Dina Anukampana Das was born, brought up and educated in Singapore, in a 3rd generation Indian family. His grandparents left Kerala for Malaysia in the 1930s looking for work. His grandmother, HH Swami Brahma-Jnaana-Ananda Mata, now 94, living in Sri Shivaananda Ashram in Rishikesh, Himalayas, India, is a disciple of HH Swami Shivaananda, founder of the Divine Life Society. He sudied law at Holborn Law Tutors London for the University of London external LLB degree 1988-89. While studying law in London in 1988 his father introduced him to the the Bhagavad Gita (probably the world’s oldest book of spiritual science). His interest in studying Gita became so strong that his law lecturers and parents encouraged him to dedicate himself to studying it full time instead. 1989. He worked as Accounts assistant with Geofix Senan Surveys while doing self study of Gita & Bhagavatam 1990 – 93. He started a weekly program of worship and Gita study at the Singapore Lakshmi Narayana Temple every Saturday evening and it continues till this day. He organized lectures and programs in Singapore for the International Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute and continues to serve this organization (Personal Secretary to Organizing Chairman for BI’s 2nd World Congress On Synthesis of Science & Religion in Calcutta Jan 1997 and also Life Comes From Life in Rome, Italy, November 2004. He studied Bhagavad Gita in India under the guidance of HH Maha Vishnu Goswami Maharaj of London. Since 1998, he conceived and established annual observance of Gita Jayanti Day Mass Singing of entire Gita in Singapore (www.gitajayanti.com ), in Malaysia (www.gitajayanti.org ) and in Auckland (NZ) and Chennai (India) as well. He has been invited to do the same soon in Bangkok (Thailand). He studied science and spirituality under the guidance of HH Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami (a.k.a. Dr T. D. Singh, Int’l Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute).
Dina Anukampana Das is a humble disciple of His Holiness Srila Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami Maharaj. By the mercy of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga, he has been working on propagating the mass singing of the Bhagavad Gita since 1996. For this purpose, he maintains this intra faith Gita Jayanti International network www.gitajayanti.ning.com. Since he first started it in 1998, Gita Jayanti has become an annual month long event in Singapore, jointly organized by all the leading Hindu/Indian Organizations there (see the Singapore Hindu Endowments Board's offical Gita Jayanti site www.gitajayanti.org.sg). He has propagated the mass singing of the Gita (bhajan style) in Bali, Cambodia, Malaysia, Chennai, Auckland (New Zealand), Iskcon Tirupati, Brisbane, Perth, Murwillumbah and Canberra. He also teaches courses in perfect Sanskrit Pronunciation for beginners. He has published the Gita Slokas Book in Simplified Romanized Sanskrit It can also be downloaded in a larger, slideshow format here (www.dinasgitapresentation.on.to) and in audio format from here (www.gitajayanti.org). You can hear him speak about Gita Jayanti & his Sanskrit pronunciation course in this New Zealand TV interview www.dina-gj.on.to and you can read sanskrit scholars' appreciation of his sanskrit pronunciation teaching methods here.
Currently he is a Spiritual Lecturer with the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (Kg Kasipillay, KL) (http://www.hindusangam.org.my). His first project (in 2001) was helping to establish the MHS Project ATMAH (www.projectatmah.org), a community welfare project in the Kg. Medan slums in KL. He has developed and teaches short courses in Kuala Lumpur on the Bhagavad Gita and Sanskrit Pronunciation for various NGOs such as the Pure Life Society (Puchong, KL) (www.purelife.org.my), the Lakshmi Narayana Temple (Kg Kasipillay, KL) (http://sdskl.bhanot.net), Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple (Puchong KL) and Sri Krishnan Temple (Brickfields, KL) and for Hindu students in universities on invitation. He has discovered and developed a unique phonetic methodology called Simplified Romanized Sanskrit for teaching anyone perfect Sanskrit pronunciation within just 6 hrs. He has published a 400 pgs book on it, Gita Slokas Book For Daily Recitation. He is a keen supporter of the KL based Insaf (Inter-faith Spiritual Fellowship).He is also a keen supporter of the United Religions Initiative (www.uri.org).
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