List of converts to Hinduism

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

Om

From Abrahamic religions

Christianity

Islam

• List of converts to Hinduism from Islam

Judaism

• Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) (1931-2019) – syncretist, and follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Professor of psychology at Harvard University[1]
• Tamal Krishna Goswami (born Thomas G. Herzig) (1946-2002) – governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness[2]
• Urmila Devi Dasi (born Edith E. Manischewitz) (b. 1955)– female ISKCON educator[3][4]
• Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) (b. 1950) – very prominent Bhakti yoga guru and a governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness[5]

From other Dharmic religions

Buddhism

• Mihirakula (r. c. 502-530) – Huna ruler[6]
• Rajasinghe I (1544-1593) – Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy[7]
• Rishabhadatta (1st or 2nd century CE) – Satrap viceroy[8]
• Rudradaman I (r. 130-150) - Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas[9]
• Vasudeva I (r. c. 191 - c. 232) – Kushan king and numismatist[10]
• Jayavarman III (r. c. 835 – 877)

Jainism

• Mahendravarman I (r. 600-630)– Pallava King and patron of the arts.[11]
• Vishnuvardhana (r. c. 1108 - c. 1152) – King of Hoysala empire and prominent temple-builder[12]
• Tirunavukkarasar (6th - 7th century) – Saivite saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars[13]

Other

Other theistic faiths and religions

• Mihirakula (r. c. 502-530) – Huna ruler[14]
• Heliodorus (2nd century BCE) – Greek minister to King Bhagabhadra[15]
• Pamheiba (1690-1751) – Manipuri King[16]
• Suhungmung (r. 1497-1539) – Ahom kingdom's ruler who extended Assam up to the Kamarupa Kingdom[17]
• Supangmung (r. 1663-1670) – Ahom kingdom's ruler who recaptured Guwahati. Converted to Vaishnavism after a killing to make amends[18]
• Susenghphaa (r. 1603-1641)– Ahom king; during his rule the Ahom-Mughal conflicts began[19]

From non-theistic religious backgrounds

• Annie Besant – British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer, orator, and supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule.[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]

Undetermined former religion

• Agehananda Bharati (born Leopold Fischer) (1923-1991) – 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]
• Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker – Hare Krishna devotee. His initiated name is Krishna Kantha Dasa. He was initiated by Narayana Maharaja. He wrote a foreword to a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakur titled Sri Siksastaka.[26]
• Geoffrey Giuliano – American biographer[27]
• Nina Hagen (follower of Haidakhan Babaji) – German singer[28]
• Joe Don Looney (follower of Swami Muktananda) – football player[29]
• J Mascis – lead vocalist, guitarist, and drummer for Dinosaur Jr.[30]
• John McLaughlin (became a disciple of Sri Chinmoy) – jazz fusion guitar player[31]
• Lex Hixon (syncretist and disciple of Swami Nikhilananda) – poet, philosopher, spiritual practitioner and teacher[32]
• Sati Kazanova, Russian singer [33]
• Savitri Devi (born Maximiani Portas) – Greek-French writer and Nazi-sympathiser[34]
• Savitri Khanolkar (born Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros) – designer of India's highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra[35]
• Mathias Rust – German daredevil pilot[36]
• Kelli Williams – American actress who played Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice.[37]

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. Ram Dass – the official interactive Satsang site for author (Be Here Now) and spiritual teacher Ram Dass
2. Religious Conversion: Contemporary Practices and Controversies, page 3, Christopher Lamb, M. Darroll Bryant
3. U Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine – 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. Sheram, AK (2012). "Manipuri, The". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
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. Archived from the original on 9 April 2006.
22. Wall Street Journal Article about John
23. Goel, Sita Ram, "How I became a Hindu" Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
24. Agehananda Bharati Archived 3 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
25. Shiva and the Primordial Tradition Archived 26 January 2013 at Archive.today – Inner Traditions
26. Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1997) Sri Siksastaka, ISBN 81-86737-06-5. Retrieved 1 June 2008. "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
27. "Former Ronald McDonald Turns Vegetarian Activist". Hinduism Today. March 1991. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
28. Nina Hagen official website
29. Dozier 152
30. exclaim.ca
31. John McLaughlin Adherents.com
32. Lex Hixon.org Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
33. The Russian singer who charmed Modi Russia Beyond - July 21, 2016
34. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, page 183, Mattias Gardell, 2003
35. Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle, p.21, Major General Ian Cardozo, 2003
36. German daredevil grounded by court The Guardian, 21 April 2001
37. Kelli Williams Quotes and Trivia at MovieTome Archived 22 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine