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  1. #1
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    Namaste

    Isn't converting to Hinduism banned? I have read this on several sites. Please explain.

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    Re: Namaste

    Perhaps you are referring to the unethical conversion tactics used by some Christian missionaries that are banned in some states, such as widespread distribution of pamphlets, basically hate literature against Hindus. But no, as far as I know, conversion to Hinduism is not banned.Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: Namaste

    Banned by whom?

    And, not for nothing, but "conversion to Hinduism" is kinda of a oxymoron, to my eye ... how can one "convert" to something which is ineffable? Conversion is so an evangelical "Christian" term ... holy mixing metaphors, Batman!


    ZN
    yaireva patanaM dravyaiH siddhistaireva choditA .
    shrI kauladarshane chApi bhairaveNa mahAtmanA .

    It is revealed in the sacred doctrine of Kula and by the great Bhairava, that the perfection is achieved by that very means by which fall occurs.

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    Re: Namaste

    I am not against converting to Hinduism. Actually I think it is very cool. But what I read was that Hinduism is not just a religion, but science, literature and philosophy and all that stuff, so it seems very unpractical to convert to Hinduism. I am not saying this but I read this somewhere.

    I have also read somewhere, which could be rumor, that Sang Parivar or some other Hindu group is trying to ban conversions internationally. I read this on Wikipedia. And also that their weren't any conversion policies till much later and that too in the South, not in the North. This too was written on Wikipedia.

    But now I think Wiki is not really trustworthy, if it writes anything it wants.

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    Re: Namaste

    Well, I am a convert, sort of. Strictly speaking, conversion means that you have to give up something beforehand, like if you convert to vegetarianism, you give up meat. For me personally, I had no previous religion, so there was nothing to convert from, so I am called an adoptive.

    People are correct when they state that there is no need to 'convert'. One can just start living as a Hindu. Eventually you will be Hindu. Many leaders of various sects have differing opinions on all of this, or course.

    Personally speaking, I had some problems with this method. The first was the name. I just find it odd when a person named Muhammed says he's a Christian, or Isaiah claims to be Buddhist. Just odd, nothing else. Like a fish out of water. There are several examples of this in Islam ... Muhammed Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and the singer who was formerly Cat Stevens. In the Sri Lankan community I am familiar with, many keep their Hindu names when they become Christian, so you have a Natharajah Sivalingam going to church, and on the member roll of Catholicism. Not wrong, just odd. When you get introduced, you automatically assume the fellow is Hindu. Having a Hindu name, in practice, actually helps, with things like acceptance by the Hindu community, entrance into temples, etc. The process also marks your sincerity to yourself, your friends, and the community.

    Another reason is mental conflict. This has more to do with giving up the previous religion than to receiving the new one. A true conversion, in my opinion, is complete. You can't be a little of both without mental conflict. A universalist will disagree. Take going to heaven, versus reincarnation, for example. Well, which wife are you married to? The mind would be jumping back and forth at the time of death. Mental confusion. We are on the path of stilling the mind, not accelerating it.

    The third reason is mystical. Most of the intellectual, non-mystical schools of Hinduism won`t see this at all. I believe in God, and devas. Devas are the inner beings that help us. Former friends or family on the astral plane, that on the inside are helping us all the time, or the Mahadevas themselves. Suppose you are destined to have a flat tire somewhere on a road in India. If the Hindu devas are helping you, that flat tire will happen right in front of a beautiful Ganesha temple. If the angels of Catholicism are helping, you will stop at a shrine to the Virgin Mary. If the asuras are around you because of poor lifestyle, weakened will, or seed karmas coming to fruition, you`ll have two flat tires. So it`s important to be connected to other worlds in this way.

    Here is another simple analogy or story to understand unseen worlds existence. I am a gardener by hobby, at the temple I go to. People will come by and tell me that the flower bed needs watering. They see the surface, and the surface only. I know I watered it one hour before. As soon as the surface is scratched, you find moist soil. But they see only the dry part. Or they will say `nice rain we got last night, you don`t need to water,`` and as soon as you dig you find dry soil within the first inch. the rainwater got to the stem, but not the roots where it needs to get to.

    So the point is that our observation Ťand normal awareness only scratches the surface of what is actually going on around us.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Smile Re: Namaste

    Thanks for sharing this. I am really glad that converting to Hinduism is not banned. Not that I had anything to loose, since I am Hindu by birth. But it feels good.

    I did not quite understand the thing about mental conflict. Though, I do agree that conversion should be complete.

    As for the other world. I believe only in Karma. And demigods to me are very irritating. But these are just my thoughts. But as you said that non-mystical/intellectual would not believe this. I need to have logic to believe anything and I feel karma is the only logic.

    But anyways thanks for sharing this. If I comment anymore -smiling- I would end just end up contradicting you.

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    Re: Namaste

    Quote Originally Posted by Znanna View Post
    Banned by whom?

    And, not for nothing, but "conversion to Hinduism" is kinda of a oxymoron, to my eye ... how can one "convert" to something which is ineffable? Conversion is so an evangelical "Christian" term ... holy mixing metaphors, Batman!

    ZN


    Hi Zn,

    How do get such similes as similes? It brings smile. Batman! What a comparison? Bat also and Man also. haha,
    That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.

  8. #8
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    Re: Namaste

    Thanks for getting my joke






    ZN
    Attached Images Attached Images
    yaireva patanaM dravyaiH siddhistaireva choditA .
    shrI kauladarshane chApi bhairaveNa mahAtmanA .

    It is revealed in the sacred doctrine of Kula and by the great Bhairava, that the perfection is achieved by that very means by which fall occurs.

  9. #9
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    Re: Namaste

    Quote Originally Posted by Znanna View Post
    Thanks for getting my joke
    ZN
    Thanks are due to you, for the subtle and lasting.

    Om
    That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.

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