The project sought to use diorama to explain the concepts of the "Bhagvad Gita." During her stay, Walker visit- ed Hindu holy places such as Mayapur near Kolkata and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. She read the "Gita," felt moved and viewed the philosophy as thoughtful and rational. She says it engages the urban mystic and sees it as inspiration.

Raised in a secular Jewish family, Walker had always felt like a stranger in a strange land.

She wasn't inspired by the culture around her and always wondered what motivated people.

She was spiritually inclined and seeking the meaning of life.

Her first look at mystic experiences was at a kosher summer camp. At 12, she became a vegetarian and eight years later, she underwent another transformation.

Hotranatha Ajaya was raised as a Pentecostal "holy roller." He loved it as a child, but as he matured into an adult and was told what he must absolutely believe, he became disenchanted.

He describes Pentecostal beliefs as offering no resolution to spiritual questions, instead scaring adherents about hell and damnation.

"It's horrible," he says.

He was looking for spiritual direction when, in 1972, he came across "Autobiography of a Yogi," the iconic book by spiritual guru Paramhansa Yogananda that introduced millions across the world to the concepts of yoga, reincarnation and karma. "It was the first thing that really caught my attention. It explained everything and the problem was resolved for me," Ajaya recalls.

"It was very cathartic. At that point, I understood that though the world wasn't fair, not everyone was going to hell." For people such as Walker and Ajaya, Hinduism, with its tolerance for diversity in belief and its different worldview, is an attractive alternative to traditional Western religion.

Though it has no set beliefs and practices, Hinduism's numerous traditions are closely related and share common themes.

It is the world's third-largest religion – there are about 900 million Hindus worldwide; 80 percent of India's population regards itself as Hindu and another 30 million Hindus live outside India.

Mihir Meghani, president of the Hindu American Foundation, a Washington based advocacy group, says Westerners are drawn to Hinduism because of its very scientific and rational nature and practices that help one understand the world and live in harmony.

The foundation, a virtual national organization not tied to a particular sect or party in India, has a membership of 2,500 households of varied backgrounds, yet sharing one philosophy; 5 percent to 10 percent of those members are non-Indian.

The foundation was established in 2004 byMeghani, suhag shukla, aseem shukla and nikhil joshi and plans to open offices soon in california and new york.

"westerners see the hindu path as being in sync with the developing worldview of nonvio lence, vegetarianism, appreciating pluralism, an innate spirituality and multiple ways to find god. their paths usually include meditation or yoga, prayer and social service to reach an elevated spiritual (level)," meghani says.

many westerners who embrace hinduism undergo a deep spiritual experience either with a guru or during a trip to india. the spiritual transformation is a conscious choice, in lin with their desire to pursue spirituality.

often called "white hindus," they are frequently more dedicated than born hindus – they give up meat, alcohol and smoking, and make frequent pilgrimages to india; they wear indian clothes, cook indian food and their children may learn an indian language, instrument or other art form.

many follow the vaishnava tradition, becoming devotees of lord krishna. nowadays, being devotee of krishna or joining th international society for krishna consciousness (iskcon), or the hare krishna movement, is not as abrupt as one might imagine.

it doesn't require a change of dress, shaved head or altering one's lifestyle drastically; as a matter of fact, devotees incorpo rate their beliefs into their lives quite easily.

easan katir says he is like mil lions in the u.s. who grew up with no formal religion. as a teen, he attended a christian science sunday school and needed to answer questions such as: "who am i?," "where did i come from?," "where am i going?" one day, at age 14, he brought hindu books to sunday school and found his teachers to be intolerant of his new religious interest. he decided not to return.

"i thought if god is merciful and just, he wouldn't arrange life so that a soul had just one chance," katir says. "it seemed very unfair to die after one life and spend eternity being punished or rewarded. it seemed primitive and didn't make sense to me. hinduism, which accepts all sincere religious effort and reveals that all souls, without exception, will eventually, through the process of reincarnation, return to god, makes much more sense." search for answers before turning to hinduism, - katir studied other religions and found many dwelt in the past.

he says he underwent what can be described as "religious experiences" and needed to understand them.

"hindu texts described my e religious experience in great detail, put it in context and outlined the path ahead," he says.

"there is no other religion that is so complete, which has something for every stage of life or religious evolution." beyond philosophy, katir was interested in practical meditation with tangible results. this he learned from sivaya subramuniyaswami, his spiritual mentor and founder of the hindu monastery in kauai, hawaii.

growing up in mexico with an italian mother and mexican father, it was no surprise syama mohini had a roman catholic upbringing. but she, too, sought answers to spiritual questions and found her religion lacking on that score. she traveled to india in 1993, visiting various temples. the first temple she vis ited was in mumbai, where she saw the hare krishnas. "i thought they had good rhythm and knew one day i would be one of them," she says. "i was impressed with the respect they offered and that everyone served a prasada, though i didn't understand it. everyone in the community is open to you." years later, while living in pittsburgh, pa., she visited a hindu temple and was just as fascinated by what she saw.

though mohini was attracted to the culture and even married an indian, she continued to be a practicing catholic. with time, she began to inquire about the hindu way of life; she read the "gita" and found answers there to many of the questions that plagued her.

like ajaya, mohini feels her catholic upbringing was focused more on sin and fear. but through krishna consciousness she realized one could love god without fear of punishment.

"punishment is nonsense!" she asserts. ajaya was 30 and teach ing at edinboro university in pennsylvania, when a few art students invited him to a yoga session, which he reluctantly attended.

if it was yoga that drew ajaya to hinduism, for yajna purusa das it was his introduction to the "gita" that was simply eye-opening.

das came to the west coast in 1987 from a town near hamburg, germany. from san francisco, he gravitated toward santa fe, n.m. during the summer he spent there, a roommate introduced him to the "gita" and the reading inspired him.

"it was deep, fresh and up-todate and i was intrigued,"das says of his first encounter with the hindu holy book. he'd had a lutheran upbringing and had dabbled in buddhism, but neither was comparable to the pull of krishna.

das traveled to new york, was drawn to a local temple and soon began a three-month training course under a senior monk.

the "gita" also inspired vaisesika prabhu, a california native with an interest in spiritualism and world religions. he was presented a copy of the "gita" and found it very satisfying and clear. he had been practicing yoga and dance, and at around age16, he discovered the hare krishna movement, which was a perfect match.

jorge bardina received his calling after he was introduced to krishna by his indian neighbors in san francisco. originally from chile, bardina was intrigued by his neighbors, their colorful clothes, happy demeanor and the photos of krishna in their home. as he got to know them and learned more about krishna, bardina says, "i was overcome by the love of god and being accepted immediately.

devotees will go to any length to help you. i was hooked." photo above, young hare krishna devotees at the new york temple. the "gita" has had an extraordinary impact on those who convert to hinduism, as is the case of yajna purusa das, right, a german native who has embraced hinduism and lives in new york.visitors meditate on during a ceremony to honor maharishi mahesh yogi, a one-time spiritual adviser to the beatles, who died last year in vlodrop, the netherlands.