List of converts to Hinduism

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The following is a list of converts to Hinduism from other religions or a non-religious background.

From Abrahamic religions

Christianity

• Julia Roberts – Hollywood actress
• Alfred Ford – heir of the Ford fortune
• Elisabeth Luise Reuther Dickmeyer – daughter of labor leader Walter Reuther^[1]

Islam

Judaism

• Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) – syncretist, and follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Professor of psychology at Harvard University^[2]
• Tamal Krishna Goswami (born Thomas G. Herzig) – governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• Urmila Devi Dasi (born Edith E. Manischewitz [married name: Best]) – female ISKCON educator^[3][4]
• Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) – Very prominent Bhakti yoga guru and a governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness^[5]

From other Dharmic religions

Buddhism

• Mihirakula – Huna ruler^[6]
• Rajasinghe I – Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy^[7]
• Rishabhadatta – Satrap viceroy^[8]
• Rudradaman I – Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas^[9]
• Vasudeva I – Kushan king and numismatist^[10]

Jainism

• Mahendravarman I – Pallava King and patron of the arts.^[11]
• Vishnuvardhana – King of Hoysala empire and prominent temple-builder^[12]
• Tirunavukkarasar – Saivite saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars^[13]

Other

Other theistic faiths and religions

• Mihirakula – Huna ruler.^[14]
• Charairongba – Manipuri ruler.
• Heliodorus – Greek minister to King Bhagabhadra^[15]
• Pamheiba – Manipuri King^[16]
• Suhungmung – Ahom kingdom ruler who extended Assam up to the Kamarupa Kingdom^[17]
• Supangmung – Ahom kingdom ruler who recaptured Guwahati. Converted to Vaishnavism after a killing to make amends^[18]
• Susenghphaa – Ahom king, during his rule the Ahom-Mughal conflicts began^[19]

From non-theistic religious backgrounds

• Annie Besant (former atheist) – Theosophist, orator and feminist^[20]
• John Dobson (former atheist who became a believer in Vedanta) – astronomer and telescope designer^[21][22]
• Sita Ram Goel (former atheist) – Indian commentator, writer and Hindu activist^[23]
• Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya – author, philosopher, lecturer, and guru.

Undetermined former religion

• Agehananda Bharati (born Leopold Fischer) – academic Sanskritist, a prolific author about religious subjects, and a Hindu monk in the Dasanami Sannyasi order^[24]
• Alain Daniélou (convert to Shaivism) – French historian, intellectual, musicologist, and Indologist^[25]
• Ambarish Das (born Alfred Ford) – American businessman, great-grandson of Henry Ford, and a follower of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (the founder of ISKCON)^[26][27]
• Geoffrey Giuliano – American biographer^[28]
• Savitri Devi (born Maximiani Portas) — Greek-French writer and Nazi-symphathiser
• Nina Hagen (follower of Haidakhan Babaji) – German singer^[29]
• Joe Don Looney (follower of Swami Muktananda) – football player^[30]
• J Mascis – Lead vocalist, guitarist, and drummer for Dinosaur Jr.^[31]
• John McLaughlin (became a disciple of Sri Chinmoy) – jazz fusion guitar player^[32]
• Lex Hixon (syncretist and disciple of Swami Nikhilananda) – poet, philosopher, spiritual practitioner and teacher^[33]
• Savitri Khanolkar (born Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros) – Designer of India's highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra
• Crispian Mills – English rock singer named Krishna Kantha dasa. He wrote a foreword to a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakur titled Sri Siksastaka.^[34]
• Mathias Rust – German daredevil pilot^[35]
• J. D. Salinger – American author best known for The Catcher in the Rye
• Kelli Williams – American actress who played Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice.^[36]

See also

• List of converts to Buddhism
• List of converts to Christianity
• List of converts to Islam
• List of converts to Judaism
• List of converts to Sikhism
• List of people by belief

References

1. FORD AND REUTHER KIN REVIVE OLD DETROIT MANSION FOR SECT
2. Ram Dass – the official interactive Satsang site for author (Be Here Now) and spiritual teacher Ram Dass
3. U – Srila Prabhupada Disciple Database
4. iskcon.com – ISKCON Communications Journal – ICJ
6. Thakur, Upendra. The Hunas in India. The Chowkhamba Senskrit, Banaras, 1967.
7. Dona Catherina: the last empress of Lanka Lanka Library
8. Divatia 42
9. Divatia, N. B. (1993). Gujarati Language and Literature. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0648-5.
10. Coins of India Calcutta : Association Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1922
11. Kan Sastri, A History of South India, p382-383
12. Mysore: A Gazetteer Compiled for Government – Benjamin Lewis Rice
13. An Introduction to the History of Tamil People A Velupillai
14. Thakur, Upendra. The Hunas in India. The Chowkhamba Senskrit, Banaras, 1967.
15. A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Taplinger Pub. Co., 1967), p. 60.
16. Manipur, The – Banglapedia
17. Shimray, R.R. Origin and Culture of Nagas. Pamleiphi Shimray, 1985
18. Neog, Maheshwar. Religions of the North-east: Studies in the Formal Religions of North. Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984.
19. Krishna, Manmohan. Political Consciousness in Indian English Writing: A Study Of Manohar Malgonkar, Naintara Sahgal & Bhabani Bhattacharya.1991, Bahri Publications. ISBN 81-7034-062-4
20. Besant, Annie. The Building of the Kosmos and Other Lectures: Delivered at the Eighteenth. The Path, 1894.
21. "John Dobson: Amateur Astronomy's Revolutionary". space.com.
22. Wall Street Journal Article about John
23. Goel, Sita Ram, "How I became a Hindu"
24. Agehananda Bharati
25. Shiva and the Primordial Tradition – Inner Traditions
26. Alfred Ford Takes a Turn to the Spiritual The New York Times, 9 November 1981
27. Alfred Ford: The billionaire bhakt The Times of India, 6 March 2005
28. "Former Ronald McDonald Turns Vegetarian Activist". Hinduism Today. March 1991. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
29. Nina Hagen official website
30. Dozier 152
31. exclaim.ca
32. John McLaughlin Adherents.com
33. Lex Hixon.org
34. Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1997) Sri Siksastaka, ISBN 81-86737-06-5. Retrieved 2008-06-01. "Through the mercy of sri guru and Vaishnavas, we may understand the deeper meaning of Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam, embrace it in our lives and let it gently melt our hearts. Krishna-kanta dasa (Crispian Mills) Bath, England September 21, 1997." Foreword
35. German daredevil grounded by court The Guardian, 21 April 2001
36. Kelli Williams Quotes and Trivia at MovieTome