# Govinddev Giri

Swami Shree Govinddev Giri known reverentially as Swamiji, is an Indian spiritual Guru. He is the Treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, a trust responsible for constructing the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya and also Vice President of the Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust Mathura. He is a practitioner of Hindu scriptures and is known for his sermons on Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, and other ancient Hindu scriptures.

## Early life and education

Swami Shree Govinddev Giri was born as Kishore Madangopal Vyas on 25 January 1949 in a religious Brahmin family in the village of Belapur in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra. He inherited his long family tradition of religiosity and spirituality.
He completed his primary education in his native village of Belapur. He then joined the Tatvadnyaan Vidyapeeth, established by Pandurang Shastri Athawale of the Swadhyaya Parivar and obtained a master's degree in philosophy under his guidance. Swamiji then went to Varanasi for further study of the Vedas, Upanishads, and other religious scriptures of ancient India and obtained the title of 'Darshanacharya' under the guidance of the Vedic scholar Vedmurti Aacharya Shree Kishore Vyas.

### Initiation

With the blessings of Jayendra Saraswati, the head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peeth in Tamil Nadu, Giri was initiated into Paramhans Sanyas on the banks of the Ganges River in the holy city of Haridwar on 30th April 2006. Before taking Sanyas initiation, Swamiji was known as Acharya Kishorji Vyas. After initiation, he is formally known as Swami Shree Govinddev Giri Maharaj.

## Career

At the age of 17, Swami Shree Govinddev Giri gave his first sermon on the Bhagavad Gita in his native village Belapur. Since then, He has been giving sermons on the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Dnyaneshwari, Dasbodh, Yoga Vasishtha, Sri MadDevi Bhagavad, Shiv mahapurana, Hanuman Katha and Buddha Katha in Bharath and abroad for the past 60 years.
At the 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Lord Shri Ram in the Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Prime Minister of the country Narendra Modi broke his 11-day fast at the hands of Swami Shree Govinddev Giri.

### Established institutions

He established the Maharishi Ved Vyas Pratishthan in Alandi on 21 February 1990 with the sole aim of promoting the study of the Vedas.

#### Vedic Schools

* Shri Sadguru Nijananda Maharaj Veda Vidyalaya, Alandi, Pune (Maharashtra)
* Shri Samartha Saint Mahatmaji Veda Vidyalaya, Dhalegaon (Maharashtra)
* Shri Chaturvedeshwar Dham, Sawargaon (Maharashtra)
* Rigved Pourohitya Veda Vidyalaya, Jintoor, Parbhani (Maharashtra)
* Maharshi Dadhichi Veda Vidyalaya, Godmanglod, Nagaour (Rajasthan)
* Shri Jai Jagdamba Veda Vidyalaya, Khamgaon, (Maharashtra)
* Bramha Savitri Ved Vidhyalaya, Pushkar, (Rajasthan)
* Sriram Veda Vidyalaya, Dhule, (Maharashtra)
* Shri Saint Gulabrao Maharaj Veda Vidyalaya, Changapur, Amaravati, (Maharashtra)
* Srimad Jagatguru Shankaracharya Vaidic Vidyapeetham, Howra (Kolkata)
* Samanvay Vedvidyalaya (Haridwar)
* Maharaja Pratap Singh Ved Vidyalaya, Jammu, (Jammu and Kashmir)
* Saint Gulabrao Maharaj Vaidik Mahavidyalaya, Alandi, Pune (Maharashtra)
* Shri Satyamitranand Giri Ved Vidya Kendra, Surat (Gujarat)
* ShubhkaranTiveniVedvidyalaya, Lakhisarai (Bihar)
* Vedarth Bodh Vidyalaya, Pune (Maharashtra)
* Manipur Ved Vidyapeeth, Imphal (Manipur)
* Yogeshwar Yadnyavalkya Ved Vidya Pratishthan, Sarai (Maharashtra)
* Sant Dynaneshwar Vedvidyalaya, Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh)
* V. M. Vishwanath Dev Gurukul, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
* Gayatri Ved Vidyalaya, Rishikesh (Uttarakhand)

## Organization established

Shri Krishna Seva Nidhi is the first trust established by Giri in 1986 and this trust provides various types of assistance to needy people.
Sant Shri Dnyaneshwar Gurukul was established in 2000.

### Geeta Parivar

Giri founded Geeta Parivar in 1986 at Sangamner in Maharashtra. Through Geeta Parivar, Bal Sanskar Kendra and Bal Sanskar Shibir are implemented all over India. During the COVID period, inspired by Giri, Geeta Parivar started the work of online Gita recitation, which is now the largest Gita education institution in the world. In this initiative, millions of people are taught the Gita in 12 Indian languages and also in English, and after memorising each chapter, the learner is examined and then a certificate is given. A person who memorises the entire Gita is honored with the title of "Gitavrati" and a medal. Millions of people in 180 countries of the world are benefiting from this.

## Awards and recognitions

* Param Pujya Chandrashekharendra Saraswati Maharaj Award, presented by Param Pujya Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
* Dadhich Samaj Ratna Award, presented by the Akhil Bharatiya Dadhich Brahmin Mahasabha at Godmanglod (Nagaur), Rajasthan.
* Bhring Rishi Award, honored by the Brahmin Sabha of Bhingar (Ahilyanagar), Maharashtra, on the occasion of Rishi Panchami at Sant Dnyaneshwar Temple.
* Rigveda Bhushan Award presented by Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin Shikshantjeka Sanstha, Pune.
* Sant Shrestha Award, presented by Laxmikant Parnerkar.
* Ramtirth Goda Rashtra Jeevan Puraskar, presented by Shri Ramtirth Godavari Seva Samiti.
* Surya Ratna Puraskar, presented at the Geeta Bhakti Amrit Mahotsav in Alandi.