Doctors for Hindu Chaplaincy

Aim: This campaign supports our vision to create and deliver Hindu Chaplaincy training for medical staff and chaplains in the UK

Doctors for Hindu Chaplaincy

"To heal fully, one must feel seen, supported, and spiritually safe"

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is proud to launch the Doctors for Hindu Chaplaincy campaign

Your support will enable us to: 

• Establish the UK’s first benchmark online course for Hindu Chaplaincy
• Train Hindu chaplains and expand Hindu chaplaincy services across the UK

Our goal: Raise £1 million to pioneer Hindu Chaplaincy in the UK

How? 1,000 doctors each giving £1,000

As our community grows, so does the need for spiritually rooted care. With your help today, we can train chaplains, support patients, students, and families, and create an endowment to sustain Hindu Chaplaincy for the future.

This is more than a donation. It is a shared investment in compassionate service and in embedding spiritual sensitivity into the very fabric of our healthcare and educational institutions.

Why us?

For nearly 30 years, the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS) has been promoting Indian philosophy, religions, languages, history, and culture in Oxford and beyond. 

As the world’s leading centre for Hindu Studies, we are uniquely placed to pioneer Hindu chaplaincy and set a global standard for dharma-based spiritual care. 

How YOUR donations will be used

With a target of £1 million, we will fund:
1) Resource creation and chaplaincy service
2) Endowment programme

1.  Resource creation and chaplaincy service

Donations will fund the initial five-year salaries for a full-time Hindu chaplain, a full-time administrator/campaign-manager, and a part-time marketing/web-developer.

The Hindu chaplain will:

• Develop the OCHS Hindu Chaplaincy Educational Programme.
• Provide chaplaincy services at four hospitals in Oxfordshire (the John Radcliffe Hospital, the Churchill Hospital, the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and the Horton General Hospital); and two hospices (Sobell House, and Katherine House).
• Serve as a chaplain and mentor to students at the University of Oxford
• Develop and participate in the Medical Humanities research programme at the University of Oxford.
• Celebrate festivals, host study groups, facilitate student societies, and offer pastoral care.
• Develop institutional relations internationally.

The Administrator/Campaign-Manager will:  

• Develop and manage the Doctors for Hindu Chaplaincy campaign in the UK and internationally.
• Support doctors’ networks with fundraising.
• Organise events for fundraising and the Chaplaincy Educational Programme.
• Support the Hindu chaplain.

Marketing/Web-Developer will:

• Be in charge of web development.
• Plan and execute marketing.
• Manage the course platform.

2. Endowment programme

Throughout the campaign, contributions will be made towards a chaplaincy endowment at the OCHS to sustain chaplaincy in the future. We aim to contribute £500,000 to the endowment from the UK phase of the campaign. 

Targets for fundraising

Seed capital: June 2025 – £15,000.

Soft launch: August 2025 – £50,000.

Launch event: September 2025 – £500,000.

Fundraising event: September 2026 – £500,000.

The Hindu Chaplaincy online course

The OCHS Hindu Chaplaincy Educational Programme will include an online course in three modules. Each module will have a course book accompanying it. The first course book, Hindu Chaplaincy, has already been published, while the second and third books will be written over a two-year period. Module 1 will be launched at the beginning of 2026, module 2 will be launched in 2027, and the full three-module course will be launched in 2028.

The first course book

Hindu Chaplaincy is a guidebook written by Nicholas Sutton, Vineet Chander, Ramesh Pattni, and Shaunaka Rishi Das.

This book examines:

• Hindu Spiritual Care.
• Chaplaincy Roles.
• Hinduism and Ritual.
• Applied Hindu Ethics.
• Applied Hindu Psychology.

Online course structure

Module 1: Philosophy – Thinking to Serve (based on the book Hindu Chaplaincy).
Themes: Exploring Indian thought from the oldest texts to discover the sources of the ideas of service, inclusion, connection, and concern.  

Module 2: Dharma – Doing the Right Thing (based on Book 2).
Themes: Outlining principles and values from Hindu thought that can guide care, respect, commitment, and discernment.

Module 3: Devotion – Feeling Empathy, Sharing Affection (based on Book 3).
Themes: Understanding the depths of tolerance, compassion, and love in devotional traditions and teachings, and practising seeing the Supreme in all people and all things.

Hindu Chaplaincy at the OCHS

This campaign is a response to a clear and growing need for a globally-recognised standard in Hindu chaplaincy. 

Currently, there is no formal qualification for Hindu chaplains, a gap that is increasingly evident not only in the West but also in India, where awareness of the need to connect palliative care and spiritual support is rapidly expanding.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this need. During those challenging years, health, recovery, dying, and grief proved to be not just medical concerns but deeply spiritual and emotional journeys. In response, we developed practical guidelines for end-of-life spiritual care, which were widely adopted by healthcare professionals across the UK, the US, and translated into Spanish to reach an even broader audience.

Looking ahead, we are committed to equipping medical professionals with insights on how dharma can inform and enrich patient care. Plans are underway for seminars and a dedicated think-tank to explore these intersections further. 

Our work is expanding into new contexts, including requests for chaplaincy guidance within military settings – reflecting the growing recognition of Hindu spiritual care across diverse institutions.

Who are we?

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS) is the world’s leading institution for Hindu Studies. For nearly three decades, we have served as a welcoming home for everyone interested in the depth and diversity of Hindu philosophies, cultures, languages, and traditions. As an independent, non-political, and non-sectarian centre, we take pride in fostering a community rooted in openness, academic excellence, and cultural understanding.

Learn more about us and join our journey at ochs.org.uk!

With your support, we can ensure that patients and families have access to compassionate, culturally sensitive spiritual support when they need it most.

Join the Founding 1,000 — a community of doctors shaping the future of Hindu Chaplaincy.

Thank you!

Use the QR code to become a member of the Doctors for Hindu Chaplaincy WhatsApp group and to receive campaign updates. 

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 4th September 2025 at 10:58am