Hi everyone! I recently made the decision to convert to Hinduism. I have identified as agnostic for several years because I was disappointed by the hypocrisy of many mainstream religions (as defined by your average white American I should say) and that disappointment hit a record high over the last four years. I recently moved to North Carolina but I moved from a neighborhood that was culturally diverse and I made several dear friends with my Hindu neighbors. Through many discussions and just witnessing the way they truly live their ideology, I was moved to make a change. In the typical Christian church there a phrase used by the minister often that simply urges the congregation to walk the walk of their faith instead of just talking the talk. That is sadly not what usually happens. I can say with 100% certainty that the Hindus I know and love live their faith. They "walk the walk". All of this being said, I've now found myself in an area that doesn't appear to have any cultural diversity at all. I am in Arden and if there anyone near me that wants to share my journey with me through conversations and maybe going to a temple with me. I don't want to only be around people that look like me or were raised like me...etc. Please respond if you are someone that can support me in this journey.
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I wanted to share some information about the Prem Mandir and timings. This beautiful temple is a must-visit destination. When you have the opportunity, I highly recommend experiencing the serenity and spiritual atmosphere it offers. It's truly a remarkable place.
...and continuing, this is a small video from India that I think you will love :)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y_8okObwi9M
Namas te Elisabeth!
I hope you are all well and inspired on your path to spiritual fulfillment.
I just came over this forum and saw your post. I am happy to see that you have found a spiritual path that inspires you. I am convinced that life is particularly meant for spiritual self realisation. My story is not very different from yours. I was a christian but had a spiritual crisis and turned agnostic. But after some years I felt a need to deeply understand life, and a spiritual quest started. A monk I met on an airport gave me a copy of Bhagavad gita, and there I found profound, and to me, meaningful answers to the fundamental questions of life. I actually became a monk myself, and lived many years in a Hare Krishna temple in Norway, where I come from. We practice the bhakti path, which you may have heard of, and which Lord Krishna is speaking a lot about in the Bhagavad gita. Bhakti is about awakenig the dormant love for God, by acts of devotion to Him. I am so happy that I found this path, which has enriched my life so much. I want to share a couple of verses with you which I think are beautiful. The first two from an ancient scripture called Sri Iśopanisad. They read as follows :
Mantra Six: He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.
Mantra Seven: One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?
Here is a verse from Bhagavad gita spoken by Lord Krishna, which to me is the essence of religion or spirituality. It's verse 10, chapter 4.
TEXT 10:Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me – and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.
You'll find it here, along with many other sacred text from India. Click on Bhagavad gita, and then on chapter four: https://vedabase.io/en/library/
I wanted to quick share another small experience. I attended a 6 year old’s birthday party at one of my Hindu friends’ houses, actually stayed at their house for a few days being treated so well but at the party I couldn’t help but notice the group of ten or twelve women there did not engage in the behavior I’d seen at primarily Caucasian parties. They didn’t size me up even though most of them hadn’t met me, rather they treated me like a friend, and at no time did I hear the gossip that I usually experienced at parties with a bunch of women. It was such a beautiful change from my usual experiences!
@Sankalp Kumar Thank you for giving me all of this great info! I will certainly check into all of it. This documentary series titled The Story of India is fascinating! What a beautiful country full of beautiful people. There’s so much to admire about the culture!
Hi friends! It has been awhile since my original post so to those who have been interested in my journey, I am still on it! Unfortunately I suffered from some health issues in recent months and had several Covid related deaths in my family and have been a little depressed but I’ve kept up on my reading and am going to temple this Thursday! I appreciate the input and advice and definitely will use it! I’ve been doing nightly meditation and watch Sadhguru videos, including the daily wisdom, and find them helpful! I’m also watching a documentary series on the history of India and fall more and more in love with the Hindu culture and the values/beliefs of the people with every episode! I’m so glad I chose this path! Thanks to all of you for your interest and support! Elizabeth
Hi, Elizabeth. I’m Emily. I was baptized as Catholic when I was a baby. But I spent more of my life as an atheist. My first encounter with Hinduism was Apu from the Simpsons. I thought it was beautiful, and it got to the point where I considered Hinduism as something I could practise. Hinduism also has the coolest deities, and that’s just objectively speaking.
I feel like the catalyst for me was a few years of intense suffering, and I wanted to know why this was happening and how to stop it. After my nana died in particular, I wanted to know what would happen to her. I was no longer satisfied with “she’s a pile of ash now” as the atheists would say.
Yoga and Ayurveda fascinate the logical, scientific side of myself. I feel like it will take many more years before I understand these concepts. But I’m willing. namate
Thanks for sharing your journey and welcome! I think Hindu American Foundation (HAF) would probably be interested in it for their "Unconventional Paths to Hinduism" video series. Below is an example:
I bought some books to read. Here they are.
The Bhagavad Gita
The Essentials of Hinduism
Many Many Many Gods of Hinduism
The Living Gita
If anyone has any suggestions I welcome the feedback! This Thursday I am going to the Temple in Asheville that I’ve heard so much about and this past weekend I participated in the color festivities with my former neighbors! I’m really excited about this spiritual journey!
@Maui Of course!
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for joining the forum and thank you for sharing your story! Your organic journey from Christianity to Hinduism sounds super interesting. Would love to have you share more in the future.
If it's alright with you, I'll go ahead and share your message on our social media groups to see if anyone lives near Arden, NC.