A Brazilian acharya, Jonas Masetti, who established the Vishva Vidya Gurukulam in Brazil, was awarded the Padma Shri award from President Droupadi Murmu. The Vedic guru accepted the award wearing a white dhoti, bare feet, and with a tilak.
“I was not expecting this. It’s a great honour… Many people in Brazil are studying Vedanta, and this is an honour not just for me but also for our family, who are striving for this tradition,” he told the news agency ANI. The guru, also known as Acharya Vishvanath, met the Prime Minister in Brazil last year after he was at the G20 Summit and saw him at his group show glimpses of the Ramayana in Sanskrit.
Who Is Jonas Masetti?
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Masetti said that he worked as a mechanical engineer with top companies in Brazil but left”empty” and sought to understand the “meaning of life”, he told ANI.
His journey took him to Vedic culture and he visited Swami Dayananda’s ashram in Tamil Nadu. After a while he said he decided to go home and share the message of the Vedas in Brazil.
“There are so many teachers in India that a Westerner doesn’t need to come here and teach their own culture. I see a lot of youngsters losing the opportunity to value their culture and being so enchanted by the Western way of thinking”, he said.
Now, he runs an institute called ‘Vishwavidya’ in Brazil where he uses technology to spread his message of the regular programs he provides online. Before, PM Modi had mentioned that with his ‘Free Open Course’, Masetti taught Vedic values to over 1.5 lakh students in seven years.
Padma Awards
At Rashtrapati Bhawan, President Droupadi Murmu bestowed the Padma Awards, accompanied by Prime Minister Modi and other dignitaries. Justice (Retd.) J.S. Khehar received the Padma Vibhushan for Public Affairs. The Padma Vibhushan posthumously awarded to folk singer Sharda Sinha and dancer Kumudini Lakhia.
Padma Bhushan awarded to Dr. Shobana Chandrakumar (folk dance), Sadhvi Ritambhara (social work), and economist Bibek Debroy (Literature & Education) whose family members accepted on their behalf.
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