Arnaud Desjardins 

Arnaud Desjardins (1925-2011) was a documentary film producer and director for French television during the 1960s and early 1970s. At one point in his career, he began writing and directing films which include some of the most important and revered Indian, Tibetan, Japanese, and Sufi sages of the era, including Anandamayi Ma, Papa Ramdas, Deshimaru, Kalu Rinpoche, and The 16th Karmapa. These early films were instrumental in making French audiences aware of the spiritual traditions of the East, as well as preserving a record of some of the greatest saints of the generation. 

From his close and prolonged personal encounters with these masters, Arnaud developed a rare and honed ability to recognize and make use of genuine spiritual teaching. Through his sincere, vigilant practice and the guidance of his guru, Swami Prajnanpad of Bengal, India, he became one of the most beloved and highly regarded spiritual teachers in all of Europe. 

Swami Prajnanpad was a traditional Hindu monk who lived on a tiny ashram outside of Calcutta. He was virtually unknown outside of his small circle of students. Prior to this while teaching science at the University level, Swamiji discovered and studied the work of Sigmund Freud. He later incorporated critical elements of early psychoanalysis into the traditional spiritual path of non-dualism that he offered.

Arnaud absorbed Swami Prajnanpad's precise and potent Advaita Vedanta teachings over a period of nine years and was then sent to teach in his own right. For the following thirty years Arnaud guided his body of students, which grew to be about 2000 in number, and inspired other teachers and students from many different paths.  

Arnaud left his body in August of 2011, though his widespread influence continues to inspire practitioners all over the world. His wisdom and instruction are sought through his French books and films as well as these teachings in English. His senior students sustain his ashrams in France and Canada and continue making Arnaud and Swami Prajnanpad's teachings available.