How I Became a Hindu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Part of a series on Hinduism |
|
 |
|
| History · Deities | |
| Denominations · Proverbs | |
| Beliefs & practices | |
|---|---|
| Reincarnation · Moksha | |
| Karma · Puja · Maya | |
| Samsara · Dharma | |
| Vedanta · | |
| Yoga · Ayurveda | |
| Yuga · Vegetarianism | |
| Bhakti | |
| Scriptures | |
| Upanishads · Vedas | |
| Brahmana · Bhagavad Gita | |
| Ramayana · Mahabharata | |
| Purana · Aranyaka | |
| Shikshapatri · Vachanamrut | |
| Related topics | |
| Dharmic Religions · | |
| Hinduism by country | |
| Leaders · Devasthana | |
| Caste system · Mantra | |
| Glossary · Hindu festivals | |
| Vigraha | |
| Portal: Hinduism |
|
|
|
|
How I Became a Hindu is an autobiography by Sita Ram Goel, published in 1982 and enlarged in 1993. ISBN 81-85990-05-0
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.
