The Joy of Serving
My parents' devotion to Sanatana Dharma and community service has inspired me throughout my life. Growing up in a small town in Myanmar (Burma), my siblings and I participated in weekly Vedic homa ceremonies and attended traditional religious education and Hindi classes at our local Arya Samaj mandir.
After 50 years of medical practice, including 44 years in Pediatric Surgery, I decided to devote my retirement to providing spiritual care to patients at the hospital where I had practiced. I was already a chaplain with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, teaching meditation to law enforcement personnel, had completed Disaster Chaplaincy training, and had taught meditation and mindfulness to medical staff, hospital employees, and local houses of worship for several years. Still, the hospital chaplain told me I needed formal training.
I then reached out to Dr. Rita Sherma ji, who graciously introduced me to Kailash Joshi ji and Gaurav Rastogi ji. They warmly welcomed me into the HSCI course. Even after completing it, I faced challenges, but with support from the hospital foundation, of which I am a donor, I was welcomed as a volunteer Spiritual Care Counselor one and a half years ago.
On my first day, I accompanied a hospital chaplain on her rounds to visit a 40-year-old Hindu patient who had suffered a massive heart attack. I learned that his son was being treated for blood cancer and that no family members could come to the hospital. I prayed with the patient and his two friends. Soon afterward, he passed away.
This experience allows me to meet people in many circumstances with compassion, listen deeply to their fear, anger, and sadness, and offer emotional support and meditation to patients and families facing stress, pain, and grief.
Today, my weekly hospital visits involve spending half a day counseling Hindu patients and those of other traditions. This experience allows me to meet people in many circumstances with compassion, listen deeply to their fear, anger, and sadness, and offer emotional support and meditation to patients and families facing stress, pain, and grief. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve them in their most difficult times.
Rajinder Gandhi, MD is a 2025 CHT graduate and a 2026 honoree as "Alumni who Inspire us".