A social worker and an ardent Krishna bhakt, Vanamali Mataji is known for her charitable work. Based out of Rishikesh’s Vanamali Ashram, she has been working in the small Himalayan village of Gaja in Garhwal, among other places to uplift the lives of widows. About her work, Mataji says, “Around a hundred widows are being given rations. Many have also been adopted by various philanthropists all over the world. Our organisation helps in running a small village school in Gaja and a tribal school in the Waynad district of Kerala. In Gaja, we distribute shawls, sweaters, blankets, etc., during winter and books to poor children. We are also in the process of replacing the granite roofs of the village houses with tin roofs before the rainy season.”
She has also published many books on Gods such as Krishna, Rama, Shiva and so on. Also, she has written extensively about the science of Hinduism and essays on the Bhagavad Gita. Most of these have been published in the United States by Inner Traditions, Vermont.
She says her whole life has been shaped by Lord Krishna, as part of a larger cosmic plan. “I never decided anything. I was led into it by Krishna. I have never planned anything. In my life, everything happened the way it had to happen,” Mataji says .
“My association with Krishna is so intimate. It cannot be described in words,” she says.