Meet our Team
Like to know us better? Read our personal stories below.
Chant Now
We are a dedicated team of monks, professionals, and volunteers here to share our collective decades of wisdom and experience with you. We aim to teach, inspire and motivate spiritual seekers of all backgrounds on Hare Krishna mantra meditation.
Â
Our teachings are based on the ancient wisdom texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, as presented by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and form the spiritual foundation of the meditation training offered in our classes.
Srila Prabhupada is the founder acharya (spiritual head) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Srila Prabhupada not only brought bhakti yoga and the Hare Krishna maha-mantra to the western world but also circled the globe 14 times on lecture tours, bringing the teachings of Lord Krishna to thousands of people on six continents.
Men and women from all backgrounds and walks of life came forward to accept his message, and with their help, Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON centers and projects throughout the world. His edition of ‘Bhagavad-gita – As it Is’ is the highest-selling version of the Gita globally, having sold more than 30 million copies in 55 different languages to date.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Meet our Core Team
Pancharatna
Director
Pancharatna began his practice of bhakti yoga in 1970 as a monk in an ISKCON ashram in Toronto Canada. He also served in ISKCON New York before moving to Mayapur, India in 1976 to help develop an international spiritual community. Pancharatna married in 1980 and is a father of four, he currently directs ISKCON Online and is the author of the current courses offered on Chantnow.com.
Urugaya
Mentor | Team Leader
From Australia, Urugaya’s search for spiritual satisfaction led him to drop out of college where he was studying media and communications, and become a full-time monk for 6 years. Cooking and distributing sanctified vegetarian food and mantra meditation is his passion. He and his wife Lalita split their time between India and traveling the rest of the world, sharing Krishna Consciousness.
Lalita
Mentor | Graphic Designer
From beautiful Mauritius, Lalita is a lifelong Bhakti Yogi, being born to practicing parents. She studied fashion design and has a keen eye for aesthetics. She is a people person and loves interacting with seekers from all walks of life. An excellent cook, she feeds hundreds of people every week together with her husband Urugaya, who runs a community kitchen and food distribution program in India.
Venu Gayak
Mentor | Editor
Deeply interested in philosophy, psychology, and poetry, Venu explored many spiritual practices like Astanga Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Kundalini, and Vipassana before finding his spiritual home in Bhakti. He gave up his globetrotting corporate career in exchange for a simple life of full-time service and meditation and presently lives in Mayapur, the spiritual headquarters of ISKCON.
Amala
Mentor | Photographer
Amala studied to become a hairdresser, but never worked in this specialty. She came to Sri Mayapur a few years ago and embarked on a deep systematic study of the Bhakti literature and philosophy. She also lived in the Hare Krishna temple in London, Soho Street, where she helped organize various programs and initiatives to introduce Bhakti to sincere seekers.
Vrindavan
Social Media Administrator
From the paradise islands of beautiful Mauritius, Vrindavan was steeped in Bhakti Yoga from his very childhood as both his parents are practitioners of this ancient tradition. He is passionate about technology and social media and helps ChantNow behind the scenes to make sure we are able to get our message across to as many young seekers as possible.
Meet our Mentors
Savyasachi
Mentor
Savyasachi is a full-time practicing monk, having entered monastic life in 2002. He works closely with Wits University in this capacity since 2014, spending 4 months traveling and teaching internationally and the balance in Africa. He is the chairperson of the WuSA (Wake Up South Africa) consciousness development initiative. He sits on the Advisory Board of ISKCON SA National council.
Surabhi Kunja
Mentor
From South Africa, Surabhi is a software developer by profession but her real passion lies in sharing the wisdom texts of Bhakti. She absolutely loves teaching and believes in learning and growing together. She regularly travels to different sacred places in the world with the aim to associate closely with self-realized saints, fostering deep spiritual connections with a global community of like-minded souls.
Matanga
Mentor
Disillusioned by the modern hype of materialism and having experimented with many spiritual practices, Matanga got his first experience of a solid practice of spiritual life in a dedicated ISKCON community in Italy. Matanga quickly developed great enthusiasm and taste for ascetic life and is currently a full-time monk, residing and teaching bhakti yoga in New York City.
Gopal Champu
Mentor
Gopal is from New York. He used to sell cars before taking up bhakti and becoming a full-time monk, living in the New York ashram. Gopal loves to study and share his realisations. He also does one of the most difficult services of distributing our books on the street. Gopal is a spiritual salesman! He moved from selling cars to transcendental books!
Tulsi
Mentor
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria Tulsi joined in 1998. He holds Bhakti-sastri, Bhaktivaibhava, and Bhaktivedanta degrees from the Mayapur Institute, a renowned center of bhakti yoga that teaches both the theory and practical aspects of the philosophy. He has made India his permanent home and since 2005 he lives predominantly in Sridham Mayapur where he works at the Bhaktivedanta Academy.
Lalita Gopika
Mentor
Hi, I'm Lalita an Intuitive Energetic Healer, Trauma Informed Spiritual Coach & Mentor located in Northern NSW, Australia.
I've been a Bhakti practitioner for around 11 years Before finding my Bhakti path 11 years ago, I tried every type of meditation and spiritual practice you could think of and whilst they gave great insight and support, none of them painted a full picture or gave such profound wisdom and deep connection to the truth within.
As I peeled back the layers of my false ego I began to require further tools to support me to grow and evolve mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
I now teach and guide women all over the globe and support them to grow and evolve emotionally and spiritually.
Patrick (Padma)
Mentor
Patrick "Padmanabha" joined the Hare Krishna movement in Sydney in 2003 after traveling through India, Nepal, Thailand, and Malaysia. A spiritual seeker originally from the Netherlands, he found answers in the Krishna conscious philosophy. He likes the idea of being an eternal spirit soul. Padma manages the Govinda Valley retreat, an intentional yoga community in Sydney.
Nikunja Lila
Course Teacher
Nikunja came to the bhakti through her yoga asana practice and has since furthered her studies at the Mayapur Academy (India). Residing in New York City and Mayapur, she serves as a yoga asana teacher and pujari (priest). A full-time mother, and wife, she finds shelter in her steady mantra meditation practice and endeavors to share this sacred tradition with her students and family.
Godruma
Course Teacher
Godruma Goura Das grew up in a family of dedicated bhakti yogis and learned mantra meditation from an early age. Now married and pursuing a career in web development Godruma continues to integrate mantra meditation into his daily life and share it with others.