As a Hindu, I was raised with the concept of paramapa, a Sanskrit word which translates as “succession” or “continuation,” and which traditionally referred to a lineage of gurus or spiritual teachers. But as immigrants to the United States, we were disconnected from a traditional guru/disciple paramapa and so I began to think about my lineage in terms of my family.
Every family has a defining story or foundational myth that they live by. For my family, that story is of our matriarch, Saraswati Soni, my great-grandmother on my father’s side. Saraswati was a young widow in British India and inherited considerable wealth which she used to establish an intentional community for women and girls that still flourishes today. Alongside her dear friend Kasturba Gandhi, Saraswati also became a leader in the Indian freedom movement predicated on non-violence and self-transformation.
My family stands on her shoulders, and in the work that I do as a university chaplain, I also try to inspire and support my students, as my great-grandmother did, to transform the world by transforming themselves, and to start their own paramapas so that others may stand on their shoulders.
Varun Soni is the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. www.varunsoni.com
