“Aham Brahmasmi,” says the Bṛhadaraṇyaka Upanishad. “I am Brahman, the Supreme Reality”
Ranjan Das
Patkai Christian College (Autonomous)
The Unexpected Pilgrim
One might expect a spiritual teacher of Vedanta to emerge from the ghats of Varanasi, the ashrams of Rishikesh, or the pristine folds of the Himalayas. But sometimes, Dharma writes its own stories in places where people rarely expect it. Jonas Masetti, born in the neighbourhood of Copacabana beach of the pulsating city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is one such spiritual teacher. His journey is not just an individual tale of transformation; it is a cosmic wink from Sanatan Dharma itself, reminding the world that truth knows no nationality, and consciousness is not confined by any geography. On January 25th, 2025, Jonas was awarded India’s one of the highest prestigious civilian accolades, the Padma Shree for his tireless efforts in spreading the Vedantic vision across the Portuguese-speaking world. But to understand the full magnitude of this honour, we must first understand the depth of what he represents. This essay is a humble attempt to introduce the ancient wisdom, he, so magnificently carries across different continents.
Sanatan Dharma: An Idea of very Existence Itself
Sanatan Dharma, often translated as “the eternal way,” is not exactly a religion in the rigid, Western sense. It is a recognition of the quest for truth that is timeless. It is a whole paradigm of a spiritual science built not on any blind faith, but on self-inquiry, personal-reflection, and inner-freedom. Sanatan’s prime essence, Vedanta, is a dazzling exposition of this very quest. Vedanta dares to ask the most fundamental questions of existence: Who am I? Why am I here? What is this universe? And most importantly, is there something in me that is untouched by change, death, joy or sorrow?
Now imagine these questions echoing not in the voice of a saffron-robed monk in India, but through the smiling words of a Brazilian teacher in fluent Portuguese, explaining the Mahavakyas with the clarity of a technocrats and the warmth of a friend. That is who Jonas Masetti is for us. Jonas Masetti was not born meditating on the banks of a sacred river. In fact, he was once a young man interested in numbers, not Nirvana. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Brazil’s prestigious Military Institute of Engineering (IME) and served five years in the Brazilian Army. Later, he worked as a financial consultant, donning suits and solving problems through spreadsheets. He began studying Vedanta in Brazil under an Indian teacher. It wasn’t long before he met Gloria Arieira, a revered Brazilian scholar who had herself studied under the legendary Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Under her active guidance, Jonas began his spiritual journey into the vast ocean of Vedic knowledge. Eventually, he made his way to India and joined the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu. There, he spent three years in immersive study, absorbing the essence of Vedantic teachings, chanting Sanskrit verses, and unravelling the riddles of absolute reality i.e. the existence. He came to India as a tourist with a bent in Indic thoughts, but left India as a torch-bearer of Sanatan Dharma, with a Brazilian accent and a Brahmavidya wisdom.
Vedanta in Flip-Flops: His Teaching Style
If you think Vedanta is too dry and obsolete, you must wait until Jonas explains it. He has a rare talent : the ability to translate profound spiritual truths into accessible, even humorous, insights in Portuguese and English, without diluting their original depths. His explanations are not abstract sermons, but living, breathing wisdom aligned perfectly for modern life. He teaches Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and Vedic lifestyle principles through online platforms, in-person Vedanta camps, and his institute, Vishva Vidya, nestled in the serene hills of Petropolis, near Rio. He is the kind of teacher who says, “The mind is like a noisy WhatsApp group, you can’t leave it, but you can learn to mute it.” It's no wonder that his words has struck over 1,50,000 students, not only in Brazil but also across Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, and throughout all of Latin America.
Why It Matters: The Vedic Message in the West
The Vedic Thinkers were not trying to merchandise or sell salvation. They were offering a mirror to the self. The one that revealed not a sinner or a saint, but pure, limitless awareness. This message has travelled across ages, resisting invasions, colonial rule, and misinterpretations. But it needed new voices in new lands. Jonas has become that voice in South America.
He is not teaching “Hinduism” in the institutional sense. He is awakening seekers to the universal truths of Vedanta. These are the truths that resonate the same whether you are born in Dimapur or Buenos Aires. His work establishes that you don’t need to be a typical Hindu or Indian to be Vedic. You just need a seeking heart, a questioning mind, and of course, a good internet connection.
Humour, Humility, and the Honour of Padma Shree
When India conferred the Padma Shree upon Jonas Masetti, it wasn’t just a personal laurel. It was a very powerful message that Sanatan Dharma is global, that spiritual merit is not confined by caste, creed, language, or location. Jonas responded to it with his characteristic humility. In interviews, he said the award was not just for him, but for his entire community in Latin World, which had taken these teachings to heart. Prime Minister Narendra Modi even mentioned Jonas in his popular radio talk, “Mann Ki Baat” on November 20, 2024, referring to him as a “true ambassador of Bharat’s spiritual heritage.” A Brazilian Engineer honoured by the world’s oldest civilization for his work in keeping it timeless.
The Final Deeper Message: Consciousness Has No Borders
What can we learn from Jonas Masetti? That spiritual insight isn’t the property of any culture, it is the birthright of all human beings. That Vedanta is not a museum artefact locked in Sanskrit verses, but a living wisdom capable of guiding Google Scholar intellectuals to Instagram meditators. That a Brazilian in jeans can be just as enlightened as a monk in robes, and that Moksha-prapti (liberation) doesn’t care where your passport was issued. Jonas Masetti is not an exception. He is a symbol of Dharma in its truest sense, where people across the world rediscover the light that was never lost, only apparently clouded.
The world today is loud with division. Lines are drawn across skin colour, flags, ideologies, and identities. But Jonas Masetti stands quietly as a living reminder to all these divisions: that there is something in all of us that is common, eternal, and free. He is not just a Indic Philosophy teacher from Brazil; he is a child of Sanatan Dharma, a messenger of Vedanta, and above all, a fellow seeker who proves through his words and actions that the universe is not a problem to be solved, but a truth to be understood. Sometimes, understanding doesn't start in a spiritual places like a quite mountain top, but with a Brazilian engineer wondering why solving problems through computing in spreadsheets does not feel very inspiring or significantly meaningful. And sometimes, Sanatani wisdom speaks Portuguese too.
