Tulsi (Holy Basil) and Kamala (lotus) have special significance in Hindu mythology. Their namesakes, Hindu-American Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Indian-American Senator Kamala Devi Harris, also have a special appeal to the Indian community in the United States.
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Gabbard is said to have fully embraced Sanatan Dharma after serious deliberation and contemplation in her later teens, and not because her mother was a practicing Hindu, she’s said in the past. “As a Vaishnava, my perspective of Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma comes from the Bhagavad Gita,” she said. She has been studying the Bhagavad Gita since childhood and has, especially beginning in her teenage years, tried to apply the Bhagavad Gita’s principles of karma yoga and bhakti yoga to every aspect of her life.
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While Harris understandably identifies herself as an African-American in the political context, she is personally, and perhaps equally understandably, very Indian in her personal lifestyle, and is very close to her Indian extended family.
Harris, in her book “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” details what she inherited from her mother, and from her upbringing. “Though I miss her every day, I carry her with me wherever I go. I think of the battles she fought, the values she taught me, … There is no title or honor on earth I’ll treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris’ daughter,” she writes.
running for president, got bood at the Calfornia State Convention for saying that socialism is not the answer. 
