About Us - Light of Godhead

Hemanth Ramanna (Mādhava Gauranga dāsa) is a founding member of "Light of Godhead,", a non-profit organization committed to the global sharing of Bhakti-yoga and the Sanskrit language.

A Bridge Between Worlds

Hemanth’s journey is a unique synthesis of modern technical precision and ancient wisdom. After earning his master’s in computer engineering, he spent two decades navigating the fast-paced corporate tech industry. However, a transformative encounter in 2004 with the book "Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead" shifted his trajectory from bits and bytes to the pursuit of the Absolute Truth.

Spiritual Foundation

In 2006, he and his wife, Pranathi Venkatayogi, united their lives with a shared vow to center their family on the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā. This dedication culminated in 2007 when he received harināma dīkṣā (initiation) from H.H. Indradyumna Swami, receiving the name Mādhava Gauranga dāsa. To deepen his understanding, he earned a Bhakti-Shastri degree from ISKCON, demonstrating his formal proficiency in the essential texts of the Bhakti tradition.

Simple Living, High Thinking

In 2021, Mādhava Gauranga dāsa made a pivotal "return to the roots." Moving his family to India to provide his twin sons with a systematic, traditional Sanskrit education, he transitioned his focus toward Organic Farming and Cow Protection.

Pranathi Venkatayogi (Śyāmalā dāsī) is an IT professional with a deep passion for Bhakti and Sanskrit. She graduated from Purdue University with a Master’s in Computer Science and worked in the corporate industry for 20 years. She is a founding member of the non-profit organization "Light of Godhead," which is dedicated to spreading the message of Bhakti and Sanskrit.

Her Bhakti journey began in 2004 in Seattle, U.S.A, leading to a profound interest in studying and applying its principles. In 2007, She received harināma dīkṣā (initiation) from H.H Indradyumna Swami and was given her spiritual name Śyāmalā dāsī.

She holds Bhakti-Shastri and Bhakti-Vaibhava degrees from ISKCON, demonstrating proficiency in the Bhagavad-Gita and the first six cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam. She is currently pursuing a Bhakti-Vedanta degree, focusing on cantos 7-12 of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

In 2021, Pranathi and her family moved from the United States to India to provide her twin boys with a systematic Sanskrit education. Currently located in Sringeri, Karnataka, she and her husband homeschool their sons under the tutelage of professors from Central Sanskrit University.

Pursuing her passion for Sanskrit, she completed a Master of Arts in Sanskrit from KKSU, India, in May 2025. She now conducts online classes teaching both the Bhagavad-gita and Sanskrit.