By Admin 
AR Rahman is a very popular composer of India. But do you know that AR Rahman was actually born as Dilip Kumar Rajagopala in Madras. However, this iconic musician had adopted Sufism. He kept the name ‘Rahman’ on the suggestion of a Hindu astrologer. In a recent interview, he revealed why he embraced Sufism. AR Rahman also told how he has studied all religions and he respects all religions.
‘There is a problem with killing others in the name of religion’
In fact, AR Rahman said on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, “I am a fan of all religions and I have studied Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. One of my problems is killing or harming others in the name of religion. I love to entertain, and when I perform, I feel as if it is a pilgrimage site, and we are all enjoying the unity. People of different religions, different languages.” The speakers all come there together.”
Explaining the reason for his attraction towards Sufism, Rahman said, “Sufism is like dying before you die. There are certain veils that force you to introspect, and to remove those veils you have to be destroyed. Lust, greed, jealousy or condemnation, they all have to die. Your ego goes away, and then you become transparent like God.” He said that he likes the fact that these religions are different, but they also have a similarity.
equality of faith is choice
He said, “What I like is the equality of faith. We may follow different religions, but the sincerity of faith is what is measured. This is what inspires us to do good work. This benefits humanity. We all should be spiritually prosperous, because when spiritual prosperity comes, material prosperity also comes with it.”
Why did AR Rahman adopt Sufism?,
He said, “On the path of Sufism, no one is forced to convert. You only follow it when it comes from your heart… The Sufi path uplifted both my mother and me spiritually and we felt it was the best path for us, so we embraced Sufi Islam. No one around us cared about conversion. We were musicians and that gave us more social independence.”