Samadarshini - Seeing Equally
“Samadarshini: Seeing Equally” is an anthology of personal essays written by religious leaders from diverse Hindu and other South Asian traditions. While the contributors to this volume come from different regions of India and the world, they are united in the conviction that their spiritual commitments challenge casteism, racism, gender discrimination, religious exclusivism, and other inequalities.
The unique voices of the contributors help us to understand their traditions and journeys. Each offers us resources for unity, healing and inclusivity in the midst of growing global injustice.
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Contributors
Rev. Abhi is the senior minister of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, Maryland. Born and raised in Southern India, Abhi moved to the United States in 1994. He is a third-generation member of the Brahmo Samaj with ties to Unitarian Universalism, a North American progressive religious movement. He is an advisory board member of Hindus for Human Rights. His Unitarian Universalist-Hindu faith and his Indian heritage continue to guide, challenge, and inspire him in his life, activism, and ministry.
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi
Swami Korneshwar is a renunciant from the Lingayat community and a board member of Satya Dharam Samvad. He runs the Shri Tontadarya Anubhava Mantapa, in Aland, Karnataka.
Swami Korneshwar
Sadhvi Madhuri is a renunciant initiated into the Kabir sect. She is from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Her spiritual education and initiation took place in 2012 under the guidance of Saint Shri Abhilash Saheb Ji. Sadhvi Madhuri also follows and respects the paths and philosophies of Mahatma Buddha, Mahavir Swami, Swami Vivekananda, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, and other great figures. She is a member of Satya Dharam Samvad.
Sadhvi Madhuri
Pujarin (Priestess) Perley Kutayiah is President and the Marlo Pujarin (the spiritual leader in the temple, entering trance, becoming a vehicle for the Goddess to manifest) of Shri Shakti Mariamman Temple in Queens, NY, founded in 2012 as a safe space for people of all colors, races, castes and genders to come together to worship the Goddess. Pujarin Perley was born in Guyana to Pujari Ram Subiah Kutayiah and Rajcumari, and is the fourth generation to carry forward the family's deep tradition of Shakti worship. Pujarin Perley helps run a non-profit community service organization, The Shakti Mission, which was created by the temple community. She lives in Queens with her daughter Felicia.
Apart from her religious work, Pujarin Perley is an entrepreneur: she runs her own company, R. and Perls Heating and Cooling, and is a designer and creator of Indian fashions.
Pujarin Perley Kutaiyah
Pratima Kushmani Shridevi Doobay is a devotee of Shiva Shakti. While her parents Smt. Dhanmati Doobay and Acharya Mahendranauth Doobay were born in Guyana, she was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Pratima has been immersed in spiritual, religious and cultural arts all her life. Pratima’s father and guru hails from a long line of Pandits who spread Sanatana Dharna and established several Mandirs (Temples) in Guyana and New York. Pratima’s parents inspired her to take up her ancestral mantle and become the first female in their family to continue this spiritual legacy. Pratima is a Priestess, Sacred Artist, musician, sacred healer, community organizer, spiritual mentor, and motivational speaker. Pratima is the founder of Shridevi Arts Inc, and the resident priestess of Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus. Over the years, Pratima has collaborated in numerous initiatives to create inclusion for LGBTQIA and women alongside organizations like Caribbean Equality Project, Jahajee Sisters, Poor People's Campaign and The Interfaith Center of New York.
Pandita Pratima Doobay
Pandit Dr. Raja Gopal Bhattar (pronouns: they/them/theirs) is an internationally-recognized higher education leader, advocate, consultant and author. Pandit Raja comes from a long lineage of Hindu scholars and is a proud queer and gender non-conforming person of color, 1.5 generation immigrant, first-generation college student and spiritual practitioner. They hold a PhD and Master of Arts degrees in Higher Education and Organizational Change from UCLA, and have been featured on NPR, BBC and numerous other media outlets. Pandit Raja was an inaugural Racial Equity Fellow with Interfaith America and has been named a Fulbright Specialist for 2023-2026.
Pandit Dr. Raja Gopal Bhattar
Swami Raghvendra is the founder of Satya Dharam Samvad, an organization of peaceful and inclusive Hindu religious leaders based in India. He is the author of “Sadhu Sant aur Sanyas,” published in 2023 by Adivasi LokKala Evam Boli Vikas Academy.Before becoming a renunciant, he was a student of Sanskrit at Benares Hindu University and Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan. He is a renunciant from the Vaishnav Shri Ramanand Sampradaya (sect).
Swami Raghavendra
Mahant Ram Das is the manager of Sidh Peeth Shri Kartilya Baba Ashram, Ayodhya. He oversees the daily operations of the Ashram, as well as the religious rituals, worship ceremonies, and the daily Maa Sarju Aarti. He ensures that the Ashram is open to all, and that even the poorest visitors feel welcome, and are provided with blankets and nutritious meals. As a member of the Vaishno community, Mahant Ram Das leads a reclusive, solitary life, dedicated to spiritual practice and service.
Mahant Ram Das
Pandit Sanjai Doobay is a product of his village. He grew up in the “little Guyana” section of Queens, NY. He studied mantra and puja vidhi at the Shri Trimurti Bhavan under his guru, Dharmacharya Pandit Chunelall Narine. Sanjai spends his time working with the youth in his community toward a philosophy of kindness and with those that may be in crisis or grief.
Sanjai is a graduate of New York University and Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. He currently practices as an attorney dedicated to representing injured workers throughout New York. He is a lucky son and husband and a blessed father. His only wish is for oneness.
Pandit Sanjai Doobay
MPH (she/her) is the Founder and CEO of Chingaree Consulting, LLC, a firm established to prevent harm to communities of color and preserve their complex identities. She identifies as a queer South Asian organizer, advocate, scholar, strategist, dancer and mother. As a part of her work through Chingaree, Sapna serves as an officiant or pandita, conducting progressive and feminist wedding ceremonies rooted in Hindu ritual. Sapna lives in the United States, gratefully always in touch with her South Asian roots thanks to her parents, grandparents and dance gurus.
Sapna Pandya
Swami Sandeepananda is a renunciant and the founder and spiritual head of School of Bhagavat Gita in Tiruvanantapuram, Kerala. His inspiration is the life and work of Swami Chinmayananda, whom he reveres as his spiritual guru. From a very young age, he was deeply interested in the scriptures of India and the philosophy of the different cultures of the world. He teaches classes and gives discourses about the Gita in India and around the world.
Swami Sandeepananda Giri
Pandita Shashi Tandon is the first female Hindu priestess in the United States. She is a follower and teacher of the Vedas and has been performing Hindu rituals and ceremonies in Chicago and many other cities around the country for over 40 years. She performed the earliest mixed race and interfaith marriages in the United States. She has been a strong advocate of equal rights for men and women, and specifically, women’s right to serve as a Hindu priest.
Pandita Shashi Tandon
Swami Shri Shivanand Ji Maharaj is the founder of Matri Sadan, an ashram based in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. He advocates for the protection of the Ganga River and has been leading movements against illegal mining, quarrying, and hydel projects that harm the river's ecosystem. Along with other environmental activists and organizations, he has organized several Satyagraha movements to safeguard the riverbeds.
Under his leadership, Matri Sadan has been at the forefront of the "Save the Ganga" campaign, and several sadhus and sadhvis associated with the ashram have undertaken long fasts to draw attention to the issues affecting the river. Unfortunately, some of these sadhus have lost their lives during these protests, including Swami Nigamananda and Swami Sanand.
Swami Shri Shivanand Ji Maharaj
Umesh Kabir has spent the last 25 years at the Kabir Chauramath Moolgadi Ashram in Varanasi, India, where the Indian mystic and sant Kabir spent his entire life developing and spreading “Nirguna Bhakti” (worship of the the formless and universal). Umesh is a devoted proponent of Kabir’s philosophy. He has traveled throughout the world spreading Kabir’s teachings, and he is currently working on a book about Kabir’s relationship to philosophical concepts such as Karma, Dharma, and Moksha. Umesh is an educator and spiritual mentor, who leads spiritual retreats to help people positively grapple with the complexities of their lives.
Umesh Kabir
Vishwamber Nath Mishra is the mahant (temple chief) of the Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi. He belongs to the spiritual tradition of Goswami Tulsidas. He is a musician and is known for organizing beautiful and inclusive music festivals at the Sankat Mochan Temple and at Tulsi Ghat, in Varanasi. He received the Ph.D. degree in electronics engineering from the University of Roorkee, Roorkee, India, and is Professor in Electronics Engineering in IIT, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
Vishwamber Nath Mishra
In this climate of divisive politics and polarised mindsets, this anthology puts forward the perspective of religious leaders from diverse Hindu and other South Asian traditions challenging casteism, racism, gender discrimination, religious exclusivism, and other inequalities.
Let us know if you are interested in reading this Anthology. We will keep you updated about the release, and your interest will as it always has keep us motivated keep going.