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
List of conversions:
- Chantal Boulanger – French anthropologist who wrote widely on Tamil culture.[1]
- Claudia Ciesla – German model, actress, and singer embraced Hinduism and believes in Karma.
- Job Charnock – British trade agent who has been controversially described as the founder of Calcutta[2]
- Ilan Chester – Venezuelan singer, keyboardist, arranger and composer[3]
- Alice Coltrane (raised Baptist but became a follower of Satya Sai Baba) – American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer[4][5]
- Michael Cremo – American creationist, author, and editor[6]
- Bhagavan Das (born Kermit Michael Riggs) – Western Yogi and former born again Christian[7]
- Roy Eugene Davis – American Kriya Yoga teacher[8]
- Krishna Dharma – British author and convert to Gaudiya Vaishnavism under ISKCON[9]
- David Frawley – author on Hinduism, Yoga and Ayurveda[10]
- Elizabeth Gilbert – author of Eat Pray Love[11]
- George Harrison – popular English musician, best known as a member of The Beatles who died chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in the company of monks from ISKCON.[12] He is also known for donating Bhaktivedanta Manor, a Hindu temple to the Hare Krishna community in Britain.[13]
- Lawrence Raghavendra – Tamil & Telugu choreographer,film actor, director, composer and philanthropist.[14]
- Christopher Isherwood – Anglo-American novelist[15]
- Jomol – Malayali actress[16]
- Lizy (actress) – (born Aliyamma Malayalam of Elizabeth adopted the name Lakshmi) Malayalam Actress[17]
- Swami Kriyananda (born J. Donald Walters) – direct disciple of the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda
- Timothy Leary – Harvard professor and American writer and psychologist[18]
- Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami – one of the eleven senior Americans selected to become an initiating guru in ISKCON.[19][20][21][22][23][24]
- Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Portas) – French woman who became enamoured with Hinduism and Nazism, trying to synthesise Hinduism with Nazi philosophy and racial ideology
- Sister Nivedita (born Margaret Elizabeth Noble) – Anglo-Irish social worker, author, and teacher[25]
- Leelawathy Ramanathan – Australia-born Hindu writer and activist. Converted upon marrying Ponnambalam Ramanathan[26]
- John Levy – British philosopher who translated books on Advaita Vedanta[27]
- Annie (actress) – (born Annie Jobbie adopted the name Chitra) Malayalam Actress[28]
- Joseph Ritson – English antiquarian and traveller[29]
- Julia Roberts – American Actress.[30]
- Han Snel – Dutch painter of Bali[31]
- Satyananda Stokes – Famous English farmer in Himachal Pradesh[32]
- Bhakti Tirtha Swami (born John E. Favors) – American Hindu leader and disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada[33]
- Romapada Swami – Preacher of ISKCON.[34]
- Kenneth R. Valpey – Gaudiya Vaishnava Theologian who studied at Oxford University, St. Cross College[35]
- Shaunaka Rishi Das (born Timothy Kiernan) – Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
- Nayantara (born Diana Mariam Kurian) – South Indian Actress, model[36]
- Alfred Ford American Hindu and grand son of Henry Ford,the founder of Ford Company.
- Goa Gil Goa Trance music Innovator and Naga Shadhu.
- Paris Laxmi A French Bharatanatyam dancer who now lives in Kerala
Islam
- Bukka I – King of Vijayanagara empire who converted to Islam, then reverted to Hinduism.[38]
- Nargis – noted Bollywood actress, politician, and social worker. Mother of actor Sanjay Dutt she converted to Hinduism and took the name of Nirmala Dutt on her marriage to actor Sunil Dutt
- Chander Mohan – Former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana State in India. He was born Chandra Mohan he converted to Islam after marriage and again reverted to Hinduism after his divorce.[39][40]
- Annapurna Devi (born Roshanara Khan) – surbahar (bass sitar) player and music teacher in the North Indian classical tradition. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.[41]
- Harilal Mohandas Gandhi – son of Mahatma Gandhi. Upon converting to Islam he adopted the name Abdullah Gandhi, but later again reverted to Hinduism.[37]
- Asha Gawli – (born Ayesha) Wife of Arun Gawli, notorious gangster turned politician from Mumbai, India. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.[42]
- Harihara I – King of Vijayanagara Empire who converted to Islam, then reconverted[38]
- Aashish Khan (born Ustad Aashish Khan Debsharma) – Indian musician[43]
- Hassan Palakkode – Malayali writer on Islam[44]
- Netaji Palkar – Maratha noble and commander-in-chief of the army of Shivaji Maharaj, converted into Islam but reverted to Hinduism, 19 June 1676.[45][46][47]
- Sarmad – 17th century mystical poet and sufi saint, arrived from Persia to India, beheaded for assumed heresy by the Mughal emperor, Aurungzebe. Sarmad renounced Judaism, briefly converting to Islam and then Hinduism. He later denounced all religions and rejected belief in god.[48][49]
- Anwar Shaikh – British author.[50]
- Ifa Sudewi – Chief judge for the 2002 Bali bombing trials[51][52]
- Khushboo Sundar – Tamil movie actress. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.[53]
- Haridas Thakura – Prominent Vaishnavite saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement.[54]
- Zubeida – Hindi film actress, on whose life story the film Zubeidaa was based. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.[55]
- Nalini Patel (born Nayyara Mirza) – Miss India finalist of 1967, was the first Muslim to participate in the pageant. She converted to Hinduism after marriage. She is settled in the USA.[56]
- Sonam (born Bakhtawar Murad) – Wife of Bollywood director Rajiv Rai. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage. She is the niece of character actor Raza Murad and granddaughter of veteran character actor Murad.
- Umar Alisha
Judaism
- Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) – syncretist, and follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Professor of psychology at Harvard University[57]
- Tamal Krishna Goswami (born Thomas G. Herzig) – governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness[citation needed]
- Urmila Devi Dasi (born Edith E. Manischewitz [married name: Best]) – female ISKCON educator[58][59]
From other Dharmic religions
Buddhism
- Rajasinghe I – Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy[60]
- Rishabhadatta – Satrap viceroy[61]
- Rudradaman I – Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas[62]
- Vasudeva I – Kushan king and numismatist[63]
Jainism
- Mahendravarman I – Pallava King and patron of the arts.[64]
- Vishnuvardhana – King of Hoysala empire and prominent temple-builder[65]
- Tirunavukkarasar – Saivite saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars[66]
Other
Other faiths and religions
- Mihirakula – Huna ruler.[67]
- Charairongba – Manipuri ruler.
- Heliodorus – Greek minister to King Bhagabhadra[68]
- Pamheiba – Manipuri King[69]
- Suhungmung – Ahom kingdom ruler who extended Assam up to the Kamarupa Kingdom[70]
- Supangmung – Ahom kingdom ruler who recaptured Guwahati. Converted to Vaishnavism after a killing to make amends[71]
- Susenghphaa – Ahom king, during his rule the Ahom-Mughal conflicts began[72]
From non-religious backgrounds
- Annie Besant (former atheist) – Theosophist, orator and feminist[73]
- John Dobson (former atheist who became a believer in Vedanta) – astronomer and telescope designer[74][75]
- Sita Ram Goel (former atheist) – Indian commentator, writer and Hindu activist[76]
Undetermined former religion
- Russell Brand-Actor, ex-husband of Katy Perry and British comedian
- Agehananda Bharati (born Leopold Fischer) – academic Sanskritist, a prolific author about religious subjects, and a Hindu monk in the Dasanami Sannyasi order[77]
- Alain Daniélou (convert to Shaivism) – French historian, intellectual, musicologist, and Indologist[78]
- Ambarish Das (born Alfred Ford) – American businessman, great-grandson of Henry Ford, and a follower of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (the founder of ISKCON)[79][80]
- Geoffrey Giuliano – American biographer[81]
- Nina Hagen (follower of Haidakhan Babaji) – German singer[82]
- Aaron Joy (devotee of Adi Da and Ramakrishna) – American music critic, author, historian[83]
- Joe Don Looney (follower of Swami Muktananda) – football player[84]
- J. Mascis – Lead vocalist, guitarist, and drummer for Dinosaur Jr.[85]
- John McLaughlin (became a disciple of Sri Chinmoy) – jazz fusion guitar player[86]
- Lex Hixon (syncretist and disciple of Swami Nikhilananda) – poet, philosopher, spiritual practitioner and teacher[87]
- Mathias Rust – German daredevil pilot[88]
- J. D. Salinger – American author best known for The Catcher in the Rye but later abandoned Hinduism[89]
- Kelli Williams – American actress who played Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice.[90]
- Ricky Williams – Miami Dolphins football player.[91]
- Crispian Mills – English rock singer named Krishna Kantha dasa. He wrote a foreword to a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakur titled Sri Siksastaka.[92]
- Jeffrey Armstrong – Canadian Author, Speaker, Poet[93]
- Savitri Khanolkar – Designer of India's highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra.[94]
See also
- List of converts to Buddhism
- List of converts to Christianity
- List of converts to Islam
- List of converts to Judaism
- List of converts to Sikhism
- List of people by belief
References
- ^ Obituary: Chantal Boulanger-Maloney; Cultural anthropologist who documented 100 styles of sari draping.(Obituaries) The Independent, 8 April 2005
- ^ Indian Renaissance: British Romantic Art And the Prospect of India – Hermione De Almeida
- ^ Havi Das Wins Latin Grammy Award ISKCON News, 10 December 2008
- ^ Jazz Musician Alice Coltrane dead at 69 News Australia, 15 January 2007
- ^ Alice Coltrane; Musician, Spiritual Guru The Washington Post, 15 January 2007
- ^ Review: Forbidden Archaeology's Impact National Center for Science Education – May 1999
- ^ The Hippie And The Beastie – Bhagavan Das – Brief Article Bnet Research – July 2001
- ^ Meditate for a healthy living The Times of India, 13 October 2002
- ^ Krishna Dharma Dasa ISKCON UK
- ^ Religion and ethnicity The Hindu, 27 May 2003
- ^ mumbaiboss.com
- ^ George Harrison Died Amid Chants Of Hare Krishna
- ^ Bhaktivedanta Manor
- ^ moviegalleri moviegalleri, 1 January 2010
- ^ Acclaimed American Author Christopher Isherwood Adherents
- ^ *Actress accuses her father The Times of India, 25 April 2005
- ^ Lissy Priyadarshan-ON Record,[1], Kannadi, Asianet News. Lissy talks about her faith and religion,Conversion to Hinduism her current life etc.
- ^ Time to Mutate Time, 29 April 1966
- ^ Smith, Huston; Harry Oldmeadow (2004). Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious traditions. Bloomington, Ind: World Wisdom. p. 272. ISBN 0-941532-57-7.
Before his death Prabhupada appointed eleven American devotees as gurus.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rochford, E. Burke (1985). Hare Krishna in America. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-8135-1114-3.
In the months preceding his death Srila Prabhupada appointed eleven of his closest disciples to act as initiating gurus for ISKCON
- ^ Ron Rhodes (2001). Challenge of the Cults and New Religions. Zondervan. p. 179. ISBN 0-310-23217-1.
Before Prabhupada died in 1977, he selected senior devotees who would continue to direct the organization.
- ^ Rodney Stark (1985). Religious movements. Paragon House Publishers. p. 100. ISBN 0-913757-43-8.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, one of the eleven initiating gurus Bhaktivedanta appointed to succeed him...
- ^ Shinn & ISKCON Communications Journal-1994, 2.1
- ^ Hare Krishna leader visits local followers Daily Collegian, Penn State University, 5 August 1981
- ^ Defying the Hindutva canon The Hindu,, 30 January 2004
- ^ Lady Ramanathan Passes away The Hindu,, 31 January 1953
- ^ Sedgwick, Mark. Against The Modern World: Traditionalism And The Secret Intellectual History Of The Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2004. 93. Print.
- ^ Chithra & Shajikailas Interview-ON Asianet News,[2]
- ^ Morton, Timothy, Marilyn Butler, and James Chandler. Shelley and the Revolution in Taste : The Body and the Natural World. New York: Cambridge UP, 1995.
- ^ Blake, Heidi (5 August 2010). "Julia Roberts: I'm a Hindu". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Exhibit reveals Han Snel's undying love for Bali", Jakarta Post, 29 May 2008
- ^ The Pacific Historical review http://www.jstor.org/stable/3640095?seq=20
- ^ Official Site – Bhakti Tirtha Swami
- ^ Biography on Romapada's website
- ^ Kenneth Valpey – ISKCON News
- ^ sify.com
- ^ a b Watching 'Gandhi my Father' was painful: Tushar
- ^ a b Chopra, P.N. T.K. Ravindran and N. Subrahmaniam.History of South India. S. Chand, 2003. ISBN 81-219-0153-7
- ^ Chand Mohammed is Chander Mohan again – Tribune News Service, July 28, 2009
- ^ Chand Mohammed converts back to Hinduism – July 28, 2009, The times of India
- ^ Unveiling the mystique of a reclusive artiste The Hindu,, 28 June 2006
- ^ Daddy in jail, Mummy seeks votes for both – The Indian Express
- ^ Indian musician goes back to roots OneIndia, 23 August 2006
- ^ Muslim scholar embraces Hinduism The Tribune, Chandigarh, 7 April 2000
- ^ hindubooks.org
- ^ hero-to-modern-india.blogspot.com
- ^ "Most Indian muslims formerly lower-caste Hindus?". indatime.com. 10 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Sarmad, the mystic poet
- ^ Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed: The Naked Sufi Martyr
- ^ Hindu response to the demographic challenge – Koenraad Elst
- ^ Five bombers were prepared to die in Bali – The Sunday Telegraph – Australia – Newstext
- ^ Five bombers were prepared to die The Australian, 25 May 2003
- ^ Southern siren Namitha has a temple NDTV, 10 July 2008
- ^ Haridasa Thakura
- ^ Zubeidaa’s secret The Times of India, 11 July 2003
- ^ "1964–1970". The Times of India.
- ^ Ram Dass – the official interactive Satsang site for author (Be Here Now) and spiritual teacher Ram Dass
- ^ U – Srila Prabhupada Disciple Database
- ^ iskcon.com – ISKCON Communications Journal – ICJ
- ^ Dona Catherina: the last empress of Lanka Lanka Library
- ^ Divatia 42
- ^ Divatia, N. B. (1993). Gujarati Language and Literature. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0648-5.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|coauthors=and|month=(help) - ^ Coins of India Calcutta : Association Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1922
- ^ Kan Sastri, A History of South India, p382-383
- ^ Mysore: A Gazetteer Compiled for Government – Benjamin Lewis Rice
- ^ An Introduction to the History of Tamil People A Velupillai
- ^ Thakur, Upendra. The Hunas in India. The Chowkhamba Senskrit, Banaras, 1967.
- ^ A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Taplinger Pub. Co., 1967), p. 60.
- ^ Manipur, The – Banglapedia
- ^ Shimray, R.R. Origin and Culture of Nagas. Pamleiphi Shimray, 1985
- ^ Neog, Maheshwar. Religions of the North-east: Studies in the Formal Religions of North. Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984.
- ^ Krishna, Manmohan. Political Consciousness in Indian English Writing: A Study Of Manohar Malgonkar, Naintara Sahgal & Bhabani Bhattacharya.1991, Bahri Publications. ISBN 81-7034-062-4
- ^ Besant, Annie. The Building of the Kosmos and Other Lectures: Delivered at the Eighteenth. The Path, 1894.
- ^ "John Dobson: Amateur Astronomy's Revolutionary". space.com.
- ^ Wall Street Journal Article about John
- ^ Goel, Sita Ram, "How I became a Hindu"
- ^ Agehananda Bharati
- ^ Shiva and the Primordial Tradition – Inner Traditions
- ^ Alfred Ford Takes a Turn to the Spiritual The New York Times, 9 November 1981
- ^ Alfred Ford: The billionaire bhakt The Times of India, 6 March 2005
- ^ "Former Ronald McDonald Turns Vegetarian Activist". Hinduism Today. March 1991. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
- ^ Nina Hagen official website
- ^ [3]
- ^ Dozier 152
- ^ exclaim.ca
- ^ John McLaughlin Adherents.com
- ^ Lex Hixon.org
- ^ German daredevil grounded by court The Guardian, 21 April 2001
- ^ Affiliation of Writer J. D. Salinger – Adherents
- ^ Kelli Williams Quotes and Trivia at MovieTome
- ^ Although odd, Ricky Williams isn't without his charms Pro Football Weekly, 23 November 2007
- ^ Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1997) Sri Siksastaka, ISBN 81-86737-06-5. Retrieved 2008-06-01. "Through the mercy of sri guru and Vaishnavas, we may understand the deeper meaning of Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam, embrace it in our lives and let it gently melt our hearts. Krishna-kanta dasa (Crispian Mills) Bath, England September 21, 1997." Foreword
- ^ jeffreyarmstrong.com
- ^ Savitri Khanolkar