Embracing Hinduism: Lauren's Story

The following is the personal story of a member of our executive board, Lauren Gray! Lauren is from Colorado and is involved with her local Hindu Mandir. She is a valued member of our community and we are so grateful to get to share her story of embracing Hinduism with our readers.

I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, but I have family from around the world and from various faiths and backgrounds. It was very important to my mom to raise me surrounded by other cultures as she was growing up in Toronto, Canada. I was exposed to Hinduism when I was around 9 years old (I will be 22 next month) and felt intrinsically connected to it. I was born with a chronic condition called Cystic Fibrosis, and have spent a great deal of time in hospitals. I spent a lot of time thinking critically about life and about God. As I got older, I realized more and more that I believed in God, but not in the way I was taught through Christianity. When I was around 13-14 I decided I would start practicing Hinduism/following Sanatana Dharma. From that moment on, I have felt nothing but pride and joy in my faith. Fast forward to January of 2018, when I started attending my local temple. It was there that my devotion and pride for dharma intensified, and it is also where I met my Guru. Being a pandit, he always included me in pujas, started teaching me slokas like Vishnu Sahasranamam, and was always there to answer my (many) questions and support me in difficult times. I began volunteering at the temple whenever I could, becoming more vocal about Hindu issues, joining the temple’s youth board, attending conferences/panels about Dharmic faiths, and trying to be involved as much as I can in the community.

I usually celebrate and worship more in line with South-Indian traditions, as most of the people I have learned from and some of the most important people in my life are South Indian (specifically Telugu). Fortunately, the people who matter to me have always accepted my journey to Hinduism, and know that it is a large part of who I am. I feel immense happiness in being able to educate my family and friends about Hindu traditions and history, as well as being able to share them with my boyfriend’s family who are also Hindu, as well as the community.

I have never seen “divine feminine” hold a stronger meaning than in Sanatana Dharma. We have countless examples of devoted, fierce, intelligent, strong, multi-faceted women in our faith that serve as a constant reminder to me of the potential I hold as a woman myself. Thanks to them, I feel so deeply empowered and connected as a woman, and will never stop fighting for the women around me to feel the same. When I see them, I know my worth and will never accept less.

I hope that the future of Hindu youth will fall in love with their heritage and have a welcoming community to fall back on. I hope that decolonization efforts continue and that they never feel “less than” for their faith. I hope that Hindu women are continue to feel the power of Shakti and know their worth. I hope that thousands of years of knowledge and traditions stay alive as they always have. I hope that Western culture is no longer accepted as the only norm and that Hindu youth are taken seriously. I hope that Hindu traditions and symbols are reclaimed by Hindu youth. I also hope, for the sake of Hindu youth and youth in general, we move into a more broadly educated, kinder world.

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