Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard on the Bhagavad Gita by Tulsi Gabbard Lyrics
[Interviewer]
You grew up with your mom, a practicing Hindu, and your father, a Catholic, and your dad went to seminary for a number of years.
What role did that play growing up? And how did you come to the decision to take the oath on the Bhagavad Gita, and the possibility that people would look at you and and potentially judge you as somebody who was not of the faith that's traditional, and that might limit your ability to to get support within Congress.
[Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard]
I'm glad you framed the question that way, in the context of a very personal practice and a very personal decision, but also unfortunately what drives so much to the political conversation, which is, "how will this affect my ability to get votes? or keep the job? or what will people think about me? or will they like me? or not like me?"
I'm fortunate to have grown up in Hawaii, a place where "traditional" is very different than the rest of the country -- Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Catholic, atheists -- I mean Hawaii's diversity is so complete, that we are melting pot of cultures and religions and ethnicities, that my normal was very different than the normal probably from many of you who have grown up in other parts of the country. So there was not a great amount of fear.
I grew up with a great sense of self-knowledge and confidence in just my own beliefs in my own practices and what that meant to me. And my own Hindu practice, my own looking to the Bhagavad Gita in particular, as the place of strength and inspiration and courage was very real and practical, in particular as I went on my deployments to the Middle East: going through military training, leaving home, leaving everything that was familiar, going to the desert, and facing a lot of personal challenges, and having that strong base of understanding that gave me that strength and courage to not only survive in so many ways to come home, but to come home in a way that in my heart mind I felt whole.
I was in a medical unit in Iraq that saw and was faced with extreme injury and death on a daily basis. In the camp that that we were at about 40 miles north of Baghdad there was a huge sign on one of the main gates where the patrols went in and out of every day. And the big sign said in big black letters, "Is today the day?" The big question mark. So if anyone of us ever, at any moment, forgot about the fragility of life in that place at that time, there was that stark reminder that our time could come at any moment.
And for me I took that opportunity to reflect about how important it was to make sure that we make an impact -- that every day, every moment, matters, you know, every relationship matters. And placing that importance and care and respect as you're working with people, as you're dealing with people, not just going through the motions, was a was a huge growth and learning experience for me and deepened my own faith at my own practice in understanding of really what's real and what matters.
There are two quotes from the Gita to that I'd like to share with you because they helped me through those times and they continue to help me through an environment that is not unlike other situations that I've been through. In chapter 2, verse 17, in the Gita, "That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul." The other verse is chapter 2, verse 23, "The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."
So there were days when I was in my cot, in our tent. We had about fifteen or twenty of us there. You've got your duffel bags stacked next to your cot and your sleeping bag. And just going under, putting my head into my sleeping bag, with my flashlight and my Gita and my beads, and remembering who I am and in those extreme environments, again, what's important.
And those experiences, to go back to your question, is why it was very personal but a no-brainer for me that I would enter this new position of great responsibility to make such a huge impact on people not just in Hawaii but everywhere and take that oath on the Gita was such a great source of inspiration and courage for me.
You grew up with your mom, a practicing Hindu, and your father, a Catholic, and your dad went to seminary for a number of years.
What role did that play growing up? And how did you come to the decision to take the oath on the Bhagavad Gita, and the possibility that people would look at you and and potentially judge you as somebody who was not of the faith that's traditional, and that might limit your ability to to get support within Congress.
[Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard]
I'm glad you framed the question that way, in the context of a very personal practice and a very personal decision, but also unfortunately what drives so much to the political conversation, which is, "how will this affect my ability to get votes? or keep the job? or what will people think about me? or will they like me? or not like me?"
I'm fortunate to have grown up in Hawaii, a place where "traditional" is very different than the rest of the country -- Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Catholic, atheists -- I mean Hawaii's diversity is so complete, that we are melting pot of cultures and religions and ethnicities, that my normal was very different than the normal probably from many of you who have grown up in other parts of the country. So there was not a great amount of fear.
I grew up with a great sense of self-knowledge and confidence in just my own beliefs in my own practices and what that meant to me. And my own Hindu practice, my own looking to the Bhagavad Gita in particular, as the place of strength and inspiration and courage was very real and practical, in particular as I went on my deployments to the Middle East: going through military training, leaving home, leaving everything that was familiar, going to the desert, and facing a lot of personal challenges, and having that strong base of understanding that gave me that strength and courage to not only survive in so many ways to come home, but to come home in a way that in my heart mind I felt whole.
I was in a medical unit in Iraq that saw and was faced with extreme injury and death on a daily basis. In the camp that that we were at about 40 miles north of Baghdad there was a huge sign on one of the main gates where the patrols went in and out of every day. And the big sign said in big black letters, "Is today the day?" The big question mark. So if anyone of us ever, at any moment, forgot about the fragility of life in that place at that time, there was that stark reminder that our time could come at any moment.
And for me I took that opportunity to reflect about how important it was to make sure that we make an impact -- that every day, every moment, matters, you know, every relationship matters. And placing that importance and care and respect as you're working with people, as you're dealing with people, not just going through the motions, was a was a huge growth and learning experience for me and deepened my own faith at my own practice in understanding of really what's real and what matters.
There are two quotes from the Gita to that I'd like to share with you because they helped me through those times and they continue to help me through an environment that is not unlike other situations that I've been through. In chapter 2, verse 17, in the Gita, "That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul." The other verse is chapter 2, verse 23, "The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."
So there were days when I was in my cot, in our tent. We had about fifteen or twenty of us there. You've got your duffel bags stacked next to your cot and your sleeping bag. And just going under, putting my head into my sleeping bag, with my flashlight and my Gita and my beads, and remembering who I am and in those extreme environments, again, what's important.
And those experiences, to go back to your question, is why it was very personal but a no-brainer for me that I would enter this new position of great responsibility to make such a huge impact on people not just in Hawaii but everywhere and take that oath on the Gita was such a great source of inspiration and courage for me.