Gloria Arieira – a Brazilian and an authority in Sanskrit

Gloria Arieira – a Brazilian and an authority in Sanskrit – translates Bhagavad Gita and Parts of Vedas to Portuguese

To take the unparalleled teachings found in the Bhagavad Gita and Vedas to her students in Brazil and Portugal, Gloria Arieria has translated Bhagavad Gita and parts of Vedas to Portuguese – the translations were made directly from Sanskrit to Portuguese as she did not want to lose the essence of the original text. For this she studied Sanskrit and is an authority on Sanskrit today. Vidya Mandir, a school of Vedanta studies founded and run by Gloria functions at Copacabana, Rio in Brazil.

The Hindu writes about Gloria Arieira’s journey into the world of Vedanta.

A disciple of Swami Chinmayananda and of Swami Dayananda, Gloria's entry into the world of spirituality was after she heard Swami Chinmayananda's talk on Vedanta in Rio. That was in 1973. Gloria felt that her search for the greater meaning to life was answered. With her curiosity aroused she wished to delve deeper into the philosophy of the Vedas and found her way to an ashram in Mumbai (Powai). Here she studied the Vedas and lived the ashram way of life. “It was a simple life and I felt at ease,” recalls Gloria who began teaching the Vedas when she went back to Rio in 1979. It was five years later that she started Vidya Mandir on land donated by one of her students. From eight students to start with, the numbers kept increasing. Soon the school became a centre where people came seeking spirituality.

Raised in a western way of life, what exactly drew Gloria to this foreign philosophy and way of life? “I was looking for answers to life itself. I thought it could not be only for pleasure, nor could it be only for ‘dharma'. There had to be something else.”

Gloria, 57, is married and has three children, a lawyer, an engineer and one studying social sciences. Her husband is a yoga teacher. Does her family practise her way of life? She says that there is no compulsion to change. “The Vedic dharma does not ask for conversion. But the understanding of the Vedas changes life completely.” Her children are proud of her work and value the Vedic tradition.

Has her Indian inspired spirituality taken her away from Brazil? “How can it? I am a Brazilian except that I see the logic, the higher order behind my learning Vedanta and teaching it to students in Brazil”, she says.

Gloria in a strange way belongs to the ‘parampara' or lineage of the women Vedic experts- the great lineage of Gargi, Ghosha, Lopamudra and Maitreyi.

You can read more about Gloria Arieira and her work in this article in The Hindu titled – Gita in Samba Land

Source: http://www.hindu-blog.com/2010_09_01_archive.html