List Of Converts To Hinduism
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List Of Converts To Hinduism
The following is a list of converts to Hinduism from other religions or a non-religious background. From Abrahamic religions Christianity * Nayanthara * Julia Roberts * Sati Kazanova *Russell Brand Islam *Anirudh Gyan Shikha (1 June 1928 – 25 November 2006; popularly known as  Anwar Shaikh *Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (born Waseem Rizvi) former member and chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board. Judaism *Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) (1931-2019) – syncretist, and follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Professor of psychology at Harvard University. * Tamal Krishna Goswami (born Thomas G. Herzig) (1946-2002) – governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. *Lora Logic (b. 1960) – punk rock saxophonist with Poly Styrene's X-Ray Spex. * Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) (b. 1950) – very prominent Bhakti yoga guru and a governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. From other India ...
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Religious Conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Baptist to Catholic Christianity or from Sunni Islam to Shi’a Islam. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals". People convert to a different religion for various reasons, including active conversion by free choice due to a change in beliefs, secondary conversion, deathbed conversion, conversion for convenience, marital conversion, and forced conversion. Proselytism is the act of attempting to convert by persuasion another individual from a different religion or belief system. Apostate is a term used by members of a religion or denomination to refer to so ...
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Western Kshatrapas
The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi:, ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India ( Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states), between 35 to 415 CE. The Western Satraps were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and were possibly vassals of the Kushans. They were also contemporaneous with the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in Central India. They are called "Western Satraps" in modern historiography in order to differentiate them from the "Northern Satraps", who ruled in Punjab and Mathura until the 2nd century CE. The power of the Western Satraps started to decline in the 2nd century CE after the Saka rulers were defeated by the Emperor Gautamiputra Satakarni of the Satavahana dynasty. After this, the Saka kingdom revived, but was ultimately destroyed by Chandragupta II of the Gupta Empire in the 4th c ...
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Rishabhadatta
Ushavadata (Brahmi: , ), also known as Rishabhadatta, was a viceroy and son-in-law of the Western Kshatrapa ruler Nahapana, who ruled in western India. Name Ushavadata's name is attested in his inscriptions as , which is derived from the Saka name , meaning "rightly created". Inscriptions Much of the information about Ushavadata comes from his Nashik and Karle inscriptions. The Nashik inscription contains an eulogy of Ushavadata in Sanskrit, and then records the donation of a cave to Buddhists in a Middle Indo-Aryan language. The Karle inscription contains a similar eulogy, but in the Middle Indo-Aryan language. Early life Ushavadata was the son of one Dinika. He identifies as a Shaka ( IAST: Śaka) in his Nashik inscription: He believed in Brahmanism, and married Nahapana's daughter Dakshamitra. Charity Both of Ushavadata's inscriptions mention the following of his charitable acts: * Donated 300,000 cows * Donated gold for the establishment of a holy site on the ...
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Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic ('' Sri Dalada Maligawa''), one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation. Etymology The city and the region have been known by many different names and versions of those names. Some scholars suggest that the original name of Kandy was Katubulu Nuwara located near the present Watapuluwa. However, the more popular historical ...
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Rajasinha I Of Sitawaka
Rajasinghe I ( Sinhala:පළමුවන රාජසිංහ) was a king of Sitawaka, known for his patriotism and fight against the Portuguese invasion of Sri Lanka. Born as Tikiri Bandara to King Mayadunne, he received the name "Rajasinha" (meaning ''the Lion King'') after the fierce Battle of Mulleriyawa. Ascent to throne Generally, the recorded period of Rajasinha's reign starts from 1581 to 1592. However, as per Portuguese navigator De Queros, Mayadunne had turned the kingdom over to Rajasinha in 1578 before his death in 1581. There are various narratives surrounding Rajasinha's role in his father's death. As per Thibbotuwawe Buddharakhitha's Mahawamsa(Chapter 4) written during the reign of Kirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy, Rajasinha killed him. Minor Rajawaliya wrote that his patricide was considered an irreversible anantharya karma by Buddhist monks, so conflicts arose between him and the monks. As a result, he followed an anti-Buddhist line. However, others believe t ...
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Huna People
Hunas or Huna (Middle Brahmi script: ''Hūṇā'') was the name given by the ancient Indians to a group of Central Asian tribes who, via the Khyber Pass, entered the Indian subcontinent at the end of the 5th or early 6th century. The Huna Kingdom occupied areas as far south as Eran and Kausambi, greatly weakening the Gupta Empire. The Hunas were ultimately defeated by a coalition of Indian princes that included an Indian king Yasodharman and the Gupta emperor, Narasimhagupta. They defeated a Huna army and their ruler Mihirakula in 528 CE and drove them out of India. The Guptas are thought to have played only a minor role in this campaign. The Hunas are thought to have included the Xionite and/or Hephthalite, the Kidarites, the Alchon Huns (also known as the Alxon, Alakhana, Walxon etc.) and the Nezak Huns. Such names, along with that of the Harahunas (also known as the Halahunas or Harahuras) mentioned in Hindu texts, have sometimes been used for the Hunas in general; while ...
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Mihirakula
Mihirakula (Gupta script: , ''Mi-hi-ra-ku-la'', Chinese: 摩酰逻矩罗 ''Mo-hi-lo-kiu-lo''), sometimes referred to as Mihiragula or Mahiragula, was the second and last Alchon Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent between 502 and 530 CE. He was a son of and successor to Toramana of Huna heritage. His father ruled the Indian part of the Hephthalite Empire. Mihirakula ruled from his capital of Sagala (modern-day Sialkot, Pakistan). In around 520 CE, the Chinese monk Song Yun met with Mihirakula. According to the 7th-century travelogue of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim and student Xuanzang, Mihirakula ruled several hundreds of years before his visit, was initially interested in Buddhism, and sought a Buddhist teacher from monasteries in his domain. They did not send him a learned Buddhist scholar. Feeling insulted, he became anti-Buddhist and destroyed the monasteries in his kingdom.Li Rongxi (1996), ''The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions'', B ...
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Mleccha
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups. The word Mleccha was commonly used for foreign 'barbarians of whatever race or colour'. As a ''mlechchha (or mleccha)'', any foreigner stood outside the caste system and the ritual ambience. Thus, historically, contact with them was viewed by the Hindu as polluting. Among the tribes termed Mleccha were Sakas, Hunas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Bahlikas and Rishikas. The Amarakosha described the Kiratas, Khasas and Pulindas as the Mleccha '' Jātis''. Indo-Greeks, Scythians, Kushanas and Arabs were also mlecchas. Etymology The Sanskrit word ''mleccha'' does not have a standard Indo-European etymology and has no counterpart in Iranian languages. However, it has cognates in Middle Indo-Aryan languages: Pali ''milakkha'', and Prakrit ''mliccha'' ...
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Indian Religions
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of religions: Geographical", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010 are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent. Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings. The Harappan people of the Indus Valley civilisation, which lasted from 3300 to 1300 BCE (mature period 2600–1900 BCE), had an early urbanized culture which predates the Vedic religion. The documented history of Indian religions begins with the historical Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo-Iranians ...
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Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of ''Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 19-24 It is one of the three classical paths in Hinduism which lead to ''Moksha'', the other paths being Jnana yoga and Karma yoga. The tradition has ancient roots. Bhakti is mentioned in the '' Shvetashvatara Upanishad'' where it simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor. ''Bhakti yoga'' as one of three spiritual paths for salvation is discussed in depth by the ''Bhagavad Gita''. The personal god varies with the devotee.Bhakti
Encyclopedia Britannica (2009)
Karen Pechelis (2011), Bhak ...
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