One familiar face who participated in the Chapel of Light’s dedication ceremony was Anjani Gharpure, a former WW-P board member who’s also taken part in the local “Support Dharun Ravi” initiatives over the past two months. She served on the WW-P school board from 2006 to 2009, but this year Gharpure emerged weeks ahead of the April school board election, just after Ravi’s trial concluded in New Brunswick. Her first effort was publicizing a petition to Governor Christie which aims at granting Ravi a reduced jail sentence, saying at the time that 10 years would be too harsh a punishment for his crimes. Gharpure articulated the views behind the petition in a letter to the editor which appeared on the cover of the WW-P News on Friday, March 30.
Gharpure remained active in events organized in support of the Ravi family, including the rally in Trenton on May 14 and the gathering at the Mirage banquet hall in Edison on May 4 (WW-P News, May 11). And at Ravi’s sentencing on Monday, May 21, she was part of a contingent that gathered at the courthouse in New Brunswick to show support for Ravi and his parents.
When news of the case against Ravi spread in 2010, it hit home for Gharpure because her son Anant was in the same graduating class with Ravi at High School North earlier that year. In an interview on May 17, Gharpure said her son and Ravi knew each other but were not close friends and did not meet each other socially during high school. Nonetheless, as Ravi hails from Plainsboro and the family had some connection to her with sons in the same class, she took it upon herself to reach out to Ravi’s mother and father in May of 2011.
Gharpure became involved in community outreach through volunteer work with the Arsha Bodha Center, an ashram in Franklin Township dedicated to the traditional teaching of Vedanta, Sanskrit, Bhagavad Gita, meditation, chanting, and related spiritual practices. The ashram was founded in 2000 and will celebrate its 12th anniversary on Saturday, June 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 84 Cortelyous Lane, Somerset. Call 732-940-4008 or visit www.arshabodha.org for details.
For the past two years Gharpure has served as assistant director of the center’s “Jana Raksha Community Care” program — a shoulder to lean on for Hindus across Central Jersey. The Arsha Bodha Center created the program as a way of helping members of New Jersey’s Hindu population cope with physical or emotional distress.
At the Chapel of Light ceremony on May 17, Gharpure explained to a crowd of 100 people that “Jana” means community and “Raksha” means care. A variation of the term can also mean “protection” in Hindi.
Through Jana Raksha, trained caregivers volunteer to provide one-on-one support, encouragement and spiritual comfort to those in need. The program also provides referrals to community-based services that are available to individuals. All consultation is done on a confidential basis and most importantly, Gharpure notes that all the services offered are free of charge. The hospital and the program have a working relationship with Gharpure as the main liaison. As a resident of Plainsboro for the past 14 years, she also welcomed the idea of taking on a more prominent role to reach out to the Indian and Hindu community.
Gharpure says the basic premise behind the Jana Raksha program is “friends helping friends.” She says in her time with the program more than 100 calls for help have been answered. Her recent efforts to provide support to Ravi’s family and other supporters were initiated through her work with Jana Raksha. But Gharpure clarified that Dharun Ravi’s mother contacted her seeking support aside from the program, leading up to the recent public gatherings. Gharpure has since met with the Ravi family a few times.
When the hospital was still on Witherspoon Street in Princeton Gharpure became involved, saying that her role has helped fill a void that exists.
“I have been helping PHCS’s chaplain’s department whenever they need help with Hindu patients. Many hospitals don’t have any chaplain services in place for Hindus,” she said.
In her speech at the chapel ceremony, Gharpure added that with the hospital moving to the east side of Route 1 — closer to Indian populations from communities in North Brunswick, South Brunswick, Plainsboro, East Windsor, and West Windsor — she foresees an increased need to help Hindu patients. Before reciting a Shanti Mantra (in Sanskrit) for the audience, Gharpure announced that she provided copies of the Bhagavad Gita for the hospital’s Chapel of Light.
Gharpure says the Jana Raksha program is not limited to its involvement with PHCS. “We have volunteers going to hospital near Bridgewater and one more at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. One of our volunteers will work with Capital Health in near future. With nursing homes, we have provided our program information to nursing homes all around Central Jersey so whenever the need arises they can contact our program,” Gharpure said.
At the reception after the chapel dedication ceremony Gharpure met with some students from the Princeton Theological Seminary who told her that they are interested in connecting with members of all faiths through the hospital. Gharpure told them that often the first obstacle is that a Hindu patient would not expect to see a chaplain show up at their room and could be unsure about talking to them.
She also told the students about examples of issues that volunteers of the Jana Raksha program counsel community members on, including all of the following: loneliness and depression; grief due to the death of a loved one; sudden or chronic illness; job loss, transition, or work related stress; physical, emotional or psychological stress; marital discord or divorce; new mothers needing help with errands or emotional support; parents experiencing difficulty with children and teenagers; seniors struggling with loneliness or adjusting to life in America; adult children caring for their elderly parents.
Gharpure cited examples of calls the program has answered. In one case, a 70-year-old father visiting from India died suddenly (in the old hospital) and his son was distraught. Ghapure said Jana Raksha volunteers helped him arrange the father’s cremation.
In another example a mother, newly immigrated from India, called about her teenage daughter. Gharpure says the mother did not know what to expect and what resources were availabe to her “in a new environment.” Other assistance has involved couples going through rough patches in their marriages but “do not wish to seek marital counseling, needing a third person viewpoint on their situation,” Gharpure said.
Referrals to professional services including medical, legal, social services and support services are also coordinated through the program. For more information, call Jana Raksha program volunteers at 732-690-9593 or visit the website, ArshaBodha.org
