Page 30 - The Indian EYE 021425

South The Indian Eye

AMERICANNewsline

30 FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Q&A WITH ACHARYA JONAS MASETTI

“The Padma Shri brings official recognition

to us and reassures our community in Brazil

that we are part of the Indian paramparā”

he government of India an-
nounced on January 25 that
TVedanta scholar Acharya Jo-
nas Masetti, also known as Vishwa-
nath, a resident of Petrópolis in the
state of Rio de Janeiro, will be hon-
ored with the Padma Shri Award, one
of the highest civilian honors, for his
contribution Indian spiritual tradi-
tions. Acharya Jonas has been teach-
ing Indian philosophy to thousands
of Brazilians at the Vishva Vidyalaya
Institute in Rio de Janeiro.
The scholar has dedicated his life
to spreading the message of Vedas
around Brazil and across the world.
Vedanta, as explained by Jonas Ma-
setti who studied the subject for four
years in India – is the ancient knowl-
edge that comes from that country
and that helps people to find peace
and inner balance independent of
the outside world.

In an interview with Shobhan
Saxena for The Indian EYE

weekly, the Vedantic schol- Acharya Jonas Masetti (right) and his disciples welcome PM Modi with the chanting of Vedic mantras
ar talks about the honor, his during his visit to Rio de Janeiro for G-20 summit on November 17, 2024
meeting with Prime Minister very proud of how far this paramparā in Brazil. How do you look back on helped tremendously: we integrated
Narendra Modi during the re- has reached. Even though our con- your journey in spreading Vedantic tra- our classes with high-quality digi-

cent G-20 summit in Rio and tribution here in Brazil may be small ditions there? tal platforms, allowing more people
to discover Vedanta. My teacher,
compared to the vast lineage that has
When I first returned from In-
his future plans. Excerpts from blessed the entire world, this recog- dia, I had no idea if I could truly be- Glória Arieira [Padma Shri awardee
the interview: nition points to the collective effort come a full-time teacher, or if people in 2020], has been teaching in Brazil
of our family, teachers, students, and would show enough interest in a tra- for over 30 years; so, there was al-
sevaks who work together to share dition like Vedanta in a foreign land. ready a foundation. My role was to
You have been honored with the
Padma Shri award by the Government Vedanta and Indian culture in Brazil. I was ready to commit myself for a expand on that, traveling to differ-
It is not a personal achievement but
year or two, and if it did not work,
ent cities, sometimes giving talks to
of India. How do you feel about receiv- a celebration of the entire team. I am I thought I might return to India or just five or six people and I did that
ing this honor? especially grateful to witness how this find another way to serve the society. wholeheartedly for some years.
I feel deeply blessed and hon-
About five years ago, every-
To my surprise, within six to eight
ored upon hearing the news of the ancient tradition crosses borders and months, I had my first regular classes thing grew rapidly—right around
touches the hearts of people from di-
Padma Shri. My immediate thoughts verse backgrounds. and a small team forming around the time when Prime Minister Nar-
went to my gurus—Swami Dayanan- You have been honored for promot- me. My background in engineering, endra Modi mentioned our work on
da Saraswati and Swami Sakshat- ing India’s spiritual tradition, Vedanta, entrepreneurship, and technology Continued on next page... >>
krtananda—who I believe would be
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