Thursday 31 May 2018

Dr. Sanjay Pisharodi Ayurveda Portrait Painting

om pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidam
pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate – śrī īśopaniṣad

Dr. Sanjay Pisharodi is a holistic health practitioner, specialized in hospice and palliative medicine from Cardiff University (UK) and University of California (USA). He is also qualified in several alternative therapies – Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yoga, Naturopathy, Sujok, Pranic healing, Medical Astrology, thus making the way for the practice of integrated holistic medicine.
Born into a family of traditional physicians of Kerala, he was introduced to studying the art of Traditional Indian healing called Ayurveda after which he went on to specialize in modern western medicine. While working in California, Wales and India with terminally ill patients he was able to see the limitations of the modern approach.  Exposure to several alternative therapies at San Diego Hospice and hospices in the UK triggered him to go back to his roots and integrate eastern and western traditions to solve the maladies of the present day. Spending many years in meditation in a monastery in India, extensive studies in the Vedas, Ayurveda and alternative healing and working with experienced Ayurvedic traditional healers of the Ashtavaidya tradition in Kerala (his home town) provided a solid foundation for the same. He believes that the underlying cause for all disease as the reckless modern lifestyle causing stress leading to toxin accumulation and misalignment of the body, mind and spirit. To prevent, treat and educate people is his passion and mission. He has taught on several national and international platforms. His courses are also available online. He is a visiting lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and a reviwer of articles for the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
He presently serves as the Director of Food for Life Medical Center in Vrindavan, India and is also Co-founder and Director of Purnarogya Holistic Health Care in Kerala, India. He recently published a translation and commentary on the classic Ayurvedic text named “Ashtanga Hridayam” which is the first of a 25 volume series, written especially in way that is helpful to the students in the western world. This will positively transform the way in which Ayurveda is learned and practiced in the western world.

Thursday 10 May 2018

HH Niranjana swami Portrait

After reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and seriously practicing the path of devotional service, Niranjana Swami took initiation from him in 1974, in Boston, USA. In 1986, he took sannyasa vows in Mayapur, India, and then proceeded to travel extensively throughout North America, the former Soviet Union, and India, lecturing on the teachings found within the books of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Devoted to assisting others on this path, Niranjana Swami is also an initiating spiritual master in ISKCON. His home base is Kiev, Ukraine.
The management and spiritual leadership experience Niranjana Swami gained during his tenure as president of ISKCON Boston from 1979 to 1983, and his service as regional secretary of New England in 1984, readied him for his GBC appointment in 1987. As a GBC member, Niranjana Swami’s zonal assignments include Moldova, New England, and North American Festival of India. He also serves as co-zonal secretary for Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, as well as three regions of Russia: Central Region, Moscow, and Kaliningrad. Currently Niranjana Swami assists the Lines of Authority Committee, which is part of the Strategic Plan for the GBC, by contributing his vision and experience.
His heartfelt kirtans, insightful classes, and his selfless and caring personality inspire and nurture many ISKCON devotees in their spiritual lives. He consistently trains, supports, and empowers others to manage in a way that makes ISKCON members feel needed and protected, and creates systems of counseling to help spread this ethos further.
One of Niranjana Swami’s achievements is the annual Ukrainian Bhakti-sangama festival that he originally conceived and developed over the last ten years. Well organized and lauded for its devotional atmosphere, Bhakti-sangama hosts thousands of devotees from the CIS and all over the world, uniting them around hari-nama, krsna-katha, and vaisnava-seva.
Niranjana Swami puts ‘devotee care’ as a top priority. His thoughts on this topic have been recorded in a book Taking Care of Krishna’s Devotees, which has inspired many to find ways of improving dealings in devotee communities. His other publications include compilations of his letters to disciples and counselees, and transcribed lectures and interviews in book format.