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.
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.
Mr. Atul Dave
Atul Dave is a registered pharmacist. He has been student of Vedanta for last 13 years. He is passionate about transferring the richness of this knowledge to the next generation. He has been teaching Vedanta to children ages 3-8 years for the last 3 years.
Dr. Bhairavi Shankar, PhD
Bhairavi is an entrepreneur and Planetary Scientist. In addition to her professional activities, Bhairavi enjoys participating in many cultural and spiritual activities.
Learning Hindu philosophy and finding the relevance to modern day life provides her a humbling perspective when studying about the universe, the evolution of our own solar system, and every-day life in general.
Dr. Swati Gupta
Dr. Swati Gupta has been teaching Baal Vidya since she was a teenager. This has given her a deep understanding of issues faced by children who are growing up in Canada. She is continuously reading books on the topics of mindfulness, child development and self growth. When she is not working she loves to spend time with her two boys and travel with her family. Being a mother helps her relate to the challenges of raising kids in today’s world.
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.
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!
Mrs. Divya Iyengar
Divya Iyengar has always been curious in her spiritual journey. Born in a South Indian home rich in Vedic heritage and customs and spending her school years in a catholic missionary institution she grew up playing with friends and engaging in communities rich in varied religious frameworks. This exposure and a constant sense of curiosity, allowed her to explore deeper into the nature of the self, the world she perceives and what lies beyond. Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswathi gave her the opportunity to seek clarity and she grew her roots in Vedanta based philosophy. Along with a day job as a Business and Information Systems Auditor, she is a mother to 3 wonderful children. She continues her Sadhana through regular yoga, meditation and sravana. She also hosts workshops that explore and discuss spirituality through Vendata based learning.