I grew up in a Muslim household. My dad is Muslim and my mum was a Hindu who converted to Islam. I was forced to go to the mosque and learn about Islam but I never really could take to it . Initially I tried my best to appreciate it but as time went on I found there were too many unanswered questions which left me in a dilemma where I felt unhappy. So I just went through the motions till I my early teens.
Again I started to question Islam a lot and eventually came to the conclusion that this is not for me as I could no longer lie to myself.I now had to seek a different direction to quench my thirst for spiritual inner peace and guidance.So my journey started.
First I started to explore Christianity. It seemed nice on the face but as I got to know more about it I started to have more questions that couldn’t be answered and once again I felt trapped but I knew deep down that somewhere out there was something calling me but I just didn’t know what and where it was.
All I knew at this stage was that the teachings of Islam and Christianity didn’t really impress me and living in a Muslim household Hinduism was way out of the question because my father would never allow it.
My dad’s family are all Muslim and mom’s family are Hindu which meant 90% of my ancestors came from India originally. I just about had one relative from the middle east and that was about it so I knew that Hinduism was in my blood.
And it was during my late teens . I started to have dreams where I would dream of lord Shiva dancing. I also would dream of Mother Durga where they would show me temples ,visions etc, I followed the calling and became fascinated with Sanatan Dharma and then started to read more about it . It gave me everything my inner being had yearned for all my life and I finally found my way back home to my ancestral roots and Hindu heritage . For once in my life I now feel inner peace, happiness and the divine love within me finally awakened.
Dharam Dass from Trinidad and Tobago
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