[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: REQUEST : Can non-Indians become Hindu?
-
To: soc-religion-hindu@uunet.uu.net
-
Subject: Re: REQUEST : Can non-Indians become Hindu?
-
From: vivek@cs.rice.edu (Vivek Sadananda Pai)
-
Date: 24 Sep 1996 15:10:03 GMT
-
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
-
Organization: Hindu Students Conference, Rice Univ Chapter
-
References: <ghenDx9t13.Btn@netcom.com> <ghenDxBv4y.4My@netcom.com> <ghenDxH6xI.H4F@netcom.com>
Sorry for responding to such an old post, but my server just received
this today.
In article <ghenDxH6xI.H4F@netcom.com>,
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar@braincells.com> wrote:
>vivek@cs.rice.edu (Vivek Sadananda Pai) wrote in article
><ghenDxBv4y.4My@netcom.com>...
>
>> According to no less an authority than Hinduism Today, non-Indians can
>> become Hindu, but be prepared to pay about $900 for the privilege of
>> being counted among the 800 million or so who are Hindu for free
>
>Vivek, if you hadn't posted the excerpt and a URL I would have thought
>this was a joke but apparently the author is serious.
The author is quite serious, and many people have referred the
original poster to this article. I wonder if that implies agreement
with the $900 "charge."
>Suffice it to say
>that while I'm sure for $900 you could find people to do this for you the
>namakarana sanskara doesn't represent any kind of Hindu conversion and
>your photocopied certificate (suitable for framing) isn't going to
>guarantee you acceptance anywhere.
I would think that such a certificate is likely to guarantee that
you'd be mocked, but that's just my opinion. Given that most Hindus
don't have such a "good Hindu" certificate, they'll view it with as
much respect as a title deed to the Brooklyn Bridge.
>It's particularly galling that the
>author (who seems to be a Shaiva Siddhantin) claims to speak for Smartas,
>Vaishnavas and others while only quoting the usual modernist suspects.
I bumped into an old acquaitance the other day and I told him about
this little episode. Unbeknownst to me, he had been involved with some
of the editor's followers a long time ago, and back then, the editor
used to go by "Father Subramaniam" (or whatever his current "Hindu"
name is), and he and all of his disciples used to wear the outfit of
Christian monks.
This was also at the time the newspaper had a different name. By the
time the newpaper became "Hinduism Today," all relics of Christianity
had been removed from "Father Subramaniam"'s group, well, except for
what appears to be a baptismal certificate in disguise.
-Vivek
