Founder and Teacher
My name is Hemal P. Trivedī and I am a lifelong student. I have dedicated my graduate and undergraduate studies to the philosophies of Ancient India and the Psychological Sciences.
I find that the philosophies of ancient India and the contemporary psychological sciences intersect and contribute to the understanding of the human psyche. My research is concerned with the topics of mystical and religious experience (i.e. ego-dissolution), cognitive processes, meditation (mindfulness, chanting, etc.), psychedelics, self, narrative formation, meaning making, and many more. I am particularly drawn to the wisdom traditions of ancient India, like Sāṅkhya-Yoga which delineates the nature of the immaterial and material world and how the practitioner is required to engage his/her mind to achieve psychological and soteriological goals.
I enjoy writing prose-poetry, spoken word, and short stories. I am fascinated with self-study and introspection. Understanding oneself is a never-ending process which yields great insight into our healthy and maladaptive behaviors. For this reason, I believe self-inquiry, asking “why”, and silence are powerful tools for self-knowledge.
Academic Credentials
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Ph.D in Theology and Religious Studies (2027)
Georgetown University -
M.A. in Religious Studies
University of Texas at Austin -
M.A. in Religious Studies
Rutgers University -
B.A. in Psychology
Rutgers University -
A.S. in Biology
County College of Morris
My Advisors
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Dr. Edwin Bryant
Professor of Indology
Rutgers University -
Dr. Stephen Phillips
Professor of Indian Philosophy
University of Texas at Austin -
Dr. Satyanārāyaṇa Dāsa
Professor of Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy and Guru
Jīva Institute of Vaiṣṇava Studies -
Dr. Rājarāo Baṇdāru
Professor of Engineering and Sanskrit
Rutgers University -
Dr. Jay Valentine
Professor of Tibetan Buddhism
Troy University
Dedication
Ambaśaṅkar Trivedī
Renunciant (Saññyāsin) and Commentator on Yoga Philosophy
My paternal great, great grandfather, known as the Daṇḍasvāmī, was a renunciant of the Śaiva lineage. Towards the later stages of his life, like the āśrama system encourages, he renounced the householder life and lived in the vicinity of his hermitage, practicing and writing on Yoga philosophy.
Narendra Desai
Vedic Astrologer, Lawyer, Indian Independence Freedom Fighter.
My maternal grandfather often quoted a line from Longfellow’s Psalm of Life to describe the virtue of perseverance and a quality belonging to the planet Śani (Saturn).
Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any fate; still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait.