Bharat has always been at the forefront of the world due to its culture and civilization. The culture of Bharat is not only being promoted in Bharat but also in Brazil by a woman. This woman is none other than Gloria Arieira of Brazil, who received the Padma Shri award in 2020. Gloria learned the culture of Bharat when she came down to Mumbai in 1974, after which she has devoted her entire life to promoting this civilization.
Gloria was always keen to learn about religions. In the year 1973, when Swami Chinmyananda arrived in Brazil for a seminar, Gloria decided to attend this seminar. After attending two seminars in the year 1974, Gloria decided to come to Bharat and learn about the Vedic religion and culture in totality here.
In her blog, Gloria said that when she first arrived in Bharat, she was very young. Despite being a young Western girl, Swami Chinmyanand accepted her and gave her education at Sandipani Sadhanalaya Mumbai. During education, Swami Saraswati became her second teacher who gave knowledge of Vedic religion and Vedanta to Gloria.
🇮🇳-🇧🇷| Honouring our greatest treasure – our people.
On the eve of the 71st #RepublicDay graced by the Brazilian Pres @jairbolsonaro as the Chief Guest, India honours two inspirational Brazilian women Lia Diskin & Gloria Areria with Padma Shri, our 4th highest civilian award. pic.twitter.com/jGcyID3ZNV
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) January 25, 2020
After arriving in Brazil in the year 1979, Gloria began to spread the knowledge from Bharat to the people in Portuguese. A few years later, in 1984, Gloria, with the help of her colleagues in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, laid the foundation of the Vidya Mandir. Vedic religion is explained in the Vidya Mandir. Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana are also recited here.
Gloria has also translated Bhagavad Gita into English to spread Hindu Dharma to more people. Gloria had learned the Sanskrit language while visiting several ashrams in Bharat. Gloria has also used some Sanskrit words in her book to explain the things written in Bhagavad Gita in a simple way.
Saraswati Puja is performed every Friday by Professor Hanrik Castro at the Vidya Mandir located in Rio de Janeiro. All the festivals represented in the Vedic calendar in Bharat are also celebrated in the best manner in Brazil. All festivals like Makarasankranti, Mahashivratri, Ramnavami, Hanuman Jayanti, Janmashtami, and Deepavali are celebrated every year in the Vidya Mandir in keeping with the tenets of the Vedic Sanatana Dharma.
It is a matter of great pride that Vedic Sanatana Dharma is spreading beyond the shores of Bharat to faraway lands as well.
References:
- https://www.thelallantop.com/oddnaari/two-brazilian-women-lia-diskin-and-gloria-arieira-who-were-awarded-padma-shri-on-republic-day-2020/
- https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/india/two-brazilian-women-honored-with-padma-shri-award/story
- https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/india-honours-two-brazilian-women-with-padma-shri-heres-why.html
- https://www.bhaskar.com/women/lifestyle/news/brazilian-women-gloria-arieira-will-be-awarded-the-padma-shri-award-everything-you-need-to-know-about-126688065.html
(Featured Image Source: Indusscrolls)
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