Our Story
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Founded in 2018 in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Hindu Spiritual Care Institute (HSCI) is a pioneering service-learning institution dedicated to meeting the spiritual care needs of the global Hindu diaspora. HSCI is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is managed by a team of volunteer faculty and professional administrators. The institute serves as a robust spiritual care platform for training chaplains and counselors, and for providing tele chaplaincy/ spiritual care services worldwide.
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To date, HSCI has trained over 250 chaplains and counselors across the United States, Canada, India, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, and the Philippines. HSCI has also established a clear pathway to Hindu Chaplaincy through its collaborative partnership with the Graduate Theological Union (www.gtu.edu), a premier institution in the field.
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HSCI's vision is to build a global spiritual care knowledge system, develop innovative care delivery technologies, and to create a network of 108 chaplains and 1,008 counselors-each trained to serve wherever there is need.
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Vision
Rooted in the values of the Hindu tradition, HSCI aspires to establish:
- A system for Hindu spiritual care as a shared asset (loka samgraha)
- A Learn-Serve model for the global family (vasudhaiva kutumbakam)
- An institution that is run with excellence (karma yoga)
Mission
To build and grow a volunteer-run service-learning institution to:
- Provide education and training in Hindu and interreligious spiritual care
- Put the Hindu tradition to work in improving the quality of life for all
- Develop and sustain leadership for future generations
- Bring entrepreneurship and technological innovations to spiritual care
- Foster strategic partnerships with academic, interfaith, and service organizations
Values and Beliefs
- Hindu tradition: Tradition is a use-it or lose-it proposition. Therefore, the rich Hindu tradition needs to be nurtured and its sweetness made available to future generations globally.
- Society and Spiritual Care: A well-functioning society must provide “emotional air-conditioning” through compassionate mutual support (dharayati iti dharma). Spiritual Care can be an effective vehicle for uniting humanity.
- Institutions: Only lasting institutions can maintain a sustained impact. Institutions must rise above individual interests and identity.
- Service: Service to others is an essential human act. Under the right conditions, most humans will exercise their latent desire and capacity to serve. Everyone can, and must, learn to serve.
- Collaboration: The open sharing and adoption of best practices and knowledge brings value and also improves harmony among various traditions.
