Non-Indian Conversion

[Kali_Daughter 0]

Namaste all

 

 

I am new here,but not to the faith. I have read alot about Hinduism,in particular the Goddess Kali,who I began to worship during High school a few years back.I had always been of the mind that Hindusim doesnt convert until I read an article recently that said that it did.Then I read another article about a black South African who became a priest.

 

I have always had a love and fascination with Hindusim,but never converted because I was told that because I was not Indian or of Indian descent that I could not be Hindu.

 

Could someone give me the low down on the truth of the situation.

 

Also,there is the issue of caste.I know that it goes hand in hand with Hinduism,but is is based solely on skin color?(I am African American,so this is quite important for me to know)

 

I would love to join this beautiful faith.

[Guest guest]

I don't think there's any type of formal conversion. Just about anyone can be a Hindu.

 

As for the caste system, from what I understand, it was originally based on the qualities of the person and was actually occupation-based and NOT skin-based. So if you were a warrior, you were a kshatriya, a teacher is brahmana, a merchant is a vaisya, and a servant is a sudra.

 

Of course, the caste system has changed over the years to be based on heredity, mostly due to a distortion of the Vedic faith, I believe. And then the British came and made Hindus believe it was racially based.

 

I don't think the caste system is really that integral to Hinduism. It might not be relevant at all, at least in the society we live in today.

 

Just offering whatever knowledge I have, although I'm sure it's very imperfect, and hopefully someone better qualified than I, would be willing to correct me.

[maadhav 0]

<< .. but never converted because I was told that because I was not Indian or of Indian descent that I could not be Hindu. >>

 

some one misled you.

just is the sun, moon and the sky is for every one,

god and the processess to realize god given in the vedic literature are for every one, no monopoly. any human being is free to practie hinduism according to his interet and seriousness. there is no formal conversion needed, but you can have it if you want it. then you need a guru.

 

 

<< Also,there is the issue of caste.I know that it goes hand in hand with Hinduism,but is is based solely on skin color?(I am African American,so this is quite important for me to know) >>

 

caste has nothing to do with skin color or race.

it is based upon your qualities and your acion/way of living chosen. any aste is as good as any other, each has its importance and each is eligible to realize god.

 

read gita. here is a link:

http://www.asitis.com

 

[Guest guest]

1. Avoid meat.

2. Its better to know about a deity before starting to worship. There are somethings that some deities do not accept. So if you are attracted to any particular deity, please contact a Upasaka ( the one who is already aware of the rituals) and take help. Lord GaneshJi is the most forgiving of all, and its better to start the day after offering prayers to him.

3. But before offering prayers, brush teeth, have a good bath and pray with a purified mind.

4. Have a seperate room where you keep the images, idles etc and enter the room after a bath, no shoes, chappals please.

5. Its better to recite some general slokas stuff like that and NOT go into advanced upasana, without help, as it is a reality that, deities listen to the upasana, and they have tremendous powers, so its better to take help when you go in for advanced stages of upasana.

6. SOme Hindu Deities, you can pray at home are, Ganeshji( the most gracious, benevolent,easily forgives any mistakes), Lord Krishna, Rama ( Its better to have Pattabhishekam or Coronation ceremony), Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswati, Goddess Durga ( shud be a bit careful), Lord Muruga ( pray as a child, his weapon less taller than him, and not as a warrior or a monk, because the latter are much demanding), Lord Venkatesha.Its advisable to worship lord Shiva in temples ( legend has it that lord Shiva is easily moved by Tapasya or penance, and is the lord of the lords, and can grant any boon you can ask for). Its advisable to have Idols not taller than your thumb. You can have pictures, no restrictions on size.

7. The point I am trying to make is, you need to approach the deities with a pure body and mind.

 

As far as conversion is concerned, I am not sure if there is any special ritual or not, but you can contact some hindu organisations if you are particular.

 

However, you are a Hindu by the way you live, the beliefs, etc.

 

And I do not think your color has got anything to do with becoming a hindu. You can still read the slokas, etc, but to learn to Chant mantras, require lot of effort and you cannot do it without a guru. And Mantras are supposed to transmitted from mouth to mouth and not by reading books.

 

Please feel free to post any questions you have here. We are all here to help you.

[Kali_Daughter 0]

Thanx to you all for your advice.

 

Guest,

 

What is your advice on KaliMa?

[Guest guest]

Welcome to Hinduism!! By just surrending yourself to Kali you have become a Hindu! You don't need any formal rituals to become one but for your satisfaction, you may want to visit any of the local temples and express your desire to the priest.

 

Secondly, the concept of Kali is a wonderful one. Hinduism is the first and probably the only religion to recognize the power of women. Kali represents the immense power stored in the female life. Her destructive power is completely opposite to the calm and peaceful characteristics of Sita and Radha. This signifies that women who can be as loving as a mother can be also be as ruthless and destructive like the tigress. However, it should be noted that Kali's destructive power are only for the evil. Unfortunately, Kali has been misrepresented in western world by ignorant people in the form of movies like Indianna Joanes.

 

Finally, your question about the caste system. This system was orignally very flexible and your caste was determined according to your own karma, not based upon your birth. Unfortunately, it became rigid and previously unheard things like untouchability crept it. Hopefully the Hindu society will remove these barriers as early as possible. For your part, I would humbly advise not to be worried about the caste system as most hindus outside India and also in India now do not practice this system. Hope that helped. Best of luck.

 

 

[barney 0]

The Hindu is the Highest Man believing in the Supreme God, the Divinity of Mankind, the path of non-violence in deed and thought, knows the essence of Love and believes in Karma and Reincarnation that states "The law of Karma postulates that in this world there are no rewards or punishments; it is simply a case of inevitable consequences. As you sow, so shall you reap! Sometimes others reap what you have sown. There is an interlinking and inter-connection all round and at every level, in time and in space. No one lives, or can possibly live, in isolation. The past is linked to the present and the future, the world to the next, men to their fellow-men, thoughts to actions, actions to reactions, the living spirits to the departed ones. The law of karma governs all."

 

A Hindu does not discriminate against race, class or any kind. He believes all are equal in the eyes of GOD. Hinduism teaches that each and every living being, from unicellular organisms to Human beings, are in a process of evolution to higher planes of Consciousness, spirituality and life leading to God Himself, the eternal Abode and Goal. Therefore a Man who is an atheist is also a Hindu, trying to define God in his own way, trying to discover God, finding no explanation that can satisfy his reasoning and doubts, comes to a conclusion that God doesn’t exist at all. This thought is a result of his ignorance at that particular point of time, but he evolves, experiences and gains knowledge and gradually may come to Truth, however long this process may take- maybe hundreds of lifetimes- but He is on the Path- The path to God, although he may not realize that. Biologists and modern science may know about only one form of evolution- the physical ladder of arrangement of all living beings into species and classes, their differentiations and similarities in their embryonic stages, but The Vedas proclaim a Higher and the True Evolution. All living things participate in this process and every member of this process evolving towards truth.

 

Moksha (Freedom or Salvation)

 

Moksha means freedom from the cycle of birth and death. The ultimate goal of Hindu religious life is to attain freedom from the cycle of birth and death, or union with God. This union is achieved through true knowledge (jnana), devotion (bhakti), or right work (karma). Purity, self-control, truthfulness, non-violence, and compassion toward all forms of life are the necessary prerequisites for any spiritual path in Hinduism. There is no concept of Savior. You have to free yourself by your own effort. No savior can help you achieve God realization without your personal effort.

 

 

"I am alike to all being.None is hateful or dear to me. But those who worship me with devotion are in me and I in them. The Rig Veda, the Upanishads. Hinduism lays emphasis on direct Experience rather than on authority. Indian people have been powerfully and continuously affected from ancient times by the idea of religion as direct experience of the Divine.

 

 

[Guest guest]

If you're interested in Kali Ma, study the life and sayings of Sri Ramakrishna, the guru of Swami Vivekananda. He was a modern day Sage who was a devotee of Kali Ma and had real spiritual experience of Kali Ma - he actually saw her with divine vision.

 

You just have to live like a Hindu to be a Hindu - make an effort to live the life. Caste or varna is determined by actions not birth, though it later was mistaken for birth.

[Guest guest]

Having visited India I can honestly say that as an African-Amercian you will not be well received.

[barney 0]

I am not from India yet I am a Hindu. Visiting India should be no problem as all Indians around the world would one day like to make a pilgimage to the holy land so I do not see any problem for that matter. India is a holy kland for all Hindus and no one ahs the right to object or make a fuss just because a person is not and Indian and yet a Hindu.

[Guest guest]

"Having visited India I can honestly say that as an African-Amercian you will not be well received."

 

i am not indian, i have been in india 5 times, i do not agree with you... apart the temples where any non indian cannot enter (jagannathpuri, srirangam in vrindaban and so on).. but this is the only discrimination

[Guest guest]

HareKrishna!All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I offer my obeisances unto HIM!

 

"Having visited India I can honestly say that as an African-Amercian you will not be well received"

 

its not entirely true. Yes, there will be problems but this you have to accept if you travel to any part of the world. It is internal fallacy if you generalize India based on perosnal experience, surely you do not know the entire India.Discrimination and bad experiences are all part of traveling and we should expect that as travellers. So dont worry about all that take a trip to India for you can find the meaning of HUMAN LIFE.

 

Haribol!

 

anand

[Guest guest]

Your right its not entirely true but its generaly true. And not particularly surprsiing given a culture which reveres whiteness/lightness of skin as an innate natural goodness and a darkness of skin as an innate natural badness.

[Guest guest]

A few years back on UK TV, there was a Black British woman (afro-carribbean) who went to India to find out about Goddess Kali. She was interested as Kali was seen as a "Black-skinned Goddess" and she felt an afinity as she was Black and had certain eastern belifs, so she wanted to follow up her interest. In this programme she visited many pilgrimage sites and temples yet she didn't seem to have experienced any racism on the colour of her skin.

 

During the Kumbh mela festival a few years ago Channel 4 UK showed footage of a Hindu weddding at Vanarasi between two Americans - a white male and a black female, the wedding had many Indians who didn't raise a displeasing voice against their skin colour or them having a Hindu wedding at such a holy spot, they were enjoying it. The also showed an African-American Kali Devotee (from california) who attended the mela. So I don't think those Hindus in India were discriminating against non-indians following their religion. After all, Hinduism is for everybody.

[Guest guest]

it is not the main subject of the thread , but to think that kali goddes is nice because she's black and we are black skinned is stupid

 

we are not this material body and to use religion to develope more proud and attachement for it, is the opposite of the purpose of spirituality and worshipping of kali ma, shiva, krsna, vishnu and so on

[Guest guest]

"but to think that kali goddes is nice because she's black and we are black skinned is stupid"

 

You totally misunderstand my post! It is not my opinion, but is the opinion of the programme makers and the woman (an afro-caribbean) in question, who was initially attracted to Kali as being of dark or black complexion. After this attraction, she learnt about the spirituality and trancendentalism of Kali Ma. So she did learn something more, other than Kali being of black complexion.