I'm converting to Hinduism, is there anything I should know?

I love the Hindu religion for many reasons. The first is the way that there are many schools of thought within the religion (there are 12 Agamas, main Hindu texts, and of them 4 declare Vishnu as Supreme God, 4 give that position to Siva, and four give it to Brahma), yet there can be mutual respect between the groups as they are all connected by the wisdom of the ancient texts of the Vedas and all revere one Supreme God. The quotation for this sense of tolerance is in the Rig veda. “The truth is One, sages call it by various names.” Anyone living well and virtuously is seen as having good quality and there is no need to aggressively convert.

I also love the concept of God. In Western traditions, God is separate from His creation and lives in Heaven. In Hinduism God is both as immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality. God is not only the Creator/Designer of the universe, but he is also the material cause of the universe. There is nothing that is not God’s energy and the soul is one with God. Every being is inwardly divine. There is no internal evil and no eternal hell. The soul is merely on a journey and through various bodies and experiences it is drawn back to God and will eventually merge with God, a fate that all souls are destined to without exception.

One can enjoy many relationships with God. In the Christian viewpoint, the relationship is like a master/servant or a father/child. One can experience God as a close friend, child, parent, master, and even love within the Hindu religion. One’s experience with God is personal and /experiential/. The main point of Hinduism is to experience God personally. Swami Vivekananda chose his guru after going around and asking many people if they’d seen God. Sri Ramakrishna replied, “Yes, I see Him as clearly as one sees an apple in the palm of the hand; nay, even more intently. And not only this, you can also see Him.”

Karma is also fantastic. It is a law of life that is as inescapable as gravity and a self-governing system. God never punishes us. God is all-loving, and any negative situations we face are generated by our own karmas. If we act virtuously, we stop creating negative karmas to be experienced. It gives an explanation for many difficult circumstances and gives us all the power and responsibility needed to change it.

As a Saivite, I believe God Siva is the Creator, Preserver, Absorber,Concealer, and Revealer. He is my favourite for within my school He is the source–Bhagwan–there is no other! All Gods and devas are his emanations.However, I am also particularly fond of Lord Ganesha, the Lord of Categories and the Remover of Obstacles. This wonderful God I view as a loving mother/father who adores his devotees endlessly and grants them many boons. He has been created by his father Siva for the duty of controlling our dharma, therefore he has a wonderful knack for unweaving us from complex karmas and serves as psychic protection, sitting at the muladhara chakra so one never descends deeply into lower states of mind like anger, jealousy, and fear. His worship stables emotions. He also sets up and removes obstacles to guide us lovingly along the proper path to God. He is like a mother who plugs up electrical sockets so a child doesn’t explore, keeps sharp knives out of reach, and puts up fences so we can’t take a tumble down stairs. Ganesha is so loving!

If you’d like some good resources, check out https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics

Some of my favourite resources are:

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/… (Basic beliefs shared between Hindu Sects)

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/…

(Info on different main sects of Hinduism)

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/dancing-with…

(“Hinduism’s Contemporary Catechism”, covers basic knowledge as well as the advanced)

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/how-to-becom…

(Discusses more formal conversion processes, although there is by no means a single standard)

That website in general has many resources about Hinduism from video/audio clips to thousands of pages in free books. Although it is run by Kauai Aadheenam which specifically has a mission to protect and preserve the Saiva Siddhanta school of thought, it has resources on many other schools and has a more general mission of informing and serving the Hindu religion for those both within and outside of it. I wish you fantastic luck and enjoyment in pursuing your religious path and hope that you find some of the joy and fulfillment that I have within this timeless religion. Within Hinduism you’re the driving force of your own spiritual evolution and you have many choices to make. It’s a beautiful and unique path ahead, should you choose to tread it. Feel free to contact me at the e-mail listed at my profile, I always enjoy devotee association. Aum and peace!

Source(s): Personal experience
Kailāsa Nadhinatha Saiva Siddhanta Sampadaya
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Devotee association

I am not going to be violent like some of the Muslims and say that you are going to hell nor am I going to say do what you feel is right like some of the others but I will say this; you claim that you want to go into hinduism because it is more peaceful and yet you get on here and badmouth millions of Muslims and the religion itself just because you didn’t find what you liked there. Maybe Islam is not for you but that doesn’t mean that you have the right to come on here and bad mouth it. I think that you need to evaulate just how peaceful you really are if you feel the need to saay all of that stuff- that also happens to be untrue- about Islam. I don’t think it’s right to disrespect any religion and that is definitely one thing that Islam does not condone. However, seeing as how this seems to me a habit of yours you probably should convert. In fact, pls do, the sooner you get out of the religion the better off we will all be. Muslim and NonMuslim. And who knows maybe one day you’ll get the guts to face yourself in the mirror and not just try to badmouth a religion when you have and are the real problem!!!!!!

The biggest plus for me is when I pray or go to a temple, I don’t think about my sins…this is in sharp contrast to when I go to a church where I feel depressed all the time as all I hear is how we are sinners and Jesus paid for our sins. Hinduism is a culture, an ideology…but not rigid. You can be a Hindu and believe in one God, several Gods or even no God….it can be customised to what suits you best. Even Swami Vivekananda was an atheist…do whatever suits you best…trust your intelligence…don’t let people dictate what is right and what is wrong….do whatever appeals to your conscience….as Abraham Lincoln said ‘when i do good, i feel good. when i do bad, i feel bad. and that is my religion’. I think Hinduism amounts more or less to this. What I also like about Hinduism is that it does not antagonise others by saying you will go to hell if you don’t follow Hinduism….wish others could think so independently.

i have always felt like God wasn’t going to send me to hell for being human and trying my hardest to get through this life as a good person.. or as good as i know how. I didn’t get this about christianity. I always felt like people were fearing such a loving God and I didn’t feel like God was that way. I couldn’t grasp that idea. When i found hinduism it made so much sense to me. No heaven and No hell. I also felt like if I lived as a hindu… I would be a good person.. and that would be good enough for a christian God if that ends up being whats real. Its a win win… Im kind of an open minded person.. So i have always know deep down that NO ONE KNOWS. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IS RIGHT OR REAL OR THE TRUTH. that is also what struck me so deep with Hinduism…. they accept all religions and believe all religions are valid. If you are trying to get closer to god.. it doesn’t matter how you do it… its your path. and i definitely believe that. Hinduism I have learned is a way of life… and it makes so much sense to me.

Ok hey

I hope its not too late to give my input

I think hinduism is a great and beutiful religion

that celebrates life and being good to others

there is no violence involves and they are okay with others tht dnt believe the same as them

i am a hindu myself

i dnt think hinduism is about only the gods but just wanting to explore yourself and understanding yourself and other people around you

u dnt even have to be tht religous

so u cn still carry on with ur life rather thn using all your time praying

becoz in hinduism u hve the freedom to pray any way u want

and ive read these comments about beef

u can still be a hindu and eat beef

becoz i eat beef

and no other hindus treat me any different

i even know of quite a few hindus who eat beef themselevs

like i said

u have a freedom and nothing restricts u

u also dont have to be scared about hell or god punishing u for sins every single time u do something slightly bad

hinduism isnt a religion of fear

and i hope u do be a part of the hindu faith and become part of a vast community

😀

Jeremiah 16:20 ►New International Version (©2011)

Do people make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!”

Isaiah 44:6 ►New International Version (©2011)

“This is what the LORD says– Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

Colossians 2:8 ►New International Version (©2011)

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

Luke 12:47 ►New International Version (©2011)

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.

Ezekiel 18:32 ►New International Version (©2011)

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

Pray to God to restore out of his mercy

Source(s): bible.cc

y more before you grows cold and make up your mind. Pray.

My favorite thing about Hinduism is that they see god in all things and do not try to wipe out those who do not agree with them.

Actually, my religion does also, so I don’t need to leave my Christianity and can still relate to my Hindu friends.

I am happy that you found your fit! However, one stick taken from a fire grows cold and dies. Find Hindus in person (not on line) and talk to them and celebrate with them. Faith is much about our relationships with others. A coal taken from a fire grows cold.

Also consider whether broken relationships that you are running from are making you run away. That was my path and may not be yours but ask yourself that. Are you running away or running toward? Only you can answer that. I only know me.

Godspeed!

ay the lord bless you and keep you on your journey and give you peace.

Source(s): Did a lot of searching and wandering and came back nearly home. From Methodist to Zen to Catholic!

Hi there, I recommend you to read Bhagvatgita, Vedas and Upanishads which provides spiritual and philosophical insights. Indian epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata not only provides details on Indian culture and their Gods but also portrays values of friendship, love, devotion and morals and advices on how to lead an ideal life. Being the oldest religion, there are many superstitions and rituals attached to Hinduism that you dont have to follow as Hinduism is more focused on your actions rather than beliefs.

According to Hinduism, there are four paths to reach salvation…they are path of devotion, path of selfless action, path of philosophy and wisdom and path of meditation. You can follow any path. If Hinduism do not work for you, try Buddhism.

What are you looking for in a religion?You seem to be thinking more about this life than for eternity. If there is no hope for eternity what’s the point in a religion? You say you are converting from Christianity. Being a Christian means you have Repented of your sins, and by Faith made a commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ for eternity and that is irreversible and the only means of Salvation given by God the Father and creator of all things. I would give some serious thought about becoming a genuine born again Christian and sealing my future for eternity. God loves you and wants to save you. God bless.

If you are a true Christian, what true value is there in anything other than that? What redeeming qualities does any other lifestyle truly hold once you consider life past this Earth? Who could be more beautiful than Jesus? The Christian worldview is the fully True worldview…anything else is a departure from what actually is. (When I say Christian, I don’t mean American, or Caucasian, or some other cultural identification that is commonly, and perhaps wrongly, associated with it.) God will let you choose how you want to live, but he knows that He is the source of all happiness, joy, contentment, peace, love, joy, and goodness in the world. He loves us to much to restrict our free choice. He’d rather let us mess up on our own and feel pain so that we might come back to him, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Remember that. God bless.

I advice you not to do this because you’re going to an atheism