Take off with Natarajan

She is neither an Indian-American nor has she ever visited India. But on
Wednesday, she became America’s first-ever Hindu-American Congresswoman.****

Meet Tulsi Gabbard, a 31-year-old Democrat, just elected to the US House of
Representatives from faraway Hawaii. Endorsed by****

Hawaii-born President Barack Obama, she defeated her Republican rival by a
landslide (80.6% to 19.4%).****

A practicing Hindu, Gabbard frequently recites from the Bhagavad Gita. So
when she takes her oath in January as a newly-elected member, she will do
so, placing her hand on a copy of the Hindu scripture. It will be the first
of its kind in the history of the 223-year-old House of Representatives and
the Hindu-Americans are excited about it.****

Born in American Samoa to a Catholic father and a Hindu mother, Gabbard
moved to Hawaii with her family when she was two years old. Her parents
gave all their five children Hindu names — Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, Tulsi and
Vrindavan. Keen to visit India at an early date, Gabbard has pledged to
work for closer US-India relations.****

“It is clear that there needs to be a closer working relationship between
the United States and India,” she said in recent remarks, quizzing: “How
can we have a close relationship if decision-makers in Washington know very
little, if anything, about the religious beliefs, values, and practices of
India’s 800 million Hindus?”****

Defending her Hindu faith, which came under attack from her Republican
rival David Kawika Crowley during the campaign phase, Gabbard believes her
faith would be an asset in Congress.****

“Hopefully the presence in Congress of an American who happens to be Hindu
will increase America’s understanding of India as well as India’s
understanding of America,” commented Gabbard, who was feted by
Indian-Americans at a recent fundraiser in Washington.****

Gabbard’s victory was a foregone conclusion from the time she easily
defeated her rival Mufi Hannemann in a party primary in August. Hawaii,
being a predominantly Democrat territory, few doubted her chances against
her Republican rival.****

“Hindu-Americans have run America’s major companies and universities, won
Nobel prizes and Olympic gold medals, directed blockbuster movies, and even
flown into space. But one profession has so far been out of reach: Member
of Congress,” wrote the Washington-based Religion News Service, ahead of
Gabbard being declared the winner.****

Although there have been two Indian-Americans in the US Congress to date,
neither of them were Hindu. The first, Dalip Singh Saund, who was elected
thrice from California back in the 1950s, was a Sikh. The second, Bobby
Jindal, who was elected twice, beginning 2004, had converted to
Christianity in his early years.****

In 2002, at the age of 21, Gabbard became the youngest person to be elected
to Hawaii State House. The very next year, she joined the Hawaii National
Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2004 as a medical operations specialist.
Awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her service, she currently serves
as a Captain. Between her two deployments to the Middle East, Gabbard
served as an aide to long-time US Senator Daniel Akaka.****

Gabbard, who fully embraced the Hindu faith as a teenager and follows the
Vaishnava path, has said that her faith helped her through her posting in
Iraq, where there were daily reminders that she could be killed any time.***
*

“First thing in the morning and the last thing at night, I meditated upon
the fact that my essence was spirit, not matter, that I was not my physical
body, and that I didn’t need to worry about death because I knew that I
would continue to exist and I knew that I would be going to God,” she said.*

source::::input from one of my friends..

Natarajan