![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/317\/2014\/05\/patheos-5-years.jpg\" "\\"patheos")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere are some of my own personal favorite posts since I\u2019ve joined Patheos:<\/p>\n
Which Religion is Winning?<\/a><\/p>\n Phases of the Convert<\/a><\/p>\n It seems I am not the only one who has observed that converts seem to go through some particular phases. It\u2019s a bit like the stages of grief; stages of a convert.\u00a0And like the stages of grief, one might get caught at one stage for a long time or bounce back and forth between them.\u00a0It\u2019s helpful to know about this, to see where you might be on the path.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Women in Society<\/a><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t want to be westernized, I can definitely respect that. But don\u2019t equate western with strong and independent. Indian women are and have always been strong, smart, thoughtful, loyal, fierce, devoted, and the pillars of society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hinduism 101: What Do Hindus Believe<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Making Hinduism Safe<\/a><\/p>\n I suspect that this is a matter of fitting in. You don\u2019t want to feel like a freak and an outsider because your traditional practices are so different from anything a white Christian American has ever experienced.\u00a0But I would be wary of sanitizing Hinduism for their consumption.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n How to Explain Hinduism<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0If you do meet people who attempt to engage you in a conversation for the purpose of converting you to Christianity or Islam, here are suggested responses to some of the statements or questions you might hear.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Everyone Should Be A Minority<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s a really valuable experience to live somewhere where almost no one around you practices the same religion you do. It gives you a very different perspective.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When Your Children Fall In Love<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m sorry to be saying this. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s my place.\u00a0But it is really hard to watch people dear to me suffer because their parents refuse to even meet the person they want to marry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What\u2019s the Difference Between a Mantra and a Prayer?<\/a><\/p>\n The Sanskrit mantras were created with sacred vibrations in mind. The energy of the sounds is part of what makes them work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0But I Have An Indian Friend<\/a><\/p>\n My friends who happen to be ethnically Indian are not there to make me feel better about myself. They are in my life because they\u2019re awesome people and I care about them!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Artha: My Difficult Relationship With Money<\/a><\/p>\n I appreciate that the Hindu way of life supports worldly success and celebrates the balance of wealth and charity and all good things in life.\u00a0Hinduism supports doing well in every area of life: spiritually, physically, emotionally, financially, etc.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You Can\u2019t Just Study: The Three Paths to God<\/a><\/p>\n Someone made a comment last week that western Hindus are all about philosophy and not bhakti, which is devotion practices. He has a point.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Krishna is a Myth; Jesus is a Myth<\/a><\/p>\n A lot of times religious people get very upset at the suggestion that figures and stories about their religion might be more mythical than literally and historically true. I\u2019m not sure why this is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Reincarnation: The Truth About Past Lives<\/a><\/p>\n Unlike the heaven\/hell concept of afterlife, reincarnation is more organic and motivating.\u00a0It isn\u2019t that we have this limited amount of time to get everything right and if we screw it up, we\u2019re punished for all eternity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n No, I Am Not a Career Woman<\/a><\/p>\n I hear this dichotamy a lot. This idea that women who have children later did so because they were working on building their career. Now, I find it great that people, that women, find careers that they are passionate about and love. There\u2019s nothing wrong to me about waiting to have children until your career is established. But that isn\u2019t the only way that a delay in family starting happens. I am not one of these women.\u00a0I sacrificed everything to make having a family a priority. And I failed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You Americans and Your Divorces<\/a><\/p>\n I get comments sometimes along the lines of \u201cYou Americans are so lazy\u201d or \u201cYou Americans have no morals.\u201d And I look over my right shoulder. Over my left. Who is this person talking to?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What Is Success?<\/a><\/p>\n I believe that comparing ourselves to others is always a mistake.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hinduism is Not in Danger<\/a><\/p>\n Sanatana Dharma<\/a> is the Eternal Truth. Think about that. It is eternal. It has always been and it will always be. It is the basis of the universe. It cannot be changed or destroyed by the interpretation of human beings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hinduism and Depression<\/a><\/p>\n It is popular in hippie circles to say that we choose our emotions. We might not choose the circumstances of our life (but maybe on some level we do because of karma), but we can definitely control how we respond to those circumstances.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hinduism Doesn\u2019t Need Me<\/a><\/p>\n Indians do not need western people to validate Hinduism for them and I hope that those who feel like they want the support of westerners will come to realize that they don\u2019t need it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Why Am I Called The White Hindu?<\/a><\/p>\n It comes up over and over, people wondering why I\u2019m calling attention to my race. After all, in Hinduism we are all One God. Gender and race don\u2019t give us different amounts of God. Everything is part of that One universal God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hinduism and Abortion<\/a><\/p>\n The human embodiment is the most sacred possible birth. It is only human beings who have the self-awareness to attain enlightenment. The stories say that souls wait for very long periods of time to experience the human embodiment. Hindus avoid taking that away from anyone. However, the mother\u2019s life is also precious. It is said that though abortion is wrong, it is worse for a child to kill his mother.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Karma: Misunderstood<\/a><\/p>\n Did I Start Out as a Christian?<\/a><\/p>\n Marriage Equality and Hinduism<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SPhiSMwkaug<\/a>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Having my blog here has been a great experience. I\u2019m half way through year two and I\u2019m so grateful for the help and support Patheos gives me as well as the opportunity to spread my wings wider and communicate with more people. Not to mention the amazing other bloggers, many of whom are famous in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1305,"featured_media":4883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1659,1658,247,1660],"class_list":["post-4868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-am-i-being-a-hindu-this-week","tag-best-of","tag-best-of-the-white-hindu","tag-patheos","tag-patheos5yrs"],"yoast_head":"\n