'I fit right in as a Hindu chaplain in the US military'

By Uttara Choudhury Most Indians in America are techies, finance jocks, lawyers or doctors. But psychology graduate Pratima Dharm immigrated from Mumbai to the US just months before 9/11 and did something fairly uncommon. She spent two years earning a Masters in Theology and training in a Protestant seminary, when a phone call from the US Army in 2006 caught her by surprise. “I was all geared towards hospital chaplaincy when I got a call, asking, ‘Would you be interested in joining the Army?’ I said, ‘What, no!’ It blew me away. I could only think to ask, ‘How’d you get my number?’ They said ‘Oh, we got your number as the Army goes into seminaries to look for chaplains. I was surprised, even a little concerned. Gosh, am I committed because the Army called? I was a US citizen by then. So, did I have to say yes? It took me six months to decide,” said US Army Captain Pratima Dharm. “Then it felt natural to serve the country I have come to love,” said Dharm, who earned her commission in 2006 and went to Iraq as a chaplain endorsed by the Pentecostal Church of God, in Joplin. At that time, there was no Hindu military chaplain program. This year, the Chinmaya Mission West in Washington, saw Dharm’s potential to be a Hindu chaplain. Once it backed her, Dharm conveyed her interest, and the Army moved quickly to establish the Hindu program. She was appointed in May as the US military’s first Hindu chaplain. Dharm is an engaging mix of pluck, steel and gentleness. It’s easy to see why troubled soldiers might bare the secrets of their soul to her. Dharm’s younger daughter was born just as she was getting ready to go to war. She left her five-month-old daughter with her husband to go to Iraq. Dharm talked to Firstpost’s Uttara Choudhury about how chaplains have to help soldiers in the battlefield at a time when they may face a spiritual crisis brought on by death and dying, faith, despair and grief. [caption id=“attachment_24226” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“US Army Captain Pratima Dharm. Image credit US Medcom.”]  [/caption] You spent a year at a forward operating base near Mosul, Iraq. Can you describe what you were doing there? I went to Iraq as a chaplain. I deployed from the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in Georgia in August 2007 and my work meant leading worship services, doing counseling, stress management and educational training — all that good stuff. We dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and as a handful of chaplains we were crazy busy in Iraq. In a war the chaplain plays a role in comforting soldiers, lifting their morale and maintaining the unit cohesion. There is also the ethical piece. You are the advisor to the Commander on issues of morality in the garrison. Within two weeks of hitting the ground in Iraq, I sensed a need for starting a humanitarian aid mission for the Kurdish people as I was based out of northern Iraq. North of Mosul is Kurdish town. Some of my soldiers were in Zakoh so every 20 days I was doing battlefield circulation, either on the ground or in a Black Hawk. My eastern culture helped me bridge barriers with the local people. I was going up this beautiful mountain with my unit right off of Hobergate from where you can see Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey to the north when these Kurdish kids came running at me. My pockets were stuffed with pens and candy so they just went for it! They called me ‘cousin’ in Kurdish. I guess I looked a little like them. These kids didn’t have shoes and wore jackets with holes so I ran a collection drive for them which created a lot of warmth for us. In any case, in the northern part of Iraq, people do have a positive view of the US presence. My soldiers gave me money for the kids so we picked up room heaters. One time, we collected 300 flutes to donate to a school to start a music department which they didn’t have until then. Did you receive an award for your tour of duty in Iraq? Yes, I did get the Bronze Star for the humanitarian aid mission. Is your job challenging because army chaplains are often the last face a dying soldier sees? It is difficult. It is also a great honour. The beauty of the job is that it gives me the privilege to be next to somebody I consider a hero. It is almost like I am chosen to be there for that sacred moment. There is a great bonding that occurs especially in a deployed environment so it becomes an honor to be a part of a soldier’s life. It is a big deal for me that my soldiers trust me with their most profound secrets because as a chaplain you are privy to a lot of information. In Iraq, soldiers would come into my tent and say, ‘Chaplain, I need to talk to you’ and start telling me things that are perhaps not spoken to anyone. If it is their last day on earth, you say a prayer, you comfort them. You are their mom, sister, friend for that moment. It is a faith moment. I left my five-month-old daughter at home with my husband and went to Iraq. There were other women who did the same. There were men who did the same thing or hadn’t seen the faces of their babies. I think we were able to comfort each other because we were all in the same boat. You have one daughter? No, I have two. My younger one was born just as I was getting ready to go to war. The army gave me four months to get ready to go to Iraq after my daughter was born. My husband, a great guy, took charge of our family. My mom was there to help. My mother-in-law pitched in too. I have to thank my mom for raising me with a lot of faith. She is a simple person, not highly educated, but really wise. She is just so squared away. She is the avatar of a good mom and wife. My sisters are also happily married and have careers. I had good examples in my brother and father too. Is your husband also in the military and is that how you met? No, he is a civilian. He works as a software engineer in the US department of defense. We met when he came from America to see me in Mumbai and I liked the way he thought. He was extremely independent, modern and yet traditional. I got married to him and came to the US. It has got attention that until this year you wore the cross of a Christian chaplain on your battle fatigues. You started out being endorsed by the Pentecostal Church of God based in Joplin. What made you look for a new sponsor in the Chinmaya Mission West? I started out as a Captain and a chaplain. The training I received was at a Protestant Christian seminary. Those were the options until I came to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and we had a Hindu organization that was ready to sponsor me. All chaplains have to be sponsored by a religious organization that the army selects as an endorsing agency. That is how I transitioned to becoming a Hindu chaplain. _I gained a lot by being in the Christian world. I love the message of Jesus which is close to things in the Vedanta. I went to a Convent school (N_otre Dame Academy in Mumbai) so I was drawn to Christ as a child. I still am. I don’t find any conflict there, but I am a Hindu. The religious freedom in the Army allows me to fit right in as a Hindu chaplain. Theologically and philosophically I am really integrated with my Hindu upbringing in the Sanatana Dharma tradition. We were just raised that way and it is who I am. I was happy to be endorsed by the Chinmaya Mission as they stress the Vedantic teachings. They focus on the philosophical traditions concerned with self-realization. It is not ritualistic, so I like the work they do in the US. Why did you become a chaplain instead of just serving like the other 1,000 Hindu members in the US Army? I knew I had a calling to be a chaplain. You know Sanskrit and hold degrees in Psychology and Theology but is your multifaith background an advantage for the job? Absolutely, chaplaincy is about inter-faith integration and communication. As the first Hindu chaplain, I feel a keen sense of responsibility regarding how to bring great communication between different faith groups. What are the challenges of being a minority chaplain? I don’t look at myself as a minority. I am drawn to the American way of life and the army includes a sea of diverse people. “One army, one fight,” as we say. Being a minority doesn’t come up. Maybe as an outsider somebody may see that but I just feel that I fit right in. I don’t feel like an outsider. I like to bring my difference to the table and see that as a gift instead of something that I have to fight against, or with, or for. I have also been raised in India in a very tolerant environment. I was born in Patna but we moved to Mumbai where dad worked for Batas. Our neighbors were Muslims, Hindus and Christians and as kids we played in everyones house. It was no big deal to have friends from different faiths, we were just Indians. I find the same tolerance here. Will you continue to be at the Walter Reed Medical hospital while taking on your new role as the Army’s first Hindu chaplain? I continue to do my rounds here with my patients, work spikes or decreases depending on the availability of other chaplains. We bring a lot to the table in terms of taking care of the patients. We also have veterans coming to Walter Reed. The biggest part of the work is spiritual counseling. I am a trained hospital chaplain as the Army sent me to school at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, at Fort Gordon. I have clinical pastoral education that prepares me to work in the medical command in an army hospital. Since you are part-priest, part-spiritual advisor, did the Chinmaya Mission have any hesitation endorsing a female candidate? They were wonderfully supportive. I believe women are just as empowered as men. It’s not that I am a great adherent of the women’s lib movement. I just believe the role of women in the Vedas if you read them is equal. Women read the scriptures in the old days. I love the way they actually support that women are equally called by God to be the best they can be.