Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23

Thread: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

  1. #1
    Join Date
    October 2012
    Location
    Bhaarath
    Age
    51
    Posts
    1,113
    Rep Power
    1502

    Question What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Namaste

    [ What attracted you to Hinduism?.. ]

    When ever I see a non Hindu by birth expresses his entry into the folds of Sanaatana Dharma, it makes me feel great about my India.

    Because most of the new comers are from western countries which provides provides better living condition than India, I am curious to know why are they attracted to Hinduism.

    We at India see forced conversion lured by financial assistance or brainwashing the economically and intellectually weaker people.

    But... For the western converts, It would have been a difficult decision to quit their home religion and embrace a new religion.

    I hope this question will not be treated as an invasion in to personal space. I also request you not to hijack this thread as a discussion on comparison of different religion. I know many members dislike the idea of discussing/comparing Abrahamic religions with Hinduism. So kindly don't get in to argument...

    Members like Shiva Fan, Eastern Mind and others who responded to the internal pull kindly share your experiences.
    Anirudh...

  2. #2
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Vannakkam Anirudh:

    I can only speak for myself, as others have far different experiences.

    Firstly, there is a misunderstanding due to lack of knowledge or experience here, between those born in India, and the west. In the west many many people, maybe as high as 50% of all people simply have no religion. In India, pardon, the pun, that's a foreign concept. People in India, some 95% or higher have a religion. So that idea is practically unheard of all.

    I was one of those people who had no religion. So my encounter with Hinduism was my first encounter with any religion at all. So there was no 'conversion' from something else. That's why, in my sampradaya, we make a distinction between converts and adoptives. I'm termed an adoptive.

    Meeting my Guru, and then seeing a statue of Nataraja that somehow just really appealed to me were two important factors at first. Then later, the Hindu version of tolerance, and respect of all other faiths was really appealing, as I hadn't heard of that before. Other religious people I had encountered seemed to feel theirs was the only way. That struck me as quite illogical.

    Then later, as I learned more and more about it, I came to realise I already believed in most of it.

    Hope that helps some. I know that when I've met Indian Hindus in the temples of India, like yourself, many are fascinated and inspired by our stories.

    Aum Namasivaya

  3. #3
    Join Date
    December 2013
    Location
    Anāhata
    Age
    49
    Posts
    394
    Rep Power
    1771

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Namaskar ji,

    As EM ji has said, I also have always believed what I do now, I just didn't know what it was. I spent a very long time trying to find the name of what I believed.

    I feel like this is probably true of many people in the West. EMji's point on lack of religion here is true and I might go further with that number depending on the region and/or country. Building on that point, I suspect that the greater exposure and access to Hindu schools of belief and philosophy, and better translations of more scripture and commentaries is part of the reason more people from the West seem to take interest, if not convert, each year.

    Also speaking personally, I strongly feel that much of what modern western science is doing is rediscovering the wisdom the ancients already knew. The perspective they wrote from was different, modern scientists use mathematics more than sound and language, but the core truths are the same. Each time I see this again, it gives me a huge grin.

    ~Pranam
    ~~~~~
    What has Learning profited a man, if it has not led him to worship the good feet of Him who is pure knowledge itself?
    They alone dispel the mind's distress, who take refuge at the feet of the incomparable one.
    ~~Tirukural 2, 7

    Anbe Sivamayam, Satyame Parasivam

  4. #4

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Pranams Anirudh,

    The same as Eastern mind I did not have a religion before coming to this way of life. I was not Atheist or really against, I didnt really care, the Bible and Christianity just did not resonate, like most people in England we are fed up with religion, especially Christianity whom most of the people around me just thought that religion was a social disease, something that was perhaps the main cause of war in our history, the main thing that separates us.

    What many people do not know is that Britain has been held hostage by this doctrine since the Romans invaded and ever since then this land has been tortured, corrupted by what I call the Caesar Gene, in the disguise of the Bible and so called Christianity was used to divide, conquer and control. The original Britons whom I identify more with now were very different, they were not an invading warring race. On a side note the Britons defeated the Romans twice and the first time Caesar was humiliated and instead of killing him they sent him back to Europe as defeated man, if only we would have killed him world History may be different

    When I was 17 I first left my hometown and began to travel and work around Europe, it was easy and quite popular back in those days. So for me that was my first real experience of other ways of life, and I wanted to travel further.

    I first came in touch with Buddhism after finding a book on Cha an, Chinese Buddhism, I was struggling existentially at the time and I had so many question, who am I, what is this what is that and why is this this way and why is that way, and in the teachings of Cha an, I first came across the teachings of Karma and Rebirth. I remember I had this immediate feeling and still to this day the impact of considering karma and rebirth just hit home very heavy, It suddenly made sense why we are all different, why some people are in different positions in life, I also understood my own position, although my views have now changed slightly the basic principle of this side of the teaching as I read then has pretty much stayed in tact on some levels, so It must have been my first real insight. From this book I also had my first exposure to the concept of Nirvana, karma and reincarnation was a perpetual cycle of birth, death and suffering, and Nirvana is the ending of this cycle and mediation without a belief was the practice, everything seemed perfect, I knew at that time that this type of life was for me.

    From this and my desire to travel more I decided that I wanted to walk to India from England. Not many people understood the concept of renunciation in England but to me it would be an epic journey to walk and beg my way to India, the home of Buddhism.

    Before I decided to walk I still visited the library to read more and I read one book that said that sometimes Lord Krsna appears as the Buddha, but He was the source of Lord Buddha, I forget what book it was, it was some sort of encyclopedia. I did not take much notice, it did not sink in at the time for me. I did find one book about other western people practicing Buddhism in Thailand and they set up a monastery in England, they were from the Thai forest tradition and their guru was the Great Venerable Ajahn Cha, who still to this today remains one of the greatest teachers I have followed. So I decided to pay them a visit.

    Many a time the passage I read briefly about Krsna kept sneaking into my mind, and more and more I felt I wanted to find out more what and who Sri Krsna is. So I left the monastery I was staying in and again decided to go to India, this time to look for Krsna, whom I knew nothing about but something was pulling me towards that.

    I looked at a few books and found Bhagavad Gita, and in their was an address for ISKCON, so I decided to pay them a visit. I told them about my planned journey and they said its a great idea, but it might be better if I stayed with them for a while to understand the Philosophy of Bhagavad Gita more and the culture of India and once I learned that I would be able to understand and experience better, and they told me that they pay and send devotees to India. The devotees were very kind and always made me feel welcome, we had a good mix of people in those days.

    The more I read Gita the more I fell in love with the teachings, and all I wanted to do was learn more and more about Vedic culture and Hinduism and India, I felt I had such a strong connection with this culture.

    Eventually 3 years later I did manage to get to India, I loved and still do love certain parts of ISKCON but it could not contain my wonder for what else I wanted to explore, I want to know everything. I did a lot of independent travel around India, sometimes with ISKCON and sometimes on my own. I had a good basic grasp of the culture and philosophy so the early advice of learning more actually turned out a great blessing.

    India just felt right to me, I come from a very humble background in the UK and life was never easy, and India had something special about it that I could instantly relate to, I still feel its my real home, even though I have not been for many years. I know I have not even touched the surface, in fact the more I learn the less I know, I traveled from the peaks of Himalaya to south and consider myself so fortunate, but still I have not even touched the surface of your country, its impossible to know it in full.

    Once I had an argument with a man on the train in Bengal, or rather he decided to argue with me because I was English, I did my best to try and explain to him that I was only born in 1970, but seems he would not forgive me

    India is a great civilization that has been wounded and I am hoping that a healthy form of spirituality can be revived in India that can change the world, there are many giants of intellect in India, both Scientific and Dharmic that can bring the balance back, this is my hope, and a part that I hope to play a small role.

    I have no religious denomination, I have seen to much hate in religion, seen how people some how were normal and became more holy than the pope just because they thought they found God, I can learn from anyone, but in my heart of hearts I know what I have experienced and I cannot look further than Bhagavad Gita to see that is my core teaching, if I know Gita what else is to know, although I do not limit to just Gita, but what is not in Gita, it lacks nothing.

    Ys

    Md
    Last edited by markandeya 108 dasa; 24 October 2014 at 09:36 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    October 2012
    Location
    Bhaarath
    Age
    51
    Posts
    1,113
    Rep Power
    1502

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Namaste Eastern Mind ji and Aanandinii ji

    Thanks for sharing your experiences.

    When I worked on a Israel based project a decade ago, was surprised to learn, many team members were aethist. In one of the discourse Sri Krishnam Swamigal said even aethism or the non believers fold is also a part of Sanaatana Dharma.

    I am not sure if it is OK to ask these kind of questions in your culture, but my curiosity has got the better of me, why do you think west (an Abrahamic dominant society) by large doesn't feel the need of a religion and when people felt the need, Hinduism attracted them.
    Apparently Hinduism is quenching something but what how and why?
    Anirudh...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Quote Originally Posted by Anirudh View Post
    I am not sure if it is OK to ask these kind of questions in your culture, but my curiosity has got the better of me, why do you think west (an Abrahamic dominant society) by large doesn't feel the need of a religion and when people felt the need, Hinduism attracted them.
    Apparently Hinduism is quenching something but what how and why?
    Vannakkam: As I said before, the west is NOT an Abrahamic dominant society any more. In the schools, the curriculum is actually classified as secular humanist. I taught in such schools, and there was no religion.

    For the most part, everything goes along well without religion. Secular humanists rely on human nature for their basic ethics, and for the most part everyone remains nice to each other. The state laws also help keep people in line. In the settlement days, there was shunning of bad characters as well. So it worked well, and still does.

    What was missing? For me personally, it was mysticism. I needed answers to certain mystical and personal events, and Hinduism had them.

    Aum Namasivaya

  7. #7
    Join Date
    August 2013
    Location
    Entre Rios, Argentina
    Age
    39
    Posts
    109
    Rep Power
    163

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Hello,

    In my case I don't consider myself a religious practitioner of Sanatana Dharma (I don't have any access to mandir or guru in my geographical/cultural enviroment) but I embrace it intellectually.
    I was born in a christian family and was educated from my childhood in this faith.
    When I grew up I needed to find answers for some things in life and all the answers I found in christian faith was the arbitrary will of a mysterious God.
    Later came to my mind the teachings of karma and reincarnation and I started to wonder "what if hindus are right?" so I began my research reading from different sources and all started to make sense to me.
    Later I became interested in deeper teachings of Advaita Vedanta.
    This is the reason why I'm on this forum.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    December 2013
    Location
    Anāhata
    Age
    49
    Posts
    394
    Rep Power
    1771

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Namaste ji,

    It's true that in public schools they aren't supposed to tech religion, but here in the US there is something of a religious right-wing backlash from a certain religious sect. They want their version of creationism taught in science classes, it's being battled state to state and mostly in the south and midwest. In the meanwhile, science teachers in many of these states are teaching biased things or teaching certain science subjects while stating they think it's a load of hooey... The US is kind of a mess in this way.

    State and Federal laws make it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their beliefs, and that has been translated into people not openly showing what they believe pretty much anywhere most of the time. There are no open religious festivals in communities and towns. In the workplace it's guaranteed that anyone can get a day off for a Holy Day if they ask, but it also can't be discussed and people are discouraged from openly wearing or doing anything that would indicate their beliefs to others. The only exception I have seen is on Ash Wednesday. Societal norms tell us we should never speak of religion in polite company, though on forums like this and among my own friends and family it's never been a problem.

    I remember how in India you could often tell someone's sect because people often openly wear something identifying. I thought it was really nice, I miss that here. I feel that in trying to be so accepting here in the west, we have instead swung in the opposite direction and become repressive. In some ways and in some places it's almost as if 'Religion' has become a bad word, and if someone is known to be religious they are looked down upon as if they are somehow backwards. I think this is one reason so many westerners coming into Hindu belief worry about 'acceptance', at least in my country - in light of such pressures, wearing religious identifying marks or clothes seems at best insensitive to Indian Hindus who feel pressure to not wear them in order to be accepted, and at worse it could be interpreted as cultural misappropriation.

    As far as why people are turning back to Hindu Faith and why, I don't think it would be fair to speculate for such diverse populations, we can only observe things that are known like the points both EMji and Markandeya mentioned. For myself, I have always believed what I do, and those beliefs are directly opposed to the faiths I was raised in. Oh the arguments I started in Sunday School and CCD when I was a kid... I've never lost my certainty and never been 'empty' and looking to fill something so much as I have been 'lost' and searching for the name and formal practices/scripture/wisdom of what I believe to be true. I knew it had to be out there somewhere, it was just finding it. But because of the secular nature of this country and the lack of accurate information, or even any information, available to people up until the mid 90's or so, it took a long, long time to find it. It doesn't fulfill me so much as it gives me a direction.

    ~Pranam
    ~~~~~
    What has Learning profited a man, if it has not led him to worship the good feet of Him who is pure knowledge itself?
    They alone dispel the mind's distress, who take refuge at the feet of the incomparable one.
    ~~Tirukural 2, 7

    Anbe Sivamayam, Satyame Parasivam

  9. #9
    Join Date
    July 2010
    Location
    The Holy Land - Bharat
    Posts
    2,842
    Rep Power
    5499

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Namaste,

    Quote Originally Posted by Aanandinii View Post
    There are no open religious festivals in communities and towns.
    You mean no open Xitian festivals?

    http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...14&FORM=RESTAB
    http://www.festivalofindia.org/

    Pranam.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    October 2014
    Location
    CA, USA
    Age
    75
    Posts
    118
    Rep Power
    462

    Re: What attracted you to Hinduism?..

    Hello Anirudh, great question.
    I was reared Christian in an area of the country where that was the only religion anyone ever acknowledged. Top that off with being an American who happens to be black. (In America, many blacks are still die hard Christians and the church was very fundamental in getting civil rights passed which ALL now enjoy.) I only mention that to try to get you to understand how very entrenched Christianity was in my life and for the lives of many Black Americans. In a way, being black in America and religious is like being in India and Hindu... It is indelibly etched into our culture.


    Since I was a child I always thought it a bit of a stretch that only Christians and no one else goes to Heaven. Or that people only live once, especially when there are children who have seemingly had past existences verified. Not to mention children, or adults for that matter who have never heard of Jesus, but they lived in accord with religious teachings of their countries. The more I read what Hinduism teaches the more I realized that was also what I believe.


    I have also always believed in Karma and reincarnation, for which I was criticized. I studied Buddhism a bit and Islam but they left questions too. I decided to just believe what I believed and keep it to myself. Sort of like what Pranum said.


    Awhile back I started taking Yoga. I wanted to know more about the spiritual aspects of yoga and began to research it. Well guess where it led....right to Sanata Dharma! The more I read, the more I am confirmed. I still have many questions, some theological, like the finer points of Advaita Vedanta, and some protocol like doing home puja and offering food etc but they are slowly getting answered.


    The more I read about Hindus and India culture and politics the more I feel we blacks have in common with them. I have spoken to several of my Hindu friends about our similar history’s and we enjoy discussing the common aspects of our geo-politics, and culture.


    I feel very good about my decision to embrace “my Hinduism”, realizing of course that all do not welcome me calling myself that, so I just rather say I embrace the path.


    Thank you for asking if you have anymore questions for me shoot. I will be happy to discourse.


    Om Namah Shivaya
    ஓம் நமசிவாய

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Is Jainism an integral part of Hinduism?
    By Parikh1019 in forum Jainism
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 17 August 2014, 01:23 PM
  2. khalsa rejects
    By GURSIKH in forum Sikhism
    Replies: 44
    Last Post: 26 March 2012, 02:28 PM
  3. A Need for a United Hindu Voice
    By Surya Deva in forum Politics - Current Issues
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 13 September 2010, 09:27 AM
  4. Neo-Hinduism
    By keshava in forum Hot Topics
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 25 March 2010, 10:25 PM
  5. Teaching others about Hinduism
    By Ramakrishna in forum I am a Hindu
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 27 February 2010, 10:35 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •