Urmila Devi Dasi
Encyclopedia
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
(ISKCON) in 1973 in Chicago and became a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
, the founder of ISKCON.
Her primary work in ISKCON has been in the area of education. In 1982 in Detroit she and her husband, Pratyatosa (Howard Best), started an ISKCON primary school, where she served as Principal for eight years. She founded another primary and secondary school in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in 1990, where she was Principal for ten years. Urmila has compiled a guidebook for education in ISKCON and has been engaged in "writing and coordinating the development of a Krishna conscious academic curriculum for primary and secondary students". For eight years she was the education columnist for Back to Godhead
Back to Godhead
Back to Godhead, also known as BTG, is the main magazine of the Hare Krishna Movement. It was originally published by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and later by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami and Jayadvaita Swami.-External links:**...
magazine, where she is presently an associate editor. In 2008 Urmila wrote a paper based on Īśopaniṣad about the philosophy of education to be followed at Krishna Avanti Primary School
Krishna Avanti Primary School
The Krishna Avanti school, is Britain's first state-funded Hindu school.A second Hindu primary school is due to open in Leicester in September 2011.-History:...
in Harrow
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
, England, the first state-funded Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
school in Great Britain. Urmila has also been involved in the debates on women's place in ISKCON.
Urmila Devi Dasi has a Masters
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...
of School Administration and a Doctor of Education
Doctor of Education
The Doctor of Education or Doctor in Education degree , in Latin, Doctor Educationis, is a research-oriented professional doctorate that prepares the student for academic, administrative, clinical, or research positions in educational, civil, and private organizations.-Differences between an Ed.D...
in Educational Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. Urmila teaches some courses, such as ISKCON History, at Bhaktivedanta College
Bhaktivedanta College
Bhaktivedanta College, located in the rural Ardennes region of Belgium, is a Vaishnava college administered by ISKCON. The programme at Bhaktivedanta College is the study of Vaishnavism. -History:...
in Radhadesh, Belgium. According to Bhaktivedanta College website, she has been on US television, including NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, explaining various aspects of the Hare Krishna movement and it's philosophy. Urmila is also a member of the Sastric
Shastra
' is a Sanskrit term used to denote rules in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the context of technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice; e.g., Bhautika Shastra , Rasayana Shastra , Jeeva Shastra , Vastu Shastra , Shilpa Shastra , Artha Shastra ' is a...
Advisory Council to the Governing Body Commission
Governing Body Commission
The Governing Body Commission is the managerial authority of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . ISKCON's founder, A.C...
of ISKCON.
In September of 2010., she published her 3 volume set 'Dr. Best Learn To Read', a program consisting of a set of children's reading books, teacher guides, and student activity books to take a young child from learning the English alphabet to fluent reading. The reading books are all stories about Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
or related to Vaisnava/Vedic
Vedic
Vedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...
culture. Aimed at ages 3-8, The Talking Books have the text in English and can be listened to in the following languages, page by page: English, Hindi, Gujarati, Telegu, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Mandarin, Thai, Japanese, Persian, Hebrew, Afrikaans, Croatian, Finnish, Portuguese, Italian, Slovenian, Slovak, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Hungarian, Dutch.