Namaste all,
Last night was kind of a mini-milestone in terms of finally "owning" my Hindu identity.
I attended a meetup group for women my age. Not a religious one at all, just a social one. There were many nice people there but they were all strangers, so maybe in a way it was easier. ( I would never have to see them again if i got a bad reaction)
I was wearing my Lakshmi necklace and one of the women asked about it. I explained who it was, but didn't delve into details. But she turned right around and asked in front of everyone, "Oh! So are you Hindu?"
I simply said, "Yes."
Nothing terrible happened, no one got up and left, no one tried to tell me I was going to hell etc. In fact the woman who asked me started talking animatedly about this book about world religions she'd read and it started an interesting conversation.
Another awesome result of this meeting was I met a great Muslim woman who was fascinated by the fact that I was Hindu. I in turn (Having never known a Muslim) came with my own questions about her faith. We talked all night. By the end she asked if she could come with me to Temple one day, and I asked to come with her to a Mosque, to which she happily agreed. I've always felt like I should visit one but I was always too nervous to go.
Happy Happy.
:camp:
