Question
Can a non-Indian person trust Sanatan Dharma, follow it and so become Hindu?
Answer
The proof of the pudding is in eating. Find out about Sister Nivedita who was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. Her European name is Margaret Noble. So the answer to your question is a resounding yes.
A good discussion is in wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Nivedita
I am posting some excerpts about Sister Nivedita.
'Great things can be done by great sacrifices only!' averred Vivekananda. Nivedita - the Dedicated One - his illustrious disciple, did exactly that. She sacrificed her people, her country and her culture, to devote every breadth of her life for the cause she loved - at the command of her Guru, her mentor - serving India and its people. She showed Indians how to be truly Indian. She made the Hindus feel a few inches taller, by her overflowing love and admiration, for Hinduism which she vigorously propagated, a la Vivekananda!
Margaret Elizabeth Noble - that was her original name - was born at Dungannon (Ireland) on October 28, 1867. Rev. Samuel Richmond Noble and Mary Isabel were her parents. ........
Though she was deeply religious by nature and loved Jesus with all her heart, the Christian doctrines of the Church did not satisfy her spiritual hunger. Though the life and teachings of the Buddha, which she happened to read at that time, brought some solace to her troubled soul, the inner turbulence continued, leaving many a question unanswered.
It was at this critical juncture of her love that she learnt of the arrival of a 'Hindu Yogi' whose discourses and personality had started casting a spell as it were, on the Londonites.
Vivekananda visited England twice, the second visit being a much larger one. By listening to his talks and getting her doubts cleared through searching questions, for which she got scintillating answers, Margaret was now fully convinced of Vivekananda's greatness and accepted him as her spiritual Master.
One day, when he was talking of his plan of work which included the upliftment of Indian women through proper education and training, and hinted that she could be of great help in the same, she felt an inner urge to accept the call.
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As per the direction of her teacher, she started in her newly acquired house in the same area, a school for girls. It was inaugurated by no less a person than the Holy Mother herself on the auspicious day (13th November 1898), Vivekananda and other members of the Ramakrishna Order also being present.
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A severe epidemic of plague broke out in Calcutta in March 1899. As per the directions of Swami Vivekananda, Nivedita, with the help of some Swamis and volunteers, organised relief work excellently, thereby earning the gratitude of the people of the city. This was the maiden relief work of the Ramakrishna Mission.
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Continuous travelling and hard work told upon her frail health. She fell seriously ill, once in 1905 and again in 1911. She passed away peacefully on the 13th October 1911, at Darjeeling.
The place where her mortal remains were cremated, has a memorial with this inscription:
Here Repose the Ashes of Sister Nivedita (Margaret E. Noble) of the Ramakrishna Vivekananda, who gave her all to India. 13 October 1911.
Nivedita was a prolific writer. There are fifteen books penned by her which have been brought out as a set of volumes under the general title:
The Complete Works of Sister Nivedita Vol. I to IV during her centenary year (1967). Out of them the two books - The Master as I saw him and Notes on some wanderings with the Swami Vivekananda
- give us a fascinating picture of the great Swami.
If India is free today, the credit for inspiring her national leaders of the freedom movement, goes as much to Nivedita as to her guru, Swami Vivekananda.
A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2, Swami Harshananda
A picture of the girl's school founded by Sister Nivedita
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