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THE WISDOM OF SADHVI

Sadhviji is a renowned speaker addressing themes ranging from conscious business to science, spirituality to sustainable development and finding happiness in practicing yoga

Sadhviji was raised in an American family in Hollywood, California, and graduated from Stanford University. She was completing her PhD when she left USA in 1996 to live at Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh, India. She has been living there for 23 years now, engaged in spiritual practice and service.


She was officially initiated into the order of Sanyas (monastic renunciation) in 2000, by His Holiness Swami Chidanand Saraswati, one of the most revered spiritual leaders in India and the President of Parmarth Niketan.

At Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, where she lives for most of the year, she gives daily spiritual discourses and satsang, teaches meditation, provides counselling and oversees myriad charitable and humanitarian projects and activities.

Sadhviji serves as: Secretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international interfaith organisation dedicated to clean water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH); President of Divine Shakti Foundation, which runs free schools, vocational training programs and empowerment programs; and Director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival at Parmarth, which has been covered by Time magazine, CNN, New York Times and other prestigious publications.

Her talks blend the knowledge and logic of the West with the insights, spirituality and wisdom of the East; and, she is duly renowned as a spiritual bridge between the two cultures. Her TEDx talk on her journey from "Hollywood to the Holy Woods" has been watched by over 1,60,000 viewers.

She has spoken at several United Nations events, including with the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of UN, and at many high-level international conferences and summits.

Sadhviji has received numerous national and international awards and recognition for her work with water, sanitation and hygiene as well as women's upliftment and empowerment, including from the Cabinet Minister of Water Resources, Government of India as well as from the Ambassador of the United States to India.

Sadhviji also serves on the United Nations Faith Advisory Council on Religion as Vice Chair; the Steering Committee for Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), an international body comprising the governments of 12 countries (including United States, UK, and Germany), the United Nations, the World Bank, the African Union, and the world's renowned faith based organisations; and the Steering Committee for the World Bank-United Nations campaign with international faith based organisations in the "Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty."


Sadhviji was the Managing Editor for the monumental project of the 11-volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism. In addition, she contributes regularly to Huffington Post, Dainik Jagran, Speaking Tree/Times of India, Thrive Global and other renowned publications.

She is also the author of From Illness to Wellness: Health, Wholeness and Holiness and Mother Ganga: The Holy River, brought out by Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi.

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