• Br. Uddhav Chaitanya
• Uddhavji's Itinerary
• Have you met Uddhavji?
• Tanjore Painting
• Classes by Uddhavji
• Acharya P. B. Ghate
• Acharya Asha Ghate

Brahmachari Uddhav Chaitanya

Our Resident Acharya, Brahmachari Uddhav Chaitanya hails from a very cultured and orthodox family from Andhra Pradesh. He was born in a town called Madanapalle, which is incidentally also the birthplace of J. Krishnamurti! He grew up in different cities all over India, which has given him the advantage of being multi-lingual in several Indian languages in addition to English.

Swamiji’s first meeting with Pujya Gurudev was by accident. “Galti se mistake ho gaya,” as he puts it. Inspired by Gurudev, he joined CHYK (Chinmaya Yuva Kendra) in 1989 and was the founder vice-president of the CHYK chapter in Serilingampally, a suburb of Hyderabad. As a CHYK he initiated and led many service projects and never missed an opportunity to attend the camps conducted by Pujya Gurudev. The powerful influence of Pujya Gurudev’s teachings inspired him to join the Vedanta Course in Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai in 1993. In Swamiji’s words, “Those two years at the ashrama are the most memorable years of my life. I am still chewing the cud in an effort to digest everything I learnt there.”

After completing the course in 1995 Swamiji was initiated as a brahmachari and posted as the Resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission, Vijayawada where he served until June, 2002. During his tenure in Vijayawada Swamiji had a very busy schedule. He regularly conducted 6 - 7 yajnas per month, managed 35 - 40 Balavihars, 14 devi groups, 7 study groups, and large CHYK group with 200 – 300 members. Under his leadership the CHYK group in Vijayawada was recognized as the best center in India for 3 years. In addition to all these activities, Swamiji still found time to open a rural center in Maanikonda, about 40 kms from Vijayawada. He also continued to stay active with several service projects including the coordination of relief efforts after the Orissa cyclone at a statewide level.

One of the memorable experiences of Swamiji’s life was a 45 day pada yatra around south India that he undertook in 1998. In his own words, “This was an eye-opening experience that helped me to feel the pulse of India, to see the love offered by people in spite of their poverty. It was truly an experience that displayed the grace of the Almighty and Pujya Gurudev and how the Lord really does take care in spite of you being you!”

In June 2002 Swamiji was posted as the Resident Acharya of Chinmaya Saaket in Dallas, Texas by Pujya Guruji, Swami Tejomayananda. Swamiji has conducted several jnana yajnas since coming here including the complete Bhagavad Gita and various Upanishads. He conducts several classes during the week at Saaket as well as yajnas and Balavihar classes at the satellite center in Fort Worth. Currently Swamiji is on the Advisory Committee of CHYKWest, North America and has launched the southwest chapter in Dallas in March 2005. He has also initiated a rural development service project in Andhra Pradesh, which he is managing from here.

Swamiji’s ever-flowing love, infectious laugh and genuine interest in people have endeared him to young and old alike at Saaket. An accomplished speaker, he has a unique style of making complex subjects appear very simple, “It’s simble!” Swamiji is an accomplished artist and athlete. He enjoys glass painting, Tanjore painting, volleyball, football, soccer, basketball and cricket. He has a green thumb and enjoys working in his garden. Swamiji has an eclectic taste in music ranging from classical (both Carnatic and Hindustani) to jazz, rock and rap. Since coming to the US, Swamiji has also become computer savvy, having taken classes in hardware, networking and multimedia . He is our cool net surfing swami at Saaket, high on tech!

For more on Swamiji, read his interview with Brahmacharini Suniti Chaitanya.

Contact Information
Phone: 972-267-6198
Email:  uddhavbr02[-at-]yahoo[-dot-]com

Acharya Prabhakar B. Ghate

Acharya Prabhakar B. Ghate (PBG) hails from Dharwad in the state of Karnataka. PBG came to the US in 1958 as a Fulbright Scholar after graduating from Karnataka University with high honors. After completing his Ph.D. in 1962, he joined Cornell University, where he pursued a career in research and teaching until the summer of 1966. In September of 1996, PBG moved to the Dallas area to start his long and distinguished career with Texas Instruments where he worked until January 1995, retiring as a Texas Instruments (TI) Fellow and Worldwide Manager of Reliability in the Semiconductor Division.

When PBG first came here there were hardly fifty to sixty people of Indian origin, including children, in the area. India Association of North Texas (IANT) was in its infancy. PBG served as a President of IANT in 1970. He delivered presentations on sanatana dharma at several area churches and schools, as well as UT Southwestern Medical School. For a number of years, PBG was a member of the Inter-faith group and offered peace prayers during Thanksgiving. He is a founding member of the Dallas Fort Worth Hindu Temple Society and also served as one of the trustee.

PBG has a long association with Chinmaya Mission starting in 1982 when he had the opportunity to listen to Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda’s discourses at the camp in Houston. After that he used to attend Gurudev’s discourses regularly whenever he came to Houston. In 1991, he attended Gurudev's discourses on the Bhagavad Gita in Piercy, California, as well as his seventy-fifth birthday tulabhar celebration, in Mumbai, India.

PBG met Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda in 1989, when DFW Hindu temple hosted his discourses on Navadha Bhakti. Since then PBG has attended several camps and courses conducted by Guruji, culminating with the Vedanta Course at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai from 2005 - 2007. During this time PBG also passed, with distinction, the Kovid examination in Sanskrit conducted by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

PBG has been involved with Chinmaya Saaket since the purchase of the land in 1998, the bhumi puja, vastu puja and the installation and consecration of the deities in the Ram Mandir in 2000. He has currently been assigned by Guruji as an acharya at CMDFW.

Acharya Asha Ghate

Bio to be posted.