How others convert to Hinduism?

We all know how institutionalized the process of conversion to other religions like Christianity and Islam is. But many of us are not aware of the exact process to convert to Hinduism.

Most of the time even if someone from other faith expresses his/her willingness to know about conversion to Hinduism, we ourselves are not able to tell and explain the process to them. It is time we keep ourselves aware enough.

I think though Hinduism didn’t have this concept of in and out as conversion, now situation demanded us to make a systematic attempt in this regard. I came to know that Arya Samaj has been hugely successful in this area.

I read that Government has authorized Arya Samaj to convert (or reconvert) people into Hinduism and the organization even issues certificates to the converts. They do suddhi (purification) ceremony along with Vedic rites and welcome the person to our dharma.

Such converts are not given any caste as such and this is a good thing because castes were more of a social system and our original texts didn’t prescribe birth-based castes.

The converts who went out of Hinduism should seriously think about returning back. If they had heart to do the sin (in a way) by converting to other religions after being misled and persuaded, they should also have the courage to repent and correct themselves.

If we come to know of anyone willing to convert to Hinduism, we should try to make him/her get in touch with local branch of Arya Samaj.

(Please correct me if I am wrong. I got to know about Arya Samaj being authorized for conversion by reading articles on the net. We would also like to know if there are other organisations too who can convert/recovert others into Hinduism.)

Help

While I was walking towards home, I saw two small kids coming from the opposite direction. When we got nearer, I saw that the younger of the two had stopped and was looking at me. He would be of around 3, a very lovely young boy, may be from some nearby area When I asked what had happened, he said something while raising and giving his arm to me. I got to know that he wanted me to help him cross the road. I held his hand and made him cross the road. When he successfully crossed the road, he said something in his child's language to the other kid on the other side of the road. (May be they had quarreled and the other elder kid had declined to help him cross the road)

It was interesting to see how easily the kid asked for help. He didn't have any ego, nor did he fear the possibility of being rejected. He also knew it well that there was danger in crossing the road by himself and hence he chose asked for help.

How many times, when faced with a problem, we tend to make it tough by choosing not to ask for a help. If we try on our own, we may be hurt or may end up doing a mistake, or some times we would ask for a help too late We also have fear of rejection, and the worse thing is that our fear is not wrong: we grown ups carry our egos with us.

Still, our life would be much better if we ask for help when required The basic premise is that all of us can't be good in all respects and hence all of us would benefit if we help each other out in our areas of expertise.

But no help would come, if we don't ask for it.

(Rahul)

Gandhi’s Revenge and Colonial Humor

There won’t be many other used and abused surnames like a ‘Gandhi’. In his own India where he is revered as ‘Father of the nation’, the ‘Gandhi’ surname was hijacked by the daughter and grandchildren of Pandit Nehru. Gandhi was a larger than life brand, and everyone exploited it enough. The places where Gandhi has been used span from advertising, music, corporate communication, political speeches, and where not. (Do you know that a founder member of pro-Islamic and anti-White band Fun-Da-Mental Aki Nawaz uses a stage name of Propa-Gandhi?)

The word Gandhi stands for something that no other word epitomizes – power of unadulterated righteousness and a giant strength of character. After decades of his earthly demise, Gandhi and his principles remain intact. In fact Gandhism seems to have grown into a full fledged subject with wide scope of studies. In a curious encounter with the same name, I found a phrase which sounded interesting. It’s called “Gandhi’s Revenge”.

At first glance, the phrase “Gandhi’s Revenge” seemed derogatory for Indians. Plainly put, “Gandhi’s Revenge” is British slang for diarrhea. I thought to find more facts behind this term.

The original phenomenon is called Travelers’ Diarrhea (TD). Due to poor hygiene and drinking untreated water, travelers all across the world suffer from diarrhea. Most such cases are self-limited (it resolves itself in 3-5 days) and are mostly caused by bacterium like E-Coli. Every year, 20-50% of international travelers suffer from TD. It is interesting to note that the local people don’t suffer from these infections even after eating same food or drinking same water. Repeated exposure to pathogens develop immunity in local population (it takes some years to develop immunity; though immunity disappears sometime after becoming non-exposed to the conditions). Travelers all across the world have always suffered because of this phenomenon. The corresponding term for backpackers and outdoor recreationalists is called Wilderness Diarrhea (WD).

Some other very innovative phrases have come out of this phenomenon. One original one is Montezuma's Revenge. Montezuma's Revenge is slang for travelers' diarrhea or other sicknesses contracted by tourists visiting Mexico. (Montezuma II, the emperor of Mexico from 1502 to 1520 is remembered in history as a weak and indecisive emperor during whose regime Spanish conquest of Mexico and the subsequent destruction of the Aztec civilization happened). It is estimated that 40% of foreign travelers visiting Mexico suffer from TD which is called Montezuma's Revenge.

The revenge element in the phrase comes because the country was once colonized by a stronger country (e.g. Mexico by Spain) and now, in this small way (by making travelers sick with diarrhea), it is getting its own back! In Japan, the phrase is known as Tokyo Trots, in Myanmar it’s the Rangoon Runs, and similarly in India its Gandhi's Revenge. There is even one particularly for Delhi: Delhi Belly! All these phrases came into being at different points of time; some of them are recent while some are decades old.

If we think then in a way Gandhi has been made to enter inside our lavatories. Relating Gandhi with a thing as naïve as a stomach upset seems funny. The man whose one call sent severs down the spine of the British; would his revenge be anywhere as impotent as upsetting the stomach of a foreign traveler? If we think about the defeated king Montezuma of Mexico, he can still be in place to receive such ridicule. But Gandhi didn’t deserve it for sure… Gandhi was neither a defeated king nor a disgraced individual as Montezuma II was, but still if the British tried to make him immortalized in such a phrase, then it’s we who have to decide whether we need to carry these burdens of the colonial era. I would call this a Colonial Ridicule.

I think the phrases and slang like ‘Gandhi’s Revenge’ which are symbols of British Colonial pride should be avoided by all of us. With India rising, the days are not far when India will overpower and leave behind ‘small nations’ with ‘long noses’ like the GB. When it happens, the term ‘Great’ along with ‘Britain’ would be ridiculing enough for them (I think it is still ridiculing, given the colonial exploitations done to attain Greatness). If time is the best teacher, then the British still have some lessons to learn for their sense of humor.

(Rahul)