How to Become a Hindu: Introduction Page 1 of 14 How to Become a (Better) Hindu Introduction Granthakara Bhumika Author's Introduction THOSE WHO KNOW HISTORY KNOW THAT THE concept of changing one's faith is nothing new to Hinduism. Long before Islam or Christianity had even begun, Jainism and Buddhism contended with the Sanatana Dharma for the allegiance of India's masses. Great Hindu saints, such as Adi ShaMkara (788-820), Appar (ca 700) and Sundarar (ca 800), gained fame in large part through their opposition to these nascent religions--an opposition so aggressive and so successful as to practically abolish both in the land of their birth. The other edge of conversion's sword figured when South Indian kings colonized Cambodia, Bali and other parts of Southeast Asia, for in those days the way of things was the way of kings: the religion of the ruler was the religion of his subjects. The Indian kings who dominated regions like Indonesia brought their new subjects into Saivite Hinduism. While Hindus today are worried about Christian efforts to "save the Pagans," millions in the West are quietly adopting Hinduism in a remarkable and little-discussed silent conversion, a conversion no less file://C:\WPersBV\Temp\80HimalayanAcedemy\BetterHindu\himalayanacademy\www.hi ... 8/16/2009 How to Become a Hindu: Introduction Page 2 of 14 powerful and far more extensive than in the past. Sincere seekers in Europe, Africa and the Americas are starting to call themselves Hindu and seek formal entrance into the faith. They are the result of 150 years of Hindu philosophy surging out from India in several waves: first as scriptural translations, then itinerant holy men such as Swami Vivekananda, and most recently as part of the diaspora of Hindus out of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and the resulting establishment of temples and ashramas in nearly every country of the world. The central Hindu concepts of karma, dharma, reincarnation and the presence of the Divine in all things are now understood by tens of millions not born in the faith but exposed to it through music, film and television, and even commercial advertising. To the born-Hindu of today, the question of entering Hinduism may seem unnecessary, for by one common definition Hinduism is a way of life, a culture, both religious and secular. The Hindu is not accustomed to thinking of his religion as a clearly defined system, distinct and different from other systems, for it fills his every experience. It encompasses all of life. This pure, simple view has to do, in part, with Hinduism's all- embracing quality, to accept so many variations of belief and practice into itself. But this view ignores the true distinctions between this way of life and the ways of the world's other great religions. There is no denying that Hinduism is also a distinct world religion, and to hold otherwise in today's world is fraught with risk. If Hinduism is not a religion, as many Western academics and nonreligious Indians still assert, then it is not entitled to the same rights and protections given to religion by the nations of the world. As just one example, in colonial Trinidad, Hinduism was not recognized as a religion, Hindu marriages were therefore considered illegal, Hindu children illegitimate and unqualified to inherit property. A great deal of Hindu ancestral property was forfeited to the colonial Christian government. The claim that Hinduism is "not a religion" weakens its position socially and legally with respect to other religions in the world community. Among Hinduism's four major denominations--Vaishnavism, Saivism, Shaktism and Smartism-- only certain Smarta lineages, those represented by the Shankaracharyas of Sringeri and Puri, do not accept converts. Smarta priests serving in American temples have consistently refused to perform the namakarana samskara , the name-giving ceremony for non-Hindus by which they could enter the religion. But the spiritual leaders and priests of the remaining sects--representing perhaps 85 percent of Hindus--actively engage today in conversion rites. The hundreds of Hindu swamis, pandits and lay persons who regularly travel outside India are a relatively passive band, offering a reasoned file://C:\WPersBV\Temp\80HimalayanAcedemy\BetterHindu\himalayanacademy\www.hi ... 8/16/2009 How to Become a Hindu: Introduction Page 3 of 14 presentation of beliefs that listeners are only expected to consider and accept or reject. There is no proselytizing, no tearing down of other faiths and no active attempt to gain new followers. Hindu philosophy is free from the missionary compulsion to bring the whole world into its fold in a kind of spiritual colonialism and cultural invasion. This latter form of conversion, which has gone on in India for centuries, ever since Muslims and Christians discovered the subcontinent, has seriously disrupted communities, turned son against father, wife against husband, friend against friend. Coupled with the enticement of material gain and destruction of ancient traditions, it has destroyed lives. The Hindu form of preaching does none of this, and ironically this nonintrusive attitude itself is bringing many toward Hinduism. How One Enters Hinduism A direct result of hundreds of swamis and yogis coming to the West, and of tens of thousands of Westerners journeying to India, is the desire by some non-Hindus to enter Hinduism. This is an issue I began facing five decades ago. In answer to the question, "Gurudeva, how did you become a Hindu?" I would answer that it wasn't a dramatically awesome, big experience for me to enter the oldest religion in the world. I grew up in Hinduism. As with many Americans, I had no prior religion, though I was raised by those who had lived long in India and were enamored of its culture and worldview. Hinduism was, therefore, my first faith. A very dear friend of our family, a graduate of Stanford University in California, had the opportunity to be the guest of the Maharaja of Mysore for five years. There she learned Indian art, dance, culture and the Saiva religion. When my mother passed on, when I was nine years of age, she assisted my father in raising me, and from that moment on India was a vital part of my life. I knew at ten years of age how to wear a dhoti, how a turban should be wrapped, how women drape a sari, how the dance of Siva Nataraja should be danced, how incense should used to purify the atmosphere of the home and how Indian food should be eaten. My father passed on when I was eleven, and the drama continued. Thus, I was brought up in Hinduism first through culture, music, art, drama, dance and all the protocols of Indian life. This remarkable person lectured and gave presentations to the public on the beauty and glory of Indian culture. At that time there were only five or six Hindu families living in the Northern California area. So what she had to offer was very welcome to the western people. At youth summer camps held at her beautiful chalet on Fallen Leaf Lake, near Lake Tahoe, I learned the file://C:\WPersBV\Temp\80HimalayanAcedemy\BetterHindu\himalayanacademy\www.hi ... 8/16/2009 How to Become a Hindu: Introduction Page 4 of 14 worship of Lord Siva Nataraja. At the beginning of my teens, this was very important to me, and it led me into the Vedanta philosophy, which I pursued through listening to lectures of Indian swamis at the Vedanta Society in San Francisco and in reading books. I was most inspired by the life of Swami Vivekananda and his four small volumes: Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Inspired Talks . I was especially impressed by his masterful poem, "The Song of the Sannyasin." Only years later would I discover that my satguru , Yogaswami, as a young man about my same age, had been inspired by a personal encounter with Swami Vivekananda when the Indian monk visited Colombo on his way back from America to India. So, following the path of charya, which leads into kriya which leads into yoga--the culture, the protocols and philosophy, which lead into practice--I started learning yoga: diaphragmatic breathing, concentration, meditation. Then I was told,"Now you need to find your guru. This is the next step. You need to find your guru, and your guru is in Sri Lanka." At twenty years of age, I took the first ship to leave for India after the Second World War and celebrated my twenty-first birthday days before going ashore and walking through the grand Gateway to India in Mumbai. Traveling by train to Chennai and then to Sri Lanka was a remarkable and remarkably hot experience. During my first year in Sri Lanka, everyone wanted me: the Muslims, the Buddhists and the Christians. I felt very, very special, being appreciated by so many people. Being an orphan, you are not often wanted. But I found that their way of thinking, their protocols and their philosophy didn't compare with what I had learned of Indian culture, art and the philosophy of Vedanta. After I was in Sri Lanka for about a year, Satguru Siva Yogaswami sent one of his closest disciples to Colombo from Jaffna, in the northern part of the island, to fetch me, an elegant gentleman from the vaishya caste, the Chettiar community. Kandiah Chettiar began taking me to the Hindu temples. For the first time, I experienced how Saivites worship the Gods, about puja and the priests, about the mysteries of the temples and their connection to the inner worlds. Now the pattern was complete.