His holiness, Swami Bodhananda Saraswati is the founder and present Guru of Sambod Society, Inc. Born on 27 March 1948 in Kerla, Swamiji was initiated into Sanyasa Ashram in 1984. Swamiji also established the Sambhod Society in America in 1997. Swamiji travels extensively and is a well regarded speaker.

Shri Udaya Bhaskar Deekshit Parasaram is currently the priest and vedic scholar at Hindu Temple and Community Center of Greater Seattle Area.

Deekshit ji, as he is popularly known, has a Ph.D. in Samskritam and is well versed in agama shastras and is proficient in both Temple and domestic hindu rituals. Shri Deekshit ji is an eloquent speaker (in four languages namely, Samskritam, Telugu, Hindi and English) and is able to explain complex philosophical as well as religious concepts in modern context. His lectures either at the HTCC of Seattle or elsewhere have been well recieved by all including children. Shri Deekshit ji can be reached at archaka@gmail.com

Linda Johnsen, M.S., is author of seven books related to the Hindu tradition including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism, Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India, The Living Goddess, A Thousand Suns, Teach Yourself Yoga, and Putting Life In Your Spiritual Practice. Her latest work, Lost Masters, explores the often neglected connections between the ancient Graeco-Roman philosophers and India. Forthcoming in Spring 2007 is The Kirtan Book, chronicling the influence of Hindu devotional chanting on contemporary American music.

Linda's essays have appeared in a dozen books, among them The Divine Mosaic, In the Footsteps of the Goddess, Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint, and The Heart and Science of Yoga. In addition, her articles on Indian spirituality have appeared in popular magazines such as Yoga Journal, Yoga International, Yoga Plus, India Currents, Hinduism Today, Light of Consciousness, etc.

Linda has a Master's degree in Eastern Studies; her Master's thesis examined chit shakti in the Tripura Rahasya. She has lectured throughout the United States on Hinduism and yoga, and has taught graduate seminars on Shaktism. She lives in Sonoma, California with her husband, geologist Johnathan Brown.

Shri Mohan ji Bhagwat hails from a small town called Chandrpur in Maharashtra. A veterinary doctor by education, Mohanji dedicated himself completely for the service of society and became a pracharak (full time volunteer) of RSS.

Shri Mohanji held various responsibilities in Sangh as a district pracharak for Akola, provincial pracharak for Nagpur, zonal Pracharak for Bihar and subsequently he became the Sar karyawah, the constitutional head of RSS. Since more than three years he is at this position and has been re-elected for next three year term recently.

A prolific speaker, thinker, and a pleasant person, Shri Mohanji has inspired hundreds of youths to dedicate themselves for Sangh and work for the Hindu society selflessly. Shri Mohanji has traveled extensively abroad to UK, S.Africa, Mauritius, Kenya and Netherlands and in India visiting every state at least twice a year. He is visiting US for the first time on the occasion of birth centenary of Param Poojaniya Shri Guruji Golwalkar.

Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda is a young Self-Realized Master of our times. Swamiji was born on January 1st, 1978 at Thiruvannamalai (in South India). He got His first Deeksha from Raghupathi Yogi. He was blessed with direct meetings with several spiritual leaders in early childhood ? such as Mahavatar Babaji, Mataji Kuppammal & Annamalai Swamigal.

The Nithyananda Foundation is His worldwide movement for meditation. With over 800 centers in 20 countries, it works towards the transformation of humanity through transformation of the individual.

With a pragmatic yet compassionate approach to life, through lucid explanation of practical issues and practical meditation techniques, He helps individuals blossom in every sphere of life. His highly enlightening yet entertaining articles appear every week in India's Economic Times newspaper.

Swamiji's Divine healing touch has given relief to millions of people suffering from various types of illnesses, both physical and psychological. His method of healing - called Ananda Healing, has its roots in meditation and harnesses the Divine Energy to channel it into the body of the diseased person. Swamiji not only heals people, but also initiates those who desire, to become healers. Today, numerous healers and healing centers are carrying out this Divine service to humanity at large.

Sawmiji has mission to help unleash potential in every man. He works with almost all current spiritual leaders of India for spiritual progress of the society, peace and harmony.

More information on his activities is available at the ashram website: http://www.dhyanapeetam.org

Pratichi Mathur hails from a lineage of Vedic healers from India. She has grown up steeped in the Advaita-Vedanta tradition, where her own grandfather was her first spiritual teacher. Challenged by life situations and severe disease from an early age, Pratichi chose to tread the path of conscious living through Ayurveda. Pratichi represents classical and tradition based Ayurvedic medicine in its purest version, the way the ancient sages who birthed Ayurveda has envisioned it thousands of years ago in India.

In 1998, Pratichi established the Ganesha Institute for Ayurveda and Vedic Studies in California and also served as Director on the Board of California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM) to help promote Ayurveda and Vedic sciences in their purest form and practice. In 2002 Pratichi was prominently featured by the San Francisco Chronicle for her work in Ayurveda. Pratichi has authored soon to be published - "Ayurveda Reclaiming Consciousness - Healing the Mind, Body, and Spirit with Ayurveda"; and "Ayurveda - A Spiritual Journey: Self Actualization and Self Realization through Ayurveda".

N.V.Raghuram is the international coordinator and Yoga trainer in Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYASA), Bangalore INDIA. He teaches Yogasanas, Pranayama, Dhyana, cure for ailments like arthritis, asthma, stress management along with a full theoretical yogic and scientific background explained through lectures. Sri Raghuram of SVYASA has trained under some of the most renowned exponents of Yoga in India and has been practicing Yoga for more than 20 years. He has traveled to several countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, USA, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and conducted Yoga therapeutic and corrective courses (for ailments such as bronchitis, asthma, back ache, eating disorders, sleep disorders etc). At Bangalore, he is involved in training certified Yoga instructors and also in assisting various Ph.D. students in their intensive research on Yoga and related subjects. A glimpse of his expertise are :

• Bhagavad Gita
• What are Bhakthi, Gnana, Raja, Karma yogas?
• Patanjali's Yoga Suthra
• Therapy through yoga
• What is Hindu Dharma
• Upanishads
• Bhaja Govindam by Sri Shankaracharya
• Applying Hindu values for a harmonious family
• Getting over challenges bringing up children in USA
• Yoga courses for personality development in children
• Help for ailments

Dr. Subhash Kak is a professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Asian Studies and Cognitive Science at Louisiana State University since 1979. He has worked in the areas of wireless, data security, neural networks, information technology, and quantum information processing. He is also a Sanskrit scholar and an expert authority on ancient Indian Science and Technology. Dr. Kak was born and brought up in Kashmir and completed his PhD at IIT Delhi in 1970. He has worked at various institutes in India and abroad including IIT Delhi, Imperial College, Bell Laboratories, etc. He has authored ten books and over three hundred journal articles in areas as varied as quantum physics, artificial intelligence, philosophy and history of science as well as Aryan Invasion Theory, Vedas and other Hinduism related topics. Dr. Kak enjoys a passion of poetry.