Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

Spiritual teacher at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji, PhD, lives at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, on the banks of the Ganges River, in the foothills of the Himalayas, in Rishikesh, India. She is President of the Divine Shakti Foundation, a charitable organization bringing education, vocational training, upliftment and empowerment programs to women and children in India. She is also the Secretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international alliance of interfaith leaders working for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Additionally, Sadhviji serves as Director of the International Yoga Festival, a world-famous annual interfaith event which has grown to more than 1000 participants from 101 countries. She was the Managing Editor of the historic 11- volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism, that was compiled by the India Heritage Research Foundation. Sadhviji grew up in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from Stanford University. She was in the midst of her PhD in psychology when she traveled to India and had a transformative experience on the banks of the Ganges where she has lived since 1996. She gives spiritual discourses, question-answer sessions, counseling and coaching programs and oversees charitable and humanitarian programs. Sadhviji was officially ordained into the order of Sanyas by her guru, HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, in 2000.