Throughout her childhood, Brahmacharini Shweta Chaitanya’s mom couldn’t seem to part with a particular book. Time after time, her mom returned to its pages, prompting curiosity from Chaitanya who’d wonder, ‘What is so great about this book?’
As she would later find out, it contained a large collection of preserved poems by Tukaram Maharaj, a 17th century poet and Hindu sant (or saint).
“She started to tell us a little bit about the different poems, the different teachings, within that particular tradition,” says Chaitanya of her mother who had immigrated to Texas from India. “And, as I grew up, I saw that it started to become more and more meaningful to my mom.”
While the poems didn’t resonate much with her as a child, Chaitanya came to cherish them as an adult. As she grew older, she says, “I found myself curious, ‘What are these poems about?’ and ‘What is this tradition [my mother] comes from?’ It gave me some sort of curiosity into studying religion and Hinduism in particular.”
Flash forward to today and Chaitanya is now the first Hindu chaplain at Emory University. In that role, she provides support to Emory’s growing Hindu population, helping students navigate challenges, whether they be about faith or life.
Shweta Chaitanya
Chaitanya earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sanskrit at the University of Texas, Austin, and Columbia University, respectively. She then spent two years studying in a secluded monastic community in India.
