Gadadhara Pandit Dasa (also known as Pandit) was born in Kanpur, India in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles with his parents in 1980. After living abroad as an adolescent, he moved to New York City in 1995.

Desiring further progress in his spiritual life, Pandit spent six months in Mumbai, India receiving monastic training, after which he decided to continue his commitment to monastic life at the ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Ashram in New York, where he has been residing since. He became a disciple of the Vaisnava tradition in 2001, a monotheistic tradition with its roots in ancient India. He received a second initiation, known as brahminical (priestly) initiation, in 2002.

In 2001, Pandit began his campus ministry efforts in colleges in the New York area, including Queens College, SUNY Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and most recently Columbia University where he now focuses most of his efforts. When he started at Columbia eight years ago, he helped increase awareness of Indian and Hindu culture, launch a Bhakti Yoga club and teach a vegetarian cooking class. In a relatively short time, regular attendance at the weekly cooking classes grew to over 100 students per session. As students became fans of the vegetarian feasts, their curiosity about the traditions and philosophy of India also increased. In parallel, Pandit began holding regular discussion groups on the Bhagavad-Gita and received a very positive response from students of all cultures.

In the Fall of 2003, Pandit taught an accredited course on the Bhagavad Gita at SUNY Albany. At the same time, he was accepted as a "visiting scholar" at the Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR) at Columbia University. As a chaplain with the United Campus Ministry at Columbia, he provides representation for the Hindu community, raises awareness of Indian and Hindu culture, and participates in interfaith dialogues on campus. In October 2008, he became New York University's Hindu Chaplain. Pandit also serves as a priest and spiritual counselor to the communities in New York and New Jersey.