YOGI BABA PREM[edit]

Yogi Baba Prem, born 1960, is an American Hindu teacher (acharya) and author who has written eleven books and over 80 articles on topics such as the Vedas, Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Yoga, Ayurveda, and Vedic Astrology, published both in India and in the United States. He is the director and founder of Universal Yoga in Florida.

His articles have appeared in Journal of Yoga, “Hindu Human Rights,” Vedic Astrology Magazine, India Facts, Chakra News and he has been a regular contributor to OmPlace. He is a Vedic teacher (Veda Visharada), Ayurvedic Practitioner, and a Vedic astrologer.

Career[edit]

Yogi Baba Prem’s teaching practice spans over 30 years and is based on study of several Indian traditions and philosophical models. He mainly teaches from a Vedic perspective and that of Kashmir Shaivism while also incorporating Tantra, Samkhya, Ayurveda, Jyotish, and Rishi traditions. He often focuses on the Kundalini traditions when focused on physical yoga. He teaches yoga practices and mantras in an authentic Vedic manner. He has taught thousands of students, given hundreds of lectures, and serves as a spiritual teacher for students across the globe.

Yogi Baba Prem is one of few Westerners to be recognized in the traditional systems of India and one of only a handful of Mahavatar Babaji’s direct students. In the traditional Indian Gurukula (“one on one”) system he has received several titles that denote significant accomplishment: Yogacharya (“Teacher of Yoga”), ayurvedic practitioner, Veda Kovid (“Proficiency in The Vedas”), and Veda Visharada (“Comprehensive Knowledge of The Vedas”). He is one of a handful of living practitioners of Rishi Yoga, a tradition that requires highly developed meditative skills and dates back at least 8500 years.

Yogi Baba Prem has been recognized for having completed over 3400 hours of Sanskrit study and 600 hours of Ayurvedic study through the American Institute of Vedic Studies. His Vedic studies include the areas of Tantra, Vedic Texts, Vedic History, Ayurveda, Vedic Astrology, select Brahmanas, Upanishads, Aranyakas, select Puranas, and related fields. He is knowledgeable in certain forms of Puja, Homas, and Yajnas. He studied Ayurveda with Dr. David Frawley and to a lesser degree with Dr. Vasant Lad. He received a Hindu sacred thread through a Hindu Mandir.

In 2018 Yogi Baba Prem was recognized as a Master Vedic Counselor in the Integral Vedic Tradition through Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley). This designation was based on over 15 years of Vedic study, research, and immersion in a variety of Vedic fields and signifies knowledge of Vedas, Dharma, Ayurveda, Vedic Philosophy, Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) and deeper mantric Vedic studies. Frawley is Yogi Baba Prem’s Vedacharya, Ayurvedic teacher and Vedic Astrology teacher. Frawley has described Yogi Baba Prem as “one of the leading spokespeople for Hindu Dharma born in the west.”

Yogi Baba Prem’s recent work focuses on introducing yoga systems that are relatively unknown in the West. This has involved examining seals from the Indus Valley Civilization and decoding the Sapta Rishis from an astrological perspective. He is involved in research into unlocking deeper teachings of the Vedas and other ancient Hindu/Yogic texts. He also continues to focus on areas of confusion amongst Western students of Eastern spirituality and writing extensively on the Vedas and their relevance within each person's life and spiritual practice. He also writes about conversion efforts in India and the relationship between missionaries and Hinduism.

Formal Education:[edit]

· Recognized as a Master Vedic Counselor in the Integral Vedic Counseling tradition.

· Ordained as a Hindu Spiritual Minister.

· Recognized as a Yogacharya.

· Formally recognized as an Acharya in Babaji's Vedic lineage by Mahavatar Babaji.

· Credited with over 3400 hours of Yogic/Vedic study.

· Received title of Veda Visharada (Comprehensive Knowledge of the Vedas.)

· Received title of Vedakovid (Proficiency with the Vedas.)

· Certificate in Vedic Astrology, 200 hours of study.

· Certification in Ayurveda, 600 hours of study.

· Certificate in Ayurveda, additional 250 hours of study.

· Certificate in Ayurveda.

· Certificate in Shakti Healing.

· Recognized as master of Naad Yoga by Babaji Maharaj.

· Diploma with a study emphasis on Karma, Bhakti, Hatha, Raja and Kundalini yoga systems.

· Completed year-long Yoga Philosophy program.