About Vedic Odyssey

About Dandapani

Hindu priest and meditation teacher, Dandapani, was born a Hindu of Sri Lankan descent. Dandapani was raised in Australia and after graduating from university with a degree in Electrical Engineering, he left everything behind to enter a monastic life. He was initiated as a monastic by his guru Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (affectionately known as Gurudeva) at Kauai's Hindu Monastery in Hawaii.

For ten years at the monastery Dandapani studied the ancient Hindu yogic teachings that focus on the use of meditation, yoga, and worship of God as the keys to unfolding a person's deepest potential through personal self-effort.

During this time, Dandapani was also the coordinator for the monastery's international travel-study programs. Under the guidance of Gurudeva and later his successor, Bodhinatha, Dandapani took hundreds of seekers throughout India, south-east Asia, Europe, Russia, the Caribbean islands, Australia and New Zealand.

In 2008 when Dandapani's monastic vows expired he chose to venture out on his own. He spent the first year in the world traveling and studying in the US, Asia and Australia. Dandapani currently lives in New York City and travels frequently sharing the teachings of his guru in workshops and spiritual adventures.

Dandapani belongs to the Saivite sect of Hinduism and practices the philosophy of Saiva Siddhanta.