu scriptures at the seminary in Mumbai established by Swami Chinmayananda ji. Swami Chidanandaji was the main teacher (Acharya) at this training program. She served for two years at Gangtok, Sikkim, as an Acharya of the Chinmaya Mission. Since 2003, she has been engaged in sharing the wisdom of the Vedanta, and in social service, at Pune under the banner of the FOWAI FORUM.
Holding classes on spirituality and on Sanskrit in Pune and Mumbai, she periodically goes on lecture tours. She has traveled widely and has been to the US. She occasionally conducts management seminars for corporate and educational institutions. Born in 1956 and coming from a Gujarati family settled in Mumbai, she is conversant with English, Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi.
SUDHIR SETH
Sudhir Seth completed his B. E. (Mech) from Pune, followed by Post-Graduate in Business Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Mumbai. He has also attended Management programmes at Administrative Staff College Hyderabad, IIM Ahmedabad and ISB Hyderabad.He worked about 20 years with the bearing industry, becoming Executive Director with DCM Shriram Group . He then started own manufacturing company in 1985 for mechanicals for electronic & IT industry.
He is now the Chairman of TIM Group with operations in India and the Middle East involved with IT & engineering services.He has been involved as Committee member at various IT advisory panels. He is a keen student of Indian classical music, and has been learning vocal in the ‘Kirana’ gharana style. Sudhir has been a seeker of spiritual thinking from the wisdom of great Indian masters like Swami Chinmayananda, Ramana Maharishi, J. Krishnamurti and Osho. He has been particularly influenced by Ramana Maharishi’s inquiry of ‘Who Am I?’.
To continue this study, he has completed courses on Bhagwad Gita and Foundation Vedanta from the Chinmaya Mission.Over last almost 15 years he is constantly seeking guidance of Swami Chidananda towards clarity of the thought process to gain knowledge.I am honoured to be associated with AUPA.
DOLLY SETH
Dolly Seth, after completing her academic studies with Masters in English and B.Ed, pursued her abiding interest in holistic studies. She did Teacher’s Training course from Yoga Institute, Mumbai, that teaches Yoga based on the ancient philosophy of Maharishi Patanjali. She briefly served there as a teacher. She has done nutrition course in Natural Hygiene subject from the Health Awareness Centre (Thac) under the able guidance of its distinguished director late Dr. Vijaya Venkat.
In spiritual quest for deeper meaning of life, Vedantic studies had a predominant influence on her. It was her good fortune to attend the Vedantic studies classes when Pujya Swami Chidananda was the acharya of Chinmaya Mission, Powai, Mumbai in late 90s. She got a new dimension and freshness from Swamiji’s classes on the great sage Sri Ramana Maharishi. ‘Who Am I?’ enquiry is dear to her in spiritual reflection.
For Dolly, it is a joy and privilege to be associated with AUPA and Swami Chidananda’s work and vision. To spread the message of Vedanta she has organised various seminars, workshops and talks for more than a decade.
DR.PIYUL MUKHERJEE
Dr. Piyul Mukherjee, the Co-Founder and CEO of Quipper, has nearly thirty years of work experience, in the field of qualitative market research. She holds a PhD from IIT Bombay in sociology, after a Masters in Management Studies from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute in Mumbai.
Her childhood was spent in IIT Powai, and the Vedanta teachings of the Chinmaya Mission situated right across the lake, seeped into her subconscious. Pujya Swami Dayananda was the resident Acharya in the late seventies, and our Pujya Swami Chidananda in the late nineties.
Piyul is privileged to be a part of Aupa, especially the opportunity to continue to absorb the Vedantic wisdom from the vibrant and learned presence of Swami Chidananda.
VED CHAUDHARY
New Jersey, USA
Dr. Chaudhary came to US in 1965 for higher studies, received a Ph.D. in 1970 and worked at Bell Laboratories and Bell Communications Research for thirty years.
Subsequently, New Jersey Governor Corzine appointed him Assistant Commissioner in the Department of Environmental Protection. He retired in 2010, and now serves as President of the ‘Educators Society for Heritage of India’ and an Adviser to the Board of ‘National Asian American Education Foundation’, devoted to furthering equal opportunity in the workplace and equal justice for all Asian Americans.
Dr. Chaudhary is a co-founder and Board member of ‘Hindu American Seva Charities’ which hosts an annual White House Conference for Dharmic communities, to inspire and engage Dharmic youth and organizations in community service projects. Dharmic communities include: Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs. He shares Hindu/ Dharmic worldview at interfaith events and served as an Advisor to ‘Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought’. He has formerly served as a Trustee of Rutgers, the State University of NJ; as Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights NJ Committee; as a Member of NJ Governor’s Ethnic Advisory Council; and a Fellow of ‘Leadership New Jersey’, a coalition of Government, Industry and Non-profits.
SANJEEV SINGH
RALEIGH, NC, US
SANJEEV SINGH : Based in North Carolina, Sanjeev is a computer professional interested in applying the timeless principles of Upanishads to daily life. Sanjeev grew up in New Delhi and did his Bachelors from the “Birla Institute of Technology” and is currently pursuing a Masters degree from “North Carolina State University”. After working in the Silicon Valley for a number of startups and large networking companies, he relocated to Raleigh in 2010.
His wife Anupama is also a computer professional. They have two children – a son “Sohum” and a daughter “Sahej”.
