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.
Interested? Let us know
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
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
Sydney-based Acharya Ram Sivan (ordained as Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari) has practiced as a Hindu priest and teacher of Yoga-Vedanta philosophy for over 40 years. He was inducted as a preceptor (Acharya) into the South Indian Srivaishnava (Iyengar) lineage in 1990, by the pontiff of Sriperumbudur; His Holiness Sriman Varada Yatiraja Jiyar Swamigal. Acharya Sivan is one of the founding members and the current public relations officer of the Australian Council of Hindu Clergy. He has participated in the consecration of a number of Australian and American Hindu temples, tutored other priests, and is the published author of a number of books on Hinduism.
Acharya Ram Sivan
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
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
Get in touch
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.