Who is Dr. Dinesh Shahra? The Business Tycoon’s Journey from Corporate Success to Spiritual Living

Dr. Dinesh Shahra‘s journey is a happening evolution- from a disciplined child born on 22nd Feb 1952 in badnagar, near Indore to transforming the agriculture of India. Born in a joint family propagating devotion and discipline, young Shahra was imbibed with the spirit of hard work and spirituality at an early age. While his mother would silently engage in worship, his father would insist on doing one’s duty and inculcate a heavy sense of reverence for this in Dr. Dinesh, even well beyond the days of childhood as he used to visit temples around.

Although he could have taken a regular route, following graduation from Harcourt Butler Institute in chemical engineering, he did not do so. Instead, he found soyabean to be an area where not many were paying attention. For him, these were not merely a crop. They represented a way through which the farmers could become self-sufficient and nutrition could be made cheap and accessible.

As a result of this, he developed eleven processing plants, mostly situated in Madhya Pradesh, hence eliciting the occasional designation of the region as the “Soy Bowl of India.” His attention then fell on the establishment of mills for palm oils, thereby improving rural prospects and lessening import dependence.

All along, he kept his spiritual footing intact. His inner path was deeply influenced by an encounter with Swami Pragyanand ji during the 1990s. The inner compass was now shaped by the lessons, prayers, and satsang time, which he had heard about first as a child.

With long, silent days throughout India’s COVID lockdown, he picked up a pen. His flowing thoughts gave rise to many works that seek to teach younger audiences some ancient Indian wisdom. By lifting the shroud of complex terminology from Vedic knowledge and presenting it as something practical apart from being abstract, he has consciously tried to keep things accessible in the Sanatan living series. His latest book, Dalai Lama’s Secret to Happiness, presents another path succinctly and simply.

Before books and works, music was a silent friend. Charting Indian classical music, Shahra has developed good relationships with musicians like Anuradha Paudwal, Asha Bhosle, and Lata Mangeshkar throughout the years. He is currently developing music under the banner of “Sanatan Sangeet Bharat”-music that uplifts and heals rather than just entertains.

The same intent is infused into Dinesh Shahra Foundation (DSF) which was founded by Dr. Dinesh Shahra. Tree plantation, education programs, cow care projects, and women’s empowerment are three of the projects through which he wishes to see growth that doesn’t end in individual prosperity and glory.

“When questioned what he wants people to remember him for, he had a simple answer: somebody who made an effort to spread what good he was able to experience.”

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