On Saturday, September 12, Yogacharya O’Brian will be honored as the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism by the Hindu American Foundation. This award is bestowed upon those individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to furthering the cause of religious pluralism and respect. Her work in increasing interreligious understanding and strengthening interfaith relations is indicative of this commitment.

Following the HAF awards ceremony, Yogacharya will travel to Johannesburg, and to Durban, South Africa. Shelley Swan and Tara Fukuda from Carry the Vision, our community nonviolence education nonprofit, will join her. They will offer a retreat in Johannesburg collaboration with the South African Catholic Bishop's office on AIDs to support service workers caring for those living with AIDs or caring for orphans. In Durban they will meet with Ela Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, and members of the Gandhi Development Trust, leaders of the International Centre for Nonviolence in Durban and participate in activities for the International Day of Peace.