Linda Prugh is a member of the Vedanta Society of Kansas City, where she has served as secretary since 1980. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in English and Masters of Arts in Reading Education from the University of Missouri. She taught English in a public high school for five years and managed a private tutoring clinic for six years.
The first Vedanta Societies in the United States were founded by Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), who travelled from India to speak on Vedanta at the World’s Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. The swami taught in the west for some years, then organized the Ramakrishna Order of India, a monastic organization named for his spiritual teacher, Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886). Brother disciples of Vivekananda as well as their spiritual descendants also taught in the west. Today there are 17 Vedanta centers in the United States and centers on every continent.
Linda is the author of a biography of a bold, vivacious American woman who met Vivekananda in New York in 1895, became his disciple, and helped him carry the message of Vedanta to other U.S. cities as well as England and France. The book, Josephine MacLeod and Vivekananda’s Mission, was published in Chennai, India. Linda has also authored numerous articles on Vivekananda, Vedanta, and related topics, most of which have been published in journals of the Ramakrishna Order. She has also assisted others in research and editing for Vedanta books and articles. Currently she is working on an article devoted to the universality of Vedanta, as taught by Swami Vivekananda, and she is editing a series of articles on Vedanta and Christ.
Linda is a Vedanta student, claiming no expertise in any aspect of Vedanta teachings. However, she loves Vedanta as a philosophy, a spiritual path, and a way of life. She is married to Bill Prugh, an attorney and they are members of a Methodist church in Overland Park, and have a grown daughter in Chicago.