President Murmu Honors Sri Nandanandana Dasa for Promoting Indian Spirituality
On April 28, 2025, President of India, Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Shri in the field of Literature and Education to Shri Stephen Knapp ( Sri Nanda Nandana Dasa). He is an American author, researcher, and speaker dedicated to promoting Indian traditions. He has been helping people of other countries to understand the spiritual depth of India.
Stephen Knapp grew up in a Christian family, during which time he seriously studied the Bible to understand its teachings. In his late teenage years, however, he sought answers to questions not easily explained in Christian theology. So, he began to search through other religions and philosophies from around the world and started to find the answers for which he was looking. He also studied a variety of occult sciences, ancient mythology, mysticism, yoga, and the spiritual teachings of the East. Finally, after his first reading of the Bhagavad-gita, the classic summary of Vedic philosophy known as The Song of God, he felt he had found the last piece of the puzzle he had been putting together through all of his research. This increased his understanding of everything else he had been studying. Therefore, he continued to research all of the major Vedic texts of India to gain a better understanding of the Vedic science, until he became a full-fledged follower and practitioner of Sanatana-dharma.
He continued his study of Vedic knowledge and spiritual practice under the guidance of a spiritual master, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Through this process he was given the spiritual name of Sri Nandanandana dasa and became initiated into the genuine and authorized spiritual line of the Brahma-Madhava-Gaudiya sampradaya. This is a disciplic succession that descends back through Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Vyasadeva, the compiler of Vedic literature, and further back to Lord Sri Krishna, who originally enlightened Lord Brahma.
He has written over 50 books on various aspects of the spiritual tradition and history of India.
A few of the awards received over the years include from SEWA International for the dedication to Preserve, Promote and Perpetuate Vedic Sanatan Dharma in 2016.
AWARD for selfless support and contributions to the Hindu community and the Indian Diaspora, presented at the Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council (HMEC) September 29, 2024.
AWARD of Lifetime Contributions from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) on October 6, 2024.
These awards were for:
- Practically 50 years of temple management at various Krishna temples, including being temple treasurer, accountant, manager, landlord, and priest or pujari service, and now Chairman of the Board at the Detroit Krishna temple in the mission of Srila Prabhupada.
- Writing over 50 books to help present and spread the understanding of Vedic spirituality and history of India to people around the world.
- Having written hundreds of articles on India’s Vedic tradition.
- Having gone on several extensive lecture tours across various parts of India, including two of India’s northeast region, to speak about applying the Vedic traditions to one’s life at numerous colleges, universities and corporations, as organized by the RSS, VHP, Vivekananda Kendra, Kalyana Ashrama, and Iskcon, and on how to preserve and protect the Vedic culture of India.
- Having attended and spoken at numerous conferences both here in America and in India and elsewhere about the Vedic culture and its traditions.
- And for other things like being the past president of the Vedic Friends Association for 15 years.
