Julia Roberts not the first celebrity to hug Hinduism
Nevada (US):Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) is not the first entertainment celebrity to hug Hinduism or its concepts-symbols-terminology. Golden Globe winner
Marilyn Monroe (Some Like It Hot) once reportedly claimed that yoga (one of the
six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy) improved her legs. Celebrities Greta
Garbo, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, Beatles, Gloria Swanson, Madonna, Mia Farrow,
Shirley MacLaine, Britney Spears, John Coltrane, Yehudi Menuhin, George Harrison,
Mary Tyler Moore, Donovan, Jennifer Jones, Leopold Stokowski, Sting, (the list
goes on), sometime or the other reportedly had a crush on Hinduism or its concepts-symbols-terminology.
Noted Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, welcomed
entertainment celebrities to immerse in Hinduism but taking it seriously and not
just using it as a fashion statement. "Hinduism is the oldest and third largest
religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical
thought and it should not be taken lightly", Zed stressed. Zed, who is the President
of Universal Society of Hinduism, further says that if entertainment bigwigs are
really serious in their involvement with Hinduism, they are most welcome and he
or other Hindu scholars will gladly provide these seekers the resources they need
for their study and research. Entertainment celebrities need to have more patience
and go beyond the superficial because Hinduism concepts evolved over thousands
of years and need serious study, Rajan Zed argues. Zed suggests the Hinduism infatuated
celebrities to realize the Self. Ancient Hindu scripture Katha Upanishad points
out that when wise realize the Self, they go beyond sorrow. Self is supreme and
those who meditate on Self are freed from the cycle of birth and death. When one
realizes Self, there is nothing else to be known. According to a report by Washington
DC based prestigious Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life few months back, "24
percent Americans believe in Reincarnation, that people will be reborn in this
world again and again", which is basically a Hinduism concept.
