About Me
About Vani
Vani’s voice is her purpose.
When her parents named her for the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Vani, she learned from an early age that her voice was filled with energy, that she could use her voice to help others. Her upbringing has been a blend of ancient spirituality and Western education. In the ancient tradition of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), she learned ways of being from her parents Dr. Y. V. and Anjali Rao, who inculcated in her a sense of community, service and duty. They taught her to do her duty with non-attachment – let all your actions be an offering to God whether at home, in school or the workplace.
karmany-evadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango’stv akarmani
Bhagavad Gita 2:47
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty,
But you are not entitled to the fruits of the action.
Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results
of your activities, and
Never be attached to not doing your duty.
Her spiritual education continued with her first guru (spiritual guide/teacher) Dr. Shyamala Nair, who taught her the power of kindness, compassion and love. In every endeavor, whether Vani performed an action correctly or made a mistake, Shyamala Auntie stood behind her with unconditional love and guidance. These are the pillars of her spirituality. To build on that foundation, Vani traveled to Hawaii to study Huna, the original science of consciousness of the Hawaiian Islands. Huna weaves effective modern technologies with the timeless wisdom of ancient spiritual paths.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Austin College and an MBA from Columbia University, Vani worked for more than 25 years in corporate America with roles in project management, continuous improvement, capability and most recently diversity and inclusion. She specializes in empowering underrepresented groups to use their voices. She is a certified trainer in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), hypnosis, Mental and Emotional Release (MER™), project management (PMP) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.