Jonas Masetti founded the Instituto Vishva Vidya in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro. He offered courses on Vedanta, Sanskrit, Bhagavad Gita, Meditation and Mantras.
Jonas Masetti, Vedas Scholar (file image)
The Portuguese speaking mechanical engineer from Brazil, Jonas Masetti, shocked the world, including India, when he received Padma Shree from President Droupadi Murmu. Masetti, graduated in Rio de Janeiro, worked for the Brazilian army for five years before serving as a strategic consultant at the stock market. He did not fantasize in the wildest possible imagination that he would get the fourth highest civilian prize in a distant country that is also not in the field of engineering or capital market, but in the field of Sanskrit and Vedas. However, his destination has something else for him.
After graduating in mechanical engineering at the Military Institute of Engineering (IME), he served in the Brazilian army for 5 years before working as a consultant of strategic advice. Jonas Masetti, however, started to do yoga and was deeply impressed by his yoga teacher, was also a Vedanta teacher. He started studying Vedanta in 2004 with an Indian teacher who lived in Brazil. The mechanical engineer continued his studies with Gloria Arieira, a pioneer in teaching Vedanta and Sanskrit in Brazil.
#WATCH | Delhi | When he was granted to the Padma Shri, says Jonas Masetti, founder of Vishva Vidya Gurukulam in Brazil, “I didn’t expect this. It is a great honor … Many people in Brazil study Vedanta, and this is an honor, not just for me but for our family … pic.twitter.com/udkvprel5z
– years (@ani) May 28, 2025
Jonas Masetti met Swami Dayananda Saraswati for the first time in 2006 during a study trip to the US. He traveled to India in search of knowledge and peace and followed a three -year residential course in Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. After completing his studies in India, Masetti returned to Brazil to spread the knowledge he gained in India. The Latin -American scholar from Vedas has set up the Instituto Vishva Vidya in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro.
He offered courses on Vedanta, Sanskrit, Bhagavad Gita, Meditation and Mantras. He also spread his wings and reached a considerable number of students through online lessons, retreats known as Vedanta camps and publications. Jonas Masetti was so successful in his mission that even his Guru Swami Sakshatrtananda was surprised to see how Brazilians embrace ancient wisdom with open arms. He did not go unnoticed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him and acknowledged his work in his radio program “Mann Ki Baat”. He was showered and called him an ambassador of Vedic culture.
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