Today is my last official day as a Hindu. That’s probably a good thing, because I’m leaving in just a little while and heading down to Texas, where I’m sure I’ll be tempted to eat a lot more meat than the little bit of turkey I sneaked at Thanksgiving. Barbecue, here I come!
Although I will definitely NOT miss being a vegetarian, there are a lot of things about my time as a Hindu that I will miss.
For starters, there’s my good buddy Ganesha, who always keeps me smiling and makes me realize that God may be more accessible (at least to me) in some forms than in others.
Strange as it may sound, given my track record, I’ll also kind of miss meditation. Although there’s no question that I am absolutely terrible at tuning out the chatter of the world, and especially my own mind, the discipline of forcing myself to sit down and focus, even for just a little while each day, is something I sorely need.
Most of all, I’ll miss the amazing variety of choices that Hinduism offers. I know I haven’t experienced much beyond my own Catholic upbringing yet, so I don’t know what all the other religions that are still to come will hold, but one of the things I have loved about being Hindu is how you get to pick whatever you like best. If you like worldly success, you can choose the Path of Desire. If you’re bored of earthly pleasures, you can choose the Path of Renunciation. If you like working, you can try karma yoga. If you’re a loving, emotional person, you can choose bhakti yoga. There are plenty of options, and none of them is “better” than any other.
Unlike the church I grew up in, where there was one form of God and one basic path to salvation that everyone had to accept, Hinduism offers a myriad of ways to find God, so there’s something for every taste. It’s definitely one of the most appealing aspects of Hinduism to me. At this point, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I came back to Hinduism—and to good old Ganesha—after my year of exploration is over. I guess we’ll have to see.
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