Mrs. Roopal Patel
She started learning Vedanta and Gita at a very early age because of her parents, who used to regularly attend Gita classes organized by Adhyatma Vidya Mandir, Ahmedabad. Initially she was hesitant to attend religious lectures like any typical teenager would do, but slowly she became curious to know. Though she couldn’t grasp most of the contents of lectures as they were meant for advance level Gita students, but she kept going with parents and over the period she got completely engrossed into it. She also developed deep interest in Sanskrit Chanting, which she learnt from eminent scholars. She has more than 20 years of work experience in the fields of Teaching, Fashion Design, classical dance and Import/Export. She has been teaching Baal Vidya for more than 5 years.
Mr. Rajesh Patel, Eng.
He was fortunate to be born in a family who imparted him spiritual Values and Sanskaras in early childhood. Being a very keen science student, he had very curious mind and did not accept anything which didn’t seem logical. He used to follow all family religious rituals but always had some questions about those rituals and kept looking for answers to quench his thirst for logical explanations.
He is an engineer by profession and has learnt Vedanta for more than 20 years and has good grasp on teaching Vedanta to young kids, who needs logical scientific explanation for everything.
Mrs. Nimmi Papneja
Nimmi Papneja is the founding committee member of AIM for Seva, a charity that supports the education of less privileged children in the underdeveloped remote areas of India where access to education is very difficult.
She has attended several Vedanta camps for over 20 years at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg Pennsylvania where she attended talks on Gita and Upanishads by highly esteemed Gurus like Late Swami Dayananda Saraswati & Swami Viditatmananda.
She continues to learn Indian classical music under the tutelage of senior disciples of Mewati Gharana.
Baskaran Rajamani
He is a passionate volunteer, facilitator, teacher, mentor, coach, management consultant and a successful business leader. He recently retired as a Senior Partner at Deloitte, a leading global professional services firm, where he led Technology and Digital Risk services to large Canadian and Global Financial Services clients.
Baskaran continues to serve Deloitte part time, as an Executive Coach and in an Advisory capacity. He has been involved in teaching Indian Culture and heritage to children and youth over the last 20 years. He is the founding member of an annual Youth Leadership conference that’s been happening for over 12 years. He has also served the cause of helping new immigrants to earn their first Canadian job. Baskaran has been recognized through Awards from different organizations or his volunteering- at-scale over the years.
Dr. Sangeeta Bajaj, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Sangeeta Bajaj is a Rheumatologist practicing in Brampton since 1999. She received her medical degree from McGill University followed by postgraduate training at University of Toronto.
She has been on a spiritual journey for many years having completed courses through RSVK (Science of Silent Yoga), Inner Engineering in Sadhguru’s presence, and attendance at multiple seminars sponsored by Vedanta Cultural Foundation of Canada. She loves to teach and is currently an adjunct professor at University of Toronto and McMaster University.
Dr. Purti Papneja
Dr. Purti Papneja is a clinician teacher and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community Medicine. She received her medical degree from McMaster University and completed her Family Medicine training at the University of Toronto, followed by a fellowship in Sleep Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences. She provides comprehensive primary care to her patients and is the post graduate program co-director in Department of Family Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences. She has has been teaching medical students and residents for almost 10 years. She was a student of Baal Vidya from the age of 13-17 and now as a mother of two young boys at home, she aspires to teach them and others Baal Vidya as well.
Dr. Meena Garg, PhD
Dr. Meena Garg holds a PhD in Immunology and has extensive experience in biotechnology, particularly in vaccine research and development, manufacturing, and commercialization. She currently works as a biotechnology consultant.
Meena developed an early interest in Indian spiritual and cultural traditions and became a certified Ramayan reciter and teacher during high school. A longtime student of yoga, she has also completed Sadhguru’s Inner Engineering program.
Meena deeply values passing cultural and spiritual traditions to future generations. As a volunteer teacher with Baal Vidya, she enjoys sharing the richness of Hindu culture and values with children while continuing her own journey of learning alongside fellow teachers and students. In her leisure time, she enjoys travel, music, and community and cultural activities.
Sudha Hemmad
Sudha has a strong interest in Sanatana Dharma and its teachings and traditions. She has previously taught Purna Vidya classes for children in Dubai, and has also attended many Vedanta and Bhagavad Gita classes. These experiences have strengthened her interest in learning about and sharing the teachings and values of Sanatana Dharma.
Professionally, Sudha has more than 25 years of experience in public relations, corporate communications, issues management, and currently works in municipal government.
She holds the Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP®) designation, a globally recognized professional certification administered by the Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC).
Mrs. Prema Shekar
She has been working as an Enterprise Risk Management Consultant in the banking sector. She got introduced to Vedanta 15 years ago through Swami Paramarthananadaji, who was a disciple of Pujya Swami Dayanada Saraswati. She has a strong passion to share this valuable knowledge, especially Bhagavad Gita and Vedic scriptures.
Bharathi Viswanathan
I’m a CPA, mom of two girls, and passionate about celebrating our roots, embracing traditions, and passing them on to the next generation. I love bringing people together through celebrations, and am happy to contribute my time and efforts toward giving back to the community and creating meaningful connections.
Mrs. Arundhati Seth
Arundhati Seth has over fifteen years of experience at various school boards across the GTA through teaching positions, and an education in child psychology. Besides teaching, she has also helped in organizing various Hindu festival celebrations in schools assemblies and field trips. During her free time, She also enjoys hosting her friends and families for Ramayan paths, havans, and other such occasions. She began exploring the world of shastras and vedas at a very early age under the guidance of her parents and Guru. Growing up as the daughter of an Indian Army officer, Arundhati had the fortunate opportunity to travel across all over India and experience the different cultures, heritage, values, and beliefs of Indian people. Throughout her school and university years, she has been participating in Bhagavad Sanskrit shlokas, spiritual debates, and poem recital completions. She is looking forward to furthering her cultural journey through Baal Vidya!