For as long as I can remember, music always made sense, felt natural and exciting. Began playing in bands with friends around age 12.
At 14, I started my first job at Jack's Music Shoppe in Red Bank, NJ. Here, my older co-worker friends showed me great kindness and new musical worlds.
After the sudden breakup of our high school rock n' roll band, performed some original songs at a show that had already been booked for the group.
This gave rise to continued exploration as "singer-songwriter".
Around this time, my friend Corey and I found "The Radha Krsna Temple" album among a box of records from a yard sale.
Shortly after this initial exposure to kirtan (musical chanting of divine names), I began practicing mantra meditation and Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion to the Supreme).
In 2014, after years of gradual practice, time spent with inspiring communities in NJ, NYC, and Ohio, and learning from loving mentors, I was formally initiated into the Bhakti tradition, receiving the spiritual name Dina Bandhu das.
This journey has increasingly inspired and engaged my creative endeavors, which still feel natural and exciting, and which I seek to offer with more and more honesty, love, and care.
I have explored a variety of jobs over the years, including working as a taxi driver and an apprentice ocularist (prosthetic eye specialist).
I spent the years 2012-2015 in the New York fashion industry, first as a photographer and later in product development.
Though I always found it a bit of an unlikely arrangement overall, I was deeply inspired by the creativity of my friends in that field.
After parting with the fashion company, I dedicated most of 2015 to touring and sharing music, which was a great joy.
In early 2016, soon after the passing of a dear friend and mentor, I felt moved to pursue a long held interest and aspiration of training as a hospital chaplain.
Since then, I have worked as an interfaith chaplain in general hospital, hospice, and psychiatric/behavioral health settings.
Getting to know so many brilliant people and seeking to accompany and serve them in times of difficulty has been deeply meaningful,
and has left a lasting impression upon my heart.
