It was an evening in January 2023. I got a call from a terminally ill person living alone. I had been visiting this person off and on ever since I got connected to her through some online help group. I reached the person’s house and began doing the little things I could. Although I truly intended to help, I had nothing much to say other than empty words like ‘stay calm, you will be okay’. A house cook arrived for her daily duties. I took her to another room and explained the traumatic situation. While I was calling doctors and hospitals, this lady did not take a moment to hold the hands of the patient and went on continuously in her loud and clear voice, ‘God, your mercy and compassion are bountiful...’

I am unsure if the patient felt better, but those words were enormously healing and soothing for anyone. Later, when I thanked her, she told me she was a chaplain. I assumed it was some Christian position in the church and did not bother to dig deeper until recently when I learned about Hindu chaplaincy.

As a Christian idea, the role of a chaplain is to work with people who need guidance and moral support. Chaplains work with doctors in hospitals, counsellors in colleges, administrators in prisons, etc. Their goal is to provide holistic and comprehensive spiritual care to those who are in some traumatic situation, physically or mentally. These people are well trained and they acquire the skill of supporting others. It's a kind of immersion into an intense environment to make peace with people’s situations. It requires some formal training in spiritual care.

Over the years, chaplaincy has become a secular idea, in the sense that it's no longer the exclusive domain of Christianity. Keeping in view the growing needs of society, it has become more like a profession. Jewish, Buddhist, and Islamic faiths are gradually adapting this idea to help their people.  Almost all campuses have Religious Chaplains for major religions, but unfortunately, there are none for Hinduism!

Hindus have immigrated to almost every corner of the world. Every year, several students travel to the USA, Europe, and Australia for higher studies or job prospects. There are thousands of Hindu students on about 200 campuses within the US and they get no support if they need to talk to someone about their existential questions and identity issues, their challenges stemming from their diverse religious background, or just about being targeted for who they are. Similarly, there is a steep rise in loneliness for those who are in the workforce, especially in corporate jobs.

At times, immigrants are wrapped in their shells and have no one to talk to about the challenges they face in a foreign land.  They have no sense of connection. Our temples do not offer any personal guidance or spiritual care; this is where we are far behind our friends from the Abrahamic communities and that is a critical gap that the Hindu community needs to think about. We have to admit that this diasporic Hindu society is so materially affluent, yet is so spiritually negligent in the care of our community.

(My other article on this issue- https://myind.net/Home/viewArticle/changing-facet-of-hindu-mandir-in-21st-century-america)

As a great initiative, keeping the need in view some people have come forward to make forays into Hindu chaplaincy in the USA and some other foreign countries. They are working on and executing to prepare Hindu spiritual care counsellors!

Hindu Spiritual Care Institute (HSCI) was formed in the last few years to train Hindu volunteers to become certified Counsellors of Hindu Tradition (CHT). This one-year course with the Hindu Community Institute (HCI) is a service-learning course focused on giving back to society through one’s service. Here people get formal training for a year to learn the basics of the Hindu path of service-giving. The 10-month, part-time online course, had students from diverse backgrounds across the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, and Singapore.

Hindu chaplaincy is not being developed within Abrahamic beliefs but it has a base in Hindu philosophy. This gives us a great opportunity to apply what we have learned and saved as a Hindu community civilisation over thousands of years. With the vast corpus of Hindu tradition and knowledge base, we have our answers to solving such problems and building a strong one.

It offers specialisations in critical areas of spiritual care, allowing participants to hone their skills and significantly impact their communities. Graduates are equipped to provide compassionate care in various settings, including senior care, marriage services, stress management, palliative and hospice care, and last rites. "Our course is designed to help individuals expand their reach and serve where they are needed most," says Gaurav Rastogi, Dean and Board Member of HSCI. The institute trains people to learn the basics of the Bhagavad Gita, Hindu tradition and samskaras, geriatric care, palliative care, counselling basics, Hindu marriage services, senior care and life transition services, and many more such services.  

Hindu chaplaincy service is not only for Hindus. These interreligious chaplains are equipped to serve people from all faiths, they are ready to engage with the world. The only way to build a strong society is to connect with people by being a beacon of support for everyone in the community, not just the Hindus.

The program helps create new career options for those who believe and are willing to serve others, professionally as a Hindu chaplain. In turn, it enhances one’s personal and professional life and adds to one’s spiritual journey.  After the training, chaplains can serve as volunteers or take it up as part-time or full-time jobs. This is not a very highly paid job but it could be a great second career or third career, especially for those who are looking for more meaningful spiritual pursuits.

Hindu counsellors help talk to college students about their issues, family members having terminally ill close ones to deal with their bearings, and others going through some conflicts or traumas. They may help in conducting prayers for the patients, or talk to someone who wants to know how one’s Dharmic values can give one true solace in critical times.

Hindu Chaplaincy is a brilliant initiative to establish Dharmic values in countries outside Bharat. Such counsellors for the community for spiritual care are going to be more and more in demand in the time to come. We need to find more ways to connect with the community and Hindu chaplaincy is a step towards this need. These chaplains may be requested by the local hospitals and colleges, as the need arises. There is a growing need to push universities and colleges to create permanent Hindu chaplain positions to meet the needs of a high number of students who come for education and professional immigrants as well.

For more information, please check- Graduate Certificate Course in Counselor of Hindu Tradition - Hindu Spiritual Care Institute (hsciglobal.org)

Image source: HSCI (Youtube)