Latest news with #VishvaVidyaGurukulam
News18
3 days ago
- Business
- News18
Who Is Jonas Masetti? Brazilian Going Viral After Being Awarded Padma Shri
Last Updated: Jonas Masetti said the honour of receiving India's fourth-highest civilian award came as a surprise. Brazilian spiritual teacher Jonas Masetti has been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award for his contribution to spreading Vedic knowledge and Vedanta philosophy across the globe. Masetti, once a mechanical engineer working with top firms in Brazil's stock market, said the honour of receiving India's fourth-highest civilian award came as a surprise. 'I was not expecting this. It's a great honour… not just for me, but for our family striving for this tradition," he told news agency ANI. He is now going viral. Bare feet, Rudraksha Maala & cotton dhoti – meet Jonas Mazetty a Mechanical Engineer from Brazil He is so influenced by Indian spirituality that he is spreading the knowledge of Vedanta and Bhagavad Gita in the world He was Awarded Padma Shri — Sameer (@BesuraTaansane) May 28, 2025 President Droupadi Murmu presented the Padma Awards during the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday, honouring individuals across diverse fields. Who is Jonas Masetti? Jonas Masetti, also known as Acharya Vishwanath, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He began his career as a mechanical engineer working with top firms in the stock market. Despite having what he described as everything a Western lifestyle offers, money, friends, and social success, he felt deeply unfulfilled and began questioning the true meaning of life. This inner quest led him to India, where he found answers at an ashram in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Under the guidance of spiritual master Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Masetti immersed himself in Vedanta philosophy. He later earned the title of Acharya and changed his name to Vishwanath. On returning to Brazil, he founded Vishva Vidya Gurukulam in the hills of Petropolis, near Rio de Janeiro. The institute offers free online courses, combining traditional Vedic wisdom with modern tools. Within seven years, he has reached over 1.5 lakh students globally. In 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged him in a Mann Ki Baat address, calling him a cultural ambassador of India. Masetti has also published several books on Yoga and Vedanta in both Portuguese and English. First Published:
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who is Jonas Masetti, Brazilian Vedic teacher walked barefoot to receive Padma Shri
A Brazilian acharya, Jonas Masetti, who founded the Vishva Vidya Gurukulam in the country, was conferred the Padma Shri award by President Droupadi Murmu. The Vedic guru accepted the honour, wearing a white dhoti, tilak, and barefoot. "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 attended the G20 Summit and witnessed his group present glimpses of the Ramayan in Sanskrit. 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 search led him to learn about Vedic culture, and he travelled to Swami Dayananda's ashram in Tamil Nadu. After spending time there, he said he decided to return home and spread 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 propagate his message through regular online programmes. PM Modi had earlier revealed that, through his 'Free Open Course,' Masetti taught Vedic values to more than 1.5 lakh students in seven years. President Droupadi Murmu conferred Padma Awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan, with PM Modi and other dignitaries in attendance. Justice (Retd.) J.S. Khehar received the Padma Vibhushan for Public Affairs. Posthumous Padma Vibhushan awards went to folk singer Sharda Sinha and dancer Kumudini Lakhia. Padma Bhushan recipients included Dr. Shobana Chandrakumar (folk dance), Sadhvi Ritambhara (social work), and economist Bibek Debroy (Literature & Education), whose family members accepted on their behalf.
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Great honour": Vishva Vidya Gurukulam founder Jonas Masetti expresses gratitude on being conferred with Padma Shri award
New Delhi [India], May 28 (ANI): Jonas Masetti, founder of Vishva Vidya Gurukulam in Brazil, expressed gratitude to the Indian government on being conferred the Padma Shri award. Speaking to ANI, Jonas Masetti said that it is a 'great honour' for him and stated that he used to work as a mechanical engineer with top companies in Brazil. Masetti stated that he felt 'empty' and was looking for a 'meaning of life'. The latter mentioned that he learned the Vedic culture and ended up in Swami Dayananda's ashram in Tamil Nadu. Masetti added that he had to go back to Brazil and spread the message of the Vedas. '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 for our family striving for this tradition... I used to work in the stock market. I'm a mechanical engineer. I used to work with the biggest companies in Brazil. But I felt empty and was looking for meaning in my life. Then I learned about the Vedic culture and ended up in Swami Dayananda's ashram in Tamil Nadu... I understood that I had to go back to the place I came from and spread the knowledge and message of the Vedas... 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. President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday presented Padma Awards to the recipients across a diverse range of disciplines and fields at the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, Union Ministers Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, Pralhad Joshi, Jitendra Singh, G Kishan Reddy and several other ministers and dignitaries were present on the occasion. Padma Awards--one of the country's highest civilian Awards--are conferred in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/activities -- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhavan every year. For the year 2025, the President approved the conferment of 139 Padma Awards, including a duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 23 of the awardees are women, and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, and 13 Posthumous awardees. (ANI)
