ABOUT VIVEKJI //
Vivekji is a spiritual teacher and public speaker with Chinmaya Mission, an international non-profit organization working to transform individuals through the knowledge of Vedanta. In 2007 he graduated from the intensive residential Vedanta course, taught by Pujya Swami Tejomayananda at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in India and has continued to serve Chinmaya Mission in various capacities since. Through his inspiring, innovative, and insightful style, Vivekji makes Vedanta relevant, relatable and reachable to audiences across generations and cultures. An array of community groups, academic forums, professional associations, medical departments and religious organizations around the world, such as The Office of the Pentagon in Washington and the Regional Mental Health Care Hospital in London, have invited Vivekji to share his wisdom on life and living. He was even invited to become the first Hindu Chaplain of the United States Department of Defense, a position he ultimately declined in order to serve Chinmaya Mission fully. Vivekji currently serves as the resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Niagara and Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh as well as the Deputy Director of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK) West, the youth wing of Chinmaya Mission in North America.
ABOUT SHASHIJI //
For over 30 years, Dr. Shashi Dwarakanath, MD, has nurtured the physical and spiritual health of her New England community. After receiving her medical training in the United Kingdom and India, Shashiji moved to the Boston area to complete her residency at Harvard, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, New England Deaconess Hospital and Lahey Clinc. As the Chief of Pathology at Lawrence General Hospital and subsequently Lowell General Hospital, she oversaw laboratory activity focused on the diagnosis of disease through the study of patient tissue and blood. Her work has been crucial to individual patient care as well as overall public health.
Outside of the hospital, Shashiji has fostered the spiritual growth of families in the Greater Boston area and beyond as the resident acharya, or spiritual head, of Chinmaya Mission Boston. Since 1989, Shashiji has organized value-based classes for children, and eventually oversaw a children’s Bala Vihar program spanning four New England locations and attended by over 650 children. In recent years, Shashiji completed the intensive, two-year residential Vedanta course at Chinmaya Mission's Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai, India.
Shashiji's engaging and inviting style is immediately accessible to all who are interested in understanding happiness and peace. Intrigued that doctor at the height of her field would walk a path blending physical and spiritual health, an array of community groups, academic forums, and medical organizations have invited Shashiji to share her insights on life and living.