Where to begin?

[HumbleStudent]

I live in a small town in Colorado with a population of roughly 100,000. I have searched the net and cannot find a temple here. Does anyone have any ideas of how I might find other Hindu's?

I have been studying Hinduism for the past five months and find it incredible. It has all the answers that I have been searching for. Now I need to know where to start. How does one become a true Hindu? Is it a believe or a geographical birth right? Would I be accepted in the Hindu community since I am a Westerner?

Please point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam HumbleStudent:

This is a great place to start. Hinduism is vast, and most points of view on most topics are here. One of the nearest temples to you would be Salt lake City, but that's quite a drive, I would imagine.

You can get a lot of info on the net just by searching. If you have some sense of what type of philosophy or deity attracts you, we can probably point you in more specific directions.

BTW, you are not alone as a westerner here. There are several of us, old and young alike, and it is totally possible to become or practise Hinduism despite what some of our Hindu traditionalists might say. Good luck on your upcoming exploration.

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

I have been studying Hinduism for the past five months and find it incredible. It has all the answers that I have been searching for. Now I need to know where to start. How does one become a true Hindu? Is it a believe or a geographical birth right? Would I be accepted in the Hindu community since I am a Westerner?

Please point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

Dear HumbleStudent,

First of all, welcome to the Hindu Forum.

Eastern Mindji has provided you with some good info above. Here is some more,

Hinduism is a way of life as much as a belief system. You have to have a definite mindset combined with a specific lifestyle to become a Hindu. No, it is not a geographical birthright. Anyone can become a Hindu. But to be accepted into the Hindu community, it takes some degree of perseverance. One must learn the traditions/customs/philosophy and join a temple to become a serious practitioner. You have to strive to be part of a group so that people do not think like you are there in a superficial manner - to follow Hinduism as a fad for few months, or, are there to do a term paper, or have some other ulterior motive. A Catholic friend of mine who had been a student in a seminary for some time, once told me that they had been sent to a Hare Krishna temple to learn about their service and philosophy. The motive was to pick up on the negatives and to 'warn' their congregation about the evils of Hinduism, so that no one would even be tempted to consider converting. It was basically to gather information and shape the thinking of their flock, so that they would never think of straying.

Joining this forum is a good start. You can ask all the questions you have and people will help you along. Being from a small community, it is not going to be easy finding and associating with other Hindus, but if you are sincere in your devotion, the Lord will find a way to make things possible for you. Knowing your approximate age from your profile might help people in framing their responses to your requests for information appropriately, and knowing your hometown could clue others in finding a temple or other Hindus living close to you.

Some Westerners from the forum have converted to Hinduism and even assumed Hindu names. But the first thing to do is to learn about and observe the Hindu practices. It is the spiritual growth and being in tune with the Lord that matters more than changing the physical identity.

Let us know how we can help you, and we will be there for you to learn and grow. Good luck with your endeavor.
-

[Eastern Mind]

I live in a small town in Colorado with a population of roughly 100,000.

This is a matter of perspective. I grew up on a farm between two small towns, each with a population of about 3000, then, but maybe 5000 today. It was 17 miles to one, and about 20 to the other. My grade school (1-9)had four rooms, a tiny gymnasium, two teacherages in the yard, a 2 sheet curling rink, and an outdoor hockey rink. That was it. So a town of 100,000 would be a city to me. It just illustrates how concepts are so intertwined with personal experience.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ramakrishna]

Namaste HumbleStudent,

Welcome to HDF. I am glad that you have been drawn to Sanatana Dharma.

Hinduism is not a geographical birthright. Although there are a small number of people who will say so, the vast majority of Hindus agree that it is not. Overall, you will be accepted into the Hindu community as a Westerner, but you may encounter the occasional difficulty. But as a whole Hindus are very welcoming people. Some of the most knowledgeable and devout Hindus I know are Westerners.

Although a temple is a great place to meet other Hindus and grow spiritually, it should not be a major problem that a temple is not accessible to you. The best way to start is to set up a shrine at your home. All you need to start with are pictures and/or murtis of deities (or just one deity if you want) and you can go from there as you progress into Sanatana Dharma.

I would recommend reading the book "What is Hinduism?" by the Himalayan Academy. You can read read the book online here: http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/wih/
There are also other great books out there as well as good information online. And of course, feel free to search these forums and ask any questions that you may have.

Jai Sri Krishna

[ScottMalaysia]

Dear HumbleStudent,

I am glad that you are interested in becoming a Hindu. While there are formal rites by which a person can enter Hinduism, these are not necessary for one to call oneself a Hindu.

You can say a simple prayer in front of a such as “My dear Lord, from this day on I am Yours. Now kindly accept and guide me.” You can do this in front of your home shrine. To set up a shrine just find a place where you can place some pictures or statues. It can be a bookcase, small table, cabinet - whatever you have available. Place some pictures of whatever Gods you wish to worship on the altar (be sure to include a picture of Lord Ganesha as we pray to him first). You can offer incense sticks by waving them in circles around the pictures.

As for resources, the Himalayan Academy has a large number of resources on Hinduism, mainly Saivite Hinduism. Like Ramakrishna suggested, I would recommend that you start with the book 'What is Hinduism?' It it a beautifully illustrated introduction to the Hindu religion. After finishing this book, you can read 'Dancing with Siva' which is an introduction to the Saivite sect of Hinduism. I'd also recommend reading the Bhagavad-Gita. You can get a copy here.

The Himalayan Academy also have a book about converting to Hinduism. It is called 'How to Become a Hindu'. You can read it, but you don't need to necessarily do everything they say. For example, they require complete severance from your old religion and adopting a Hindu name through a legal name change. However, formally severing all ties with your previous religion can be dangerous in some circumstances, especially if you're converting from Islam. There is also no need for formal severance from the Catholic Church for as soon as you hold beliefs that the Catholic Church condemns, you are automatically excommunicated.

Although a temple is a great place to meet other Hindus and grow spiritually, it should not be a major problem that a temple is not accessible to you.

I disagree. While home worship is an integral part of Hindu life, it is not a substitute for temple worship, especially for converts. A convert would not know how to properly set up and maintain a shrine as there are no definitive guides on how to do it. A car can only drive for so long without being refueled. A Hindu temple refuels you spiritually. Converts especially need to worship in temples regularly and they also need to learn how to practice the Hindu religion from those raised in it. The first time I practiced Hinduism (mainly through associating with ISKCON devotees), I felt especially sad that my town didn't have a temple and I eventually decided to become Christian (I'm back, though!). I would NEVER consider living in a town without a temple. That should be the attitude of every religious Hindu - "If there's no temple there, we can't live there." Also important are Hindu supply shops - shops that sell Deity pictures, puja items, incense etc (although these can be purchased online if you have a credit card).

HumbleStudent, is it possible for you to move to a town with a temple? If it is, then I recommend that you do it. If not, try and find out if the Hindus in your town worship regularly at someone's house. If you want to be able to properly practice the Hindu religion, then you need to learn the rituals and this must be done from someone who has been raised in a religious Hindu family. If you're not already married, then the best way to fully integrate yourself into the Hindu religion is to marry a religious Hindu.

I wish you all the best in your spiritual journey. Please feel free to ask any questions.

[HumbleStudent]

First I would like to thank you for the thoughtful and informative replies. I am truly impressed with the information provided. A little background information, I am 45, male and live in Grand Junction, CO. I was a devout baptist for years and grew disenchanted with the church around 15 years ago. I was not looking for anything spiritually when I found Hinduism by accident. My sister had asked me to find her a symbol or saying that represented peace, truth, honor or something of that nature. I found the Sanskrit word for Dharma. This lead to an investigation of who's language this was, what did it mean exactly. What I found was all the answers that I had been searching for previously. I cannot move at this time since I have 14 years with same company and will lose my retirement if I leave. I have to make due with where I am at, I need to be patient and it will work out.

I do agree that I need to find others to help guide me on the path, I will start searching for other Hindu's in the area that practice at their homes. Also I will purchase the books you suggested and read them. Thank you again for all your support!

[Believer]

Nepalese people are Hindus and there is a Nepalese restaurant in your town. I would start with dropping by for lunch over the weekend and talking to the owner to find out all he knows about hindus getting together for any religious service, and about hindus/Indians living in your area. Most of these restaurants have a buffet lunch for around $10.

Nepal Restaurant
Address: 356 Main, Grand Junction, CO 81501
(970) 242-2233

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Humblestudent:

Believer has given a great suggestion, although its not a certainty that the Nepalese would be Hindu, as your former religion did get around quite a bit. Depending on your social outgoingness (not a word I know, but hey) you could also try the phone book. Some very common names are Sharma, Gupta, and Patel. The Patels are notorious for being hotel owners

You are closer to Salt Lake City than I thought you'd be though. It is a nice little Ganesha temple. If my wife and I can drive the 16 or so hours from Edmonton, you could do an overnighter on the weekend and attend puja Saturday night, then again Sunday morning. The priests there are very helpful and friendly.

Enjoy the recommended reading resources.

Aum Namasivaya

[Maya3]

You may also want to see if there is an Ashram near you, found this when I googled your city and ashrams:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&nfpr=1&...739d2276f2dcad

Maya