Ananta Sesa dasa (Dr. Arnold Smith) earned his B.A. in philosophy and history, and his M.A. in philosophy at Kent State University. In addition, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from ULC Seminary in 2010. Professor Smith is a faculty member in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University in Ohio. He has acted as advisor for the Philosophy and Religious Studies Forum and the Eastern Wisdom, Meditation and Chant group. He is a member of the Ohio and American Philosophical Associations. In addition to writing and editing articles for The Vedic Times, he has published the book, The Moral World (Cognella, 2015), and had articles featured in several publications.

Because it pertains so closely to his work and life, Ananta’s favorite Prabhupada quote is “Religion without philosophy is sentiment, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation.”