Pandurang Shastri Athavale was 19 when he and his co-workers began bhaktiferi—devotional visits to villages in India to spread the message of love for God and others.
Athavale and his co-workers developed the Hindu practice of swadhyaya, a form of self-study that inspires each individual to recognize an inner God, cultivate an increased self-respect, and abandon immoral behavior.
