Tara teaches Sanskrit at Middle Way. She studied Special Education at SUNY New Paltz and has been working in classrooms and homes since 1995. She helped found the Maria Leone East West Early Learning Center at Ananda Ashram and wrote the syllabus and curriculum for children ages 2 to 7.

She met her guru Shri Ramamurti S. Mishra in April 1971 and began studying and teaching Sanskrit under his direction since then. She also studied with the renowned Sanskrit Scholar and Poet, Shri Ram Karan Sharma for several summers at Ananda Ashram. She also studied classical Indian vocal music, Kathak dance and sacred painting. At Ananda Ashram she offers evening programs in Meditation and Kundalini breathing exercises as well as beginner Sanskrit grammar classes and  Beginners Meditation classes. Tara has three children who all grew up at Ananda Ashram. In her spare time she writes childrens’ books and paints.

Children have been my teachers and I find that in a mutually trusting relationship magic can happen. I believe that children need to be guided to discover what they love to learn after being exposed to various branches of knowledge, rather than have knowledge imposed from the outside. I feel that every child has a unique dharma and gift to share and I support the children I work with in their strengths and what they love to do. I believe that learning is more than stuffing facts into our brains. It should include the inner blossoming of one’s unique being through experiential learning and building compassionate relationships with others.

I am very excited to be sharing Sanskrit, the language of unity with the children at the Middle Way School and look forward to a year of mutual growth.