Filipino woman marries Tamil man, embraces Hinduism

Chennai, May 25: A 33-year old Filipino woman on Monday embraced Hinduism, after her recent marriage to a Tamil Man, in a simple ceremony held here.

"She was administered some basic rituals which signified the underlying belief system of Hinduism," Rama Ravikumar of Hindu Makkal Katchi who facilitated the ceremony said.

Philippines national Myra Sagun Guerrero and Srinivasan Santosh Kumar, a native of Tamil Nadu, both work in Singapore and they got married here on May 8.

"I embraced Hinduism for its outlook of life, culture, and philosophy," Myra Sagun Guerrero told PTI after she converted to Hinduism at an ancient Shaivite mutt here.

Guerrero has now assumed the name of Sandhya and said she would like to "go deep...like doctrine of Karma" rather than confining only to aspects like rituals.

"Yes, in due course, I would like to study more...I am impressed deeply," she said in reply to a query. Santosh Kumar, working as a shipping yard supervisor in Singapore said he was not sure initially if he should concur with her wish to embrace Hinduism.

"I hesitated and even in our marriage registration papers I marked her faith as Christian," he added.

"I was however convinced later that Guerrero had an abiding interest in Hindu thought and way of life," Kumar said, adding, they knew each other for more than five years.

"I thought, I should support her wish to formally embrace Hinduism and I consented," he said.

The Filipino woman was struck by the grandeur and divinity of temples of Tamil Nadu when she first visited them some years ago, Santosh Kumar said. The duo are set to go back to Singapore after a sojourn.

PTI