About Us « Maharishi Vedic Pandits

THE TRUST AND FOUNDATION

Funding for the group of Maharishi Vedic Pandits is organized and administered by the Brahmananda Saraswati Trust in The Netherlands, and the Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation in the USA.

The mission of the Trust and Foundation includes overseeing a worldwide fundraising program, receiving donations, and managing the investment of the endowment fund. They jointly direct and monitor all disbursements to their managing partners in India to ensure that the goals of the project are achieved. The Trust and Foundation are overseen by a board of scientists, educators and business leaders from around the world.

These organizations were established by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and named in honour of Maharishi’s teacher, Guru Dev, Brahmananda Saraswati, one of India’s most highly revered spiritual leaders, who served as Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, India – the chief representative of the Vedic tradition of knowledge.

Brahmananda Saraswati Trust

Established in the Netherlands in 2008 as non-profit organisation, the Brahmananda Saraswati Trust (Stichting) has a focus on Europe plus Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries. Donations are tax-deductible in several European countries – please check with your tax advisor.

Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation

Established in USA in 2008, the Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the U.S. Donations are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers .

Click here to see the Audited Financial Statements for BST Netherlands and BSF USA

President of Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation

Tony Nader, MD PhD MARR

Dr. Nader is a medical doctor trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. in neuroscience) and Harvard University, and a globally recognised Vedic scholar. As Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s successor, Dr Nader is head of the international Transcendental Meditation® organisations in over 100 countries. Dr Nader guides the Transcendental Meditation programme and its advanced practices to fulfill the highest aspirations of society in all areas of national life.

Chairman of the Board of Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation

Dr. Bevan Morris, D.S.C.I

Dr. Morris graduated from Cambridge University, Cambridge, England. He was the first person in the world to receive the Doctorate of the Science of Creative Intelligence from Maharishi. For 36 years he was President of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, and is now President Emeritus, and International President of Maharishi Universities of Management. Dr. Morris is the world’s greatest expert in Maharishi’s Consciousness Based Education and has presented Maharishi’s programmes in over 120 countries to the public, and to government, education, and business leaders.

Chairman of the Board of Brahmananda Saraswati Trust and CEO of Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation (USA) and Brahmananda Saraswati Trust (The Netherlands)

Dr. Harris Kaplan, D.S.C.I

After retiring in 1999 from a successful career as an investment fund manager, Dr. Kaplan has devoted his time to the support of programmes led by Transcendental Meditation organisations around the world. Since 2006, he has been the chief administrator for Transcendental Meditation organisation projects in India, including the training and support of thousands of Maharishi Vedic Pandits. He has been the CEO of BSF since its inception and also serves on its Investment Committee, helping to oversee the Endowment.

BSF & BST Executive Committee

Dr. Bevan Morris – Educator
Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa
Harris Kaplan DSCI – Retired Investment Fund Manager
Vlodrop, Netherlands
John Hagelin. Ph.D. – Quantum Physicist: President, Global Union of Scientists for Peace; President, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA, USA
Robert LoPinto – Businessman and Administrator
Rockville, MD, USA
Steve Rubin – Businessman and Administrator
Sebastian, FL, USA

BSF Board Members

Jose Luis Alvares – Administrator
Barcelona, Spain
Antonio Bartolomé – Businessman
Banastás, Huesca, Spain
Dr. Leslie Brooks, M.A. – Administrator
Lincoln, MA, USA
Howard Martin Chandler, Ph.D. – Educator
Boston, MA , USA
Rafael David – Business Entrepreneur
Vero Beach, FL, USA

Dr. Arlene Kaplan – Administrator
Vlodrop, The Netherlands
Dr. Neil Paterson – Administrator
Salt Spring Island, Canada
Rainer Picha, M.D. – Cardiologist and Research Scientist
Vienna, Austria
Dr. Susie Swan – Managing Director of the Ambassador Resource Office
Netherlands and Cape Town, South Africa
Maureen Wynne, J.D. – Attorney
Maharishi Vedic City, IA, USA

BSF & BST Investment Committee

Harris Kaplan, D.S.C.I
Retired Investment Fund Manager
Founder and former CEO of Eastgate Financial Services Ltd., USA
Robert LoPinto
Retired Businessman
Rockville, MD, USA
Jeffrey S. Abramson
Real Estate Developer
Partner, Tower Companies, USA
Steve Rubin
Retired business executive
Former Chairman and CEO, United Fuels International Inc., USA

Eric Schwartz
Investment Advisor
Founder and CEO, Cambridge Investment Research, USA
Michael Dreben
Corporate Finance and Business Development Executive
CEO, Grenadier Management, LLC
Ted Hirsch
Economist and portfolio manager
Vanderbilt Financial Group, New York, USA

Our team

Our dedicated team at Brahmananda Saraswati Trust and Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation coordinates an ongoing worldwide fundraising effort, and serves donors, well-wishers and everybody interested in our cause, in a professional and caring manner.

Harris Kaplan
Chief Executive Officer
BST & BSF

Susie Swan
Managing Director of the Ambassador Resource Office

Jeannie Rose
Chief Financial Officer

Helen Scarf
Donor Support and Data Management

Jane Deans
Website Management
and Special Yagyas

Bev Merson
National and Special Yagyas

Adrian Valls
Spanish speaking countries and Multimedia Specialist

Galina Ponomarenko
Russian speaking countries and Graphic Design Specialist

Kadder Melaikia
French speaking countries and Zoom engineer

Development Council

The Development Council explores and opens new avenues for the Foundation and Trust to expand their fundraising worldwide, and establishes relations with major donors, institutional funders, foundations and various interest groups.

Our Team in India

Training and employment of the peace-creating experts – Vedic Pandits – is being carried out by Maharishi Veda Vigyan Vishwa Vidya Peetham (MVVVVP), a charitable educational trust registered in India since 1984.
MVVVVP is the implementing agency for establishing a permanent group of 9,000 Vedic Pandits at the Brahmasthan (geographic centre) of India. To achieve this ambitious goal and create the global Super Radiance effect, the organization collaborates closely with the Brahmananda Saraswati Trust and Foundation as its main contributors.

MVVVVP has become a leading institution for training Vedic Pandits with its graduates highly sought after by institutions throughout India. Combining the expertise of skilled teachers and computer technology, MVVVVP has developed a systematic and effective curriculum for training students from the ages of 10 to 22. The training begins in educational centres in local villages (ages 10-15) and continues in one of 24 regional residential facilities (ages 15-20) until they graduate as professional peace creating experts, after which they live at the Maharishi Vedic University campus in central India, near Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. MVVVVP has graduated thousands of Maharishi Vedic Pandits from all parts of India.
Currently, about 2,000 Vedic Peace Experts live and follow their peace-creating profession at the central campus in India. This number has steadily grown over the past years, thanks to the generous contributions of well-wishers worldwide.

If you wish to join the growing circle of peace pioneers and help increase the number of Vedic Pandits to 9,000, please make a contribution.

team-img-1 Dr. Girish Chandra Varma,
Managing Trustee, Maharishi Ved Vigyan Vishwa Vidya Peetham (MVVVVP)

Dr. Varma manages the training programme of Vedic Pandits in India. He is also Chairman of the Maharishi Vidya Mandir school system, one of India’s largest private school networks with over 80,000 students in 120
locations.

OUR INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF AMBASSADORS

In 90 countries around the world, volunteer representatives help achieve the goals of the Global Peace Initiative. These ‘Ambassadors of World Peace’ and the international team that supports them have played a vital role in presenting the understanding of this novel approach to peace and a better planet, garnering support for the Pandit group and arranging hundreds of National Yagyas for their countries.

If you would like to find your Ambassador, please choose your country in the menu below, then click “Submit”.

Country

> Submit

Case for support

Donors from around the world have made supporting the Global Peace Initiative and the Maharishi Vedic Pandits their highest
charitable priority. Learn more about why they have made this choice in our case statement brochure – You can Change the Destiny of
Mankind.

> Download the pdf

Annual Reports

Below you can download the formal audited statements of Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation (BSF) and Stichting Brahmananda Saraswati Trust (BST) that show the details of the organizations’ fundraising finances.

> BSF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023

> BST AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023

> BSF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2022

> BST AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2022

> BSF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2021

> BST AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2021

> BSF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2020

> BST AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2020

> BSF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2019

> BST AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2019

> BSF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2018

> BST AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2018