This was a question on Quora to which I replied the following:
I was baptized as a Christian (Catholic) in Germany when I was only 3 days old, but if somebody asks me whether I am Christian, I reply that I am Hindu though I did not do any ritual to ‘become’ Hindu.
Conversion means to change into some other state. Christianity and Islam do it big time. They force perfectly normal human beings into blindly believing some unverifiable dogmas that do not add to their spiritual wellbeing.
For example, even as children they are told to believe that the Supreme Power loves only them and it does not those others who don’t sign up to their brand of belief.
Such belief is not natural. It has no basis. But since it is being repeated from childhood on and all others around also seem to believe it, it is taken as truth by the majority who don’t want to think about “what we anyway can’t know”. This attitude that man need not even try to think about what is true, as he can never know, is also bandied about as truth in Christianity and Islam.
To become a normal human being again means to lose faith in these dogmas and start thinking for yourself. It is rather a de-conversion.
And to become a Hindu means when you come to conclusions about the truth which are in tune with the ancient Indian rishis.
The most notable conclusion of all: your consciousness (Atma, Self) is one with the One Consciousness (Brahman) that is the essence of all that is -visible and invisible. You are not what you think you are. You are not a separate, unconnected body and mind.
Now this belief is not blind. It can be verified provided you are ready to follow some rules which is called sadhana.
One can compare it with the following ‘belief’. Let’s say you live in Delhi and you have never seen the ocean. If somebody tells you that if you continue to travel south you will reach a vast expanse of water, so vast as you have never seen in your whole life, you may not believe it. You may even denounce this person as a fraud if not worse.
But suppose you believe him and travel, you will realise that it was true what he said.
Similarly, the wisdom of the Rishis can be made one’s own. One can realise the Divinity within.
This realisation is not limited to people living in India. It happened also to persons (though rarer) who lived in a Christian or Muslim environment.
However, the difference is that, while in India such persons are revered, in Christianity and Islam such persons live in danger. There are examples that they were even killed or excommunicated.
The highest goal of the Rishis – realising one’s oneness with the Divine- is considered heresy in those dogmatic religions.
It of course also means that all religions are NOT the same.
By Maria Wirth
if you like my writing, check out also my book “Thank you India” published by Garuda Prakashan
