Venerable Acharya Dr. Buddharakkhita was the founder of Maha Bodhi Society Bengaluru & its sister Organizations. Venerable Acharya, born in 1992 in Imphal-Manipur, Graduated from the Institute of Engineering Technology, Kolkatta and served in the Indian British army before Independence. He participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 & went to jail. After watching the sufferings and horrors of the Second World War, he renounced household life and went in search of truth. He walked the length and breadth of India living with great masters of those days. But the turning point in his life was, when he went with Shri Ramana Maharshi at Thiruvannamalai, where he found his inner call to become a Buddhist monk. Shri Ramana was happy to advice him to seek his own way.

On the Vesakha Full Moon day of 1949 he was ordained as a Buddist monk in Khushinagara by Venerable Chandamani Mahathera, who later also gave Deeksha to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. After his studies and Practice of Buddhist Philosophy, Psychology and meditation in Sri Lanka and Burma for 6 years he returned back to India and served in Nava Nalanda Mahavihara as Professor. But his inclination was to serve the humanity and so came down to Bengaluru and started the Maha Bodhi Society. Under this society he started School,Hostels, Hospitals, an artificial limb centre, etc. More than anything else he Concentrated on teaching Buddhism, particularly meditation to countless people who were in need of peace and solace. He has written over 150 books and published two magazines on Buddhism, still being published for the past 40 years. He started monastic education program and Diploma in Buddhist studies for lay man. On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Maha Bodhi Society, Bengaluru he founded Bhagavan Buddha University of Pali and Theravada Buddhism. He was conferred with Doctorates by Tumkur University and Mahachulalongkornraja Mahavidyalaya, Bankok and Thailand.