[CATHOLIC / HINDU CAUCUS] Julia Roberts’ Hindu practice

Get Religion ^ | 8/7/2010 | Sarah Pulliam Bailey

[markomalley]

I just returned from a glorious Seattle vacation, stopping in an airport bookstore to see what I missed for a week. Here’s what I gathered from the newsstands: Bristol broke it off, Chelsea tied the knot, California judge reversed Proposition 8, Time published a startling cover on Afghanistan, Shaq will go to Boston, and Brett Favre joked about retiring.

What I somehow missed was that Julia Roberts had converted to Hinduism. You can read all about it on David Gibson’s Politics Daily post where he refers to Elle magazine’s latest cover story on the star.

Julia Roberts, the star of the movie “Eat Pray Love” tells Elle magazine that she and her entire family are practicing Hindus, making her the most prominent convert to one of America’s smaller but increasingly prominent immigrant religions.

Roberts, 42, tells the fashion magazine that she and husband Danny Moder and their three children, 5-year-old twins Phinnaeus and Hazel and 3-year-old Henry, all go to temple to “chant and pray and celebrate.”

“I’m definitely a practicing Hindu,” says Roberts, who grew up with a Catholic mother and Baptist father. That seems to make her the most famous convert since the late George Harrison, a member of the Beatles who embraced Indian mysticism in the 1960s.

What I like about Gibson’s post is that he offers a little bit of context for what it means to practice Hinduism, including her thoughts on reincarnation. Unfortunately, these details were too complex for a paper like the New York Daily News, which offered nothing about Hinduism. Other news outlets found Robertson’s rejection of Botox more fascinating.

What’s unclear from the excerpts available from Elle interview is whether Roberts started practicing Hinduism because of the character she most recently portrayed.

The entire Roberts-Moder family, she reveals, goes to temple together to “chant and pray and celebrate. I’m definitely a practicing Hindu,” says Roberts, who grew up with a Catholic mother and Baptist father.

And since in Hindu cosmology souls can be reincarnated in other bodies, where does she see herself in the next life? “Golly, I’ve been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life,” she says. “Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting.”

Roberts’ upcoming movie Eat, Pray, Love is based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s her bestselling memoir. In the book, Gilbert travels to Italy, where she consumes food (Eat), searches for spirituality in India (Pray), and finds a boyfriend in Indonesia (Love). Gilbert seems to toy with practicing spirituality and Hinduism without fully identifying herself with something specific, so it’s somewhat surprising to see Roberts come out full force.

As with any bestselling idea, marketers expect to make lots of money off of products tied to the movies, reports Sandy Cohen of the Washington Post.

Soon, though, stores will be flooded with all things “Eat, Pray, Love.” Look for candles and moisturizing creams; jewelry, bookmarks and tote bags; a dedicated shop at Cost Plus World Markets featuring furniture, food and clothing inspired by the film; a branded digital reader pre-loaded with the book; a Republic of Tea blend; a line of designer clothing by Sue Wong; and a weekend special on HSN filled with products pegged to the movie, including prayer beads, scarves and hundreds of other items from the countries the story’s main character visits during her quest for self.

…Such partnerships work when the products and brands signing on as licensees have a natural connection to the movie or characters in question. Candles, journals and prayer beads make sense for “Eat, Pray, Love,” [chief of Platinum Rye Ryan] Schinman says, noting that “there’s no ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ phone or calculator.”

You would think that there would be room for one or two sentences about the “pray” part of the book, since prayer beads seem pretty generic. It will be interesting to see whether that gets very much time in the movie and subsequently in the reviews and news coverage of the movie.

Back to Roberts, the Telegraph reported that she angered Hindus when she was shooting for the film at a temple in India last fall. At that point, it didn’t appear that Roberts was necessarily practicing Hinduism. If Roberts is doing more publicity interviews, hopefully we’ll see more about her new found faith.

[markomalley]

Well, of course we should never be happy when we hear of anybody leaving the Church, still, a trade of this one for Bork, Gingrich, and a rookie to be named later...

Please pray for her immortal soul to return while she still has time...

[battlegearboat]

Pretty Hindu

[FrankR]

Never like her, her mouth is upside down....

[James C. Bennett]

Ping!

The Bhagavad-Gita

 

Chapter VII

 

KRISHNA: LEARN now, dear Prince! how, if thy soul be set
Ever on Me—still exercising Yôg,
Still making Me thy Refuge—thou shalt come
Most surely unto perfect hold of Me.
I will declare to thee that utmost lore,	5
Whole and particular, which, when thou knowest
Leaveth no more to know here in this world.
Of many thousand mortals, one, perchance,
Striveth for Truth; and of those few that strive—
Nay, and rise high—one only—here and there—	10
Knoweth Me, as I am, the very Truth.
Earth, water, flame, air, ether, life, and mind,
And individuality—those eight
Make up the showing of Me, Manifest.
These be my lower Nature; learn the higher,	15
Whereby, thou Valiant One! this Universe
Is, by its principle of life, produced;
Whereby the worlds of visible things are born
As from a Yoni. Know! I am that womb:
I make and I unmake this Universe:	20
Than me there is no other Master, Prince!
No other Maker! All these hang on me
As hangs a row of pearls upon its string.
I am the fresh taste of the water; I
The silver of the moon, the gold o’ the sun,	25
The word of worship in the Veds, the thrill
That passeth in the ether, and the strength
Of man’s shed seed. I am the good sweet smell
Of the moistened earth, I am the fire’s red light,
The vital air moving in all which moves,	30
The holiness of hallowed souls, the root
Undying, whence hath sprung whatever is;
The wisdom of the wise, the intellect
Of the informed, the greatness of the great,
The splendor of the splendid. Kunti’s Son!	35
These am I, free from passion and desire;
Yet am I right desire in all who yearn,
Chief of the Bhâratas! for all those moods,
Soothfast, or passionate, or ignorant,
Which Nature frames, deduce from me; but all	40
Are merged in me—not I in them! The world—
Deceived by those three qualities of being—
Wotteth not Me Who am outside them all,
Above them all, Eternal! Hard it is
To pierce that veil divine of various shows	45
Which hideth Me; yet they who worship Me
Pierce it and pass beyond.
I am not known
To evil-doers, nor to foolish ones,
Nor to the base and churlish; nor to those	50
Whose mind is cheated by the show of things,
Nor those that take the way of Asuras.
Four sorts of mortals know me: he who weeps,
Arjuna! and the man who yearns to know;
And he who toils to help; and he who sits	55
Certain of me, enlightened.
Of these four,
O Prince of India! highest, nearest, best
That last is, the devout soul, wise, intent
Upon “The One.” Dear, above all, am I	60
To him; and he is dearest unto me!
All four are good, and seek me; but mine own,
The true of heart, the faithful—stayed on me,
Taking me as their utmost blessedness,
They are not “mine,” but I—even I myself!	65
At end of many births to Me they come!
Yet hard the wise Mahatma is to find,
That man who sayeth, “All is Vâsudev!”
There be those, too, whose knowledge, turned aside
By this desire or that, gives them to serve	70
Some lower gods, with various rites, constrained
By that which mouldeth them. Unto all such—
Worship what shrine they will, what shapes, in faith—
’Tis I who give them faith! I am content!
The heart thus asking favor from its God,	75
Darkened but ardent, hath the end it craves,
The lesser blessing—but ’tis I who give!
Yet soon is withered what small fruit they reap
Those men of little minds, who worship so,
Go where they worship, passing with their gods.	80
But Mine come unto me! Blind are the eyes
Which deem th’ Unmanifested manifest,
Not comprehending Me in my true Self!
Imperishable, viewless, undeclared,
Hidden behind my magic veil of shows,	85
I am not seen by all; I am not known—
Unborn and changeless—to the idle world.
But I, Arjuna! know all things which were,
And all which are, and all which are to be,
Albeit not one among them knoweth Me!	90
By passion for the “pairs of opposites,”
By those twain snares of Like and Dislike, Prince!
All creatures live bewildered, save some few
Who, quit of sins, holy in act, informed,
Freed from the “opposites,” and fixed in faith,	95
Cleave unto Me.
Who cleave, who seek in Me
Refuge from birth and death, those have the Truth!
Those know Me BRAHMA; know Me Soul of Souls,
The ADHYATMAN; know KARMA, my work;	100
Know I am ADHIBHUTA, Lord of Life,
And ADHIDAIVA, Lord of all the Gods,
And ADHIYAJNA, Lord of Sacrifice;
Worship Me well, with hearts of love and faith,
And find and hold Me in the hour of death.	105
Here endeth Chapter VII. of the Bhagavad-Gîtâ,
entitled “Vijnânayôg,” or “The Book
of Religion by Discernment”

 

 

 

 

   

 

Chapter XII

 

 

ARJUNA: LORD! of the men who serve Thee—true in heart—
As God revealed; and of the men who serve,
Worshipping Thee Unrevealed, Unbodied, far,
Which take the better way of faith and life?
KRISHNA: Whoever serve Me—as I show Myself—	5
Constantly true, in full devotion fixed,
These hold I very holy. But who serve—
Worshipping Me The One, The Invisible,
The Unrevealed, Unnamed, Unthinkable,
Uttermost, All-pervading, Highest, Sure—	10
Who thus adore Me, mastering their sense,
Of one set mind to all, glad in all good,
These blessed souls come unto Me.
Yet, hard
The travail is for whoso bend their minds	15
To reach th’ Unmanifest. That viewless path
Shall scarce be trod by man bearing his flesh!
But whereso any doeth all his deeds,
Renouncing self in Me, full of Me, fixed
To serve only the Highest, night and day	20
Musing on Me—him will I swiftly lift
Forth from life’s ocean of distress and death
Whose soul clings fast to Me. Cling thou to Me!
Clasp Me with heart and mind! so shalt thou dwell
Surely with Me on high. But if thy thought	25
Droops from such height; if thou be’st weak to set
Body and soul upon Me constantly,
Despair not! give Me lower service! seek
To read Me, worshipping with steadfast will;
And, if thou canst not worship steadfastly,	30
Work for Me, toil in works pleasing to Me!
For he that laboreth right for love of Me
Shall finally attain! But, if in this
Thy faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure! find
Refuge in Me! let fruits of labor go,	35
Renouncing all for Me, with lowliest heart,
So shalt thou come; for, though to know is more
Than diligence, yet worship better is
Than knowing, and renouncing better still
Near to renunciation—very near—	40
Dwelleth Eternal Peace!
Who hateth nought
Of all which lives, living himself benign,
Compassionate, from arrogance exempt,
Exempt from love of self, unchangeable	45
By good or ill; patient, contented, firm
In faith, mastering himself, true to his word,
Seeking Me, heart and soul; vowed unto Me,—
That man I love! Who troubleth not his kind,
And is not troubled by them; clear of wrath,	50
Living too high for gladness, grief, or fear,
That man I love! Who, dwelling quiet-eyed,
Stainless, serene, well-balanced, unperplexed,
Working with Me, yet from all works detached,
That man I love! Who, fixed in faith on Me,	55
Dotes upon none, scorns none; rejoices not,
And grieves not, letting good and evil hap
Light when it will, and when it will depart,
That man I love! Who, unto friend and foe
Keeping an equal heart, with equal mind	60
Bears shame and glory, with an equal peace
Takes heat and cold, pleasure and pain; abides
Quit of desires, hears praise or calumny
In passionless restraint, unmoved by each,
Linked by no ties to earth, steadfast in Me,	65
That man I love! But most of all I love
Those happy ones to whom ’tis life to live
In single fervid faith and love unseeing,
Eating the blessèd Amrit of my Being!
Here endeth Chapter XII. of the Bhagavad-Gîtâ,	70
entitled “Bhakityôgô,” or “The Book of
the Religion of Faith”

[humblegunner]

How can you post a Hindu caucus?
It’s my understanding that only members of the “Caucussed” faith can post on a caucus thread.

What, are there maybe two Hindus on FR? Half that many?
Twice as many as the Zoroastrians I’m sure.

Caucus indeed. Hmph.

Julia Roberts is hot.

[rbosque]

She loses communion with the most Blessed Sacrament. She threw away God for a lie.

[markomalley]

How can you post a Hindu caucus?

It’s my understanding that only members of the “Caucussed” faith can post on a caucus thread.

Threads talking about "conversions" are sort of a weird circumstance. Because you always convert "from" something to "to" something.

I have previously tried to make conversion threads as [CATHOLIC CAUCUS] and have been informed by our gracious religion moderator that this is improper if another confession is mentioned.

So, if the other confession is not central to the point of the story, I redact applicable portions that reference the other confession. If, on the other hand, the other confession is central to the point of the story, I mention them in the caucus designation so that they have an opportunity to defend themselves from any sort of calumny or detraction that could be within the story.

In this case, the impacted confessions are Hinduism and Catholicism. The zoroastrians who post on FR, the Muslims who post on FR, the Buddhists who post on FR, the atheists who post on FR, the animists who post on FR are not impacted by this and really don't have much to say one way or the other.

The point is that I, as a Catholic, am restricting the thread to those who are impacted.

The Catholics can, if they'd like, rend their shirts...or say "good riddance."

The Hindus can say "boo-yah, in your face..we got her!!!"

Anybody else, stay out.

See how it works?

[gundog]

“Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting.”

How 'bout a fencepost? You've got the brains.

[humblegunner]

I, as a Catholic, am restricting the thread to those who are impacted.

That must give you a tremendous, though false, sense of power.

I, as a Protestant, am impacted in that if Julia Roberts were to consent to
spend a weekend over here I would convert to Hinduism for the duration.

[El Cid]

Yeah, I admit the idea of 'reincarnation' is very attractive. Before the Good LORD gave me eyes to see, I bought into it.

'Reincarnation' puts you in the driver's seat. 'My works, my good deeds ...
Ah yes, where did we first hear this?

Genesis 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Unfortunately our first mother was deceived and bought into the lie that we who were created from the dust of the ground, could be 'as God'... That is 'become God'...
Reincarnation is just another variation of Satan's lie. And unfortunately, as Eve fell for this lie in the Garden of Eden, her offspring fall for it today.

God alone IS God. Thank God for HIS mercy and desire to save those that wander away.

[Religion Moderator]

Since you are neither Catholic nor Hindu, do not post on this thread.

[Cronos]

well, I wonder how sincere J. Roberts really is to Hinduism. Also, I wonder which branch of Sanatan Dharma she HAS joined.

I am always sceptical of which religion celebrities join up to -- there are exceptions of course, but most just look at the fluffy layer of each religion

George Harrison was the exception, but J Roberts doesn't seem in the same group as he

[Cronos]

you can post a Hindu/Catholic Caucus. Also, I do have a Zoroastrian grand-parent, and I think there are a couple of more Zoroastrians here.

[Campion]

I'm under the impression that authentic Hinduism doesn't really allow conversion. (If you wanted to be a Hindu, you should have accumulated sufficient good karma in your past life to be reincarnated as one. Better luck next time!)

Westerners who "convert to Hinduism" are affiliating with various spinoff sects or cults.

At least, that is what I've read. I'm open to correction.

[James C. Bennett]

Hinduism isn’t a real religion, and certainly not an organised one. Whether one has “converted” or not is up to the individual. There is absolutely no regulatory body to monitor or recognise anything, other than the self.