Sanatan Dharma has no such concept of religious conversions because, first, it never claimed/limited itself to be called a religion. Secondly, the concept of religious conversion started with the patriarch, who established the Abrahamic religion.
The truth is beyond all things, according to the Vedas. The Sanatan Dharma is the universally applicable truth. As a result, those who adopt Vedic truth/knowledge, consider themselves as reverts rather than converts (as per the chronology of religions).
Read: Sanatan Dharma, or Hinduism: The Oldest Religion of the World
What is religious conversion?
Religious conversion means adopting a new religion, a religion that is different from his previous religion or religion at his birth. There are various reasons why people convert to different religions:
- Conversion by free will or free choice
- Conversion due to change of beliefs
- Conversion for convenience
- Conversion due to marriage
- Conversion by force
FAQs: Topic: Conversion in Hinduism
Claim 1.: If Hinduism does not believe in Conversion, then why there are so many foreigners chanting “Hare Krishna”?
Yes, the claim is true. To understand that, one must read the following history:
ISKCON — BHAKTI MOVEMENT — HINDUISM
One of the many concepts found in Hinduism is bhakti. The “Bhakti movement” in Hinduism describes ideas and practises focusing on devotion to one or more deities that initially emerged during the Middle Ages. The Bhakti movement spoke out against the caste system in local languages to spread its message to the general populace. ISKCON evolved into a society with Krishna consciousness rather than an organisation. Bhaktas hold Lord Krishna up as the embodiment of the Supreme Consciousness. He is once again an avatar of Lord Vishnu.
The first participants were Americans because Srila Prabhupada founded Iskcon in New York, USA, in 1966. Since Iskcon is an international organisation rather than an Indian one, people of all nationalities join the organisation in their home countries before ever travelling to India. Later, the world headquarters was created in Mayapur, West Bengal. ISKCON has the biggest proportion of devotees of any branch of Hinduism because of its guru (teacher), Shri Prabhupada, and the teachings of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Shastra.
To note: Converting to Judaism and Hinduism is very difficult, as no such rituals ever existed. One can only adopt and adapt!
Alfred Brush Ford, also known as Ambarish Das, is an American heir to the Ford fortune. He is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company.
The Spiritual Quest of George Harrison in Hinduism
Claim 2: All Muslims and Christians of India are descendants of those converted from Hinduism?
To explicitly call out whether today’s all Muslims and Christians are converted, would be totally wrong. However, at least one of their family members (who belonged to India, and continued procreation and legacy) is definitely a convert. This is because Abrahamic Religions came to India with force, and settled here with their terms and conditions. And also, it was founded much later (according to the chronology of religions).
To know about the history of religions, read:
1. History of Indian Civilization & Religious Conversions
