Books that guided a Muslim debater Farhan Qureshi to Hinduism

Farhan Qureshi is a  former Muslim. He was born a US citizen and used to participate in religious debates representing Islam. His parent were Ahmadi Muslims . Farhan converted to mainstream Islam  and  started to participate in religious debates representing Islam and defending its doctrines. During this time the general consensus of those of us who knew Farhan was this: “It’s only a matter of time before Farhan leaves Islam. He’s too good a guy to keep defending these teachings.”

Soon he realised the contradicting nature of Islamic doctrines and started to explore different belief systems in pursuit of spiritual progress. Farhan’s search lead him to Advait vedanta philosophy of Sanatan Dharma . He is spiritual seeker practicing Yoga, meditation and a admirer of Advaita vedanta philosophy.

It is interesting to note this largely non-existent(mainly due to tough apostasy laws of killing who leave Islam) and relatively new trend of people who are leaving Islam and finding solace and guidance with those who have already done so. Farhan has interviewed many including Egyptian Yogi Amir Mourad, Ex-Muslim Abdullah Sameer, Ex-Muslim Kenan, Arab Yogi Ayman Al-Khatib,Ex-Muslim Sarmad Ahmad , Maulana Mehboob Ali who  became Pandit Mahender Pal Arya and many more. This small group has shown a lot of courage and has come forward facing a lot of odds and are trying to actually create a difference today against this medieval mindset of estranged extremists in Islam.

Farhan , here in this video  he explains the role of books which led him to our own Sanatan Dharma rich heritage . Apart from this farhan also wrote a thank you note to Ali Sina’s website faithfreedom.org. In his own words,” I want to thank Ali Sina for giving me the platform to explore Islam and to expose its primitive nature as incompatible with contemporary reality unless and until Muslims choose to reform it.”

Farhan’s search journey for his spiritual upliftment is a great example for many ailing souls who want to break free from the shackles of traditional dogma based religious taboos  and need a ray of shimmering ray of light of hope.

Farhan is a prominent figure amongst many of disillusioned Muslims converting to Hinduism. Although religious conversion has never been his aim, he now helps people to see the broader spiritual perspective and more embracing nature of Sanatan Dharma. His conversion to Hinduism is only a natural outcome of his logical thinking and more humane facet of his spirituality seeker soul.

Although there are  organizations which work on agenda of , how to convert Muslim to Hindu? Farhan’s approach is very different. He only helps people to find the right path of spirituality.  Natural outcome of this approach, more often than not,  is that most of the people end up saying “I want to convert to Hinduism”. Conversion or not is not that big issue but becoming more embracing and more caring of the rest of the humanity is more important. Which is the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ of Vedas,  meaning the whole world is a family.

Farhan has found the treasure of Vedanta & Yoga and is free from shackles of religion which were imposed on hs free thinking. His journey  of leaving islam and finding is true path(I wont say faith as we say in India every system of dharma as panth or path) is inspiring to everyone. Farhan is actively helping out others to find their  own path and is  a guiding angles to many.

Let’s hear him out in this video below :

Here the books mentioned by Farhan. These books are from authorized sellers and helps the writers to their rightly share of earnings on their work.

(1.) Shankara’s Crest-Jewel of Discrimination: Timeless Teachings on Nonduality – The Vivekachudamani:

A classic text on the path to God through knowledge. The basic teaching is that God alone is the all-pervading reality; the individual soul is none other than the universal soul.

According to Shankara, it is the ignorance of our real nature that causes suffering and pain. The desire for happiness is essentially a longing to awaken to who and what we truly are.

Through the path of self-knowledge, Shankara clearly teaches how to awaken from ignornce created by the mind, and abide in the peace of our true nature.

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(2.) The Bhagavad Gita with The Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya:

Adi Sankara’s is the earliest extant commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.The text of the Gita as cited by him has come down to the centuries as the authentic text and this commentary of his proved to be of seminal value ever since.

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(3.) Man and His Symbols by Carl G. Jung:

Man and His Symbols is the last work undertaken by Carl Jung before his death in 1961. First published in 1964, it is divided into five parts, four of which were written by associates of Jung: Marie-Louise von Franz, Joseph L. Henderson, Aniela Jaffé, and Jolande Jacobi. The book, which contains numerous illustrations, seeks to provide a clear explanation of Jung’s complex theories for a wide non-specialist readership.

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(4.) The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell:

The Power of Myth is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist Bill Moyers. It remains one of the most popular series in the history of American public television.

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(5.) Gods in Everyman: Archetypes That Shape Men’s Lives by Jean Shinoda Bolen M.D.:

Jean Shinoda Bolen introduces men’s inner patterns in the guise of eight archetypal gods. From the authoritarian, power-seeking gods (Zeus, Poseidon) to the gods of creativity (Apollo, Hephaestus), from the sensual Dionysus to Hermes, the communicator and archetype of the man on the move, Dr. Bolen shows men how to identify their ruling gods, how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes in order to enrich and strengthen their lives. She stresses the importance of understanding which gods you are attracted to and which are incompatible with your expectations, uncovers the origins of the often-difficult father-son relationship, and explores society’s deep conflict between nurturing behavior and the need to foster masculinity.

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(6.) Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives by Jean Shinoda, M.D. Bolen:

Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives, is a classic work of female psychology that uses seven archetypcal goddesses as a way of describing behavior patterns and personality traits is being introduced to the next generation of readers with a new introduction by the author.

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(7.)Being Different : An Indian Challenge To Western Universalism by Rajiv Malhotra:

Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism is a 2011 book by Rajiv Malhotra, an Indian-American author, philanthropist and public speaker, published by HarperCollins. The book reverts the gaze of the western cultures on India, repositioning India from being the observed to the observer, by looking at the West from a Dharmic point of view.

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Links about Farhan Qureshi
https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Farhan_Qureshi_(former_Muslim)

Farhan’s Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC41D0BX5g6qKQfyZ54YbbyA