Swami Purnachaitanya is an author, speaker, and spiritual guide to many around the world. He is a sought-after teacher of yoga, meditation and mantras, and an enthralling storyteller. Swamiji was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and an Indian mother, who played a central role in kindling in him a keen interest in the spiritual practices, cultures and philosophies of the East. The defining moment in his life came at the age of sixteen, when he met Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living, in whom he recognized his spiritual Master.
After completing his university studies in Indology with a specialization in Sanskrit, he left the Netherlands and moved to The Art of Living International Centre in Bengaluru, India to master the Vedic knowledge, rituals and recitation of mantras and Vedic hymns. He received his title (swami, monk) as an acknowledgement of his high state of consciousness and commitment to dedicating his life to serving others. Purnachaitanya is the name given to him by his Master, meaning he whose consciousness (chaitanya) has fully blossomed (purna).
He is currently a Director of Programs for the Art of Living where he conducts a range of personal development trainings and oversees various service projects in India and Africa.
Suresh Raina is one of India’s most successful international cricketers. An aggressive left-handed middle-order batsman, a useful off-spin bowler and one of the best fielders in world cricket, Raina was part of the World Cup-winning team in 2011. He is a youth icon and is among the most-followed Indian sportspersons on social media.
IRA PANDE started her career as a lecturer in Panjab University, later switching to editing and publishing, and later worked with several prominent English-language publishing houses. Her last editorial stint was as chief editor of the India International Centre’s (IIC) Publication Division. In 2005, she wrote a memoir of her mother titled Diddi: My Mother’s Voice, documenting the life and times of Shivani. In 2010, she got the Sahitya Akademi Award for her translation of Manohar Shyam Joshi’s T’ta Professor, which also won the Crossword Book Award for translation. She writes a regular column for the Tribune.
A. Helwa believes that every single person on Earth is deeply loved by the Divine. She is a writer who has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers through her passionate, poetic, and love-based approach to spirituality. Her popular blog @quranquotesdaily, was established while obtaining her Masters in Divinity, as a means of helping others overcome personal and spiritual struggles on their journey of experiencing divine love.
With over 15 years of experience writing and speaking on Islam and spiritual development, A. Helwa draws from her personal experiences and traditional sources to help her readers access ‘Divine love in everyday life.’
When A. Helwa is not reading at coffee shops, she can be found climbing mountains, camping in deserts, hiking through jungles, or reading about black holes. Learn more about her work and how to approach the Divine through love at www.SecretsofDivineLove.com.
Thodur Madabusi Krishna is one of the pre-eminent vocalists in the rigorous Karnatik tradition of India’s classical music. He has co-authored Voices Within Carnatic Music: Passing on an Inheritance, a book dedicated to the greats of Karnatik music. His path-breaking book A Southern Music: The Karnatik Story won the 2014 Tata Literature Award for Best First Book in the non-fiction category. His long-form essay ‘MS Understood’ for the Caravan was featured in The Caravan Book of Profiles. He is also the author of Reshaping Art and Sebastian and Sons: A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers, which received the 2020 TATA Literature Live! Book of the Year Award in the non-fiction category. In 2016, he received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of ‘his forceful commitment as an artist and advocate to art’s power to heal India’s deep social divisions’. In 2017, he received the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country. In 2017, he has also received the Professor V. Aravindakshan Memorial Award for connecting Karnatik music with the common man.
Thérèse Obrecht Hodler is a journalist. She holds a degree in History, Russian and Spanish from the University of Geneva. She worked for the daily newspapers «Le Journal de Genève» and «Le Nouveau Quotidien» as well as for the Swiss Television RTS in Geneva. From 1991 to 1997 she was RTS correspondent in Moscow, from 2000 to 2002 she headed the two public service radio stations in Kosovo for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the European Broadcasting Union. She is the author of a book on Russia (La loi du pouvoir, Ed. Autrement, 2006) and of numerous documentary films broadcast on Swiss television. For six years she was president of Reporters Without Borders Switzerland. Thérèse Obrecht Hodler is married, has two sons and lives in Bern and Geneva.
Venita Coelho is a screenwriter, novelist and artist who writes across age groups and genres. She has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Bal Puraskar for her book Dead as a Dodo. Among her other awards are The Hindu Goodreads Award for Best Fiction for children, The Neev Award and the Peek A Book award. Her collection of feminist ghost stories The Washer of the Dead was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor award. Her book Soap-Writing and Surviving Television teaches how to write for the medium.
She has had a long career in film and television as a writer, director and producer. Her work in canvas and glass was shown at her solo exhibition ‘The Naked Gaze’. She lives in Goa and is working towards her second exhibition of paintings.
DR JOSEPH MURPHY was a world-renowned authority on mysticism and mind dynamics. He wrote, taught, counselled, and lectured to thousands of people all over the world as the minister-director of the Church of Divine Science in Los Angeles. His sermons and lectures were attended by numerous people every Sunday. During his lifetime, he authored over thirty outstanding self-help books-selling more than fifteen million copies. His book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, continues to be an all-time bestseller. To this day, Dr Joseph Murphy remains a beacon of enlightenment and inspiration to his legion of loyal followers.
NAPOLEON HILL was an American journalist, lecturer and author, born in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia. He began his writing career at the age of thirteen as a ‘mountain reporter’ for small-town newspapers and went on to become America’s most beloved motivational author. Hill passed away in November 1970 after a long and successful career in writing, teaching, and delivering lectures on the principles of success. Dr Hill’s work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation. His book, Think and Grow Rich, is an all-time bestseller.
L. Somi Roy is the founder of the Imasi Foundation in Manipur. He has translated Padma Shri M.K. Binodini Devi’s The Princess and the Political Agent and her screenplays, My Son, My Precious, Crimson Rainclouds, The Maharaja’s Household and The Girls’ Hostel, into English. He is also a film and media curator and has curated exhibitions for The Asia Society, The Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center and the Smithsonian Museum.
