Hindu scriptures such as Vedas and Upanishads are full of profound knowledge and wisdom. It is sangam of knowledge, inspirations, motivations, intuitions, poetry, philosophy, wisdom, science and vision. Knowledge of Vedas is eternal. That’s why it attracts even non-Hindus towards Vedas. There are several famous foreign personalities who have shown keen interest towards Vedas, Upanishads and Hindu spirituality. One such famous personality is Hollywood superstar Hugh Jackman. During a 2014 interview, he had admitted his fascination with Vedic literature and traditions. When asked about what is he consuming about India? He replied, “The scriptures that we follow are a mixture between the West and the East and would be from Socrates to the Upanishads, to the Bhagvad Gita, to a number of different texts. And the Shankaracharya. I’ve just been reading the biography of the Maharishi (Mahesh Yogi) and his influence in bringing TM to the West, that’s a story which has been amazing. So I naturally sort of end up flowing towards that Vedic sort of tradition… I find it fits with me and my sensibilities. I used to question so much. I was brought up in a church and I fried my brains questioning, it felt quite limited – and as soon as I discovered more about Vedic ideas, philosophies and concepts, it felt right to me, it just felt natural.”
It feels really great to see that while our leftist-liberal secular mafia belittles the Vedic tradition and underrate the profound wisdom of Hinduism without even bothering to read the great Vedic literature and other Hindu scriptures, people like Hugh Jackman acknowledges the profound knowledge and inspiration he attains from perusing Vedic Hindu literature and gets benefits from the extraordinary tradition of spirituality in Hindu religion.
Max Muller, famous German born Indologist, philologist and Orientalist, on the importance of the study of the Vedas for a student of human history, said, “That (Vedic and Buddhistic) literature opens to us a chapter in what has been called the Education of the Human Race, to which we can find no parallel anywhere else. Whoever cares for the historical growth of our language, that is, of our thoughts; whoever cares for the first intelligible development of religion and mythology; whoever cares for the first foundation of what in later times we call the sciences of astronomy, metronomy, grammar, and etymology; whoever cares for the first intimations of philosophical thought, for the first attempts at regulating family life, village life, and state life, as founded on religion, ceremonial, tradition and contract (samaya)—must in future pay the same attention to the literature of the Vedic period as to the literature of Greece and Rome and Germany.”
Not just Hugh Jackman, Hindu spirituality also helped Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as well. He said when his company was going through a ‘rough phase’; he travelled to Uttrakhand to visit Kainchi Dham Ashram.
Famous English rock band Beatles resided in the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh. They showed a great interest in Hindu spiritualism. In the Ashram, they wrote around 48 songs and also sought learning of meditation. Later on famous pop singer Madonna had also added some of the Sanskrit prayer Shanti/Ashtangi chant in her songs. Oscar winner Julia Roberts converted into Hinduism. She visited India, as a part of her film, Eat, Pray & Love’s shooting. This was the watershed moment, when Julia Roberts finally discovered her inclination towards the aura that is Hinduism. Other famous names that have shown a great interest towards Hindu philosophy and teaching includes the name of singer Boy George and comedian Russell Brand.
When such icons know why Hinduism attracts them, we should not only be inspired by their affinity, but also carry forward the ideals of Sanatan Dharma, to make this world a better place.