India Behind The Lens (News Centre)

The List of Celebrities who accepted Hinduism (They did not convert just accepted this HINDU way of LIFE !) We never asked them, it is the influence of this SANATAN DHARM that made them realize they should now accept what is the true philosophy of a great and good Life !

Hinduism is a unique faith! The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as just another religion. To be precise, Hinduism is a way of life, a dharma. Dharma does not mean religion. It is the law that governs all action. Thus, contrary to popular perception, Hinduism is not just a religion in the tradition sense of the term. Out of this misinterpretation, has come most of the misconceptions about Hinduism.

From Christianity
# Chantal Boulanger - French anthropologist who wrote widely on Tamil culture
# Russell Brand - British actor and comedian.
# Claudia Ciesla - German model, actress, and singer embraced Hinduism and believes in Karma.
# Job Charnock - British trade agent who has been controversially described as the founder of Calcutta
# Ilan Chester - Venezuelan singer, keyboardist, arranger and composer
# Alice Coltrane (raised Baptist but became a follower of Satya Sai Baba) – American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer
# Michael Cremo - American creationist, author, and editor
# Bhagavan Das (born Kermit Michael Riggs) – Western Yogi and former born again Christian
# Roy Eugene Davis - American Kriya Yoga teacher
# Krishna Dharma - British author and convert to Gaudiya Vaishnavism under ISKCON
# David Frawley - author on Hinduism, Yoga and Ayurveda
# Elizabeth Gilbert - author of Eat Pray Love
# George Harrison - popular English musician, best known as a member of The Beatles who died chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in the company of monks fromISKCON.He is also known for donating Bhaktivedanta Manor, a Hindu temple to the Hare Krishna community in Britain.
# Ilaiyaraaja - Tamil music director.
# Christopher Isherwood - Anglo-American novelist
# Jomol - Malayali actress
# Swami Kriyananda (born J. Donald Walters) – direct disciple of the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda
# Timothy Leary - Harvard professor and American writer and psychologist
# Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami - one of the eleven senior Americans selected to become an initiating guru in ISKCON.
# Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Portas) - French woman who became enamoured with Hinduism and Nazism, trying to synthesise Hinduism with Nazi philosophy and racial ideology
# Sister Nivedita (born Margaret Elizabeth Noble) – Anglo-Irish social worker, author, and teacher
# Leelawathy Ramanathan - Australia-born Hindu writer and activist. Converted upon marrying Ponnambalam Ramanathan
# John Levy - British philosopher who translated books on Advaita Vedanta
# Joseph Ritson - English antiquarian and traveller
# Julia Roberts - American Actress.
# Han Snel - Dutch painter of Bali
# Satyananda Stokes - Famous English farmer in Himachal Pradesh
# Bhakti Tirtha Swami (born John E. Favors) – American Hindu leader and disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
# Romapada Swami - Preacher of ISKCON.
# Kenneth R. Valpey - Gaudiya Vaishnava Theologian who studied at Oxford University, St. Cross College
# Richard L. Thompson - American mathematician, academic, creationist, and author
# Shaunaka Rishi Das (born Timothy Kiernan) – Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

Islam
# Bukka I - King of Vijayanagara empire who converted to Islam, then reconverted. The early life of Bukka as well as his brother Hakka (also known as Harihara I) are relatively unknown and most accounts of their early life are based on theories.
# Nargis - noted Bollywood actress, politician, and social worker. Mother of actor Sanjay Dutt she converted to Hinduism and took the name of Nirmala Dutt on her marriage to actor Sunil Dutt
# Annapurna Devi (born Roshanara Khan) - surbahar (bass sitar) player and music teacher in the North Indian classical tradition. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.
# Harilal Mohandas Gandhi - son of Mahatma Gandhi. Upon converting to Islam he adopted the name Abdullah Gandhi, but later again reverted back to Hinduism.
# Asha Gawli - (born Ayesha) Wife of Arun Gawli, notorious gangster turned politician from Mumbai, India. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.
# Harihara I - King of Vijayanagara Empire who converted to Islam, then reconverted
# Aashish Khan (born Ustad Aashish Khan Debsharma) – Indian musician
# Hassan Palakkode - Malayali writer on Islam
# Netaji Palkar - Maratha noble and commander-in-chief of the army of Shivaji, 19 June 1676.
# Sarmad - 17th century mystical poet and sufi saint, arrived from Persia to India, beheaded for assumed heresy by the Mughal emperor, Aurungzebe. Sarmad renounced Judaism, briefly converting to Islam and then Hinduism. He later denounced all religions and rejected belief in god.
# Anwar Shaikh - British author.
# Ifa Sudewi - Chief judge for the 2002 Bali bombing trials
# Khushboo Sundar - Tamil movie actress. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.
# Haridas Thakura - Prominent Vaishnavite saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement.
# Zubeida - Hindi film actress, on whose life story the film Zubeidaa was based. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage.
# Nalini Patel (born Nayyara Mirza) – Miss India finalist of 1967, was the first Muslim to participate in the pageant. She converted to Hinduism after marriage. She is settled in the USA.
# Sonam (born Bakhtawar Murad) – Wife of Bollywood director Rajiv Rai. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage. She is the niece of character actor Raza Murad and granddaughter of veteran character actor Murad. She is the cousin of actress Sanober Kabir.[citation needed]

From Judaism
# Krishna Das (born Jeffrey Kagel) – singer who performs Indian chants called kirtans[citation needed]
# Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) - syncretist, and follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Professor of psychology at Harvard University
# Hridayananda Goswami (born Howard J. Resnick) – American spiritual leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
# Tamal Krishna Goswami (born Thomas G. Herzig) – governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness[citation needed]
# Radhanath_Swami (born Richard Slavin) – is a Gaudiya Vaishnava guru and a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), author of The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami[citation needed]

From other Dharmic religions ...

Buddhism
# Mihirakula - Huna ruler.
# Rajasinghe I - Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy
# Rishabhadatta - Satrap viceroy
# Rudradaman I - Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas
# Vasudeva I - Kushan king and numismatist

Jainism
# Mahendravarman I - Pallava King and patron of the arts.
# Vishnuvardhana - King of Hoysala empire and prominent temple-builder
# Tirunavukkarasar - Saivite saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars

Special thanks to Pallav Chaki ...
This list may not be final; list can be updated as per information ....