Ms. Dena Merriam
Founder & Coordinator Global Peace Initiative for Woman and
International Advisory Council Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 11-10-2021 to 10-10-2025
Dena Merriam is the founder and convener of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW). She began working in the inter-faith movement in the late 1990s when she served as Vice Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders held at the United Nation in New York in the year 2000. She subsequently convened a meeting of women religious and spiritual leaders at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and from that gathering founded GPIW in 2002. In 2008, Merriam was one of the founding members of the Contemplative Alliance, which later became a program of GPIW. For over 40 years, Dena Merriam has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation. She received her Master’s Degree from Columbia University. In 2014 she received the Niwano Peace Prize for her interfaith peace efforts. She has written several books, including, My Journey Through Time – A Spiritual Memoir of Life, Death and Rebirth, The Untold Story of Sita, When the Bright Moon Rises, and most recently, Rukmini and the Turning of Time.
Ms. Gabi Gillessen
President, European Union of Yoga
International Advisory Council Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 11-10-2021 to 10-10-2025
Born 23/09/65, in Pretoria, South Africa. I am an Irish Citizen, am married with one child. I speak English, Afrikaans (Dutch) and German
I have been teaching Yoga classes in Tullamore since 1996 and am at present teaching from Root to Light Yoga Space in the Wood-of-O, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. I have taught a wide variety of students including Yoga for Children, teenagers and transition year students, Yoga in Pregnancy, Yoga in the field of Mental Health and offer private Tuition etc.
I taught Yoga in Portlaoise High Security Prison for several years.
From 1999 – 2007 I taught Yoga in Kedron, Therapy & Counselling Centre, Edenderry, Co. Offaly and am currently employed by the Health Service Executive in the Bannon Centre, Community Mental Health, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. My responsibilities include teaching yoga, mindfulness, ATB and Sensory Therapy classes.
I have taken groups of Yoga Practitioners, Trainees and Teachers to Auroville, India for Yoga Intensives in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 & 2019. These trips include an exploration of Auroville, its structure, function and interactive workshops.
I have taught at the European Union of Yoga’s annual Congress in Zinal, Switzerland in 2008 and 2011 and have been on the Zinal Congress organising team in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. I have been invited to teach in the UK, Italy and most recently in Switzerland.
I was elected President of the Irish Yoga Association in September 2006, a post I still hold and was elected President of the EUY in September 2014 and again in 2016 and 2018 for another 2 year term.
On behalf of the Irish Yoga Association I tutor Continuous Professional Development days and Teacher Refresher Days for yoga teachers on a variety of topics e.g. Adjustments, Mindfulness etc.
I have also continued my studies and exploration of Yoga by working closely with teachers, such as Swami Nityamuktananda Saraswati, Dr Anuradha Choudy and Dr Vinayachandra BK and by attending seminars all over Europe, including the annual Congress of the European Union of Yoga and Iyengar Conferences in Edinburgh and Paris. I enjoy philosophy, reading, music, walking and swimming.
Mr. Hasmukh P. Rama
Founder Chancellor, Auro University, Surat and
International Advisory Council Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 11-10-2021 to 10-10-2025
Hasmukh P Rama is the Chairman of Auro Hotels, a hospitality company renowned for hotel development and management affiliated with the Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt brands. In addition, Mr. Rama is the founding Chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and has served as Past Chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). Mr. Rama is also the Chairman of Gujarat JHM Hotels Ltd., which owns both the Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott, in Surat, that through HP’s influence, have a culture of giving back to their local communities through the O.N.E. program.
HP has demonstrated great commitment towards bettering humanity, evidenced through his service and social action. His efforts have been transformative to the welfare of society. For instance, in Sarona, Gujarat, HP’s native village, he led many initiatives, improving physical infrastructure like roads, running water, power and drainage, arranged for free healthcare for the well-being of the needy patients of rural areas. He helped develop and fund over 120 toilet blocks for underprivileged women in various neighborhoods of Surat. To honor his brother, Denu P Rama, since his passing in 2006, every year, HP donates hundreds of uniforms to the visually impaired students of the Andhajan School in Surat. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gujarat JHM Hotels team stepped in to help with many initiatives including supplying over 250 meals/day for over 120 days to law enforcement officials, health care workers and first responders.
Perhaps, HP’s greatest contribution to the welfare of society has been in the form of education. He is the Founder and President of the AURO University in Surat, Gujarat. The University was inspired by the vision and teachings of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and The Mother with the purpose of transforming learners to leaders through integral and holistic education. The university is not-for-profit entity, established with personal funding.
In addition, HP and his family established the Rama Scholarship for the American Dream through the AH&LA. Since its inception the fund has awarded over $1.2 million in scholarships to more than 650 students, helping them realize their own American Dream.
Finally, throughout his entire life, HP has devoted much of his time serving Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as a devotee and seeker. As his commitment to their philosophy of life, HP is working to develop the Sri Aurobindo Integral Life Center (SAILC) at AURO University and the La Grace Center in Greenville, SC, USA whose mission is to invest in current and future carriers of the Integral Yoga teachings and connect a global community of Integral Yoga practitioners.
Mr. Michel Danino
Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar and
International Advisory Council Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 11-10-2021 to 10-10-2025
French-born Michel Danino has lived in India since 1977 and has been an Indian citizen since 2004. A student of Indian civilization, he has written on protohistorical India (The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati, 2010) and Indian culture (Indian Culture and India’s Future, 2011; Sri Aurobindo and India’s Rebirth, an edited volume, 2018). He also co-edited (with Prof. Kapil Kapoor) a two-volume textbook for the CBSE course Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (2013 and 2015). He has lectured and taught at several educational institutions. Since 2011, he has been teaching courses on Indian civilization and knowledge systems at IIT Gandhinagar, where he is currently visiting professor and assists its Archaeological Sciences Centre.
Michel Danino is a member of several scholarly and government bodies, including the Central Advisory Board on Culture (Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India), the National Steering Committee for the development of National Curriculum Frameworks, and the High-Powered Committee of Indian Knowledge Systems (both under Ministry of Education, Govt. of India).
In 2017, the Government of India awarded him Padma Shri by for his work on education and culture.
Dr. David Frawley
American Hindu Scholar and
International Council Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 11-10-2021 to 10-10-2025
Dr. David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri) is Vedic teacher (Vedacharya) and author of over fifty published books on Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedic studies translated into twenty languages worldwide.
Vamadeva has been one of the main teachers bringing Yoga and Ayurveda to the West over the last forty years, helping to found Yoga and Ayurveda programs, schools and associations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. His work is highly respected in India where he has received the Padma Bhushan award of the government of India (2015 and the National Eminence Award of the South Indian Educational Society (SIES).
He is also a Sanskrit scholar known for his indepth study of Vedic and Yogic texts, from Rigveda to Yoga Sutras. He has been associated with such Yoga Centers as Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Sri Ramanashram, Himalayan Institute, Swami Rama Sadhaka Gram, Self-realization Fellowship, Swaminarayan, Chinmaya Mission and Arshavidya.
Vamadeva is director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies in the United States (www.vedanet.com), which offers courses in Vedic knowledge systems of Yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda and Jyotish. He emphasizes the interrelationship of all these Vedic disciplines and their global relevance for the future of humanity.