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Does Hinduism Allow Conversion?

Religious conversion is not a new concept. People converting from one faith to another, on their own or forcibly, is an old phenomenon. In fact, if we look at the concept of conversion logically, then we will see that all of us are converts in some way or the other.

A pre-historic man had no religion. Later, he started worshipping nature and gradually the concept of religion came into being. With that, came the concept of deities, caste and religious preachers. A few preachers made a lasting impact and pointed out loopholes in the existing religion. And so the people started following the guidelines of the preacher which slowly gave rise to a new religion. But in any case, we got converted from the pre-historic way of life to the modern religion.

WHY WOMEN CANNOT PERFORM THE LAST RITES IN HINDUISM?

Islam and Christianity is believed to have the most number of converts from different religions. In order to become a Christian, you just need to go to the church and get baptised. On the other hand, in order to convert to Islam, it's your choice to visit the mosque or not. You may just recite the kalima and accept the faith. Similarly, most new world religions prescribe a few guidelines which need to be followed for religious conversion.

Recently, there is a huge hue and cry over Hindu political groups re-converting Christian and Muslim converts back to Hinduism. This has flared up controversy in all parts of the country. The basic debate is on the issue that whether Hinduism allows conversion or not. Clearly, there are no specific guidelines related to conversion in Hinduism. Anyone who follows the Hindu way of life is a Hindu and whoever wishes to do so may go ahead and do it.

Let us have a look at the points and find out that does Hinduism allow conversion?

Hinduism Is A Way Of Life

Hinduism Is A Way Of Life

First and foremost, we must understand that Hinduism is not a religion. It is a way of life. It is a Dharma and Dharma doesn't mean religion in its true sense. Dharma is the law which governs your actions. Since Hinduism was not propagated by any one person, it does not have a set of doctrines and doesn't require followers to accept it or make it popular. In fact, the word Hindu comes from the people who were settled in the area of the Sindh. The Persians named the people of Sindh as Hindus. Hinduism, in fact, is a mixture of various beliefs, philosophical and cultural ideas.

Who Can Convert?

Who Can Convert?

According to R Ramagopalan of the Hindu Munnani, a right-wing group founded after the mass conversion of Dalits at Meenakshipuram in 1981, "You just have to practise the Hindu way of life. You don't need a formal entry." He dodges the caste aspect: "That's a hypothetical question." If we go by the scriptures, the mention of conversion to Hinduism cannot be found anywhere. It is because of the fact that Hinduism believes in freedom of individuals and therefore, everyone is free to choose his/her way of life.

What Is Shuddhi?

What Is Shuddhi?

Shuddhi is a Sanskrit term for purification. It is a part of daily worship where through certain rituals, a person is able to purify himself from all the impurities. The ritual of Shuddhi is now used to re-convert people to Hinduism, to purify them from all the sins which they had committed by taking up some other faith. The socio-political movement, derived from ancient rite of shuddhikaran, was started by the Arya Samaj and its founder Swami Dayananda Saraswati and later carried forward by Swami Shraddhananda.

How Can You Convert To Hinduism?

How Can You Convert To Hinduism?

According to the Arya Samaj, the first recorded shuddhi of a born Muslim was reported in 1877, when Dayanand Saraswati performed the shuddhi of a Muslim man from Dehradun. All it takes is one Homa or havan around fire and then a couple of signatures on certificates, after which the process is deemed complete. The caste of the person after a conversion, however, is not clear.

Is Conversion Necessary?

Is Conversion Necessary?

The essence of this whole discussion comes down to one point. Is conversion really necessary? It will be interesting to note that the term Hinduism was coined by the British to group the people following the Hindu way of life under a distinct category. Hinduism is not a religion. It is a way of life that the people of this country have adopted over time. All the rituals, traditions, rites are part of this way of life.

Is Conversion Necessary?

Is Conversion Necessary?

The faith allows freedom of individuality and the freedom to choose how a person wants to live. Therefore, if a person really wants to live his/her own way and Hinduism facilitates his/her needs, then there is absolutely no need to convert him/her to the faith. He/she will follow the way with or without being forced into it.

Story first published: Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 18:00 [IST]
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