Ramananda Prasad
Encyclopedia
Ramananda Prasad is the founder of the International Gita Society. He has translated the Bhagavad Gita
into English in 1988 from the original Sanskrit
texts and the book is currently in its fourth edition.
Prasad was born in a small hamlet
, Hargawan, near Bodh Gaya in Biharsharif District of the India
n state
of Bihar
to a farmer who had 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of land and six children to support. Ramanand had his pre-school education in the village from the late Mazahirul Haque, a Muslim
headmaster who taught him English
and Mathematics
. After finishing his high school education at Mahadeva High School, Khusrupur, he passed his high school from Patna College
in 1953. He attended Patna Science College from 1953 to 1955 and is a 1959 graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur
, India, obtained his Master's Degree
from the University of Toronto
and earned his doctorate
in Civil Engineering
from the University of Illinois
. Since then, he has been involved in research, teaching, engineering and consulting and worked for the U. S. Navy Corps of Engineers before retiring in 2000. He is presently a professor of Civil Engineering at San Jose State University
and an adjunct professor of religion
and psychology
at the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Prasad is the founding member of several non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area
such as the Vedic Dharma Samaj that now runs the Fremont Hindu temple, Ramayan Sabha, and the Universal Yoga Center of San Francisco. He is married to Sadhana Prasad, a devotee of Lord Shiva
and has one daughter, Reeta Raina who is married to Abhinav Raina and one son, Sanjay Prasad, who now directs the activities of the International Gita Society. He also has two Grandsons, Jay Raina and Raj Raina.
Prasad created the American Gita Society (later renamed the International Gita Society) in 1984 in order to foster unity and goodwill between all religions and faiths of the world, through the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Its initial focus was to put copies of Bhagavad-Gita in libraries, hotels, motels, hospitals all over the world as the American Bible Society
does with copies of the New Testament
.
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
into English in 1988 from the original Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
texts and the book is currently in its fourth edition.
Prasad was born in a small hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
, Hargawan, near Bodh Gaya in Biharsharif District of the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
to a farmer who had 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of land and six children to support. Ramanand had his pre-school education in the village from the late Mazahirul Haque, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
headmaster who taught him English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. After finishing his high school education at Mahadeva High School, Khusrupur, he passed his high school from Patna College
University of Patna
The Patna University, Hindi: पटना विश्वविद्यालय, the first university in Bihar, was established in 1917 during the British Raj, and is the seventh oldest university of the Indian subcontinent. At that time, the jurisdiction of the university extended to Bihar, Orissa, and the Kingdom of Nepal...
in 1953. He attended Patna Science College from 1953 to 1955 and is a 1959 graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur
Kharagpur
Kharagpur is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology . The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and...
, India, obtained his Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and earned his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. Since then, he has been involved in research, teaching, engineering and consulting and worked for the U. S. Navy Corps of Engineers before retiring in 2000. He is presently a professor of Civil Engineering at San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
and an adjunct professor of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Prasad is the founding member of several non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
such as the Vedic Dharma Samaj that now runs the Fremont Hindu temple, Ramayan Sabha, and the Universal Yoga Center of San Francisco. He is married to Sadhana Prasad, a devotee of Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and has one daughter, Reeta Raina who is married to Abhinav Raina and one son, Sanjay Prasad, who now directs the activities of the International Gita Society. He also has two Grandsons, Jay Raina and Raj Raina.
Prasad created the American Gita Society (later renamed the International Gita Society) in 1984 in order to foster unity and goodwill between all religions and faiths of the world, through the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Its initial focus was to put copies of Bhagavad-Gita in libraries, hotels, motels, hospitals all over the world as the American Bible Society
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
does with copies of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.