American Nurse Meghan Ortiz who adopted Hindu Dharma shared her inspiring story in an interview with the YouTube channel Politically Perfect. She narrated her ordeal and what made her adopt Hindu Dharma.
Meghan said she comes from a devout Christian family and was raised in Christianity but there were things she saw that didn’t line up. She grew up in Pennsylvania and Virginia where she found other cultures were fun. She says they were only Christian in name and were more secular in their practices and outlook.
She says she found it difficult to believe that a loving God would send people to hell just because they didn’t have faith in Jesus. “When I was seven or eight I had a Hindu friend and my family allowed me to visit her temple with her. I felt a connection there but didn’t pursue it I was an adult. However, I had that memory with me.”, Meghan says.
“This is a little embarrassing. When I was 19 my mother passed away and it was a big thing. I slipped into substance abuse. However, I stopped doing things and later learned from my grandparents who travel the world that they had prayed for me at a Shiva temple in Vietnam. They are Catholics and don’t even believe in Hinduism”, she further explains.
This incident took place ten years ago. Meghan says she opened her mind to Hindu Dharma after learning about this. She started researching Hindu Dharma and adds that she doesn’t have such tendencies (drug abuse) now. She explained that once she stopped consuming drugs she wasn’t sure about spiritual matters but began with a blank slate regarding religion in her mind.
She also started praying to ‘God’ to help her on the path she ought to take. Meghan says she became open-minded and it slowly led her to Hindu Dharma. “I began to think that if Shiva took care of me when I was not even a Hindu there’s something to it. I started reading Hindu scriptures and began chanting Om. Eventually, things started to get better for me”, she said.
On the question of her choosing Hindu Dharma without force or coercion, Meghan said she started having an open mind and saw the difference between Hindu Dharma and Christianity. She says Christianity doesn’t allow devotees to ask questions while a Hindu can do so. On the question of family support, she says some have accepted it and others don’t talk about it.
“There is this view that it is harmful and that it is trying to be like nationalism. But they’re viewing nationalism as something that is harmful or hateful and that is not what it is. I mean it is really necessary in this world to counteract some of this hatefulness that is coming from Abrahamics. Hindus have to defend themselves from violence by Islamists and Christians. We have been victims to so many things and it is necessary to defend ourselves”, Meghan said when asked about her message to the ‘Dismantle Hindutva’ brigade.
Meghan also highlighted that the Puranas talk about defending ourselves. She says while Hindus are peaceful, we need to defend ourselves when attacked by Islam and Christianity. She believes that programmes like ‘Dismantle Hindutva’ are aimed at keeping Hindus silent.
When asked about visiting temples and interacting with other Hindus, Meghan says it is hard for her since she resides in a small town in Texas. The nearest temple is one and half-hour drive away and hence she gets to visit only a few times. Meghan said that she does interact online with fellow Hindus. She also hopes to be able to move to a place where there is a sizeable Hindu population, unlike Texas which is majorly Christian and also wants to visit Bharat someday.
(Featured Image Source: Politically Perfect YouTube Channel)
