Manjari Dasi is a speaker, singer, artist, and an ambassador for sacred music known as kirtan. She aspires to offer people an experience of deep connection and a transformation of consciousness through transcendental sound vibration.
A dedicated brahmacharini (student and missionary) and disciple of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja for nearly thirty years, she divides her time between India and North America, presenting the beautiful teachings and culture of bhakti-yoga and Sanatana Dharma with with the open hearts she meets along the way.
Kirtan consists of mantra meditation, devotional songs, chants, and prayers, to heal and inspire our world with bhakti-yoga, the science of love and devotion.
Background
Raised in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition which was introduced to the West by His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Manjari was profoundly influenced by the dynamic atmosphere of kirtan and devotional service she grew up in as a little girl in the temple communities of Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
She first traveled to India in 1994 where she met her spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and received initiation from him in the sacred village of Vrindavan.
Manjari was transformed by his teachings, his impeccable character, and by experiencing kirtan in his divine association. In 2001 she answered a calling and moved to India to dedicate her life to service, intensifying her bhakti-yoga practice (sādhana) and studying philosophy, devotional painting, bhajan and kirtan under the direct guidance and training of her guru and her mentors.
Manjari also served as apprentice to Srimati Syamarani dasi (bhaktiart.net) in India From 2001 – 2009. During this time she assisted with creating new artworks and was trained in editing, publishing, lecturing, and other activities.
Manjari continues to create artwork for the books of Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in collaboration with Gaudiya Vedanta Publications, and she publishes music, art, and media under her nonprofit publishing label, Thakurani Arts.
With the blessings of her guru and mentors, she established the Rupa-Sanatana Gaudiya Foundation in 2022 in order to expand the mission entrusted to her and to open a women’s ashram in America.