dharma66
22 August 2007, 09:45 AM
Hello all.
Over the last few years I have had a distinct draw towards Sanatana Dharma. A little background about me might help.
I am a 41 year old British guy, of Anglo Saxon descent. I have practiced various forms of yoga on and off for some time, recently focusing less on the typical Raja Yoga practices now widespread in the West, and more on Bhakti and Karma yoga. In my involvement with yoga I have come into contact with several concepts of the Dharma (indeed my Yoga Guru Paramahamsa Niranjananda Saraswati of Bihar gave me the name Dharma some years ago), and have always felt drawn towards them.
A couple of years ago I went to the fantastic Mandir in London (the really big one), and on a business trip to India, I once plucked up the courage to enter a small Mandir. Both of these were fantastic experiences, even though all I did on either occasion was simply sit on the floor for a few hours and watch people come and go.
Recently I am drawn more and more to discovering more about the Dharma, and I feel that I would really like to have some level of active participation.
The thing is that I don't really know how much it is possible for someone born outside of Hinduism to become an active participant, and even though I live in Manchester (UK) and have many friends from varied faith backgrounds, I have no immediate friends or associates who participate in the Hindu faith.
If anyone can provide a place I might go, or someone I might contact, to get further information or pointers, I would be truly grateful.
Over the last few years I have had a distinct draw towards Sanatana Dharma. A little background about me might help.
I am a 41 year old British guy, of Anglo Saxon descent. I have practiced various forms of yoga on and off for some time, recently focusing less on the typical Raja Yoga practices now widespread in the West, and more on Bhakti and Karma yoga. In my involvement with yoga I have come into contact with several concepts of the Dharma (indeed my Yoga Guru Paramahamsa Niranjananda Saraswati of Bihar gave me the name Dharma some years ago), and have always felt drawn towards them.
A couple of years ago I went to the fantastic Mandir in London (the really big one), and on a business trip to India, I once plucked up the courage to enter a small Mandir. Both of these were fantastic experiences, even though all I did on either occasion was simply sit on the floor for a few hours and watch people come and go.
Recently I am drawn more and more to discovering more about the Dharma, and I feel that I would really like to have some level of active participation.
The thing is that I don't really know how much it is possible for someone born outside of Hinduism to become an active participant, and even though I live in Manchester (UK) and have many friends from varied faith backgrounds, I have no immediate friends or associates who participate in the Hindu faith.
If anyone can provide a place I might go, or someone I might contact, to get further information or pointers, I would be truly grateful.