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Religious conversion of film personalities

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C

CHANDRU1849

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Recently, I have come across an article in a weekly Tamil Magazine that some popular Muslim Actors and Director are brainwashing Tamil actors and actresses to embrace Islam.

It says already Yuan Shankar Raja and actor Jai joined the list and some more are in the offing.

Since Hinduism is not closely knit religion, it becomes a hunting ground for other religious people to lure poor/weak minded Hindus to change Religion.

It seems Actors Senthil and T Rajendar became Christian.

It is the time for Hindu Spiritual leaders to wake up and do something constructively.
 
Its not brainwashing..its personal preference for whatever reason...sometimes its love..sometimes it marriage..sometimes its just for the heck of being different...sometimes its also becos they dont seem to find equality being preached in Hinduism...

also then there are hypocrites like Hema Malini and Dharmendra who converted on paper to Islam to marry each other and then Hema Malini makes a big show of maintaining Culture and Iyengarism by having an Iyengar wedding with Dharmendra.



Most people who convert go thru these stages:

1)Die hard hard core stage..where the aggressively feel they are blessed and saved and found a new path that will lead them to heaven.

2)Then you will notice changes..some try to act as if they have become all compassionate and caring and loving..mostly its fake!LOL

When I was in college we used to have some Christian girls who when they hear someone is sick..even if they do not know the person..they will knock at your hostel door and present to you home made soup which they prepared for you!

Once I was sick and I have no idea how this Christian girl knew I was not well and she made soup for me.

I did not drink that soup cos how to eat what a stranger gives..but I just smiled and said thank you and after she left I threw it away.

You see these are all tactics they use to demonstrate that they are caring and people start to admire them.

For me I see all these as ulterior motive to get converts.

I know so many converts that are actually semi delusional cos they have to keep up with this fake act of being overly nice.



So if you ask me if anyone is stupid enough to fall for such tactics..there is no use bringing anyone back to Hinduism..partly we Hindus are to blame cos our religion does not really preach equality.

So that can also be a side effect of Hinduism where people rather choose a religion which preaches all humans are the same.

Also the over excessive ritualism of Hinduism can be a turn off for some.

So frankly if you ask me the best religion is NO religion at all..just be a good person and dont harm anyone and that should suffice..anyone intelligent enough will realize that there is a Higher Universal Consciousness that runs this whole universe and He is called God.
 
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Do you have anyone leaving Islam..No one leaves there because you will be beaten to death if you leave that!

Our religion is the weakest as it is not organized

Our religion lost a votary when Dileep Kumar converted!

I do not know if any of the Hindu organizations at Chennai have even approached Yuvan or Jai?

Such is the sad state of affairs!!
 
Do you have anyone leaving Islam..No one leaves there because you will be beaten to death if you leave that!

Our religion is the weakest as it is not organized

Our religion lost a votary when Dileep Kumar converted!

I do not know if any of the Hindu organizations at Chennai have even approached Yuvan or Jai?

Such is the sad state of affairs!!


Lack of uniform practices of customs are the main reason for the disunity among Hindus. No Hindu Religious Mutt, controlled both by Bs and NBs, has not achieved anything significantly to unite Hindus.

The time has come to form a common Hindu code which is acceptable to all. Otherwise, we will continue to face this situation.
 
Let the film or whatever personalities convert if they choose to.
Hinduism as an umbrella religion has survived thousands of years including many foreign invasions and forcible conversions.

One of my Muslim friends told me that while Muslims pray together in an equal manner, they have kept their caste identity intact - so there is a strong hierarchy of Muslim castes that I was unaware of. They are more strict in planning marriages within castes than even Hindus.

I think if India gets more prosperous economically the oppressive religions cannot do their magic.

The diversity of various traditions calling themselves Hindu is actually a strong point of Hinduism.

What seem to be missing are well educated teachers on foundations of Hinduism that can help with interpretations.

The fact that Upanishads are in Sanskrit is an excuse because there is a large body of work available in English and in other local languages.

If we work together to improve the economic prosperity, instill a sense of National pride regardless of religion then Hinduism as it is meant to be will flourish.
 
Its not brainwashing..its personal preference for whatever reason...sometimes its love..sometimes it marriage..sometimes its just for the heck of being different...sometimes its also becos they dont seem to find equality being preached in Hinduism...

So frankly if you ask me the best religion is NO religion at all..just be a good person and dont harm anyone and that should suffice..anyone intelligent enough will realize that there is a Higher Universal Consciousness that runs this whole universe and He is called God.

Dear Doctor,
Agreed fully,
"Best religion is NO religion at all" wonderful words indeed. Religion is just a path to help to seek an answer for the spiritual quest of the individual. But Truth is the same. "Truth is a pathless land" proclaimed J.Krishnamurti, philosopher and free thinker of our time in his opening speech on August 3, 1929, dissolving "The Order of the Star in the East" founded in 1911.The full speech is available in Url Truth is a pathless land - J. Krishnamurti Online
Change of Religion will have no effect unless we change our life to be a good human being. "Right living" forms the basis for our spiritual search said Shri Shivpuri Baba of the Himalayas (Swami Govindananda Bharati - 1826-1963), who lived for 137 years.

Warm Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
 
Dear Renu,

I beg to differ. No religion might make a person go stray because no God; no prayers; no rituals and no restrictions.

We have follow one religion and be friendly with people who follow other religions too! Being a fanatic is bad, imho! :)

BTW, does it make any difference if some film personalities change their religion? The world will not end!! :lol:
 
Dear Renu,

I beg to differ. No religion might make a person go stray because no God; no prayers; no rituals and no restrictions.

We have follow one religion and be friendly with people who follow other religions too! Being a fanatic is bad, imho! :)

BTW, does it make any difference if some film personalities change their religion? The world will not end!! :lol:

I have a difference...Cinema impacts the youngsters; that's why we have huge fan associations for Vijay & Ajith..

This news items can be brushed aside if we are in US..Not here at least!

Had our Hindu religious leaders succeeded in persuading Rahman to revert to his old religion we would have been seen as responsive...But having left him to the vultures uncared for, no wonder others are getting a cue!
 
Dear Ganesh Sir,

'Cinema impacts the youngsters' - very true.

But do you expect the fans also to convert like the stars?
 


Going by the Wikipedia, the list of celebrities converted to Hinduism is a lengthy one.

To name a few from cine field:
1. Julia Roberts – American Actress
2. Lawrence Raghavendra - Choreographer
3. Kubhboo Sunder - Actress

There is another list containing names of celebrities who initially converted to other religion, later reverted back to Hinduism,

Hinduism thrives day by day.

All popular and famous temples attract more and more devotees now. One should think about the number of devotees who visit Holy Hindu shrines like Tirumala, Tiruvannamalai, Sabarimala, etc

Besides the existing temples, we have been seeing news temples coming up now and then at every locality with well-organized bodies taking care of maintenance and attending to daily Pooja. etc

Lot of religious activities taking place on every important days

There are lot of Satsangs and Ashrams doing yeomen service (Ignore the dubious ones including the Godmen)

Lot of Books, Magazines, Periodicals being published on Hinduism.

There are dedicated TV channels covering religious programmes

Ours is the third largest religion.


 
...

It is the time for Hindu Spiritual leaders to wake up and do something constructively.

Why? Let the Senthils and TRs and YSRs and Jais go as they wish. Why should spiritual leaders do something? If they have to do something, then what should be that something? You have mentioned in another post that there should be common Hindu code... easier said than done.

JJ had banned animal sacrifices in temples and had to revoke it due to stiff opposition from some of the NB temples itself. This is just an example, to illustrate how various customs and practices are deeply rooted in our minds.
 
Dear Renu,

I beg to differ. No religion might make a person go stray because no God; no prayers; no rituals and no restrictions.

We have follow one religion and be friendly with people who follow other religions too! Being a fanatic is bad, imho! :)

BTW, does it make any difference if some film personalities change their religion? The world will not end!! :lol:


Dear RR ji,

I understand your point but after a while as we age we start to feel..."hey what am I following? A set rules of code and conduct? Where is my absolute freedom to realize the truth my own experiences?"

That is when we start to question the need of an organized religion but that does not mean that we are going astray.

Coming to being friendly with people of other religions..firstly we Hindus need to be user friendly with people of our own religion.When we fail to respect our very own Hindus by having so called religious restrictions for certain group of people..I fail to see why we need to even lament that any Hindu left his/her religion.

So since we can never really change the mindset of anyone..the best is life and let life..so whether a person decides to be an Amar,Akbar or Anthony..its truly his choice to deal with.

I also notice double standards among us Hindus..when a Hindu converts to another religion..all hell breaks lose..saying Aiyoo Kali Yuga..Dharma is on the decline but when people of other religions embrace Hinduism..that time these people who became Hindus are praised for choosing the right path..realizing Truth etc...so likewise some Muslim or Christian might be rejoicing when a Hindu converts ..they would be feeling finally this person has seen the Light!

So the moral of the story is..each person feels their way is the right way...so technically there is no difference in the thinking style of anyone of any religion.

Hindus at times keep bragging about Ahimsa..but Ahimsa is not merely physical violence..it also includes mental violence and we also need to ask ourselves"how many times have we mentally judged someone or looked down upon them?"

So that way unless someone is brain dead..I can safely say Ahimsa does not exists!
 
To my little knowledge, Raja Ram Mohan Roy learnt languages viz Sanskrit, Hebrew and Arabic and gone through Holy Books and literatures of the three major religions and held that there is only one God and that all religions were basically the same. Swami Dayanand was on the other hand, of the firm belief that only the Vedic religion was the true religion. Both these reformers wanted to prevent Hindus from converting to other religions.
 
Dear Renu,

What I wanted to convey is that without any religion to follow, it is difficult to choose the path to reach the Almighty easily!

And, without any God to pray, we are likely to find it difficult to focus our minds. That is my view. :)
 
Dear Renu,

What I wanted to convey is that without any religion to follow, it is difficult to choose the path to reach the Almighty easily!

And, without any God to pray, we are likely to find it difficult to focus our minds. That is my view. :)

Dear RR ji,

After reading some amount of "religious" data..I feel basically its men who give fellow humans a round around when it comes to seeking the Almighty.

In fact its religion that chooses to externalize God and make us go on a wild goose chase for something that was all the while within.

So frankly speaking all religions fail miserably ..even in Hinduism the concept of internalization of God is almost never stressed upon..people still go one doing all sorts of rituals and spiritual undertaking without realizing that what they are looking for is actually within.

Religion does not teach us how to take charge of our lives..it only teaches us to be dependent on some external factor..the whole concept of Nirashraya(not dependent on anything) is totally not present.

With religion a person seldom reaches his/her full potential..I dont see any reason why a person cant focus his/her mind without religion.

The best if to observe a child..a young child has no idea what religion is all about but yet his/her mind is focused on survival and also the learning curve is the highest during early childhood..all these might seem like a child's play but actually it involves a lot of observation and concentration.

Animals too life without religion but they seem to be doing fine and are able to focus their minds for continuation of species and survival within their Dharma of their species.

So with all these observations..I feel religion is not a pre requisite for focusing our thoughts.

I can give myself as an example...when I was professing a religion and now after not professing any religion..I dont see any difference in my thought process and ability to focus.I am totally the same..same systematic person who plans everything in life and can even focus my mind even in the nosiest atmosphere and have survived many stressful situations.
 
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[h=2]News appeared on 9[SUP]th[/SUP] April 2013 in 'The Hindu' Daily:[/h][h=1]‘BJP will bring law against religious conversions if voted to power’[/h][h=2]Country needs a stable government, says Venkaiah Naidu. [/h]Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu has said BJP will bring an anti-conversion law to ban religious conversions in the country if it is voted to power in 2014 General Elections.

He said the country will be safe and sound only when Hindus are in a majority. Every citizen can practice his own religion but conversion from one religion to another will not be tolerated. It would also scrap religion-based reservations, make death penalty lawful to terrorists and withdraw special status to Kashmir apart from scrapping FDI, VAT and a host of anti-people measures initiated by the Congress led UPA government.

Addressing the ‘Praja Chaitanya Sadassu’ which was attended by party workers and sympathisers from the North Andhra districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam at Swarna Bharathi Indoor Stadium here on Monday, he said nine years of UPA rule saw a total decline of values, development and a faulty policy towards the terrorists and anti-India elements.

Read more: : ?BJP will bring law against religious conversions if voted to power? - The Hindu


Let us wait.
 
Dear Renu,

There is no need to have any God or prayer, if a human loves, respects and helps the follow humans. If prayer only makes a

good human, it will brand all the atheists as bad humans. I am not saying that. A person needs a religion to follow so that there

will be some guidance to lead a good life. All religions teach humans to be kind, generous and helpful. No religion says to fight

with fellow human beings! Right? So it is better to follow our own religion to lead a good life.

P.S: Many tambrams have left their rituals saying that they are not at all necessary! Many do not wear the poonooL too!! :peace:
 
instinctively , I have not believed in rituals or poonool.

I hardly visit temples by choice. all these do not make me less of a Hindu

I strongly believe ,hinduism is a good religion since it is a tolerant religion and it supports deviant behaviour

also no religion is better than having a religeous belief.

I stay as hindu since I was born as one and I see no specific need for change.

I do make compromises if there is an imperative need at times of marriage or funerals due to beliefs of my relatives who believe in rituals and I try to keep it to a minimum.

I would choose no religion to following any religion if I have to make a choice.

I feel I am a free human being and I relate to all since I have no. religeous baggage to carry .

these beliefs do not make me dishonest or immoral.so I believe at least
 
Dear Renu,

What I wanted to convey is that without any religion to follow, it is difficult to choose the path to reach the Almighty easily!

And, without any God to pray, we are likely to find it difficult to focus our minds. That is my view. :)

Dear Mrs RR

I know there is a long dialog in progress with Dr Renu and do not want to intrude because if I did I would end up challenging most statements and no one including me have time for that .. Of course some may lead to many Mannangatti threads which could be fun but I am using the power of my 'free will' to not go there LoL


Almost everyone including atheists have some beliefs which guide their actions. Some of the beliefs may be originating by the preaching of religious traditions.

Some religious theologies are more dangerous because they mandate spreading and conversion which can lead to wars over time.

In Hindu umbrella we can accommodate almost any idea (except conversion) because we are beyond tolerance and we are about full acceptance of however way someone wants to pray (or not pray).

The part that requires thinking is :

1. What is this Almighty who seemingly is defined as controlling everything - it that a belief based entity only? (Remember 'God Exists' thread :) )
2. What does praying means - is that about asking for better life, better security now and in the future and asking for even more desires to be fulfilled?
3. Why should that Almighty listen to prayer and act?

The easier 'feel good approach' may be - let us have faith and let us devote ourselves fully and then life will be good.
Will it be good?

If someone is living as a refugee from Darfur where genocide (and rape) ignored by rest of humanity has happened to almost million people lasting over a decade, it will be hard to think of a merciful Almighty who allowed this to happen (and continuing to happen). I am sure there are many who are praying even today if they survived the genocide.

Religion that is founded on proper answers for some of such questions, even if those answers are not fully understood by its followers are likely to feel sense of order in their life. Some of our traditions under the umbrella term of Hinduism is based on such an understanding without contradictions. Many others are not.

Blind devotion to an Almighty cannot stand the test of time when truly bad things happen. We have had discussions on this in other threads. It is possible to provide a circular argument that can say that one's devotion was not true to begin with if it did not sustain 'bad things happening to good people'.

My point is that if the mental model and understanding is incorrect there will be serious issues when one follows what they think is their religion. It is not the person following the tradition has to understand it all but there must be qualified teachers to provide right guidance when seeming contradictions emerge.

Many of the mental models in this thread can be shown to be wrong. But you cannot tell that the person because they do not want to hear it. One cannot go and talk to a devout Muslim that his cherished beliefs about conversion and violence against women are wrong.

All I will suggest is for those that are blessed with thinking ability to ensure what they are following is rooted in sound understanding. It is not enough to be truthful. One can be truthful and completely wrong if they have a wrong mental model

In a set of Mantras called Shanti Mantras there are two lines

ॠतं वदिष्यामि
सत्यं वदिष्यामि
In the above Rrutam and Satyam both refer to the truth. If so why there are two words for the same meaning and why repeat them?

One says - I speak what I know to be the truth and the other is that what I know has been (validated) as the absolute truth.

In other words it is not only that I speak what I have as my mental model and follow it but that I have ensured (either directly or indirectly through others who I respect) that my actions are validated and consistent with absolute truth

Many of the mental models expressed in this thread are truth as believed but not validated...

​Let me stop here :)

 
Hello every body ,After short time break ,nice to see our TB Forum with more active participation,good and nice topics .Ok ,Religion conversion ,huumm Topic can be juicy ,interesting but the out come efforts are very tough,painful still with scar,for the people with their close associates. Why conversion? ,A Million dollar question, this depends on how we view in our point of stand , Which may or may not be total different point in persons who got converted. Fine ,for few years back conversion to/ for christian ,was 200% done only for money support.,stating ,they will be given few thousands every month,funds for their children in their aided school,etc etc..... .many of maids in chennai had under went these to get benefited ,but few months had enjoyed ,later Reasons given as funds from head office -other country funding these crops which had raised recent past,had been with held , cos monthly conversion numbers are not met the demands . Another issue which makes me to think or laugh is Doing JAPAM ON AMAVASAI,PURNAMI ,where is connection for a christian to amavasi, what happen these many years if so ? I Personally know my muslims -converted DR, who s inlaws are very strong ,strict muslims who go meet Brahmins Astrologer ,seek pariharams for their planet transit,reduce its ill effect. OMG , Just remember SWAAMI VIVEKANADHA IAM BORN HINDU ,I DIE AS HINDU .
 
Many claim and even some studies have sort of hinted that prayers and a believe in an external God make people"

1)Less stressed

2)More calm

3)Reduces risk of some type of diseases.

4)Increased immunity

5)Feel good hormones function well.



So on technical grounds Religions is an Anti Oxidant!

Anti Oxidants have the similar effects on the human body.

So the next question is...is anyone going to make Religion into a tablet/capsule to be taken 3 x a day after meals!LOL
 
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Dear Mrs RR

I know there is a long dialog in progress with Dr Renu and do not want to intrude because if I did I would end up challenging most statements and no one including me have time for that .. Of course some may lead to many Mannangatti threads which could be fun but I am using the power of my 'free will' to not go there LoL


Almost everyone including atheists have some beliefs which guide their actions. Some of the beliefs may be originating by the preaching of religious traditions.

Some religious theologies are more dangerous because they mandate spreading and conversion which can lead to wars over time.

In Hindu umbrella we can accommodate almost any idea (except conversion) because we are beyond tolerance and we are about full acceptance of however way someone wants to pray (or not pray).

The part that requires thinking is :

1. What is this Almighty who seemingly is defined as controlling everything - it that a belief based entity only? (Remember 'God Exists' thread :) )
2. What does praying means - is that about asking for better life, better security now and in the future and asking for even more desires to be fulfilled?
3. Why should that Almighty listen to prayer and act?

The easier 'feel good approach' may be - let us have faith and let us devote ourselves fully and then life will be good.
Will it be good?

If someone is living as a refugee from Darfur where genocide (and rape) ignored by rest of humanity has happened to almost million people lasting over a decade, it will be hard to think of a merciful Almighty who allowed this to happen (and continuing to happen). I am sure there are many who are praying even today if they survived the genocide.

Religion that is founded on proper answers for some of such questions, even if those answers are not fully understood by its followers are likely to feel sense of order in their life. Some of our traditions under the umbrella term of Hinduism is based on such an understanding without contradictions. Many others are not.

Blind devotion to an Almighty cannot stand the test of time when truly bad things happen. We have had discussions on this in other threads. It is possible to provide a circular argument that can say that one's devotion was not true to begin with if it did not sustain 'bad things happening to good people'.

My point is that if the mental model and understanding is incorrect there will be serious issues when one follows what they think is their religion. It is not the person following the tradition has to understand it all but there must be qualified teachers to provide right guidance when seeming contradictions emerge.

Many of the mental models in this thread can be shown to be wrong. But you cannot tell that the person because they do not want to hear it. One cannot go and talk to a devout Muslim that his cherished beliefs about conversion and violence against women are wrong.

All I will suggest is for those that are blessed with thinking ability to ensure what they are following is rooted in sound understanding. It is not enough to be truthful. One can be truthful and completely wrong if they have a wrong mental model

In a set of Mantras called Shanti Mantras there are two lines

ॠतंवदिष्यामि
सत्यंवदिष्यामि
In the above Rrutam and Satyam both refer to the truth. If so why there are two words for the same meaning and why repeat them?

One says - I speak what I know to be the truth and the other is that what I know has been (validated) as the absolute truth.

In other words it is not only that I speak what I have as my mental model and follow it but that I have ensured (either directly or indirectly through others who I respect) that my actions are validated and consistent with absolute truth

Many of the mental models expressed in this thread are truth as believed but not validated...

​Let me stop here :)


Dear TKS ji,

Actually your mental mode and my mental mode does not differ much..you too like to analyse but the difference is you are not yet willing to let go of some personal beliefs that still bind you to religion.

I am not saying I am right or you are wrong or you are right and I am wrong..its just that a persons mental mode can never be 100% right or 100% wrong and there is no need for any validation too cos each of us eventually find our own path that is best suited for us.

God is a very fair and just entity..He does not mark any exam papers set by man made rules and regulations which we call religion.
 
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