Dr. Satish Prakash was born in 1953 in an Arya Samajist home in Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, Guyana, South America. At the age of seven, he chanted Veda Mantras in such a manner that his parents and local Arya Samaj elders were convinced he would have taken an inner interest in Mantras in his later life. At the age of twelve, he edited and circulated a transliterated and translated version of the Havan Mantras for use among young Hindu worshippers. During his undergraduate years at the University of Guyana, Satish Prakash organized several seminars, workshops and camps in which he lectured on the teachings of Veda. In 1976, he wrote and published an Anthology titled, The Veda – What It Can Teach Us. This book has been used for years by thoughtful minds seeking to grasp the inner meaning of the Veda.
In 1974, Satish Prakash graduated from the University of Guyana with a first degree in Spanish and French. In 1977, he traveled to India to study Sanskrit Grammar and Etymology according to ancient methods of instruction. In 1985, he earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar, India. As part of his doctoral thesis, Dr. Prakash critically analyzed Rishi Dayananda’s universally acclaimed Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth). During the eight years he spent with his Acharyas, Dr. Prakash studied the Vedic limbs and sub-limbs (Anga Upaanga), and other exegetical works called Braahmana, Aaranyaka, Praatishaakhya, and Sutra. He has had intensified discussions with celebrated scholars involved in researching the Veda. He brings to the West an in-depth understanding of the Etymological Method of Vedic Interpretation structured by Yaask Muni thousands of years ago, and rejuvenated by Rishi Dayananda Saraswati in modern times.
Dr. Satish Prakash has evolved into becoming a thinker and writer of considerable caliber. As Founding Acharya of Maharshi Dayananda Gurukula, a Cultural and Educational Center in Jamaica, Queens, New York, he currently teaches Sanskrit Language and Literature to High School and University Students, and travels to many parts of the Arya/Hindu World lecturing on Veda and allied subjects. He has written and published translations and commentaries on several works of Hindi-Sanskrit Literature, including the Raamcharitmaanas, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Sanskaar Vidhi.
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