‘Today, young Indian Americans can find
role models in any profession’
Varun Soni, dean of religious life, University of Southern California, in conversation with Arthur J Pais
Varun Soni
Varun Soni was 34 when he was named dean of religious life at the University of Southern California,
the first Indian American — and the first
Hindu — to serve such a role. Four years
later, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh-born Soni,
who arrived in the United States while a
baby, is the only non-Christian, non-
ordained dean holding such a position
at any US university. He works with
the USC’s 50 full-time and part-time chap-
lains and spiritual advisers who conduct
services and provide counseling in numer-
ous faiths.
Soni, who has degrees from University of
California, Los Angeles, Tufts and Harvard,
is also a member of the California Bar
(though he has never practiced law), grew
up in Orange County, California. At the
Catholic elementary school he went to, his
best friends were Jewish.
He has said when he went to Tufts, he
was leaning toward international relations.
Meeting Howard Hunter, professor of reli-
gion, and University Chaplain William
“Scotty” McLennan changed his mind.
Hunter turned him on to religion and
philosophy, specifically Asian religious tra-
ditions such as Buddhism, and even
his own faith of Hinduism. ‘I was raised
culturally in one way, but to study it in a
scholarly way, this was the first opportunity
that I had,’ he told a Tufts University publi-
cation.
In your tenure as the dean of religious life,
what has given you a lot of satisfaction?
Recently we announced the USC School
of Religion will establish the first chair of
Hindu studies in the United States funded
by the Indian-American community. We
received a $3.24-million gift from the
Dharma Civilization Foundation and we
will be establishing the Swami
Vivekananda Visiting Faculty in Hindu
Studies and the Dharma Civilization
Foundation Chair in Hindu Studies. As one
of the preeminent research universities of
the Pacific Rim, it is a natural for USC to be
a leader in the study of Asian religions. This
gift makes that goal immediately more
attainable. I also believe that this is a
watershed moment for the Indian-
American community, which has built
many mandirs in the US but has never
before endowed an academic program in
Hindu studies.
But I am familiar with these questions as I
too wrestled them when I grew up. I have
learned to be a good and patient listener.
Only after having heard the student fully
will I initiate discussion about religion and
spirituality. Often students have problems
with their addictions, some are suicidal,
depressed, bipolar. My approach to every-
thing is holistic and as the discussion con-
tinues, I bring in the possibility of involving
counselors and other chaplains. It starts
with offering the students space, confiden-
tial space, to confront their fears and anxi-
eties. One of my favorite quotes is from the
French theologian Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin: We are not human beings having
a spiritual experience; we are spiritual
beings having a human experience.’ This
observation often forms the basis of a dis-
cussion.
How did you get interested in religious
studies?
I have been influenced a lot by grandfa-
ther Satender Kumar Soni, who was an ele-
mentary school teacher in India and the
United Kingdom. He used to tell me the
stories not only from Indian religions but
also Indian history. His mother had worked
with Kasturba Gandhi, wife of the
Mahatma. From my grandfather I also
learned the importance of religion in fight-
ing for social justice. Interestingly, my wife
Shakti, a pediatrician from Durban, South
Africa, and I met for the first time in Rio
(de Janeiro) in Brazil. She was there on a
vacation, like me. I also discovered that her
great-grandparents were followers of
Gandhi in South Africa.
What was your parents’ reaction to
become a religious professional?
Though I have a law degree, I started
with religious studies. My father Viney Soni
is a pulmonologist and my mother Vandana
Soni is an anesthesiologist. There are over a
dozen doctors in my family and nearest rel-
atives. Very early in my life I had known I
was not going to be a doctor. I was brought
up in a very spiritual home and my mother
held regular satsangs in our home. My par-
ents have also always been incredibly sup-
portive of everything that I’ve done, and I
don’t mean to suggest otherwise. However,
they were concerned with my decision to
study religion and become a religious pro-
fessional because it was an unusual choice
for an Indian American and there wasn’t
really a model for success. Today, young
Indian Americans can find role models in
any profession from social activism to films
to army officers. But it was a very different
world 20 years ago. Ultimately, like all par-
ents, they wanted me to have a meaningful
career and support myself; so they were
thrilled when I became dean of religious
life at USC.
