Hinduism is the world's oldest religion according to many, many, scholars, with roots and customs
dating back more than 4,000 years. Today, with about 900 million followers, Hinduism is the
third largest religion behind Christianity and Islam. Roughly 95% of the world's Hindus live in
India. Undoubtedly, some of the followers of this religion will be celebrities. So, in this video, I
will be talking about 10 surprising celebrities who practice the religion of Hinduism. Hey!Hey! FTD Facts
family. It's been a minute since you've seen my face. I've missed you guys so much. I
hope you've missed me too. And I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, wherever you are in the
world right now. I also hope you're as excited as I am for this video. so before I get started, let's
make things clear. Hinduism has been described as a way of life rather than simply just a religion.
The teachings of Hinduism have always accepted people from all over the world. While Apple's Steve
Jobs, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg have said to have visited India to seek spirituality, many, many
Hollywood stars, as well as other international celebrities have converted to Hinduism after
getting fascinated by this religion. So, one of the early converts to Hinduism, and perhaps the
most well known is George Harrison. The Beatles singer converted from Christianity to Hinduism in the
mid-1960s. According to an article on "ThoughtCo." Harrison continued to embrace the Hare
Krishna tradition. Particularly, Japa-Yoga chanting with beads. And became a lifetime devotee. He was
also a vegetarian on religious grounds from 1968 until his death. Harrison was quoted to
say, "through Hinduism, I feel like a better person. I just get happier and happier." He said, "I now feel
that I'm unlimited and I'm more in control." In 1966, Harrison traveled to India to study the
sitar with Pandit Ravi Shankar. In search of social and personal liberation, he met Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi, which prompted him to give up LSD and take up meditation. In the summer of 1969, The Beatles
produced the single "Hare Krishna Mantra" performed by, Harrison and the devotees of the Radha - Krishna
Temple, which ended up topping the 10 best-selling record charts throughout the U.K, Europe, and Asia. number
9 is Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor. He's said to have been initiated to Hinduism
through meditation. Although, there aren't many details about how and what attracted Brand to
Hinduism, his Hindu wedding in Rajasthan to singer, Katy Perry in October 2009, gathered a lot of
attention. The two reportedly exchanged their vows in front of 80 guests at the exclusive Aman-i-Khas
resort near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan. The couple had booked 21 camels,
and an assortment of elephants and horses for the marriage procession, hosted a Bollywood themed party
for their guests, had the Indian wedding procession, and even incorporated Vedic Chanting in their
ceremony. Unfortunately though, the two divorced after 14 short months. "Perhaps consciousness itself
comes from there. Or, perhaps there's some corollary between God, creation, consciousness. That's what I'm
arguing, but you don't need to worry about that." At number 8, is Oscar-winning actress, Julia Roberts
who also converted to Hinduism. She's known to visit the temple in LA with her husband Daniel Moder
and their children, to chant, pray, and celebrate on a regular basis. The Hollywood actress had actually
secretly converted when she visited India, to shoot her film "Eat, Pray, Love." Paparazzi
following Roberts, had photographed her wearing her spiritual guru Swami Shri Dharam at the Ashram Hari
Mandir in Pataudi, when she was seen wearing a garland and red tikka on her forehead. Julia is now
very open about her faith in Hinduism and has even openly said, "I'm definitely a practicing Hindu. I've
been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. In my next life, I want to be just something
quiet and supporting after the stresses of my celebrity lifestyle." "I didn't suddenly make
this movie and start practicing Hinduism. It's just something that's been part of my life for
a very long time. At number 7 is Meera Jasmine who is one of the few Malayalam actresses to
have got a star value similar to that of her male counterpart. From her very first film, she
managed to work her charm on every audience that watched her. However, she was found in the middle
of the controversy as she was found entering a Temple that was prohibited to non-Hindus, and
performed pooja there. Although she has not officially converted to Hinduism, Meera has continued her
faith in the Hindu rituals, and has often stated that Matha Amritananthamai was behind her success. Number 6, is
Heather Joan Graham, who was born in January 20, 1970, and is an American actress, director, and writer.
After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with
the teen comedy, "License to Drive," in 1988. followed by the critically acclaimed film, "Drugstore Cowboy,"
in 1989, which gained her initial industry notice. She had a Catholic upbringing, but got influenced
by the seriess director, David Lynch, to follow Hinduisn as her religion, and practice meditation.
In addition, she is now a public advocate for "Children International," and even supported the
climate change campaign "Global Cool," in 2007. Okay guys, we're down to the last five facts of this
video. But, before I go on I want to make sure you click that subscribe button! Give us a big thumbs
up. Make sure you have your Bell notifications turned on to be notified of our videos all the
time. Do it right now, I'm watching you! At number 5 is Mr. Jackman one of the legendary actors of
Hollywood, who has always shown love towards India and Hindu culture. He's a big fan of the Bollywood
superstar Shahrukh Khan, and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. As always guys, make sure to
leave comments down below, if I'm pronouncing any of these names inappropriately. His love for Hindu
tradition was obvious when in an interview he said, "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
when I was growing up in a church. Fired 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." At number four is Ricky Williams, who's had an interesting career in football, including big
highlights, but, some horrible lows, and an early retirement. Williams found solace in his Hindu
practice, finding a spirituality that brought him out of retirement and back to football. He
teaches Yoga, maintains a vegetarian lifestyle, and uses a Hindu based healing method to recover from
injuries. Reports indicate that he is a changed man and he credits that to his spirituality of Hinduism.
At number 3 is the rapper, Maya also known as M.I.A, who is a Hindu of Sri Lankan descent. When
she was six months, old her family moved to Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka where her brother Sugu,
was born. There, her father had adopted the name Arular, and became a political activist and founding
member of the EROS which is a political Tamil group. She has practiced Hinduism all her life,
and her belief has permeated her career. And that's very evident too. You'll see in her fashion and hear it
in her songs and lyrics. She has been supportive of her native country by donating for victims of
the wars there, and has also made the building of schools in impoverished countries, a large part of
her life. "The thing is, you don't tend to talk about all the intricacies of what it takes to fight for
every single thing and..." At number 2 is Louis Banks who's an Indian film composer, record producer,
keyboardist, and singer. He has often been referred to as "The Godfather of Indian Jazz." Louis Banks was
born to Indian Gorkha parents, Sarswati and George banks, in his hometown of Darjeeling. His
early music education was at the hands of his father, Pushkar Bahadur, a Nepalese trumpeter
moved to Calcutta in the early 1940s to join a European band in the city. His grandfather Bakhat Bahadur Budapirti
had composed the Nepalese national anthem which was the official anthem from 1962 - 2006.
It seems like it was something in their genetics that really made them huge artists.
Because Louis banks was raised in an Indian household with Hinduism as the traditional belief,
he continued to practice that faith since then. At number 1, the last one on our list is Miley Cyrus.
As you guys probably know, she's a huge pop artist in Hollywood. But, something that many people don't
know is that she actually adheres to the ancient belief system of Hinduism. It is said that Miley
Cyrus realized that practicing Hinduism can be the ideal thing for her. The world knows Cyrus
as a pop sensation with racy lyrics, but those in her inner circle, will know that she's an
avid worshipper. In fact, not long ago, she shared a picture of Lakshmi Pooja in her house for better
finances. She shared the picture of the whole setup on her Instagram account, and even captioned the
picture with " #FruitBowl...over super #Offering." Okay guys, that's all I have for you for
this episode. As you can see, Hinduism has obviously impacted many, many, many, many people's lives all
around the world, including celebrities as well. But not only did it impact celebrities in their
way of living, and learn lifestyle choices, but it's also caused them to get permanent tattoos
on their body to represent that faith. - Like Maroon 5s Adam Levine, and even Katy Perry. In any case, it
seems to be that the statement of "it's a way of life, not a religion," is very, very, true. Let
me know in the comments down below if you happen to practice this faith, or if you know anyone who
practices this faith, or anything interesting that you know about this faith. Before you leave though,
I'm gonna leave you with a video that you have to check out! Trust me you don't want to miss
this one. Oh! And make sure to check out my Instagram and YouTube channel down below to
see what I've been up to. I really look forward to seeing you guys in our next episode. Bye! you