A chance encounter in a temple in West London, zoom classes on Sanatana dharma and a warm welcome in Visakhapatnam: Blog 1

By: Hindumitra Karen Dabrowska

January 12th – 19th 2025

This is the blog series by Hindumitra Karen Dabrowska during her visit to India.

After visiting and falling in love with the temples of India I decided it was time to see the temples in greater London on my own doorstep – all 65 of them. It was on my temple spotting in 2023 that I listened to a talk by Dr Malladi Srinivasa Ji and was instantly attracted by his clear presentation. The talk was a condensed version of his ten-lesson course “Bring out the best in you – the Sanatana Dharma way”.

I kept in touch with Dr Malladi by email and WhatsApp and it was an honour to study Vedantasara online with him. When he heard that I was planning to visit India in January 2025 he kindly invited me to Visakhapatnam “to see what we do  in Hindumitra.” We met in Delhi airport and took the flight to the south. Dr Malladi is not a man – he is a superman combining his work as a psychiatrist in the NHS with the running of Hindumitra and Sohamvidya – the former a social action NGO set up in 2019 to support and empower individuals and families in need through the universal values of Sanatana Dharma, the latter to help others realize their true potential and achieve holistic well-being.

Through self-observation and the application of spiritual knowledge, participants learn to discover themselves and realize the vast potential within them.

Originally established as ‘Soham Inner Development’, Dr Malladi coined the term Sohamvidya, linking the concepts of immense cosmic potential and knowledge or absolute truth. As a psychiatrist, he  is inclined towards psychological well-being and believes spirituality plays a crucial role in achieving it. Sohamvidya brings together aspects of spirituality and ancient wisdom and makes them relevant for individuals in today’s modern society.

Dr Malladi is a walking encyclopaedia of knowledge with an irrepressible urge to share the understanding and inspiration he has gained over the decades. He is concerned that in today’s India the Hindus are no longer proud of their heritage and are abandoning their native wisdom for the seemingly greener pastures of other faiths lured by the slick smooth talk of missionaries who promise material well-being, Western based education and a fast track to heaven. And he is determined to reverse this trend.