Ramesh Oza

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ramesh Oza

• He belongs to Audichya Brahmin family and a scholar of Vedas, Upanishads and Indian traditional literature.

• He got inspiration from his father Vrajlal Kanjibhai Oza, a modest brahmin, and grandmother Smt. Bhagirathi Ben, a staunch follower of Bhagwat.

• His grandmother had a strong desire for the discourse of Bhagwat Katha in her house. To fulfill her desire, her brother Shri Mohanlalji Shastri accepted the “Vyas Peeth” and started the Bhagwat Katha. During this time, Ramesh Oza was in the womb of his mother who liked to listen to the Katha daily.

• During Childhood, he liked to spend his time in religious activities like reading ancient scriptures and making ”Yagna Vedis”(sacrifice alter) with the aim of performing sacrifices.

• He used to recite Bhagwat Geeta daily under the guidance of his father.

• He liked to attend his uncle Jeevarajbhai Oza’s discourses of Bhagavata Purana.

• Noticing Ramesh’s interest in spirituality, his uncle as a narrator of the Bhagavata Purana, inspired him to study and practice religious scriptures. He also enrolled him in his first Sanskrit study program.

• Gradually, he developed a keen interest in the Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-Gita, and Ramacharitamanas composed by Gosvami Tulsidasa.

• He gave his first speech on the Bhagavata Purana at the age of thirteen in Gangotri, India.

• After his recitation of Bhagavata Purana in central Mumbai at the age of eighteen, he continued his journey of conducting such discourses in different parts of the world.  

• According to his disciples, he has a deep insight into the spiritual philosophy of India and his scriptural discourses are always mixed with melodious bhajans.

• He has been conferred many titles such as “Bhagwat Ratna,“ “Bhagwat Bhushan,” and “Bhagwat Acharya.” On one such occasion, former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam also honored him. 

• As per his followers, he gives the essence of the ancient scriptures in a philosophical and pragmatic ways. His bhajans are also liked by a lot of people. 

• His disciples find in him the image of an elder brother and lovingly call him ”Bhaishri,” who gives them affection, support, and spiritual guidance.

• In his opinion, ignorance can’t be eradicated by just pushing it away, but can only be removed with education.

• In order to spread knowledge and to cultivate ideal values alongside spiritual culture among children; he founded the prestigious Sandipani Vidyaniketan School in Porbandar, Gujarat in 1980. In this school, under secular curriculum,  students can be graduated through eight years Rishikul course in priest craft with the title “Shastris,” and who complete ten years in this course can be referred as “acharyas.”

• He dedicated his life to the spiritual welfare of human beings and due to his social and spiritual contributions to the society, a famous magazine- ”Hinduism Today” gave him the title ”Hindu of the Year” in 2006. 

• In 1997, he met the family of Dhirubhai Ambani (Indian business tycoon, founder of Reliance Industries in Bombay and one of the top 50 businessmen in Asia), and held a week-long Bhagwat Katha at their residence.

• He inaugurated the memorial of Dhirubhai Ambani after his death and also held Bhagavad Gita pravachan and ”Gopi Geet” on the occasion.

• He inaugurated the Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar and addressed the directors, officials, and people gathered there. During his speech, he told the importance of ”Karmayoga” and expressed concern for the problem of scarcity of drinking water in nearby villages. After a few days of this function, the Ambanis group set up a state-of-the-art seawater desalination plant at Jamnagar refinery complex to provide pure drinking water to the villagers.

• His recitations of Bhagwat Katha, Ramcharitmanas, Bhagwat Geeta and other scriptures are telecasted on various T.V channels.