HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION · 2026
Swami Vivekananda Award
for Advancing Pluralism
Awarded to HSCI Dean Gaurav Rastogi
HAF Annual Gala · October 4, 2026
San Francisco Bay Area
About the recognition
The Hindu American Foundation is presenting its 2026 Swami Vivekananda Award for Advancing Pluralism to Gaurav Rastogi, Dean of the Hindu Spiritual Care Institute. HAF's own citation names the recognition as one of "contributions to advancing pluralism, selfless service, and community involvement."
The award will be conferred at the HAF Annual Gala on Friday, October 4, 2026, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Why the recognition fits HSCI's mission
HSCI was founded in 2018 with a single intention: to put the Hindu tradition to work in service of a pluralistic America. In practice, that has meant training chaplains who serve at hospital bedsides, in prisons, at aging parents' homes, and in classrooms — not to convert, not to preach, but to hold together the moments of life when tradition can offer what secular support cannot.
Advancing pluralism, in this frame, is not about presence in advocacy rooms. It is about presence in the rooms where suffering happens. Every HSCI chaplain graduating and serving is a small answer to the question of what Hindu spiritual care can offer to a country that has never before had it professionally organized.
The award recognizes the Dean personally, but the work being recognized is institutional — the seven-year build of HSCI as the first professional Hindu chaplaincy program in the United States, and the hundreds of trained chaplains and counselors who now carry that tradition into service.
About the Hindu American Foundation
The Hindu American Foundation has been the leading advocacy organization for Hindu Americans since 2003, working across policy, education, media, and community-building. HAF's Bay Area Gala is the West Coast's largest annual gathering of Hindu Americans in civic, professional, and community leadership.
HAF Annual Gala 2026
- When: Friday, October 4, 2026
- Where: San Francisco Bay Area (venue details at HAF Gala page)
- RSVP + sponsorship: hinduamerican.org/community/events/bay-area-gala-2026
Members of the HSCI community wishing to attend or sponsor a table are warmly welcomed.