On 9th December 2012, the Chancellor of the Dev Sanskriti University of Haridwar and the President of India awarded to Marco Ferrini the Gold Medal and the academic title Doctor Honoris Causa - Ph.D. in Philosophy
Following is the citation of the PhD certificate:
"Marco Ferrini was awarded the title of Doctor in Philosophy in recognition of his contribution to the dissemination of the Vedic knowledge throughout the world, entirely dedicated and without other purposes to the authentic spirit of Vedas for the wellbeing and welfare of humanity."
On 8th August 2022, the CSB has obtained the official recognition of its courses of study by the MIUR of the Italian Republic (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) in accordance with Directive 170/2016. This means that CSB educational program, as a Training Institution, is accredited to provide training courses for teachers and staff of Italian schools.
He was born in Pisa (Italy) in 1945. After graduating from the Magistero d’Arte of Florence, he began his apprenticeship under an antiquarian of international reputation esteemed by prestigious art museums. In 1967 he launched his professional interior design firm, through which he would collaborate with major Italian and international private clients and some of the most highly regarded Italian and international industrial firms in the field.
Since a young age, he was drawn to inquire on the fundamental principles of life and at the age of 31 undertook an ancient discipline and spiritual path. The turning point came in 1976: when he met the saintly Vaishnava A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), one of the most authoritative representers of the spiritual and philosophical thought of India, ambassador of Bhakti Yoga (the Yoga of Love) in the West, who became his spiritual Master and initiated him with the name Matsya Avatar das.
Since then, he has dedicated himself to the study and teaching of the psychology, philosophy and spirituality of Bhakti Yoga, according to the Vaishnava tradition and inspired by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in the context of the millenary knowledge of the Vedas, declared by UNESCO Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In 1996 he founded the Centro Studi Bhaktivedanta, a recognized non-profit cultural association for social promotion, engaged in the spreading of the universal wisdom of the Indo-Vedic Culture and with the aim of preserving the holy scriptures and traditions of the Vaishnavas, as well as Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Itihasas, Yoga Darshana and Ayurveda, always integrating in the offered curriculum the Eastern vision with the Western one.
Contents spread out are focused on the siddhanta of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Tradition within an intercultural dialogue between East and West, through different perspectives and languages (like artistic, historical, sociological, pedagogical, relational, humanistic, philosophical, psychological, anthropological, religious ones, etc.). The purpose is to create a link, a sort of bridge between the Bhakti Yoga Tradition and the secular society in the modern world.
Marco Ferrini receives the title Honoris Causa of Ph.D. Doctor in Philosophy from the President of India and the Chancellor of Dev Sanskriti University. Haridwar, India, December 9, 2012
Lecture at the University of Bologna, Main Lecture Hall at the Faculty of Law. Year 2012.
Theme: "Understanding Death to Understand Life".
Event at the Salone dei Cinquecento, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. Year 2009.
Theme: "Dialogue between Divine Comedy and Bhagavad-Gita." Participation in the International Congress "Life and Its Origins," at the Protomoteca del Campidoglio in Rome. Year 2004
Continuing Medical Education Seminar at Bellaria Hospital, Bologna. Year 2004.
Theme: "Yoga Psychology of Care for the Terminally Ill and their Families".
Lecture at the University of Bologna, Main Lecture Hall "Ciamician". Year 2009.
Theme: "Yoga Psychology of the Life Cycle".
Year 2012, Marco Ferrini with the DSVV Academic Corpus
Theme: "Dante's Journey and the Bhagavad-gita." Event in Naples at the Parco Letterario of Virgil's Tomb. Year 2011
March 2014 at the Main Lecture Hall of the University of Bari, Faculty of Law, Seminar on "Relational Harmony: Turning Crisis into Opportunity"
