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Thread: Some questions to converts...

  1. #1

    Some questions to converts...

    Namaste Friends.
    I have seen many people here on HDF who belonged to different faith in the past but have "converted" to Hinduism. Out of curiosity I just wanted to know their experiences, thoughts, etc. Hence, if you are a convert, then i have some questions
    1. How do you practice Hinduism(I ask this becoz many of you i have seen are from the west. Hence i am curios to know how Hinduism is practised in the west by westerners. Others are also welcome share your views also.)
    2. What inspired you to know abt Hinduism(i mean was it from a missionary or was it on your own)
    3. Did you find help easily in adopting Hindu way of life?
    4. How do you teach your kids about Hinduism?
    5. Do you continue to read books/scriptures on Hinduism regularly?
    There are more such questions but for now i would like to know this much only. I hope this thread is at the right place. and am eager to know your experiences & views.

    pranam

  2. #2

    Smile Re: Some questions to converts...

    Namaste

    I would start it from myself, i would like to clarify one thing that i am not a convert and i was born in a hindu family

    How do you practice Hinduism(I ask this becoz many of you i have seen are from the west. Hence i am curios to know how Hinduism is practised in the west by westerners. Others are also welcome share your views also.)
    -->actually i dont formally practice it in any way!! i am still in search of a way of practice(one of the main reasons of asking)

    What inspired you to know abt Hinduism(i mean was it from a missionary or was it on your own)
    -->some discussion & thoughts on morals, ethics, way of living, etc. attracted me towards the Bhagavad Gita and hence i started to learn more about hinduism.

    Did you find help easily in adopting Hindu way of life?
    -->actually i was born to a hindu family, so may be i shud not answer this question. but one thing is that i did not easily find clarifications to my doubts, i always have to think a lot about questions coming in my mind. the reason is i rarely find spiritual people around me.

    How do you teach your kids about Hinduism?
    --> i am a bachelor, so no need to answer this

    Do you continue to read books/scriptures on Hinduism regularly?
    -->actually these days i am only dependant on HDF but i plan to start some serious reading soon.

    awaiting your responses

    pranam

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    Re: Some questions to converts...

    Quote Originally Posted by anupj View Post
    Namaste Friends.
    I have seen many people here on HDF who belonged to different faith in the past but have "converted" to Hinduism. Out of curiosity I just wanted to know their experiences, thoughts, etc. Hence, if you are a convert, then i have some questions
    1. How do you practice Hinduism(I ask this becoz many of you i have seen are from the west. Hence i am curios to know how Hinduism is practised in the west by westerners. Others are also welcome share your views also.)
    2. What inspired you to know abt Hinduism(i mean was it from a missionary or was it on your own)
    3. Did you find help easily in adopting Hindu way of life?
    4. How do you teach your kids about Hinduism?
    5. Do you continue to read books/scriptures on Hinduism regularly?
    There are more such questions but for now i would like to know this much only. I hope this thread is at the right place. and am eager to know your experiences & views.

    pranam
    Vannakkam anupi:

    1) I go to temple to worship. I do seva there. I pilgrimage to India, and elsewhere. I try to think good thoughts and remain pure in mind. I am a vegetarian. Currently, I do not do daily sadhana, meditation, or scriptural reading, although I have done in the past.

    2) As far as I know there are no missionaries, other than ISKCON. Some of my friends were interested, and seeing images (Nataraja specifically, got me interested. Once reading a bit, the fact that Hinduism did not say it was the ONLY TRUE way really impressed me. Other things too, but that would be detailed.

    3) No, but getting to know some wonderful Tamil people helped.I still have a few western habits like food half the time.

    4) My children are all vegetarians and law abiding citizens, but none of them (they are all adults now) really caught on to Hinduism the way I did. They don't go to temple etc. I believe you really need a couple of deep inner experiences to be 'caught'.

    5) No. I see no point once you have a basic understanding. My chosen path is more bhakti.

    Hope this helps in your 'research'.


    Aum Namasivaya

  4. #4

    Re: Some questions to converts...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannakkam anupi:

    1) I go to temple to worship. I do seva there. I pilgrimage to India, and elsewhere. I try to think good thoughts and remain pure in mind. I am a vegetarian. Currently, I do not do daily sadhana, meditation, or scriptural reading, although I have done in the past.

    2) As far as I know there are no missionaries, other than ISKCON. Some of my friends were interested, and seeing images (Nataraja specifically, got me interested. Once reading a bit, the fact that Hinduism did not say it was the ONLY TRUE way really impressed me. Other things too, but that would be detailed.

    3) No, but getting to know some wonderful Tamil people helped.I still have a few western habits like food half the time.

    4) My children are all vegetarians and law abiding citizens, but none of them (they are all adults now) really caught on to Hinduism the way I did. They don't go to temple etc. I believe you really need a couple of deep inner experiences to be 'caught'.

    5) No. I see no point once you have a basic understanding. My chosen path is more bhakti.

    Hope this helps in your 'research'.


    Aum Namasivaya
    Namaste EM-ji
    thanks for the reply. Actually im not doing any formal research, i just came forward to ask this out of curiosity. But i would like to say that your reply is a bit motivating for me.

    pranam

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    Re: Some questions to converts...

    1. How do you practice Hinduism(I ask this becoz many of you i have seen are from the west. Hence i am curios to know how Hinduism is practised in the west by westerners. Others are also welcome share your views also.)
    Every day I spend about 2 hours in Samadhi every single day. Never miss...not for surgery...or illness...even when my child died...always samadhi...you can not miss a day, once I did this and had to start completely back to begining. Took several years to find it again.

    We have meditation room, specifically for worship. This has been this way for about 15 years. Even before I knew the name of God.

    Every day I do Japa to Siva this is about 45 minutes more, but necessary to calm me enough for the Samadhi.

    Praying, I hate to admit this, but it's almost constant, any free moment someone isn't needing me...I am doing it. Especially if I am completely alone. At night I pray until I fall asleep, or the sun comes.

    I fast, sometimes if I need to rid myself of much I will do so for almost a full month. (I drink juices water and vitamins only so it's not a full out fast with no liquid).


    We have visited the temple here, but have not really found acceptance. However I am afraid to impose..so I would never ask.



    1. What inspired you to know abt Hinduism(i mean was it from a missionary or was it on your own)
    It was from the breaking of my birth box. Each of us is born into a certain family that has certain beliefs. The box is simply the representation of those things we learn from our family. My box became cracked at birth. I was constantly questioning the Elders in the Mormon church over inconsistencies I saw which could not be explained. The box was also cracked from my exposure to Eastern religions during my childhood on a military base. We had a mini world of culture on the base and I was raised knowing that there was other ways and the people were beloved.

    When I was five I would take my food outside and give it to God, I would fast. When I was a girl I would run barefoot into the woods to a special place and pray. Though I didn't know His name...he knew mine.

    1. Did you find help easily in adopting Hindu way of life?
    Inside my heart, yes...it was all what I already felt and knew inside. It was as a comfortable blanket, it wrapped me up and I knew it was home.

    But finding acceptance...or even others which I could learn more from, not happened yet. We are still not fully vegan, because many of my children have disabilities and require many consessions. But meat is seldom in our home...someday I would hope it be full time. My oldest children have adopted this belief too, so someday it will happen.

    There is also the problem of honoring the karma of this lifetime, careful to not deny the things I must learn in this body and the things within the soul that I am inclined to repeat. White body, colorless soul.
    1. How do you teach your kids about Hinduism?
    My children have been raised with the stories of the BG they know them more than they know Jack and Jill...my children can sing sanskrit Mantras also...it's beautiful. Every moment I am near, we teach. Again...one day I would like this to be more formal.
    1. Do you continue to read books/scriptures on Hinduism regularly?
    Every single day. Always reading, always looking up things when I am given a word in my heart of by others. Learning must happen every day, I must know more:P Every day I break apart scripture and learn it word by word.

    Learning, reading is the way closer to the truth.


    Nayindhe<3

  6. #6

    Re: Some questions to converts...

    Namaste Nayasurya,
    it could only get better with your post!!! I think that shiva is the main source who keeps motivating you.
    wht was that that you tell your children when they were very young? i mean how did you educate them abt SD.
    and may i know the meaning of "Nayindhe" the word you write after each of your post.

    pranam

    PS: do western converts name their children with hindu names?

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    Re: Some questions to converts...

    One of the things I did about 5 years ago was that I buy very large tapestry of Krsna and Arjun is the moment before battle...looking out to his clansmen he must face.

    Then I tell them many times and still to this day I do tell them of the epic and you know the children sit with shut mouths and wide eyes no matter how many times...They ask questions about the words. Such a vision it made my heart so glad. Each morning before school we meet in the meditation room. Then we go over things about life. Every experience leads back to a lesson in SD. Ahimsa, dharma, karma. Everything can be a lesson. Even girl breaking up with them.

    I used to avoid trying to shape their minds about religion, wanting them to learn their own ways. But then I realize that the flower allowed to grow up amongst the weeds is suffocated. So the children are being taught. Though I wish there were a better teacher who spoke better Hindi and Sanskrit. I wish I had more influence upon them.

    My children have all names I give them. Most are Irish. This is the heritage of this lifetime.

    I will let them decide which to take when the time is right.

    As for Nayindhe, a wise person on this forum gave this name to me. It is my name for now. He tell me that I did remind him of Jeeyars who recite this word in humble service to Visnu. So strong was the urge to take this name, it happen immediately...

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    Re: Some questions to converts...

    Let me add that this past weekend we were doing japa as some children came home, my son join me. When I finished reciting 108 of the Maha Mmrityunjaya he say to me...
    "mommy did I do it right?" and I say
    "yes so wonderful"...he says..
    "yes but I messed up two times."

    He is six.

    That's when you know, that it's working:P

  9. #9

    Re: Some questions to converts...

    Namaste NayaSuryaji,
    I grew up as a kid watching TV serials on Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc. My parents also used to tell me stories from scriptures of SD, and I used to like it. I think this thing is very easy to happen here in India, but it is a bit difficult in other countries.

    I found the name Nayindhe very beautiful, and if you come across any scripture/book mentioning and explaining about it in much detail, then please remember to tell me.

    pranam

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    Re: Some questions to converts...

    There may be scripture for this word but I do not think so. It is a word said by the holy men..the Jeeyar when they recite Tamil Prabandham.

    This word comes from the unknowledge, the things which I can not yet fully grasp because of it's unavailability to the dog. Which proved the origin of the giver. Only one would know such a word. The word is a response to the holy words, it means dog, or I am here. It is merely a place holder, a response to being called.
    Last edited by NayaSurya; 05 May 2010 at 06:55 AM.

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