Teachers at AVC

Sri Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati

Swami Tattvavidananda is a true pandita in both a classical and modern sense. His Vedic studies began in childhood, first under the tutelage of his father, a well-known scholar, and later in a traditional patashala. He excelled in his Vedic studies and at the age of 11 was encouraged to begin modern academic studies. A brilliant student, he ultimately earned a Ph.D in Chemistry, and enjoyed a successful scientific career. He continued to retain his connection to his Vedic roots, More ..

Sri Swami Viditatmananda

Sri Swami Viditatmananda, a disciple of Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati, expounds Vedanta with a simplicity and directness that make it easy to assimilate. Having lived and worked in the United States prior to becoming a renunciate, Swami Viditatmananda is familiar with the lifestyles in India and the West. With his insight into both cultures, he reaches out to everyone with equal ease. More ..

Sri Vijay Kapoor

Sri Vijay Kapoor took Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati as his guru at a family camp the very first year Swamiji came to the US. Later, Sri Kapoor was one of the pioneers to establish the 2 ½ year course taught by Pujya Swamiji in Piercy, California, started in 1979. To attend this course, he left his job as a Marketing Manager for the Hewlett-Packard Company and moved his entire family to live in Piercy. Pujya Swamiji asked Sri Kapoor to be the Secretary for the Arsha Vidya Pitham at its inception, and he is still serving in that capacity today. After his graduation from the Piercy course in 1982, Sri Kapoor resumed his work at HP, and also started teaching Vedanta in the San Francisco Bay Area. He took early retirement in the year 2000 to devote his time to the study and teaching of Vedanta and Sanskrit. In 2003, Sri Kapoor established the Arsha Vidya Center (AVC), whose goal is to promote Pujya Swamiji’s teachings in the local area. Toward that goal, both Swami Viditatmananda and Swami Tattvavidananda have been visiting the Bay Area regularly for talks, classes and retreats. Sri Kapoor currently teaches two Vedanta classes per week to about 50 students, two Sanskrit classes per week and has established 4 Gita Home Study groups in the area.