Speakers / Honoured Guest

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
• Served as Head of the Department of Political Science at Maharaja Srischandra College, Kolkata, for 38 years, teaching at the Honours level
• Worked on several UGC and ICSSR research projects
• Awarded a UGC Teacher Fellowship for research on the socio-economic backwardness of Muslims in West Bengal
• Authored numerous articles on contemporary issues for The Statesman.
• Regular contributor of scholarly articles and active participant in All-India Political Science Conferences
POLITICAL ASSIGNMENTS (Bharatiya Janata Party)
• Active member of the BJP, West Bengal, since 1990
• Member & Convener, BJP Working Group (party think-tank), 1991–1996 and 2004-2014
• Observer for several districts, 1991–1997
• In-Charge, Krishnanagar Lok Sabha Election (1999) – successfully led the campaign where Barrister Satyabrata Mukherjee won and later became Union Minister in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government
• State Secretary, BJP West Bengal, 1995–1997
• Vice President, BJP West Bengal, 1997–1999
• President, BJP West Bengal, 1999–2002
• Observer, Tripura State, 2003–2004
• National Executive Member, 2004–2005
• Chairman, BJP Working Group (think-tank) comprising IAS, IPS officers, corporate executives, chartered accountants, and academicians (college/university faculty and management professionals)

Earlier, Saini served as the Member of parliament (M.P.) from Kurukshetra, Haryana, from 2019 to 2024. Before that, he was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) from Naraingarh (Ambala district) from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of State in Haryana government from 2015 to 2019. Coming from a humble family background, Saini joined the BJP party unit in Ambala and steadily rose through the ranks, often working closely with party leader, Manohar Lal Khattar

Studies Centre at Silpakorn University, Bangkok, advancing Sanskrit research under the patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. He has authored over a hundred articles on Sanskrit and Indology and was awarded India’s Padma Shri (2022) for distinguished service to literature and education, especially for strengthening IndoThai cultural ties. His recognitions include an Honorary Doctorate (MCU, 2010), Vidya Vacaspati (DLitt, RSkS, 2012), and India’s Presidential Sanskrit Honour (2017).

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Universities, also holding Pali Grade 9 from the Thai Buddhist Sangha Organization. His research spans Buddhist scriptures and applied ethics, with publications on right livelihood and karma in leading Thai academic journals (2017–2018). He has produced substantial Sanskrit editorial and translation work, including three volumes of Mahavastu Avadana under HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s patronage (2010, 2014, 2017), totaling nearly 1,900 pages.

Drama (in translation) and College Western Civilization. Earlier, he served as a Teaching Assistant at the University of South Dakota, instructing Latin 101–102 and Scientific/Technical Terminology (1970–71). Educated in both the United States and Germany, including studies at a mathematicsscience Gymnasium in Cologne, he brings over five decades of experience inspiring learners in classical languages and civilizations.

holding a Doctor of Philology. His interdisciplinary expertise spans History of Religion, Musicology, Cultural History, Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, and World Literatures, with focal strengths in Indian religions and Indian literature. Renowned for scholarship on ancient Indian epic traditions, he contributes to bridging textual philology with broader cultural histories in South Asia studies.

public communication and editorial writing. Trained at the Russian Academy of Sciences (linguistic typology; Ph.D.), he also holds degrees from the Gorky Literary Institute and the University of Latvia. A member of the Writers’ Union of Russia and Orientalist associations, he presents widely and writes in multiple languages, with competencies spanning Latvian, German, Russian, English, Sanskrit, Old Persian, Latin, and classical philologies.

of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Keio, Chuo, and Osaka University research fellowships. Educated at Kyoto University (Indological Studies) with visiting study at Leiden, he has delivered 50+ presentations and published 15 papers, receiving the Professor Ram Karan Sharma Award (IASS, 2023). His teaching covers epic literature and Sanskrit kāvya, advancing classical studies across premier Japanese institutions.

traditions, holding an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo. His research spans Advaita epistemology and Vedantaparibhāṣā studies, with major publications from 2000, 2005, and 2013, and a 2019 Japanese translation of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s Jhansi ki Rani. He translated the Bhagavad Gita from Sanskrit into Japanese (Kadokawa, 2022) and serves as International Advisor to Japan Education & Skill Development Centre.

and co-GBC for Greece. Based at Krishna Valley Eco Village since 2005, he integrates spiritual education with sustainable development, chairing the Eco Valley Foundation and engaging academia and UNFCCC processes since 2010. With a background in software engineering and agroeconomy, he has led tourism, communications, and events, and previously served as Deputy Mayor, while mentoring leaders through his consulting practice.

and Puranas, particularly their religious and philosophical dimensions. A translator from Sanskrit and author of scholarly books and articles, he also curates digital resources fostering access to Indic texts and traditions. His editorial collaborations include notable platforms on Indian culture and the Bhagavad Gita, supporting education and research across diverse audiences.

on Advaita Vedānta and philosophy of religion. His research and teaching span metaphysics, comparative religion, Indian religions, phenomenology of religion, and philosophical anthropology, conducted in English and Spanish. He contributes to contemporary dialogues on Vedānta’s metaphysical frameworks and interreligious understanding within European academia.

in Sanskrit, Pali, and Gāndhārī. His research focuses on the composition, transmission, and community use of early Buddhist literature across Pali, Gāndhārī, Prakrit, Buddhist Sanskrit, and Chinese, with special interest in Gandhāran manuscripts from Afghanistan and Pakistan. He teaches ancient Indic languages and Buddhist/Asian studies, advancing manuscriptbased scholarship in early Buddhism.

at Nalanda University, Sitagu International Buddhist Academy, Yonsei, Otago, and SPPU. With a Ph.D. in Comparative Philosophy (University of Hawai‘i), his work spans Buddhist logic, philosophy of language, Vedānta, and EastWest thought, with 20 books and 94 papers presented across 149 conferences. Awards include a Commonwealth Fellowship (Oxford) and Colombo’s Research Excellence Award, with current projects on Buddhist justice and applied Buddhism.

a traditional center for Vedanta, Sanskrit, stotras, bhajans, puja, and meditation in English and Tamil. He teaches Vedic studies with proficiency in Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, and English, guided by the Arsha Vidya sampradāya. The ashram includes a temple and offers Paninian Sanskrit instruction and contemplative practice rooted in Advaita Vedanta.

audiences across ages and backgrounds. Educated in Melbourne and trained as a physiotherapist, he completed a rigorous twoyear Advaita Vedanta gurukula in Mumbai before embracing monastic life. He leads classes, workshops, camps, and retreats on values, meditation, philosophy, and Hindu culture, emphasizing mastery of the mind and practical spirituality.

spiritual programs since 2000 from the Lakshmi Narayan Temple. He organized monthly Purnima puja, student camps, Ganesh Utsav, and extensive relief services, and coordinated the establishment of a Hindu mandir in Labasa. His missiondriven leadership connects spiritual guidance with social support for the needy across Fiji’s Hindu community.

academic leadership and administrative experience. A renowned scholar of astrology, he previously headed the Department of Astrology and served as Controller of Examinations at NSU. Succeeding Prof. Yadav Prakash Lamichhane, he is tasked with advancing Sanskrit education and traditional knowledge systems at the national level in Nepal.

His books and lectures on ethics, values and Gita have become a chaperon to many.  Along with myriad ways in which he has tried to help the society, his efforts augur a virtuous generation of driven countrymen with a clear direction in life. Devoted to the divine ideas of meditation, service and dedication to humanity (satsang, sewa and sumiran) they founded GIEO organisation. He has been teaching practical benefits of meditation and prayers and dealing with the problems and their solutions in day-to-day life since 1990, inspiring and transforming lives. This transnational organisation has been aimed at bringing about a change much required in the society. Standing amidst the crowd but still apart from it, serving mankind self-lessly and inspiring others to do so, enlightening thousands of lives are few of finest qualities that Swami Ji is blessed with. Gurudev has made spiritually a way of living .Distribution of free monthly food to widows , organizing polio operation camps, educating children in remote rural areas, establishment of cow homes, offering free medical services to saints of Vrindavana are only glimpses of noble deeds that are a part of his mission. His commitment to serve God by serving mankind is exemplary.