Summary
Born into a Madhva Vaishnava Brahmin family, Mahabhagavat Das began adult life as an atheist. Guided by the books and followers of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he gradually embraced Bhakti in the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
Initially reading the Bhagavad Gita As It Is to critique it, he found profound inspiration and has studied it for over 20 years. In 2004, he met his spiritual master, His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari, and after years of discourse, he was initiated in 2011 (ISKCON Austin) and received second initiation in 2013 (ISKCON Kaunas).
He teaches from scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, adapting his approach to diverse audiences. Fluent in multiple languages, he primarily teaches in English.
With a background in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and postgraduate studies in Software Technology, he pursued a PhD in Machine Learning but left it to focus on Bhakti. Professionally, he is a Chief Technology Officer at an insurance company.
Dedicated to Harinam Sankirtan, book distribution, teaching, mentoring, deity worship, and temple service, he serves ISKCON Toronto with his wife and son. He considers himself a “recovering atheist” and prays to become a true devotee of Krishna.
Reach him at www.dasadas.com
Detail
Even though born in a Madhva Vaishnava Brahmin family, Mahabhagavat Das entered adult life as an atheist.
The books and followers of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada guided him gradually. He moved from atheism to agnosticism. Then, he embraced the impersonal conception. Eventually, he developed a personal idea of God. Finally, he became a practicing devotee in the line of Bhakti, Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya.
He started reading the Bhagavad Gita As It Is just to find faults in it. But, this book had a profound impact on his life. He has read this text hundreds of times. He always finds new lights in every reading. This reading started over 20 years ago.
He met his spiritual master, His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari in 2004. Yet, he only realized he’d met his eternal spiritual master after several years of intense discourse over email. During this time, he asked over 600 questions, which were patiently answered. He was initiated in 2011 at ISKCON Austin, Texas. He then received his second initiation in 2013 at ISKCON Kaunas, Lithuania. Many souls have contributed to his spiritual growth. He is grateful to them all. He prays to pay it forward.
He primarily teaches from the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita. He also writes and teaches from the Sri Ishopanisad, Sri Upadeshamrita (Nectar of Instruction), and the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu (Nectar of Devotion). Discourses and formats are tailored according to the needs of the specific audience being served. He speaks English, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, and Telugu. Having lived in the western countries for a long time, he mostly preaches in English. But he also teaches in Hindi sometimes. He also has some basic understanding of Sanskrit and German.
He has a background in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. He earned a Gold Medal. He also completed Post Graduate Studies in Software Technology. He pursued a PhD in Machine Learning and Computational Linguistics in Toronto. Nonetheless, his increasing interest in Bhakti forced a choice. He had to choose between the umpteen research papers and the works of Srila Prabhupada. He dropped the PhD program.
His primary services are Harinam Sankirtan, spiritual book distribution, teaching, mentoring, cooking, and deity worship. He has performed many different services by the grace of Guru and Krishna. These include book publishing, fixing temple toilets, sweeping and mopping, taking out the garbage, and driving trucks. He strives to serve as much as possible, as needed, within his limitations and constraints.
He works in the corporate world as a Chief Technology Officer at an Insurance Company.
He serves in ISKCON Toronto, along with his wife and son. He still considers himself a recovering atheist, and is praying to be a devotee of Krishna some day.
Reach him via his website at www.dasadas.com.
A more detailed account of his early days in spiritual life is here:
Freedom through Genuine Spiritual Progress 