fad. gimmick. call it what you want.

as long as it keeps her occupied and makes her happy.

these actors are like little addicts, looking for their next hit.

Meh.

One thing to be brainwashed since birth, quite another to seek out alternative brainwashing.

I'd like to "report abuse" in the article itself. So the Guardian considers "sodding Hinduism" to be the acme of wit? I shall now flee back to the New York Times.

I didn't think it was possible to convert to Hinduism. If so, what caste would one become? Or is there a special entry-level caste?

Or is there a special entry-level caste?

You make it sound like an access course for a degree in biomedical science or something ;-)

didn't think she could become a bigger waste of space - i was wrong.

From Notting Hill:

ANNA (Julia)
"Well, I've been on a diet since I was nineteen, which means basically I've been hungry for a decade. I've had a sequence of not nice boyfriends -- one of whom hit me: and every time my heart gets broken it gets splashed across the newspapers as entertainment. Meantime, it cost millions to get me looking like this...

Really -- and one day, not long from now my looks will go, they'll find out I can't act and I'll become a sad middle-aged woman who looks a bit like someone who was famous for a while... and I'll convert to Hinduism to get some attention."

It's amazing Richard Curtis's script was SO spot on.

Or is there a special entry-level caste?

Celebrity?

Pass notes are usually quite witty, but I guess with a subject so awful, what can one do?

Putting aside the amazing enigma at the very core of the issue (namely, why has she ever been considered beautiful? Especially in comparison with her Hollywood colleagues known in this newspaper as actors. Is it a collective brainwashing? She's no Darryl Hannah, but it still is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe).

Glossing over that bit, a rich celeb decides the religion for her is the one with a strict caste system. Who would have figured?

What a horrid article. And big ups to anyone who's faithful to anything. Most of the time, anyway...

Yeah and I want a religion with, like. dudes with elephants' heads and a six-armed sista and shit...you know something I can really believe in

Do you get even MORE publicity than Tom Cruise?

Does she have a new movie to flog?

Heymat is predictable

I think Buddhism also has reincarnation, fyi.

eat pray love is in the top five (if not top one) of the worst books i have ever read. not that keen on roberts either, come to think of it.

Holy cow.

Wow, her camp are really piling on the news items alongside her movie opening - new endorsement deal, new religion, anti-Botox. I wonder if Lancôme and Buddhism share a publicist.

tractorPunk : Yeah you're right - you can't convert to Hindusim because you're born into a certain caste (there is no entry level caste)
But you can got to temples, become vegetarian etc

I mentioned this to work colleges here in in Oz and one of them asked 'what,s a Hindu?' a Kiwi replied 'lays eggs bro!'

I thought the only branch of Hinduism one such as Ms Roberts can join is the Hare Krishna movement.
Does this mean that she will soon be spotted on Oxford street?

someone please tell her that Hindu is the only religion you cannot convert into. You are either born a Hindu or you are not. Has she forgotten the Caste system, an intrinsic component of the faith? Also, she should be aware of the thousands of Indians converting OUT of the Hindu faith, (which is entirely possible) to Christianity to escape the lifelong trap of poverty of being born into the wrong end of the Caste. Then again, she probably "converted" in the Jains!

I thought Hinduism was the one major religion that doesnt accept converts ? Something to do with being born without a caste ?

Ah yes Hinduism, that's the one where the higher castes tend to have lighter skins than the lower castes? something to do with the Ayrans that took over from the Dravidians in India needing something to keep the indigenies in their place? what better than religion - toe the line and you get re-birthed in a ... higher caste. It would have been interersting (although not pleasant) to see if Nazism developed along similar lines - given that it was race driven - probably.

@ istultus
8 Aug 2010, 11:36PM
Putting aside the amazing enigma at the very core of the issue (namely, why has she ever been considered beautiful?
..........................................................
Since you have very stringent beauty standards may I suggest Aishwariya Rai Bachhan. She is considered by some folks to be quite beautiful and a talented actress but you may find this enigmatic too.

Avenger58
9 Aug 2010, 7:09AM
someone please tell her that Hindu is the only religion you cannot convert into.
...........................................
Completely wrong. Hindu religion does not have a universally agreed upon pope and holy book. Indeed you can be a hindu and have scriptural support for being an atheist but that is another story.

The key is as with Judaism and I suspect other faiths:

The procedure for conversion depends on the sponsoring denomination, and depends on meeting the ritual and other requirements for a conversion of that denomination. A conversion in accordance with the process of a denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination
...........................................................
Avenger58
9 Aug 2010, 7:09AM
Also, she should be aware of the thousands of Indians converting OUT of the Hindu faith, (which is entirely possible) to Christianity to escape the lifelong trap of poverty of being born into the wrong end of the Caste.
........................................
It is not my place to defend the evil caste system but your statement is laughable. In India regardless of religious faith you are defined by your caste. There are low-caste Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs all religions which explicitly prohibit such a practise.

The discrimination of low caste Christians by upper caste Christians is exactly the same as in Hinduism. They are not allowed to even have burial in the same grounds.

Thanks for illustrating your deep knowledge about Indian way of life.

regards.

PS no thanks

@Plataea
9 Aug 2010, 7:49AM

Ah yes Hinduism, that's the one where the higher castes tend to have lighter skins than the lower castes? something to do with the Ayrans that took over from the Dravidians in India needing something to keep the indigenies in their place?
......................................................................

Respectable genetic studies by Western scientists have established that there has been a complete mixing of populations in India starting from 10000 years ago. You need to update your theories of Aryan/Dravidians.

BTW Nazis take all the blame, India did experience rule by a fairly light skinned tribe for about 200 years. You need to look at how that worked out.

regards.

Ugh. Is there anything more tiresome than rich white people who go to India and "find themselves." It was Thailand a decade ago; I guess it's back to India now.

I really don't understand why people are so gung-ho about the caste system in Hinduism. As if Shia, Sunni, Ahmadi, Deobandi aren't castes in Islam?
Hinduism is an ultra-tolerant religion, except those few idiots such as RSS or ABVP whose pseudo-hinduism is tarnishing the image of the religion. Trust me, not many subscribe to their policies especially after the Godhra and Babri masjid massacre, many Hindus have got a change of heart. Really that smudge of Godhra always haunts us.. my head will always hang in shame for those 2 despicable incidents..
Allasboy's comments shows the total lack of respect and knowledge of Hinduism.. yes, Hindus do worship Ganesha (the dude with the Elephant head) and 6-armed sista (probably Kali) and I admit that Hinduism has thousands of gods to worship to.. but this only shows the enormity and tolerance of the religion in which anybody can follow the god of his own choice.. its unfortunate that many Hindus have linked their superstitions to the religious affairs but which religion doesn't have superstitions? What about 'kill-yourself-and-get-martyrdom' and 'kill-all-non-believers' or the concept of "kafirs'? Aren't these baseless things touching the precinct of superstition? But really.. I am not blaming the whole Islamdom for these select few vicious suicide-seeking idiots.. because I firmly believe there is an intelligent, peace loving and respectful muslim out there who really cares about his and other religion..
Someone rightly said that Hinduism is a big open-sourced code in which anyone can include or delete his or her beliefs. It has nothing to do with turning vegetarian either. You will find lot many Hindus savoring non-veg dishes here in India.

Please read more about Hinduism in this article -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-schrei/the-god-project-hinduism_b_486099.html

That's nice for her.....give her something to do.

Surprise surprise a few dozen rage filled invectives following the article that people have chosen to read. Haven't you people heard of YouTube?

As I understand it one does not need to 'convert' to Hinduism any more than one would have to convert to existentialism, as it is more like a philosophy than it is like Theistic, Abrahamic religions. A person who identifies themselves as a Hindu is free to practise other faiths with no penalty and whilst many Hindus believe the fantastical stories of blue-skinned/elephant-headed Gods etc others, including Gandhi, see the tales as allegorical fables on the meaning of life and correct behaviour.

Whilst the caste system itself is a deeply troubling concept for us non-racists (as it was also for 'spin off' faiths of Sikhs and Buddhism who did not take the concept when they cherry-picked what they wanted from Hinduism) many of the concepts and fundamental beliefs of Hinduism are perfectly beautiful and far preferable in my view than the right and wrong, black and white, good and evil thinking of the Abrahamic faiths.

Gosh, this is very contemptuous of Hinduism isn't it? Presumably a nod to the Smart New Atheism that English and American people seem to like so much. Badly done Guardian, badly done.

awful article, awful actress and, in general, god-awful comments.

or should i say multiple-god-awful comments.

Oh silly. Just because you don't happen to like Botox doesn't mean you can't have it injected into your face.

Are we going to see Hollywood stars bathing in the Ganges? Really?

Wow. What an absolutely witless, derisive and rude article.

It will be much easier for her to set foot in Bollywood in the near future. Anyway, I will still go see her movies whether it is from Hollywood or Bollywood.