How I Became a Hindu

How I Became a Hindu

Infobox Book
name = How I Became a Hindu
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Sita Ram Goel
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = India
language = English
series =
subject = Autobiography
genre =
publisher = Voice of India
release_date = 1982
english_release_date =
media_type =
pages =
isbn = ISBN 81-85990-05-0
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"How I Became a Hindu" is an autobiography by Sita Ram Goel, which he published in 1982 and enlarged in 1993 under his Voice of India imprint.

Goel writes that he had strong Marxist leanings as a student. He read Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto and almost joined the Communist Party. In these years he "came to the conclusion that while Marx stood for a harmonised social system, Sri Aurobindo held the key to a harmonised human personality."

During the Great Calcutta Killing on 16 August, 1946 Goel "would have been killed by a Muslim mob" but his fluent Urdu and his Western dress saved him. And he writes that on the evening of the 17th he, his wife and son "had to vacate that house and scale a wall at the back to escape murderous Muslim mobs advancing with firearms."

One of the biggest influences on Goel was the author Ram Swarup. Goel became more and more interested in Hinduism: "Sanatana Dharma called upon its votary to explore his own self in the first instance and see for himself the truths expounded in sacred scriptures. Prophets and churches and scriptures could be aids but never the substitutes for self exploration, self purification, and self transcendence."

He therefore finally became a Hindu:

:"I had come back at last, come back to my spiritual home from which I had wandered away in self forgetfulness. But this coming back was no atavistic act. On the contrary, it was a reawakening to my ancestral heritage which was waiting all along for me to lay my claim on its largesses. It was also the heritage of all mankind as proved by the seers, sages and mystics of many a time and clime. It spoke in different languages to different people. To me it spoke in the language of Hindu spirituality and Hindu culture at their highest. I could not resist its call. I became a Hindu."


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hindu Temples - What Happened to Them — Infobox Book name = Hindu Temples What Happened to Them title orig = translator = image caption = author = Sita Ram Goel Arun Shourie Harsh Narain Jay Dubashi Ram Swarup illustrator = cover artist = country = India language = English series =… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu law — in its current usage refers to the system of personal laws (i.e., marriage, adoption, inheritance) applied to Hindus, especially in India. Modern Hindu law is thus a part of the law of India established by the Constitution of India (1950).… …   Wikipedia

  • How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life —   …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu views on evolution — include a range of viewpoints in regards to evolution, creationism, and the origin of life within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. The accounts of the emergence of life within the universe vary in description, but classically the deity called… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu — A Hindu (Audio|hi Hindu.ogg|pronunciation, Devanagari: हिन्दू) is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. There are… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Pakistan — While Pakistan as an Islamic country was created in 1947 it has a rich Hindu and Buddhist past, the region has a long history of settlement and civilisation including the Indus Valley Civilisation. A brief Historical background of the region is… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu mythological wars — The Wars of Hindu history depict great heroes and demons in battles filled with the force of celestial weapons and beings, religious mysticism, magic, and the supernatural. Overriding the battles is a deeper depiction of religion and fate.… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu deities — This article is about Deities worshipped as murtis in Hinduism. For the Hindu concept of God, see God in Hinduism. An article related to Hinduism …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu cosmology — According to Hindu mythology and cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. The life span of Brahma, the creator, is 120 divine years (Mahakalpamu). Every day, Brahma creates 14 Manus one after the other, who in turn create and… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu-Arabic numeral system — The Hindu Arabic numeral system is a positional decimal numeral system first documented in the ninth century. The system is based on ten, originally nine, different glyphs. The symbols (glyphs) used to represent the system are in principle… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”