My name is Shamā Mehtā. Born in India, I am a lifelong practicing Hindu.
I am a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and work as a Hospital Chaplain. In other words, I am a Hindu Chaplain.
I hold a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry (Interfaith Chaplaincy). I am also a Qualified Bilingual Medical Interpreter.
I also have the privilege of representing Hinduism on local interfaith panels and get to speak on a variety of topics as they relate to Hinduism.
My personal perspective and practice of Hinduism is referred to as Advaita Vedānta – Non-Duality. It informs my daily life as well as my understanding of life in general.
In my leisure time, I love to read, stargaze (love everything about Space and Astronomy), take road-trips, obsess over A R Rahman’s music and some more. I also love listening to Indian Classical Instrumental music. I also enjoy my share of jewelry, shoes, mehendi (henna) and make-up.
Shama Mehta 
Dear Ms Mehta,I really do not know how the knowledge and the very idea of what constitutes a Hindu can be imparted to others.No one even in India knows how to define oneself as a Hindu.There are many branches of Hindu philosophy,all accepted with- Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahodhaha Vadanti-mutual respect and acceptance.
.Vivekananda’s books along with some of Swami Rama’s ,Swami Veda Bharati’s,Satyananda Sarswati’s,Hatha Yoga Pradeepika of Muktibodhananda,God Talks with Arjuna & Second Coming Of Christ,and some books of even Osho such as The Book Of Secrets as well as Upanishads are excellent guides.Youngsters growing in foreign countries can learn a lot from these.If you have noticed- one of Vivekananda’s famous statement-“Hinduism is probably the only religion which does not talk about sin.It talks about Pramaada( error).We err and can correct ourselves,there is no eternal hell since all of us are divine” shows how our people can feel confident.This is in the context of fellow schoolmates taunting Indian ( PIOs) children that since they don’t believe in Christ,they will go to hell.I am reading certain books by Rajiv Malhotra,Subramanian Swamy and M.A.Khan ( Islamic Jihad) and they have certainly frightened me.I wish you best of luck in your mission.Regards,Viraj Pradhan.
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Thank you for sharing your story—you’re an inspiration for us all. 🙂
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