NY-based Viswanath is a ‘Champion of Change.’
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian American Sunita Viswanath is one of 12 faith leaders who will be recognized by the White House on as a “Champion of Change” for her steadfast efforts to alleviate the effects of climate change.
Viswanath will be honored on July 20 for encouraging Hindus to live out principles of ekatva (oneness), ahimsa (non-violence) and sadhana (faith in action) by taking care of the environment.Follow @ambazaarmag
Having worked with women’s and human rights organizations for almost three decades, she is co-founder and active board member of the 14-year old front-line women’s human rights organization, Women for Afghan Women. Viswanath is also co-founder and board member of Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, according to the White House’s Champions of Change biographies.
Born in Chennai, Viswanath said her childhood was inundated in ritualistic practice of Hinduism.
“I have always been secure in my identity as a Hindu,” she told the Press Trust of India. “Growing up, I thought a lot about faith and religion, but I also had a very strong sense of social justice, what was fair.”
Viswanath, who is the only Indian American on the shortlist of honorees, now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with her husband Stephan Shaw and their three sons, Gautama, Akash, and Satya, reported HuffPost India.
Never one to rest on her laurels, she is currently spearheading a project to clean up specific beaches in Jamaica Bay where Hindus worship and leave behind litter as a byproduct.
“I imbibed profound lessons of love and justice from my religious upbringing, from the stories we were told, the prayers we learned, the texts we read. I went on as an adult to devote my life to advancing social justice causes, particularly women’s human rights,” Viswanath told PTI. “If Hinduism cares deeply about all people and all living beings, then there must be an active, vocal Hindu movement for social justice and human rights today,” she continued.
1 Comment
I don’t get it. She seems more of a cleanliness advocate and a women’s advocate than an Hinduism advocate. If anything she seems to be tell people that Hindus leave a lot of waste behind and mistreat their women. That is playing right into the lines of anti Hindu propaganda. No wonder she is being “honored”.. The word “progressive Hindus” should be a big huge red flag for everyone. She is a fake plant trying to make Hinduism more pliable for her Christian overlords…