Point of Life Foundation
Creating Hope in Healthcare
Board of Directors
BK Mohini Panjabi
President
With a natural inclination to spirituality since childhood, BK Mohini became associated with the Brahma Kumaris (BK) during her student years in the University of Delhi. Soon she began to serve actively with the founder Brahma Baba, opening centers in India. In 1974 she began to serve abroad, establishing a BK North American presence in New York in 1978. She is President of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization of the USA, Regional Coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris for the Americas and the Caribbean and Additional Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, based in Mt. Abu, India. She shares her time between New York and Mt. Abu.
She is especially gifted in the art of clarifying universal spiritual concepts and simplifying deep spiritual practices so they can be adapted to all areas of endeavor. She is an ardent believer in charity as a way of life and as the Founding President of the Point of Life Foundation, a steady force behind the work of bringing “care” to healthcare.
Kala Iyengar, MD
Secretary
A trained pediatrician; a Raja Yoga Meditation teacher and practitioner with the Brahma Kumaris for the past 30 years; Founding Director of the Point of Life Foundation, and Director of Peace Village Learning and Retreat Center, Haines Falls, New York.
Dr. Iyengar is skilled in facilitating workshops and delivering lectures on values, self-empowerment, and spirituality in medicine.
Eric Larsen
Treasurer
Mr Larson has been involved with the Brahma Kumaris for over 35 years. He serves as Director of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization (USA).
Additional roles include: Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University representative to the United Nations; member, NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief; member, Committee of Religious NGO’s; founding member, Board of Directors of the Long Island Multifaith Forum.
With a background in Civil Engineering and over thirty years of experience in property loss control, Mr. Larson blends the very practical with the very spiritual to achieve a common-sense way to look at life and to help others
Rita Cleary
Partnerships
Co-Coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centers in New England and has been teaching and practicing Raja Yoga Meditation for over 20 years.
Rita is the founder of The Learning Circle, that works with academic thought leaders in the management sciences to introduce new models of organizational change to the business world, founding partner of the Society for Organizational Learning.
Resource Team
Kanishta Agarwal MD, PhD
Kanishtha Agarwal, a former pediatrician from India, is a Raja Yoga meditation practitioner for the past 21 years. Her deep passion towards spirituality and meditation enabled her to pursue PhD in mind-body-medicine from Saybrook University, California. She currently is a researcher at the Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia.
Neha Bangia, MD
Neha Bangia, is a Board Certified Primary Care Physician who completed her Medical School in India and continued her training in the United States. Being a Rajyoga Meditation Practitioner she enjoys applying this practice in her daily routine to have a deeper understanding and a fuller experience of life.
Merrillyn Hener, MSPT, IMTC
Merrillyn has worked as a physical therapist for 25 years, and currently practices in Cambridge, MA. She became a certified Integrative Manual Therapist in 2013 and blends this alternative, hands on technique with traditional physical therapy. She has been practicing and teaching Raja Yoga meditation since 2007. She enjoys conducting classes, workshops, and retreats for the Brahma Kumaris on health and healing, meditation and self-empowerment.
Kinnari Murthy, MBBS, MPH
A cardiology research coordinator at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Trained and practiced as a medical doctor in India. She has been a Raja Yoga meditation practitioner for over 20 years. Kinnari has facilitated many programs for healthcare professionals while volunteering her time with the Brahma Kumaris and the Point of Life Foundation.
Rona Schweitz, M.D
A Raja Yoga Meditation teacher and Coordinator for the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center in New York City. A medical doctor professionally, practiced medicine in Holland, then in the Dominican Republic. Studied Raja Yoga with the Brahma Kumaris 30 years ago and is now fully dedicated to teaching meditation and practical spiritual methods for achieving the highest levels of spiritual, emotional, and physical states of health and well-being.
Shvetank Agarwal, MD, FASE
A cardiac anesthesiologist based in S. Carolina. Co-founder of the Global Institute of Mind-Body Wellness, a non-profit organization with the aim to promote health and wellness in the community. Has been practicing Raja Yoga meditation with the Brahma Kumaris for over 20 years, and conduct self-realization, positive thinking, death & dying, and wellness workshops locally and internationally.
Carol M. Davis, DPT, EdD, MS.
Professor Emerita, past Vice Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. Myofascial release physical therapist. International speaker on integrative therapies in rehabilitation. Author and editor of Integrative Therapies in Rehabilitation, Evidence for Efficacy in Therapy, Prevention and Wellness.
Maria Mascarenhas, MD
Born in India, Maria Mascarenhas MBBS, is a pediatrician trained in gastroenterology, nutrition and integrative medicine. She believes in the holistic approach to medical care, nourishing the body, mind and spirit. She is very committed to meditation and mindfulness.
Carmen Palmer, RN, MHP
A registered nurse (retired). Currently coordinates the ‘Hope in Healthcare’ initiatives of the Point of Life Foundation, USA, which offers workshops, retreats, conversations, etc., aimed to integrate spiritual values into healthcare - the goal being to support healthcare professionals and to enhance the human experience in the healthcare system. Carmen studies, practices, and teaches Raja Yoga meditation with the Brahma Kumaris for the past 22years.
Joan Vitello, PhD, RN
Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Nursing, UMass Medical School. Previously served in numerous nursing leadership roles, most recently as an Associate Chief Nurse at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. An educator throughout her career, she is the recipient of many awards and has authored numerous books and articles. Joan’s authentic leadership style is characterized by “inclusivity, positivity, trust, and a framework of abundance”.
Madhavi Ambati, MD
A practicing family physician in Maryland. She graduated from Kakayya Medical College and practiced in India for a couple of years. After coming to the US, she completed her family medicine residency at Howard University Hospital. Practicing raja yoga meditation for the past 13 years, she believes in its practical application. She has been part of Brahma Kumaris Washington DC team and volunteers in workshops and other services being offered at the center.
Susan Davis Doughty
MSN, WHNP-BC
Adjunct Clinical Faculty in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, Simmons University. A national expert, presenting and publishing on multiple aspects of women’s health. Established New England Women Center in Portland, Maine (1997). Recipient of Outstanding Nurse Practitioner award for Maine (2013) and from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (2014). A 2020 Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
Amarilys Murillo, MD
Born in Venezuela, graduated from Medical School/Pediatric Residency in Venezuela in 1993. Practice pediatrics for 7 years. USA pediatrics training at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Board Certified Pediatrician, by the ABP. Active member of AAP. Currently works full-time as a pediatrician in Miami. Raja yoga practitioner for the past 13 years, she is involved with Brahma Kumaris Spanish Service in the USA. Member, BK Regional Health team in Latinoamerica
Celina Pereira, MD, FAAP
Celina is an Adolescent Medicine practitioner who believes in the significant role of the mind-body- spirit connection in one's overall health and sense of wellbeing. A lifelong practitioner of Meditation, Celina was instrumental in establishing courses in Stress Reduction and weekly guided Meditation, whilst working at the University of Rhode Island.
Harvey Zarren, MD
Co-facilitator of Healing With Hope, a cancer support group at North Shore Medical Center in Massachusetts. He is also the Principal of The Connected Healing Institute, and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
