Top 5 celebrities who embraced Hindusim
Hinduism is acclaimed as the oldest existing religion with 5000 years of existence but some scriptures debate that it’s longer than that. With its roots coming from the Indus Valley; Hinduism is predominantly embraced by Indian who identifies themselves as “Indus”.
For a long time, Hinduism has been mistaken for a religion whose followers are deeply rooted in prayers, colorful festivities, and rigid customs and traditions. But Hinduism is not just a religion; it’s a set of cultural ideas, a mindset and very importantly a spiritual and philosophical thought system. Hinduism is acclaimed as the oldest existing religion with 5000 years of existence but some scriptures debate that it’s longer than that. With its roots coming from the Indus Valley; Hinduism is predominantly embraced by Indian who identifies themselves as “Indus”. However, to say that one is born as a Hindu would be wrong because Hinduism is by no means based on a static system. Nothing says that Hinduism can only be practiced by Indus of India. It is given to all people who are willing to open their hearts and minds to the values of Vedanta. In fact, many international celebrities discovered it out of curiosity and ultimately fell deeply connected with Hinduism
Mark Zuckerberg
We are all much aware of the man behind Facebook and how this social networking site has grown to become one of the most powerful in the world. What you don’t know is that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook is an admirer of Hinduism. When his newly launched venture, Facebook was undergoing a struggling phase, Mark was experiencing moments of frustration in his life. He even confided that he was considering of selling Facebook to some interested buyers. Not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel, Mark eventually sought advice from his mentor, Steve Jobs who suggested him to go on a spiritual voyage to India. It was a one-month tour in the great Peninsula and three days stay at a temple (ashram) in Pantnagar, 65 km from Nainital that cleared out his clouded mind. This temple was the ashram of Neeb Karori Baba. And when he returned, Facebook was of course not sold, but instead the company became public and we can all bear witness to the great success that Facebook has reaped.
Steve Jobs
The founder of Apple, late Steve Jobs was deeply influenced by the Zen Buddhism. In 1974, the tech genius travelled to India with the desire to meet Baba Neem Karoli also known as Maharaj-ji; a wish that remained unfulfilled for Steve Jobs due to the demise of Baba Neem Karoli. It is said that Buddhism helped him in reaching enlightenment but not attaining the ascetic state as Steve Jobs was a young man way too ambitious and passionate to renounce to the material world. Yet he was a vegetarian, loved animals, practiced yoga and believed strongly in simplicity.
“I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple.” (Extract from his 2005 commencement speech as Stanford)
Julia Roberts
She remains the “pretty woman” of all time. Julia Roberts, an actress that needs no further introduction was born a Catholic but as she evolved in life, Julia Roberts developed a fondness and attachment for Hinduism. She ultimately converted into a Hindu.
Hinduism’s influence with her started with the photograph of Baba Neem Karoli which got her very curious about him. But it is in September 2009, that her interest grew stronger when she came to India for the movie shooting of “Eat, Pray, Love”. From there on, she initiated herself into spiritualism and she began to adopt some customs and behaviors from the Hinduism including meditation, yoga, chanting prayers, she would even sport a bindi. Julia Roberts has also been actively vocal in the media about her transition into spiritualism, claiming that she has undergone “real spiritual satisfaction through Hinduism.”
Sylvester Stallone
The fearsome actor, Sylvester Stallone has found peace in Hindu rituals. Upon losing his 36 years old son in a tragic way in 2012, the actor’s mind was troubled and unable to accept this loss. It is reported that Sylvester Stallone would complain about feeling and seeing his son’s spirit. But one Hindu ritual liberated his disturbed mind; the “Shraadh” ritual. Sylvester Stallone’s situation is evidence in itself as to how Hinduism is not just based of sets of rituals.
On the instruction of a Hindu Vedic “Pandit”, the Sylvester Stallone’s family – Michael Stallone, his wife Michel, a movie star Alexa and his wife Olga conducted “Pind-daan” and “Shraad” in Kankhal at Sati Ghat. The actor did not attend the ritual as the rite is exclusively performed by blood relatives.We can assert that Hinduism provides a strong support to any a person experiencing emotional and mental distress.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman, Wolverine as we all know is also a follower of Hinduism. The Australian actor has expressed in multiple interviews his attraction towards the mysticism dwelling in Hinduism. In fact, he has a Sanskrit inscription engraved on his wedding ring which read “Om Paramar Mainamar” which translates to “we pledge our union to a higher source”. In an interview he affirmed that “the scriptures that we follow are a mixture between the West and the East and would be from Socrates to the Upanishads, to the Bhagavad Gita to a number of different texts…”only to further add that “the basic philosophy is that if Buddha and Krishna and Jesus were all at a dinner table together, they wouldn’t be arguing.”
There is not much information as to how the actor got initiated to Hinduism but from what we can see Hugh Jackman is dedicated to the Hinduism scriptures and is deeply intellectual.
These are only five few names but the list is much longer than that. Russell Brand, the comedian loves transcendental meditation and was married according to the Hindu tradition in Rajasthan with wife Katy Perry. Angelina Jolie has shown some interest in Buddhism thanks to her adopted son Maddox who is a Buddhist and so did her former husband, Brad Pitt. As for Robert Downey Jr, the Iron Man is a follower of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCON) known as the Hare Krishna Movement. Richard Gere converted to Buddhism and often come to the Dharamshala in India. Hinduism is imbued with incredible wisdom and it takes effort and willingness to recognize its true face. Let us abandon the archaic perception of Hinduism as a religion based on rites and superstitions. Instead, let us open our minds to understand its sagacity and spiritual enlightenment.