Vandana Shiva
Forward & Conclusion
Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocate, is the founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), Navdanya, and Bija Vidyapeeth “Earth University” in Uttarakhand,India. Trained as a Physicist at the University of Punjab, she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She later shifted to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India.
After founding RFSTE–an independent research institute that addresses the most significant problems of ecology of our times– in 1982, she went on to found, Navdanya (‘nine seeds’) the movement in defense of biodiversity and the contributions made to the climate, environment and society by small farmers.
The recipient of many awards, including the Right Livelihood Award, (the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’) and the Sydney Peace Prize, she has been named among the top five “Most Important People in Asia” by AsiaWeek. She is also a prolific writer and author of numerous books and serves on the board of the International Forum on Globalization, and member of the executive committee of the World Future Council.
KRISHNA DAS
Musical Contributor
Layering traditional kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling western chant artist of all time. In a career spanning more than two decades, KD has released 16 well received albums, including Live Ananda (January 2012) that was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category. The award-winning film ‘One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das’ has been seen in over 100 US cities, over 10 countries worldwide.
A devotee of the North Indian Saint, Neem Karoli Baba (Maharajji), Krishna Das has played an enormous role in popularizing the traditional practice of kirtan in the West, his music serving as an easily approachable gateway to the devotional traditions of the East. He travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and stories of his life on the Path, of Maharajji, and advocates for bringing regular spiritual practice into our lives through retreats and workshops.
MICHAEL STERNFELD
Producer/Co-host
Michael Sternfeld is a lover of all things Ramayana and more. He began his performing career as a professional dancer with modern companies in Chicago and New York. He continued his creative work as a producer/director with over 400 productions in theater, music, dance, audio and video– and capped his career as a producer for the David Lynch Foundation, where he co-produced benefit events featuring stars such as Paul McCartney, Ringo, Jerry Seinfeld, the Beach Boys, and Jim Carrey.
He also developed a parallel interest in consciousness studies, earning his MA in Vedic Science from Maharishi International University, where he became fascinated with the Ramayana– creating numerous productions of the epic over the last 30 years, including theatrical productions, a theme park, and the first complete audio production of the unabridged Ramayana of Valmiki, for which he was awarded the NEH Outstanding Project of theYear.
Michael’s current mission is to popularize ancient texts like the Ramayana, making their core values more accessible to the world. He also lectures and teaches courses far and wide on the Ramayana and founded Vedic Audio Knowledge (VAK) to bring out enlightened audio productions to the West.
Michael has been practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) regularly for over 50 years and currently lives in Fairfield, Iowa.
Nina Rao
Co-host/Musical Contributor
Nina Rao learned traditional chants (bhajans) from her grandfather in a village in south India when she was nine years old. The chants quietly stayed with her until she rediscovered chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996. In 1998 she met her guru, Sri Siddhi Ma in the foothills of the Himalayas and spent time with her regularly for 19 years. Her childhood was spent living in many countries around the world and when she settled in New York her working life began in the banking world, moved into organizing and leading photographic wildlife safaris in Africa and India, and now since 1996, is Krishna Das’ business manager and accompanist as well as chant leader on her own.
Nina tours with Krishna Das, and was honored in 2013 to accompany him at the Grammy Awards webcast performance. In January 2013, she released her debut album, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts” and her second album “Anubhav” in 2018. Since 1998 she has supported conservationists in preserving the sacred wilderness and forests of India via her charity SavingWildTigers.org. She is a podcast host on the Be Here Now Network exploring spirituality, practice, and conservation of wilderness and Nature. Nina regularly leads kirtan, chanting workshops, and virtual and in-person retreats in New York and beyond.
Mirabai Starr
Commentator
Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and interspiritual teacher. In 2020, she was honored on Watkins’ list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from 20 years of teaching Philosophy and World Religions and a lifetime of practice, Mirabai shares her wisdom worldwide on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformational power of grief and loss. She has authored over a dozen books including Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, Ordinary Mysticism, and renowned translations of sacred literature. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
Kavitha Chinnaiyan
Commentator
A Renaissance woman, Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan is a practicing cardiologist with a remarkable breadth of expertise in medicine, technology, writing, mysticism, art, music. Her impressive career spans roles as a practicing Cardiologist, physician-scientist and Professor of Medicine, a wife, a mother, and mystic. On the Best Doctors in America list for the past 10 years, Kavitha is known widely as an international speaker, educating audiences on cardiac imaging, preventive cardiology, and heart disease in women.
An initiate in Śrīvidyā and nondual Śaiva Tantra, she has studied Tantra, Advaita Vedanta, Yoga and Āyurveda with teachers across the globe. Trained in Indian classical music, she has also researched sacred sound and sacred geometry, and expresses her experiences through Sanskrit chanting, Vedic hymns, Yogic and Tantric chants. Known for her clear, humorous and incisive teaching style, she makes time-honored traditions practically accessible through the amalgamation of science, biology, technology and esoterism.
As an author, Kavitha has released award-winning books including: Shakti Rising (2017), which won the Nautilus Gold Award for Best Books of 2017, The Heart of Wellness (2020), Glorious Alchemy: Living the Lalitā Sahasranāma (2020), and Fractals of Reality: Living the Śrīcakra (2022), which won the Nautilus Gold Award for Best Books of 2023.
Chitra Divakaruni
Commentator
Chitra Divakaruni is an award-winning writer, activist, professor and speaker, and the author of 21 books such as Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, Before We Visit the Goddess, Palace of Illusions, The Forest of Enchantments, and The Last Queen. Her newest novel, Independence, depicts the experiences of three sisters in strife-torn Calcutta as India frees itself from the British yoke and received a 2024 American Book Award.
Her work has been published in over 100 magazines and anthologies, including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories and the O.Henry Prize Stories, and translated into 30 languages. Her work been made into films, plays and dance dramas. Her awards include an American Book Award, a PEN Josephine Miles award, a Premio Scanno, and a Light of India award. In 2015 The Economic Times included her in their List of 20 Most Influential Global Indian Women. She is the McDavid professor of Creative Writing in the acclaimed Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston and lives in Houston with her husband Murthy.
Divakaruni has also been an activist in the fields of education and domestic violence and has been associated with nonprofits such as: Pratham, which educates underprivileged children in India, Akshaya Patra, which feeds Indian schoolchildren, and Daya and Maitri, which assist survivors of domestic violence in starting life anew.
Acharya Shunya
Commentator
Acharya Shunya, a celebrated author, speaker, and lineage holder of ancient Vedic wisdom from India has been hailed as a modern-day mystic. Her name “Shunya” signifies infinity, and “Acharya” is a customary title for teachers of traditional knowledge. Residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Acharya Shunya continues the sacred traditions from her 2,000 year yogi ancestor lineage, sharing teachings of Advaita Vedanta, yoga philosophy, Vedic meditation, and Ayurveda.
A passionate advocate for personal growth and spiritual awakening, Acharya Shunya helps individuals worldwide recognize their true potential and achieve self-realization. Deeply devoted to the Divine Feminine and Ishvara, her teachings channel this divine connection, offering blessings to inspire and guide others.
Her acclaimed book “Roar Like A Goddess” (2022) combines Vedic wisdom with personal stories and has won several awards. “Sovereign Self,” her second book, is a guide to recognizing and embodying essential wholeness. Her first book, “Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom” (2017), was recognized among the Top 10 Books in Alternative Medicine by Healthline. All three books have become Amazon bestsellers.
Acharya Shunya has received prestigious awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award by CIIS, the Nalanda Award, and the Global Women’s Power Award. She has served as an Advisor to the Government of India on International Yoga affairs.
CANDACE OLIVER BADGETT
Commentator
As the National Chairperson of the Global Mother Divine Organization, Candace Badgett has administrative responsibility for the women’s organization that offers the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program, and associated programs, to women in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Candace received her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Maharishi International University, in Fairfield, Iowa in 1975, became a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation program in 1975, and received a PhD from Maharishi European Research University, Vlodrop, The Netherlands, in 2007, after completing a two-year course under the direction of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation program.
In 1990, she and her husband, Rogers Badgett, built a 36,000 sq ft health facility, The Raj, in Fairfield, Iowa, pioneering the use of Ayurvedic medicine in North America. They are the owners and operators of this facility, as well as international consultants to those who wish to open Ayurvedic clinics in their respective countries.
She founded the Women’s Institute at Maharishi International University, which provides a women’s forum for students and faculty, and which explores women’s issues in the light of unfolding the full potential of every woman. Candace is also on the Board of Directors of the World Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES) and presents papers on Vedic Science at their conferences.
Ruchira Gupta
Commentator
Renowned activist and founder of the NGO Apne Aap, Ruchira Gupta has devoted her life to creating a world where no child is bought or sold. As a young journalist hiking through the hills of Nepal, Ruchira came across many villages with missing girls who were being sold into brothels in India. Moved to tell the world about this injustice, she created the Emmy award-winning documentary, The Selling of Innocents. She recently debuted her first fiction novel. I Kick and I Fly. The recipient of many awards, she has been given the French Ordre National du Mérite, Clinton Global Citizen Award, and the UN NGO CSW Woman of Distinction among other honors for her contribution to the establishment of the UN Trafficking Fund for Survivors, the passage of the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act and her grassroots activism with Apne Aap. Ruchira holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from Smith College. Ruchira has worked for the United Nations in Nepal, Thailand, Kosovo, Iran, and USA. She teaches as a visiting professor at New York University. She divides her time between New York and Forbesganj, her childhood home in the foothills of the Himalayas, where she paints her mother’s garden.
Vrinda Sheth
Commentator
Vrinda Sheth grew up in Sweden and was raised on stories from the ancient Indian lore, such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Bhagavat Purana. She became an avid reader in her early teens and has never stopped. She finds that the fantasy genre explores the truth with the most imaginative depth. Vrinda lived in South India for five years learning classical dance at Kalakshetra, one of the foremost institutes for Bharata Natyam. During that time, she wrote Prince Rama – Son of the Solar Dynasty. The book received an IP award and an honorable mention in the New York Book Show. It was the seedling of award-winning Sita’s Fire Trilogy. Vrinda is fluent in Swedish, familiar with Hindi and Sanskrit, and has a degree in English from University of Florida. She lives between Florida and India with her husband and three children.
Dena Merriam
Commentator
Dena is a long-time meditation practitioner in the lineage of Kriya Yoga. She devoted many years to practicing the teachings of her guru Parahansa Yogananda and studying the texts of the ancient Vedic tradition. Her experiences in meditation and with past lives became the subject of her books, which include My Journey through Time: A Spiritual Memoir of Life, Death and Rebirth, The Untold Story of Sita: An Empowering Tale for our Time, and When the Bright Moon Rises: Awakening Ancient Memories. Dena’s story is the story of each one of us, filled with patterns and interweavings, the unfolding of so many events, all of which have made us who we are today.
While on her own spiritual journey of awakening, Dena has been active in the public sphere. Having founded the non-profit organization The Global Peace Initiative of Women in 2002, she has worked to bring spiritual voices to address global challenges. She has spoken in many forums on the need for a shift in consciousness. She received her Master’s Degree from Columbia University, has served on numerous boards and in 2014 received the Niwano Peace Prize for her international work.
Connie Huebner
Commentator
Connie Huebner is a devotee of the Divine Mother. She is the founder of the Divine Mother Church, a church that honors the Divine Mother in all spiritual traditions. She is actively involved in awakening the Divine Mother on Mother Earth. Connie taught herself to communicate directly with Divine Mother, crediting this ability to the many years she spent as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation and her exposure to the Vedic Tradition of Masters.
Her personal quest to “discover the kingdom of heaven within” was a journey into the silent depths of her Self, the Source from which all Life arises. Through this process, Connie has brought Divine Mother’s wisdom to many people throughout the world.
Her book, Divine Mother Healing, guides interested persons in the use of a series of Healing Tools, which clear the disrupting, obstructive energies around us that block the inner communion and then delivers us to the deep inner home of knowledge and wisdom.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and a Master’s Degree in Research in Consciousness, Connie consistently keeps her attention on the pulse of the world and its changing events. Her Divine Mother work is focused on creating both individual and world change through healing the hearts of humanity.
Saraswati Nagpal
Commentator
Saraswati Nagpal is an Indian poet, writer of myth & fantasy, and a classical dancer. She is published in The Atlantic, Atlanta Review, Acropolis, Dust, SAND & other journals, besides various international anthologies such as Thin Places, Sacred Spaces (Amethyst Press). An award-winner and Silver Branch writer, twice-nominated for the Best of the Net award, Saraswati has a forthcoming chapbook with Black Bough Poetry, Wales. Her graphic novels Sita, Daughter of the Earth, and Draupadi, The Fire-born Princess, (Campfire & Random House) are feminist retellings of epic Indian myths for young readers.
Saraswati has learnt several styles of dance from the age of 5, focussing on the classical style of Kathak. She has choregraphed and performed for stage and films, as well as run her own dance company for young girls in New Delhi. Saraswati has studied classical vocal music (Carnatic & Hindustani), and is the co-artist on kirtan and chant albums like Gayatri Mantra at thesereneswan.com. Always a student of the spiritual arts, Saraswati has taught yoga and chanting to audiences in USA, Europe and South Africa.
For two decades, she has also been a private teacher of creative writing and literature to high school students around the world.
Social media: @saraswatinagpal | https://linktr.ee/saraswatinagpal
Elizabeth Huebner
Narrator
Elizabeth is a Priestess of the Divine Mother, dedicated to guiding others through Sacred Feminine pathways of spiritual awakening. Her teachings focus on cultivating direct experiences with the Divine in and through the body and the world around us. Born into a family of yogis she began her spiritual education with meditation and yoga at 5 years old. A forever student of spirituality and life, she has studied with depth hypnotherapy, animistic traditions of Europe, vibrational healing, the performing arts, psychology, and philosophy. In 2019 Elizabeth founded Bee Divine, a unique body of work that integrates altered states, healing, shadow work, embodied practices and ritual.
In addition to her spiritual teaching and mentorship, Elizabeth is a ritual performance artist and founder of the Hive Temple Collective. The Hive creates immersive temple experiences that invite participants into a direct experience with the Divine. Her performances transform the “audience” into active participants, inviting them to join the sacred play and connect with the divinity within.
Elizabeth is devoted to the embodied remembrance of the Divine as incarnate in all things. Her work invites others to awaken to the sacredness within themselves and the world, guiding them toward healing, empowerment, and spiritual transformation.
Mallika Bush
Narrator
Understanding of and freedom from suffering have been part of Mallika’s Dharma from day one. Her work weaves together experience and training in yoga philosophy, clinical and vedic psychology, expressive arts, earth medicine and body wisdom. She facilitates growth and healing for others through couples work and group facilitation.
Born into a community of yogis following Baba Hari Dass and growing up surrounded by these traditions at Mt Madonna Center, Mallika has been steeped in the joy, beauty and deep esoteric meaning of the Ramanaya for over 40 years. Her early career as an actor, both in the Ramayana and in Hollywood, informs her work in this piece.
Mallika has been working with clients since 2010 and continues to find joy in evolving her work beyond the license she holds in Marriage and Family Therapy, founding Rooted Relationships in 2023. As a wife and a mother to two daughters, she continues her own path of growth and curiosity, and calls southern Appalachia home these days, learning from the mountains, rivers, trees and deeply rooted people of the land.
Social Media: @mallikabush | www.RootedRelationships
Kaya Mindlin
Narrator
A trusted guide for many of today’s yoga teachers and spiritual seekers, Kaya’s mothering and inclusive approach weaves sacred storytelling, devotional recitation, sanskrit scripture, yoga therapy, Jyotisha & Ayurveda. She is an initiate in tantra and divination in the lineage of Sri Krishan Mantri and a steward of the Vedanta teaching tradition with the blessing of her guru Pujya Swami Dayananda. Having dedicated years and thousands of hours to formal study, Kaya began teaching others in 2001. She has served as faculty for multiple yoga and ayurveda organizations, owned a successful Yoga Therapy Institute from 2012-2019 and is a frequent guest speaker in summits and podcasts for spiritual seekers.
Born into a multi-cultural family of performing artists, the expressive arts inform Kaya’s skill in teaching with meaning and heart. Thousands from across the globe have attended her rich programs including the Nectar of Time, Secrets of the Subtle Body, Nectar of Nidra, Supreme Release Yoga and her beloved Nectar of The Gita.
Kaya’s is dedicated to guide others to discover life as a sacred pilgrimage. She lives with her husband, a Vedic Astrologer, and their sons in a forest seaside town in the Pacific Northwest. www.YogawithKaya.com
SHRUTI SUBRAMANI
Artist
Creator of our deeply-inspired cover art, Shruti has discovered herself through the joy of art and various artforms—from mandalas and free hand creatives to traditional Madhubani and contemporary art on various mediums. She believes in keeping the folk artforms alive and wants to make them part of our everyday lives, and at the same time keep with the changing hues of modern painting styles.
Shruti has completed a professional certification course from National Institute of Mithila Art to learn the nuances of the artform. Additionally, she has been learning the artform in depth from Master Artists. She has pursued a mentored learning program at The Bombay Art Society, Mumbai, India. She is also a member of the Art Society of India. She has an MBA in marketing, and is an ex-banker and entrepreneur.
Shruti’s artworks have been displayed at many prestigious exhibitions including:
The Bombay Art Society’s art exhibition “Colors of Independence”, “Endangered folk arts of India” exhibitions at Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Mumbai; Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengalur; and Dakshinachitra Heritage Museum, Chennai; and “Vaidehi”, organized by Madhubani Literature at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi, where she got an honorable mention from an international jury.
https://www.reflectionsbyshruti.com
Instagram- @shrutisubramani
Contact: Ram1@Lisco.com
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