Compassionate counseling and grief support for those walking through loss, bereavement, and difficulty in marriage — held with four decades of Bhakti practice and many years of professional training in grief, loss, and couples care.
Individuals, couples & groups · Online and in person · Confidential
Where this work begins
About
I am a Bhakti practitioner of more than four decades, with long experience in leadership, teaching, and pastoral care within ISKCON. Guided by HH Bhakti-tirtha Swami, I helped pioneer temples and preaching centers in West and Central Africa, and spent nearly ten years traveling, teaching, and cultivating aspiring devotees.
I later returned to Washington, D.C., where I supported my spiritual teacher in developing The Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology (IFAST). My husband, Ekavira Das, and I then served at the Gita Nagari Farm Community, where we live today. In 2004 we fulfilled our Guru’s final request by serving as his primary caregivers until he transitioned in 2005.
That period of caregiving and loss shaped everything that followed. I have contributed extensively to the early Devotee Care initiatives, coauthored the Devotee Care Manual, and facilitated workshops internationally. My work brings together professional training and devotional life, supporting individuals and communities in cultivating emotional health as a bridge to joyful, sustainable, everyday Krishna Conscious practice.
Offerings
Available online, and in person at Gita Nagari by arrangement.
Individual
For the days, months, and years after a departure — and for the grief that arrives before one.
Couples
Informed by Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and many years of Grihastha care.
Pastoral
Devotional care for those who want their spiritual life held in the room alongside their sorrow.
Community
Facilitated internationally for temples, communities, and leadership teams.
Ongoing gatherings
Grief support
Facilitated groups for those carrying a loss, where sorrow is spoken aloud without apology and met with devotional care. A place to discover that you are neither alone nor failing.
Founded 2021
A weekly international Vaishnavi sangha that I founded and direct — a steady circle for women in Bhakti to speak honestly about their inner lives and support one another.
Study & sangha
A facilitated gathering drawing on the wisdom of the sages and applying it to the emotional realities of everyday devotional life.
To join any of these, please send me a note and I will share the current schedule.
Talks & teaching
Signature talk
We discuss a topic that touches every single soul in this material world, and yet one we often feel unprepared to share openly about — the impact of grief and loss in our lives. When we experience the departure of a loved one, or face a devastating material reversal, subtle doubtful thoughts can creep into our minds.
“Because I am a devotee, I shouldn’t feel this sad. If my faith was stronger, I wouldn’t be crying.”
Together we completely dismantle that misconception. We explore the losses of several women in the Srimad Bhagavatam and learn important lessons from how they grieved. We also hear how modern-day women in Bhakti process their own tragic losses.
Suitable for temple programs, sanghas, retreats, devotee care teams, and online gatherings. Enquire about availability.
Approach
Unhurried. Grief keeps no schedule, and marriages do not repair on a timeline. You set the pace, and I will not press you toward tidy resolution.
Professionally trained and devotionally grounded. I bring years of training in grief, loss, and couples care together with decades of Bhakti practice, in the same room. Devotional life is welcome here, never a requirement, and never used to hurry you past what you feel.
Practical as well as tender. Alongside space to grieve, we build usable tools — for the 3 a.m. hours, the conversation you keep avoiding, the anniversary you are already dreading.
Confidential. What you bring stays here, within the narrow legal limits I will explain fully at the start.
Getting started
Fees
The $ symbols show relative cost only; the exact fee is confirmed in the first conversation. If cost is the reason you would not otherwise reach out, please say so in your message.
Questions
No. People of every background and none are welcome. My own practice is Bhakti, and it informs how I listen, but I follow your lead entirely on matters of faith.
This is pastoral and devotee care: grief support, companionship through loss, and relationship support, informed by certified Karuna Care training, grief and loss education, and many years of Nonviolent Communication practice. Some people want devotional accompaniment, some want practical help with a relationship, and some want both. We decide together at the start and revisit it whenever you wish.
No. Sorrow is not a symptom of weak faith. Grief has no correct duration and no correct shape, and I will never measure yours against anyone else’s.
Yes, with narrow legal exceptions concerning immediate risk to life or the safety of a child or vulnerable adult. I explain these fully in our first session.
Often, yes. In couples work I usually meet you together, sometimes with one individual session each. I will be transparent about how I handle what is shared privately.
Yes. I have taught and facilitated internationally for many years, and much of my group work is online. Mention where you are based when you write, along with your time zone, and I will let you know what I can offer.
No. This support can sit alongside medical or mental health treatment, but it does not replace it, and it is not psychotherapy. If you are already working with a doctor or therapist, I am glad to support that work rather than duplicate it. If you need urgent help, please use the crisis resources below.
Contact
You are welcome to keep it to one sentence. I reply within a few days.
This website cannot provide emergency help, and messages here are not monitored around the clock. If you are thinking of ending your life, or you are in immediate danger, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis helpline in your country straight away. Please do not wait for a reply from this form.
Affiliations & service
