Announcing Samadarshini: A Project for Justice, Dignity, and Radical Inclusion

Hindus for Human Rights is honored to announce Samadarshini, a visionary theological initiative in partnership with Union Theological Seminary and Garrett Theological Seminary.

Union has shared its institutional announcement of Samadarshini here: Announcement from Union Theological Seminary

We are proud to share it across our communities as well — because this project belongs in public, in the world, and in the urgent work of our time.

Samadarshini fosters a radically inclusive Hinduism rooted in justice, human dignity, and the interdependence of all beings. It reclaims sacred texts, rituals, and spiritual practices in ways that actively resist casteism, patriarchy, Islamophobia, and other hierarchies of oppression — while nurturing community grounded in care for one another and for the earth.

“Samadarshini” comes from a line in the Bhagavad Gita describing the wise person as one who sees all beings with equal vision. The name also holds us to a higher standard: equal vision is not sentiment. It is practice, accountability, and a refusal of inherited hierarchy.

Central to the project is Samadarshini: Seeing Equally, an anthology of personal essays by religious leaders from diverse South Asian traditions who challenge injustice and offer resources for unity and inclusivity in a fragmented world.

As Samadarshini Co-Founder Sunita Viswanath explains:

“‘Samadarshini’ is from a line in the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna explains that a truly wise person sees all people with equal vision. We chose “Samadarshini” as the name of our project to build a Hindu theology for our modern times that is truly anti-caste and egalitarian because it encompasses the full and complicated nature of the task in hand, and keeps us accountable. On the one hand, we must root our theology in the unwavering commitment to seeing everyone with equal vision; on the other hand, we must acknowledge that caste hierarchy and discrimination has been a part of our tradition from the very start, and we cannot avoid the sacred task of rejecting caste entirely.”

Union President Serene Jones states:

“At Union, we believe that justice is sacred work and that the deepest truths of our religious traditions call us toward human dignity and radical belonging. Samadarshini embodies this conviction by reclaiming spiritual texts and practices as sources of liberation rather than exclusion. In a time of deep fragmentation, this project offers a powerful witness to the possibility of interreligious solidarity grounded in equity, courage, and care for our shared earth.”

Learn more about Samadarshini’s mission and work: https://samadarshini.org