Vaishali K Shah

Shrivedant Foundation

Founder / Owner, Kenya

Vaishali K Shah - Researcher, Blogger, Author, Philanthropist, Vegetarian, Avid Reader, Social Entrepreneur, and Mother. She is the founder-owner of Shrivedant Foundation (www.shrivedant.com) in India, Kenya, and the United Kingdom. The foundation aims to bring forth the pearls of wisdom from ancient Vedic scriptures. The team managed to collect more than 45000 pages of various scriptures under one portal http://www.hinduscriptures.com and published a book series called Hindu Culture and Lifestyle. After securing a couple of Diplomas and Degrees (master’s and Post-Graduate) in International Business, Management, Marketing, Internet Technology and Financial markets, she felt they were useful only for employment and to survive corporate jobs. Hence had to lay her hands on various work profiles while working with the family in their businesses. After studying almost all the theories of management in the management school, she wanted more. A typical nerd on the university campus, she started studying more about Indian scriptures during the weekends till the librarian would come and request me to leave the library so that he could go home. The first book in this series was Chanakya’s Arthashastra which led to many more books, research papers, meetings with many representatives of Hindu culture and religion etc. But her insatiable desire for knowledge didn’t end there. It is when she decided to fill the huge gap between the seeker of authentic knowledge and the scriptures in the world. This gave her the idea of combining my knowledge of technology, and management, and a keen interest in research gave birth to the website. www.hinduscriptures.com hinduscriptures.com is a unique one-stop portal where material relating to Indian Vedic culture is available to all seekers. The information is genuine, authenticated and contributed by eminent writers and scholars worldwide. The team comprises researchers who delve in-depth into various aspects of Vedic Science and its practical applicability in our daily lives. It is the first website to have all Indian Scriptures like Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, Itihasas, Upapuranas, Brahmangranth, and many other original texts in digital form from various schools of thought. The site is informative and there are about 45000 pages filled with enriching, unique content in their original form. There are more than 300 original Scriptures in Sanskrit, Hindi and English about Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. The site was first launched in 2003 as a blog with few categories and has been connecting with people ever since. Currently, the site is visited by thousands of people worldwide every day. It has been eighteen years that she has been collecting the articles, research papers and content for the site. Our team comprises geeks, researchers, scholars, writers, social media professionals, designers and techies who help us to sail through. Hindu Culture and Lifestyle - A book series She developed a book series called Hindu Culture and Lifestyle, a set of three books offered to interested seekers worldwide. The topics are described in the form of four pillars, namely Indian scriptures, Living Vedic Lifestyle, Inside India and Ancient Indian Sciences. The series is available on amazon.com, amazon.in, flipcart.com and various other countries where Amazon delivers. Currently living in Kenya, Africa Vaishali Shah puts up a big vision of this world with a different perspectives continually vanishing in the upcoming generation. She trains people interested in teaching the book's content anywhere in the world. The book series will be shortly available on YouTube for self-study. Vaishali is gaining popularity among educated and urban ladies for her seminar on why to be fully Indian in mindset and lifestyle. This seminar gives an idea about how an Indian mind can work and what its capabilities are. Kenya Vegetarian Club After building a Shiv Temple in Kenya with her husband, she moved on to fulfil her dream of promoting vegetarianism in Africa, hence launching the Kenya Vegetarian Club. www.kenyavegclub.com. Her passion for saving the environment and nurturing nature is taking shape slowly through the Club. Our team reached out to farmers, women, and youth to empower them in the field of agriculture and organic farming. Please go for tree planting wherever possible, donate some seeds to poor farmers and ensure not to bargain with them while buying any such product. You may find clues on how and why to do it in her book The Veg Safari. Projects undertaken: • Tree planting and reforestation in the countryside. So far planted 70000 trees singlehandedly • Women empowerment through vegetable farming and seed donation. Donated more than 60,000 seeds to women to start their cottage businesses. • Youth empowerment through the development of study material for vegetable farming and organic farming with Lake Basin College • Promote plastic-free kitchens and plastic-free environments by reducing the usage of them Vegan Workshops: She also conducts seminars on the benefits of a plant-based diet in corporate, private institutes, education centres, schools, colleges, and religious organisations across Kenya. She tries to reach out to schools and connect with young kids to make them responsible for the environment and appeal to them to own natural resources. Social reforms: Continuing her social life, she also engages in many social reform programs under which she endeavours to her sacred emotions into peace and donation. A few of her renowned projects are: 1. Contributed to several projects for the Hindu Council of Kenya Business Directory, family directory, Cultural programs, International Yoga Day etc. 2. Culture classes for the committee, several cultural programs for Shree Sanatan Hindu Union Temple in Kenya. 3. Associated with various other organisations and regularly contribute towards the welfare of society. Current Projects: • Conduct seminars, interviews, and workshops for NRIs, Corporate, Religious institutes, individuals, temples, and any other cross-cultured communities. • Interview series of Vedic scholars on FB page hinduscriptures.com • Travel worldwide to spread the message of Hindu culture and its benefits through authentic scripture-based knowledge. • Continuing with research in the field of Vedic lifestyle • Column – Yada Yada hi Dharmasya- in the newspaper Janmabhoomi – A Gujarati Newspaper in Mumbai, covering the topics of Bhagwad Geeta • Write on the personal blog regularly – http://www.vaishalishah.com • Associated with Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue at Vatican City, Rome, Italy Awards and Accolades: • Nav Rattan Award in Delhi by NRI Welfare Society 2016 • Hind Rattan Award by NRI Welfare Society in Delhi 2017 • Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Sanman in the House of Lords in London in 2016 • Authentication certificate for the content of the website and course material from Deccan College of Pune, India • Appreciation letters for the website http://www.hinduscriptures.com by eminent personalities like Shri Narendra Modiji – Prime Minister of India, Smt Anandiben Patel – Ex. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijay Rupani ji- Ex-Chief Minister of Gujarat, Swami Avimukteshwaranandji – head of Shankaracharya Math – Uttarakhand, Pujya Bhaishree Shri Rameshbhai Oza – Porbandar, Shri Morari Bapu – Mumbai, Bhaishree Bhupendra Bhai Pandya – Mumbai, Swami Shri Dayanandji – Arsha Vidya Mandir – Rishikesh, Swami Shri Atmanandji – Dwarka, Swami Satyanand Girji – Mahant of Akhada, Amarnathananda – Bharat Sevashatram Sangha-USA, Shri Dwarkesh Lalji Mahoday Shree – Ahmadabad, Shri Vrajkumar Mahodayshri, Shri Pratik Patil – Ex-Minister of India, Shri Ashok Singhal ji – Political Leader, Swami Shitaldas Seva Trust, Pujya Rakeshbhai – Shrimad Rajchandra, Shri Mahant Swamiji – BAPS – Gujarat, Mahant Shri Satyamindranandji – Haridwar, Smt. Kalpana Rawal – Chief Justice of Kenya, Prof. Chandrama Pandey ji – Dean of Banaras Hindu University – Kashi, Jitu Vaghani – ex-chief of BJP Gujarat etc. • Various certificates from Kenyan bodies for contribution to uplifting the locals as well as various Indian communities. • Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences from the Young Scientist University of America • The Great Indian Women Award 2021 in Delhi • Udgam Women Achiever Award 2020 in Ahmedabad • Social Activist Award and Naari Tu Narayani by Global Educators Fraternity in Mumbai 2022 • TEQ Literary Awards 2022 in Ahmadabad by Rotary Club and Ahmadabad Book Club for the books – Hindu Culture and Lifestyle • India Dynamic Awards in Delhi 2022 for the website http://www.hinduscriptures.com by Sutra Events • Most Inspiring Woman on the Earth 2022 by Women Empowerment Board of Swarna Bharat Parivaar & International Council for Educators by International Internship University (IIU) – Delhi • Dharma Dubey Award by Inspiring Indian Women (IIW) in London was given on 23rd May 2022 at the House of Lords – British Parliament for community service. • Aesthetics International Chamber for Indian Authors – conferred an award for the book series Hindu Culture and Lifestyle on 15th May 2022 in Meerut, India. • Commonwealth Innovation and Forum awarded her for community services on 1st June 2021 during an online event operated from Delhi. • Women Power and Summit & Awards 2023 for Social Entrepreneurship Award at National Stock Exchange, Mumbai. Organisations – Served / Serving: • Hindu Council of Kenya – Kisumu Branch – Vice Chairperson – 5 years • Sanatan Hindu Union – Committee Member- 5 years • Indo-African Chamber of Commerce – Advisory committee -Serving • Asian – African Chamber of Commerce & Industry Foundation (AACCI) – Advisory Committee – Serving • Heavenly Culture – World Peace – Restoration of Light (HWPL) South Korea – Representing Hindu forum. Other highlights: • Cross culture and Interfaith orator presenting various tenants of Hindu Lifestyle across the globe. • Conduct seminars on Personality Development through Indian Culture for NRIs, Corporate, Religious institutes, individuals, temples and any other cross-cultured communities • Travel worldwide to spread the message of Hindu culture and its benefits through authentic scripture-based knowledge. • Support various international peace and interfaith forums • Continuing with research in the field of Vedic lifestyle • Have published research papers in various research magazines. • Have travelled extensively to various countries like the USA, UK, and other parts of Europe, South-East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, many states within India to study, connect and share the knowledge of Indian culture. • Written articles in magazines, newspapers, and online journals • Write on the personal blog regularly – http://www.vaishalishah.com • The written study material for the benefits of Vegetable farming and organic • farming for a local institute called The Lake Basin College to encourage farmers Spiritual Journey: • Course on Bhagwad Geeta from Chinmaya Mission – Nairobi – Kenya • Course on Bhagwad Geeta, Hinduism, Yoga, Vedanta, Three Upanishada from The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies – Oxford – UK • 200 hours of teachers’ training course from The Yoga Institute – Mumbai – India • Ayurvedic Diet and Nutrition Course from Arogyam Institute – Jalandhar – Punjab – India • Bhakti Shastri Degree from the Iskcon in Nairobi (few papers left to submit) • Three Vipassana camps under the guidance of Shri Goenka ji • Art of Living – Learned Sudarshan Kriya • Written hundreds of articles for the website under the guidance of various gurus • Currently researching various topics from the scriptures to develop courses for adults on Hinduism. Media Channels covered her profile: • Chitrelekha – Mumbai- Special Dipawali edition • Gujarat Samachar – published in London – Personal Interview • Profiles – a magazine in Kenya – Personal Interview • Asian Weekly – Kenya – multiple articles on various projects for years • Have done TV interviews and talk shows to promote vegetarianism/veganism on East- FM, K24, KBC, Q TV, NTV in Kenya • Midday Gujarati in Mumbai – Personal Interview