Dada Maheshvarananda, born in the US, is an activist, writer, and monk. Since 1978 he has taught meditation and yoga and supervised social service projects, in Southeast Asia, Europe and South America. He has given hundreds of seminars and workshops around the world about social issues and spiritual values. His new book, "After Capitalism: Economic Democracy in Action", includes his conversation with Noam Chomsky. Prout stands for the Progressive Utilization Theory, a holistic socio-economic model based on the self-reliance of every region, cooperatives, ecological preservation and universal ethical and spiritual values. In October 2006 he started the Prout Research Institute of Venezuela in Caracas, an independent not for profit foundation whose mission is to raise consciousness, support cooperatives and promote economic democracy.