Sushrut Badhe

Sushrut Badhe (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत् बढे, born 21 April 1990) is an Indian author, researcher on Sanskrit scripture, and manufacturer of Ayurvedic products. He has rewritten the Sanskrit scriptures, including the Bhagavad Gita and three Upanishads—Isha, Kena and Mandukya—in rhymed English.

Early life and family
Badhe was born on 21 April 1990 to Ashok Badhe and Bhawana Badhe. His father, Ashok Badhe, was a renowned anesthesiologist who won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to improving the clinical management and outcomes of cardiovascular and thoracic surgical patients. Ashok Badhe was also a national badminton champion who aspired to set up a badminton academy in his city. Both Sushrut Badhe and his sister, Avanti Badhe, were state-level badminton players.

In 2011, Badhe completed his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Pondicherry Engineering College (P.E.C.). He then found his guru, Sri Madhusudan R. Damle, and joined him as a shishya at KVM Research Laboratories to learn about the Gita, as well as the manufacturing and research of Ayurvedic Medicines.

Currently, Badhe is the CEO of KVM Research Laboratories, which manufactures and exports Ayurvedic health products. He is also a researcher and secretary at the non-profit Midam Charitable Trust, where he studies the use of Vedic chants for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through the Vedic Chants Intervention Program (VCIP) designed by Sri Madhusudan R. Damle.

In 2024, KVM Research Labs launched the 'Mriga Ayurveda' division to promote Ayurvedic veterinary products and to undertake research in collaboration with other research institutes and farmers, emphasizing the importance of Ayurvedic veterinary medicine.

Sanskrit Scriptures as rhymes
In 2014, he published a book of poems titled "The Rhythm of the Spirit," a collection of 34 poems on Man, Life, and God. The poem "A Father's Song" from the book was appreciated by former President Dr.A.P.J.Abdul kalam. In the same year, Badhe published an e-book, "Voice of Krishna: Secrets of the Self," in which he rewrote the first five chapters of the Sanskrit scripture Bhagavad Gita into English rhymes. Badhe eventually rendered all 700 Sanskrit verses of the 18 chapters of the Gita into English rhymes and released a paperback titled "Bhagavad Gita: Rhythm of Krishna" under Sri Aurobindo's Action Publications.

In 2016, he rewrote three Sanskrit Upanishads in rhymed English. He also launched the first mobile app to feature the Upanishad in an audio rhyme format. Additionally, Badhe has recorded and released the Sanskrit texts in rhyme format through audio, mobile applications, and video broadcasts.

His book, 'Sri Aurobindo’s Vedanta – Rhythm of Ananda', was launched at the Pondicherry-Auroville Poetry Festival (PPF) in 2022.

He also writes for Sri Aurobindo's Action, a journal associated with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and is currently rewriting verses from the Rig Veda in rhymes.

Bhagavad Gita: Rhythm of Krishna
His book "Bhagavad Gita: Rhythm of Krishna," which contains a rhymed rendition of all the shlokas of the Gita, is multi-layered, offering practical and metaphysical knowledge. "Bhagavad Gita: Rhythm of Krishna" serves as the reference book for Krishna’s Butter Classroom Gita module for kids, presenting all 700 Gita verses in the form of English poems.

It earned him a place in the Limca Book of Records. The unique aspect of this translation is that it maintains the rhythm and rhyme of the original Sanskrit version in English.

In 2021, in a philosophical exploration in the Journal of Religion & Health, he co-authored a paper titled "COVID‑19, Moral Injury and the Bhagvad Gita" with neurologist Dr. Sunil Narayan and psychiatrist Dr. Bindu Menon. The study explored the four Ds—Detachment, Duty, Doer-ship and Dhyana (meditation)—from the Gita for their utility for Health Care workers (HCW) faced with moral and psychological distress.

Vedic Chants Intervention Program (VCIP)
The Vedic Chants Intervention Program (VCIP) is a group therapy designed by Sri M.R. Damle for managing children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2014, as a researcher at Midam Charitable Trust, he conducted collaborative research with Dinesh Kumar of the Department of Genetics, Madras University, on the effects of Vedic chants on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at Satya Special School, Pondicherry. Currently, Badhe is collaborating with eminent neurologist Dr. Sunil Narayan of JIPMER to study the impact of Vedic chants on children with autism and other neurological disorders.

In 2023, his research papers on "Vedic Therapeutics for Children with Special Needs: A Review of Our Lived Experiences and Challenges in Implementing the Vedic Chants Intervention Program (VCIP)" and "Nutritional Psychiatry Concepts in the Bhagavad Gita" won prizes at the World Sanskrit Conference organized by Srinivas University, Mangalore.

Krishna's Butter project
Designed by Sri Madhusudan R. Damle, the Krishna's Butter project was launched in 2015 to introduce the Bhagavad Gita to school-going children. Sushrut's "Bhagavad Gita: Rhythm of Krishna" and Senior Pathologist Dr. Bhawana Badhe's "Krishna's Butter for Champion Students" were used to develop a Gita teaching module for kids, which includes 19 practical lessons, 19 cartoon illustrations, 99 select Bhagavad Gita verses, and 99 English rhyming translations. The Krishna's Butter project aimed to address various mental, physical, psychological, and social challenges faced by children.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the Krishna's Butter project launched online classrooms for children worldwide in six Indian regional languages. Sushrut also initiated an adult version of the program. The module, which had been taught in schools since 2015, went viral during the lockdown, with over 4000 children from around the world enrolling in the free 19-day digital workshops on the Gita for kids. This achievement earned the project a world record title from the Assist World Records Foundation.

In 2022, Midam Charitable Trust released its sixth book, "Krishnana Navaneeta," which is the Kannada translation of the standardized teaching module of the Bhagavad Gita for school children. The translation was done by Karnataka State coordinator Mrs. Chitra Torvi. In 2023, in the presence of the founder trustee Sri M.R. Damle, Vice-President Avanti Badhe, author Dr. Bhawana Badhe, and translator Priyanka Ghanekar, Sushrut released the Sanskrit teaching module "Krishna Navaneetam." This achievement earned the entire Krishna's Butter team of 11 teachers a record title for making the Gita teaching module available for schoolchildren in seven languages: English, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada and Sanskrit.

In 2024, Badhe unveiled the Gujarati translation of the classroom Gita module for school children, titled "Krishna Navaneet Yashasvi Vidyarthiomate," at the Ahmedabad Management Association. The translation was done by eminent Vedanta scholar Vaidehi Adhyaru.