Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati is a renowned spiritual leader, author, and motivational speaker based in Rishikesh, India. She is the President of the Divine Shakti Foundation, which runs free schools, vocational training programs, and empowerment programs. She is also the director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, which has been covered in Time, CNN, the New York Times, and other prestigious publications and has been addressed by both the Prime Minister and Vice President of India.
She serves on the United Nations Advisory Council on Religion and on the steering committees of the International Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) and the Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty, a campaign by the United Nations and the World Bank. She is the author of the newly released #1 bestselling memoir, “Hollywood to the Himalayas: A Journey of Healing and Transformation.” Originally from Los Angeles and a graduate of Stanford University, Sadhviji was ordained into the sacred order of Sanyas by her guru, HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, and has been living at Parmarth Niketan Ashram for the past twenty-five years.
She is the Secretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international interfaith organization dedicated to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by U.S. President Joe Biden for her lifelong commitment to volunteer service. Additionally, she was the Managing Editor for the monumental project of the 11-volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism. She oversees a variety of humanitarian projects, teaches meditation, lectures, writes, counsels individuals and families, and serves as a unique female voice of spiritual leadership throughout India and the world.