HCI is now HSCI

HCI was launched in early 2018 with plans to offer a sustained and all-inclusive approach to compassionate care through social outreach, spiritual education, and pre-chaplaincy training. As a California 501(c)(3) non-profit institution founded on Hindu Vedic traditions and values, its mission is to develop, conduct and facilitate community education, community services and related training, rooted in the Hindu tradition, for the 250,000 Hindus in the Bay Area. As an all-inclusive volunteer organization supported by the community, all are served without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status.

In the past five years of its existence, HCI or Hindu Community Institute has successfully pioneered a training program of 'learning to serve'. The eager adoption of the program beyond the USA, where it was seeded, into other countries with a significant Indian diaspora, is a testament to the lacuna it filled. It is the CHT (Counselors of Hindu Tradition) certification that provides its graduates the skills and the confidence to serve the community in which they live. HCI also aligned itself with GTU (Graduate Theological Union) to launch Hindu chaplaincy and started a pre-chaplaincy training in the form of Hindu Chaplaincy Pathway (HCP) for those who wished to pursue interfaith chaplaincy training at GTU.

While the HCI name has served us well, our vision has both broadened and sharpened. There was a need to enhance the clarity with which people across the globe perceived us as well as engaged with us. Our credibility as a competency center for Hindu Spiritual Care warranted a name that made that mission evident. In July 2023, the HCI board members unanimously agreed to change the HCI name to HSCI, i.e., Hindu Spiritual Care Institute. The name reflects a focus on learning to provide service as counselors and chaplains informed by Vedic principles, during important life transitions within the Indian diaspora and beyond.

Spiritual Care is a rising interreligious field and a globally recognizable and accepted domain. As a Spiritual Care Institute we have chartered a course for Hindu chaplains for the first time. In the future, we hope to pivot towards a global university for Hindu Spiritual Care. Hence, going forward, the change of name to HSCI reflects our purpose and mission with greater clarity.

HSCI's new initiatives include the Hindu Chaplaincy Resource Center (HCRC) and Tele-chaplaincy. HCRC will be equipped with curated knowledge assets intended to help chaplaincy-trainees who need to establish themselves in the field. HCRC resources can also help those currently serving as chaplains to keep up with trends in spiritual care and to contribute valuable case studies. Tele-chaplaincy leverages technologies currently available to bring people across the world closer to each other. As a result, underserved parts of the world can be served by chaplains just as effectively as via face-to-face interactions.

Please visit HSCIGlobal.org for additional information.

Punit Mahendru, Ph.D

Board Member & Resident Faculty, HSCI

Punit Mahendru previously worked as a senior staff psychologist for over 20 years at Kaiser Permanente Psychiatry Department. She currently serves as a board member and resident faculty at Hindu Spiritual Care Institute and co-leader of behavioral health track at CWC, a wellness program. Dr. Mahendru also maintains a small private practice. Her therapeutic approach is integrative, combining evidence-based therapy techniques with alternative and holistic approaches such as mindfulness, lifestyle modification and spirituality. Dr. Mahendru did her Ph.D. from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and her M.Phil. from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India. Dr. Mahendru has taught as adjunct faculty at several state and private universities and colleges in the U.S.

Mangala Kumar

HSCI Volunteer

Mangala Kumar earned a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Bangalore University and for over 25 years, held Senior Management positions in Product Management, Marketing, and Business Development while at Nortel, Siemens Communications and Aspect Communications. She is involved with several Bay area Non-profit community service organizations such as One School at a time (OSAAT.org) and Sukham (sukham.org), and served as Executive Director of India Community Service Center (ICSC) and Senior Director of Programs at India Community Center. She feels very blessed to be able to use her time and energy to serve the community. Mangala lives in the Bay area with her husband and son.