Sanatan Dharma

 

The origin of Sanatan Dharma is shrouded in the long history of human civilization with its roots going back to 10,000 BC and its scriptures dating back to 7,000 BC. The uniqueness of Sanatan Dharma is that it did not develop from the teachings of a singular founder. Not only the Sanatan Dharma does not have a founder it does not either has one single headquarters or one hierarchy. It has diverse traditions owing to continuous evolution over the long span of time. For this reason, Sanatan Dharma does not adhere to a single text as it has multiple complementing and supplementing sacred scriptures.

Sanatan Dharma is conveniently designated as Hindu Dharma which only denotes the geographical location where it evolved, between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, and this designation do not necessarily denotes its theology rooted in Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and the series of treatises of venerable sages.

The most sacred texts of Sanatan Dharma are the Vedas, the fountains and confluence of divine wisdoms and spiritual perceptions, which are considered self-manifested, whose author is none. Everything said in the Vedas are revered as the words of God and they are the complete knowledge science. Following the Vedas, there came Upanishads –the Vedanta, Puranas, the great epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, many treatises of great Rishis including Yoga Sutras. The Vedas, as knowledge science, are eternal as they were true in the past as it is at present and will remain true in the future.

Sanatan Dharma is deeply engrained in the culture, the life style which has enabled it to survive every attempt to debase and desecrate. The original tradition of teacher-disciple (Guru-Sisya) has continued undisturbed in which the accomplished teachers pass on the sacred knowledge to the disciples.

The essential of Sanatan Dharma is that God is one and many. The many Gods are the manifestations in form of the single supreme divine, the Brahman, the God Head, the transcendental universal consciousness, who has no form.

The universal teaching of Sanatan Dharma is seeing the same Self -the Atman in others, honoring the earth as divine mother, recognizing the multi-dimensional cosmos and its divine power within us and having no theology of exclusivism or conversion.

The followers of Sanatan Dharma believe that God –the universal divine consciousness pervades and transcends all phenomenal existence. It means in every being the divine being is inherently present and that is the soul, the individual self, the Atma, the expansion of the supreme divine. The intrinsic nature of Atma is goodness, purity and all refined qualities. It is the spiritual essence at the deepest level of individual existence.

To our mind the appearance of the phenomenal existence is so convincing that it creates Maya, delusion in mind which in turn directs the mind to serve the senses for enjoying sense subjects and object. This out flowing consciousness is a different spectrum of consciousness, the Jiva Atma –the Ego.

The illusion, the Maya born out of our physical being conceals the inner being, the Atma, the eternal and imperishable being in us which is an inactive divine being always radiating spiritual wisdom and witnessing our action in Samsara, the Karma we are performing.

The outer consciousness born out of attachment to the sensual pleasures prevents man from recognizing the divine consciousness, the inner consciousness inherently present within. This is ignorance. This ignorance compels man to believe what is not real as real and what is real remains concealed. This is Maya –the illusion.

Until we come out of this cosmic ignorance and remove the veil of Maya –the illusion and recognize the divinity inherently present within and let it govern our life, we remain in the clutch of ignorance and undergo unending suffering in Samsara.

On this backdrop the Sanatan Dharma believes that the purpose of our life is to understand the cosmic design and convince our outer consciousness to relinquish the falsity of the material nature, the outer conscious, the ego and embrace the spiritual wisdom of Atma and let it prevail in the entirety of our being.

The Sanatan Dharma is immutable from the people who practice it continuously assimilates scientific, logical, philosophical, geographical, economical, social and topical circumstances having relevance across time and space. The strength of Sanatan Dharma is its merits of tolerance, generosity, respect and the sense of oneness and inclusivity. It respects all religions with magnanimity with same sense of equanimity and with full awareness that the same divine transcends the whole of the phenomenal existence. The supreme merit is its faith of Karma which tells the righteousness of one’s action with full devotion and perseverance enables man to realise oneness with God.

Sanatan Dharma is neither monotheistic nor is it polytheistic. At highest level the Supreme God is Brahmn, the supreme oneness, not yet manifested, and formless having undefined nature for any definition of Brahmn is a mistaken view. But in forms, in manifested level, there is a pantheon of Gods and goddesses and a plethora of enlightened and semi-enlightened deities. From among the vast number of Gods and goddesses, and deities, a Hindu, a follower of Sanatan Dharma, has the individual freedom to choose one and worship with full reverence to all others. What transcend through are the core values, belief in Supreme God Head –the Brahmn, the law of Karma, and the life after death. Within the broad spiritual spectrum the traditions of rituals, ceremonies and rites are consistent across the diverse practitioners.

In Sanatan Dharma; Moktsa or Nirvana is attained with the union of the individual soul, the self, the Atma and the universal soul –the universal self, the Brahmn, the Param Atma, the oneness above duality.

Sanatan Dharma is a result of experience of life on earth. It all began with experiencing, observing and wondering about the power of nature that triggered reverence to the nature. The Sanatan Dharma therefore evolved around the nature on earth and the terrestrial phenomenon in the space. It nurtured the knowledge on how everything is created and sustained.

In Sanatan Dharma the spiritual edicts are inferred with applying the resulting knowledge to interpersonal relationship, situation, emotion and action which triggers inward looking. Being amazed with the power of nature responsible for commanding and controlling the natural phenomenon there arose the idea of divine power. The idea then expanded on a polytheistic view of God assigning one God for every natural phenomenon. For this reason we have one God embodying every merit field. Whether one believe in God representing specific merit fields and worship or revere the merit field without considering it as god, the essence remain unchanged. 

Naturally, there came the existence of a pantheon of Gods and goddesses and people began worship Aditi (goddess of infinity -the sky, the consciousness, the past, the future and abundance), Ushas (goddess of dawn of Hope everyone waits for), Sarasvati (goddess of knowledge and wisdom), Indra (Lord of Gods and of senses of our being), Mitra (patron of divinity), Yama (God of death and Lord of justice), Rudra (one who eradicates problems from their roots, the mightiest of the mighty, the destroyer of evil, the embodiment of destruction), Prithvi (Earth), Surya (Sun), Soma (Moon), Agni (Fire), Varuna (Rain), and (Vayu (Air), and many others.

When were revealed they laid the foundation for Sanatan Dharma with immense treasures of spiritual wealth which exerted intense influence on attitude and behaviour of the people giving hope for happier life and sense of security from suffering, bewilderment and despair. It also inspired for nobility expressed in arts, architectures and better way of life. 

While the proliferation of Gods was not restrained but a Supreme Being from whom everything emanates was founded at the epitome of the pantheon with the affirmation that things cannot come out of nothing and, therefore Brahmn, God Head, the universe itself came into being. From Brahmn everything comes and into Brahmn everything dissolves. Brahmn is that one reality which appears to our ignorance as a manifold of names and forms while Brahmn remains unchanged.

The strength of Sanatan Dharma is that it allows freedom to the rational mind of man and does not demand any undue restraint upon the freedom one would like exercise. It does not force anybody to accept particular dogmas or form of worship. It allows everybody to reflect, investigate, enquire and cogitate one’s own imagination. It is within this framework of thought, Sanatan Dharma recognises multiplicity of ways of defining and redefining life and higher goal of life and it reveres individual spiritual experience, reflects the local traditions and the numinous power draws closer to the sacred encouraging people to lead a good moral life. 

Sanatan Dharma evolved with firm faith that its purpose is to obtain the good things of life and secure a better life next time. The notion of life after death and carryover effect of one’s actions in this life to the next shaped the philosophy of Karma that continued to evolve over a long period of time. It is with the philosophy of Karma the idea of Moktsa –liberation from Samsara –the cycle of repeated birth and death was founded. 

The uniqueness of Sanatan Dharma is that it does not look God outside one’s own being. It endeavours for realizing the divine in one’s own being and internalize the entire plethora of Gods as embodiment of the source of inspiration and seeks God deep within in the realms of the human consciousness. 

Although the notion of Karma –the action and its repercussion was considered with right understanding, the presence of supernatural power beyond the scope human imagination remained integral. It thus let to practicing rituals to win over the favour of the supernatural power which have the good things of life in their gift and forgiveness of guilty.

With the influence of Vedas, it was affirmed that everything that is born eventually dies and born again, and the vicious cycle of birth and death continues without end. Behind this phenomenon the Vedas affirmed that there is something which is not born and does not die but remain timeless the unchanging reality, not a being but a principle, not He but It.  It is Brahmn, the ‘sacred’ from which everything comes out and to which everything dissolves. 

The Sanatan Dharma, as it continued to evolve, established that true goal of life in existence is to escape from the wheel of successive lives and merge with the Absolute, the Brahmn. This is possible because Brahmn exists within each human being as the innermost self, the soul, called Atma. With the sacred verse, the Mantra, ‘Thou art That’, it is summed up that the human soul, the self, the Atma and Brahmn, the Absolute are identical. The realization of this truth is the key to achieving liberation from life in the world. This enormously powerful and inspiring idea became the central theme of Sanatan Dharma.  With this faith and belief in place the main thrust of Sanatan Dharma was placed on the search for liberation –Moktsa from the cycle of birth and death called Samsara –the world of suffering. 

In Sanatan Dharma, the law of Karma is naturally linked to the wheel of existence which says that the manner with which the present life is lived determines the kind of life and experience one will have in the future life. In this context the law of Karma says those who do good experience happiness and those who do evils experience suffering.

With time there came the era of Upanishad(s) –the Vedanta(s) –the sacred meaning of Vedas which gave strong impetus to the principles of renunciation and non-violence. It was said that if the goal of life is to gain liberation from the existence in Samsara, then the apparent way of escape is to renounce the attachment to Samsara. It is argued that by living a benevolent life practicing the principle of non-violence, doing no harm to others, one will be able achieve the highest state of being. 

With Upanishads in place the practice of appeasement of Gods with sacrifices was devalued and the practice of sacrifices offered for pleasing the Gods for fortunes of abundance continued to decline to the extent many of the Gods were completely forgotten or remain as tutelary entities. Also the importance of heaven was no longer considered the eternal world of abundance but a temporary resting place between one life on earth and the next if merit is earned.

With Upanishads the definition of God too got transformed. Upanishads defined Gods as the ultimate embodiment of inspiration, the pure spirit endowed with all spiritual nature. In this context it is said that seeking God and realizing it in every thought, emotion and action is Dharma.

Though magnanimous, it was difficult for people to love impersonal absolute Brahmn and be one with it losing one’s cherished identity, the I. To suit the mental ability of the people at large, the way of Bhakti –devotion came in which considered God as the impersonal absolute but also a merciful person.

The practice of Bhakti, the devotion, gives us the notion of love god, fear God and live a disciplined life. It also gives the meaning that ultimate absorption of the soul in God does not mean loss of personal identity. Krishna clarifies this by saying “He who sees me everywhere, who sees all in me, for him I am not lost, nor is he lost to me.”

Sanatan Dharma fits well to call it henotheistic, polytheistic, and monotheistic. Since it is developed along the course of civilization it is engrained in the culture and tradition, and the nature the people. It has no concept of conversion and people inherit Sanatan Dharma by birth however it is open for anyone who is convinced of its merit to embrace it on one’s wish.

Among all canonical sacred scriptures of Sanatan Dharma, Rigveda is the oldest text and stand tall. It deeply influenced the life of the people and thus the social behaviour encompassing entire gamut of human life giving way for higher studies. It has established the social norms on such matters as the worship of the gods, marriages and funeral rites.

Since time memorial the teaching of Rig Veda was preserved orally within the walls of the culture and tradition until it was written down in 300 BC. The sacred verses, the Mantras of the Rigveda are the hymns of the Gods, praising them for their help for such benefits as wealth, good health, long life, protection, victory and blessings. It narrates morality, right societal behaviour, rightful duties and universal harmony and peace.

It is Rigveda that establishes the idea of God and Gods and its most powerful Mantras says: “Reverence to God above all Gods who gave us life whose shadow is death. May he not hurt us who by his nature begets heaven and hell! May he beget righteousness in us and make us the lord of merits endowed with abundance.

Reverence to him who is existent (sat –truth, eternal) with the body of non-existents (asat –unreal, impermanent)! Immortal is he but the nature of him by which everything comes to being is mortal. You are he who put the first seed of desire in the mind of ours. With your grace may we have the wisdom that establishes connection of non-existent to existent.

May you sanctify our mind, our heart and our intellect, and with your blessing we delight in worshipping you with wholeness of our being. May we fix all our desires on the fruits of good works that are bountiful, harmony, peace and happiness!

With your blessing may there be increase in our intelligence and understanding of both sat and asat, and the connection between the two. You are the utter destroyer of our enemies. May you be on our side, be our preserver and be our monarch. Drive away our adversaries and let no one rule over us.”