Namaste,
I'm sure this subject has been hashed and rehashed across these forums since long before my time, but here it is.
I'm not a Hindu, but I would like to be. I was looking over Eastern Mind's thread Conversion: Do we want you? (the thread title grabbed my attention immediately, as it strikes close to home). Obviously, I cannot answer that question for those of you here who are established in Sanatana Dharma, whether by birth or through "conversion" (a word I never really liked in relation to religion); I can, however, say for myself that the real test seems to me whether or not I can live life as somebody who many of you would be happy to call a Hindu, who you would joyfully sit next to in prayer or meditation in a temple. That's why I say that I am Hindu-in-training.
Speaking of which, I made my first trip to the local temple, Sri Venkateswara Temple in the Penn Hills area just east of Pittsburgh, PA, just this past Sunday, and was so easily welcomed in that I went back earlier today; immediately, I feel at home in this place where Heaven and Earth intermingle, where I can sense the light of God and Gods in each nook and corner, where blessings flow like Ma Ganga from Lord Siva's matted locks. I have had wonderful, even transformative, experiences in Christian churches and other holy places, but nothing so instantly welcoming, warm, and unfathomably deep as this.
So, I am working at it. I'm not planning on taking on any huge projects, I have no desire to disrupt this lovely community (both here, online, and at Temple) nor insinuate myself where I am not wanted. I am just that smiling, bearded, white guy over there sitting by the temple pillar, trying to be a better person, to learn a lot from those who have gone before me, to build it all into my soul and my daily world, and to realize the Goal of life. Thanks again for letting me be here.
Om Sivaya Namah!
Thomas Allogenese
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