001_ What is Sanatana Dharma-Edited (1).docx

**WHAT IS SANATANA DHARMA** In today's world, the terms Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma are synonymous. As one may be familiar, Hinduism is not a term of native etymology. It is an English word. It has many theories behind its origin. The most popular one is that the word 'Hindu' may have come from th...

**WHAT IS SANATANA DHARMA** In today's world, the terms Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma are synonymous. As one may be familiar, Hinduism is not a term of native etymology. It is an English word. It has many theories behind its origin. The most popular one is that the word 'Hindu' may have come from the word 'Sindhu', of the Sindhu (Indus) river, to denote the group of people who lived on its banks. The people who followed Sanatana Dharma were hence perceived as Hindus by the rest of the world, and the faith to which the Hindus subscribed to was labelled Hinduism. In any case, Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma cannot have a geographical or political definition. Because the substratum of this identity is the timeless and universal laws that always remain whether we see it or not, understand or not, accept or not. Sadguru Mata Amritanandamayi or Amma often reveals this with an analogy. In Science we learn about gravity. Gravity was always there. It was there before its discovery by Newton, it is there now, and it will be there tomorrow if mankind forgets it. Hence it is an eternal law or rule or nature of the world we live in. In the same way, Sanatana Dharma are eternal laws or are essential nature of the world we live in. And the term 'Sanatana Dharma' means exactly that. In Samskrita Vyakaranam or etymology of sanskrit words, 'Sana' means 'Always' and 'tana' means 'that which is there'. Hence Sanatana Dharma means 'Dharma that which is always there'. Then what does Dharma mean? This understanding can give us more clarity. In Samskrita Vyakaranam, *'dhr dharane iti dharma'*. Dharma is that which upholds. This definition is also revealed to us by Maharshi Veda Vyasa in Mahabharata. **धारणाद्धर्ममित्याहुर्धर्मो धारयति प्रजाः॥** **यः स्याद्धारणसंयुक्तः स धर्म इति निश्चयः॥** **Mahabharata, BORI, 8.01.50** *"Dharma is that which supports and holds together all beings in this universe.* *There it is Dharma that ensure the wellness and progress of all beings"* Hence, Sanatana Dharma means the perpetual Dharma, that ensures the sustenance of all beings and the universe. This religion, as is popularly labelled, reveals such laws to us. And here these laws have been discovered by ancient seers known as Rishis. In today's jargon we can say that the Rishis were expert researchers, who discovered this Sanatana Dharma that sustained the world. One may argue! *"What is then the need to know of it? Whether we know it or not, it is there, and the universe is upheld by it."* Every being, other than mankind, can live only according to Dharma. It cannot deviate. Only mankind has the discrimination and discernment or Viveka to understand and see Dharma as the law of Nature. And only mankind can choose to deviate from Dharma and disrupt it. Hence it is essential that he understand what Dharma is! Therein lies the responsibility for every individual to understand Dharma. Amma often reminds us of this. "Prakriti, Samskriti, Vikriti" All beings are limited to its Prakriti, the inherent nature by which it is born. Mankind has the option of Samskriti, to refine himself from his natural state or of Vikriti, to deteriorate. It is his choice! So, how do we take up Dharma, and live accordingly? A popular advice from Taitthiriya Upanishad suggests - "Satyam Vada, Dharmam Cara" *"Speak the truth. Practise dharma."* What does Satyam or Truth here mean? How do we understand Dharma here, for us to apply in our daily life? In Mahabharata, Maharshi Narada opines, **सत्यस्य वचनं श्रेयः सत्यादपि हितं भवेत्** **यद्भूतहितमत्यन्तमेतत्सत्यं मतं मम** **Mahabharata, BORI, 12.316.13** *"There is nothing that is superior to the truth. Truthful words are the best.* *However, beneficial words are preferable to the truth.* *It is my view that whatever brings great benefit to the world is the truth."* Commonly we understand 'Satya' as, 'that which happened'. And that which has happened from our point of view is the 'Satya' to us. But here we come across another definition. 'Satya' here is defined as 'Bhutahitam', 'that which is beneficial to the world'. Most of the time we are torn between 'that which happened' from our point of view, and the repercussions of conveying it as it is. Here is where we need to think about 'bhutahitam'. This definition solves our many confusions. We have come across many accounts in the itihasa-puranas where one deviates from 'that which happened' in the name of Dharma. We would have faced many situations in our own life as well, where we faced such dichotomy. Once, there was a Brahmin named Satyavrata. He was called so because of his unerring vow to always speak the truth. He was cursed to be born dumb, and blessed that even though born this way, he will become a great Muni by the blessings of Saraswati Devi. One day, while sitting alone, a hunter happened to be preying on a boar and had injured it. The boar came running to Satyavrata's ashram for a place to hide, with eyes of sympathy. Satyavarata motioned to the boar, 'Ai... Ai...', to go inside the ashram. This was also the bījamantra of Devi without the 'm' sound, though Satyavrata did not realise this. The hunter came looking for the boar, and came upon Satyavrata. He knew of Satyavrata's vow to only speak the truth, and asked where the boar had gone off to. The hunter mentioned that this was his swadharma, and that he and his family were hungry and had no other means to eat. Satyavrata was caught in a dilemma. If he told the truth, the hunter would kill the boar. The boar's eyes implored protection from Satyavrata, and he did not think it dharma to reveal its location. On the other hand the hunter is looking for food for him and his family. He contemplated, सत्यं न सत्यं खलु यत्र हिंसा दयान्वितं चानृतमेव सत्यम् \| हितं नराणां भवतिह येन तदेव सत्यं न तथाऽन्यथैव \|\| *"If truth causes injury or loss of life, that truth is no truth at all. On the other hand untruth spoken out of mercy and for the welfare of another is considered as truth. Speaking the truth that leads to the well-being of all in this world is truth, and nothing else."* Meanwhile, Devi was pleased with him, when he said, 'Ai... Ai...' though without knowing that it was a bījamantra, blessed him with jnana, divine wisdom. Then Muni Satyavrata responded to the hunter thus, य पश्यति न सा ब्रूते या ब्रूते सा न पश्यति \| अहो व्याध स्वकर्यार्थिन्किं पृच्छसि पुनः पुनः \|\| *"That which sees cannot speak, and that which speaks cannot see. O Hunter, Why do you keep asking me, for your selfish desires?"* The disappointed hunter, left the ashram and went back to the forest. Here a definition of satyam as bhutahitam is revealed to us, isn't it. In Mahabharata, during the period of forest life, the Pandavas come across a Yaksha. A Yaksha is a divine being worthy of worship and almost as powerful as Devas. Yudhishthira engages the Yaksha and answers his questions. One of the final questions was, **"कः पन्थाः?"** *"What is the way?"* Yudhishthira answers, तर्कोऽप्रतिष्ठः श्रुतयो विभिन्ना नैको ऋषिर्यस्य मतं प्रमाणम् ⁠। धर्मस्य तत्त्वं निहितं गुहायां महाजनो येन गतः स पन्थाः ⁠।⁠।⁠ ११७ ⁠।⁠। **Mahabharata, Gita Press, Vana Parva, 117** *"Arguments / debates are inconclusive; the shastras hold diverse views, no words from any single rishi alone can be taken as pramana, dharma is hidden in darkness, the path trodden by Mahatmas is the path."* To understand Dharma, it's subtleties, is very very difficult. Only a Mahatma can truly guide us here. Adi Shankaracharya Swami also discusses in 'Prashnothari'. Kim Satyam? What is Satyam? Bhutahitam.That which is beneficial to the world. Ko Dharmah? What is Dharma? Dharma is that which is determined by the elders and the learned. Hence, when we participate in the world, speak such that your words contribute to the benefit of the world, and act so that it contributes to the healthy sustenance of this world. To ensure both, we have to depend on our elders, the wise ones around us, and the Mahatmas. To understand this, a focused study of shastras is necessary. To this end we can say that Shastras branch into two. The Itihasas, Puranas, the various teachings of Mahatmas one can learn Dharma. The Upanishads, Vedas and Brahmasutra we get the knowledge of Paramatman (Satyasya Satyam). This knowledge is obtained from Mahatmas as well. Is not a Hindu World View perceivable now. A perception of the world that is founded in Satyam, inviting everyone to live and abide by Dharma, in whatever dharmic means he / she chooses. Amma embraces millions of people, consoles them when needed, enriches their lives with love and compassion, and works tirelessly for the benefit of the world. What is Amma's world view that illuminates so much compassion from within. Amma says, **"Ennile njananu nee, Ninnile nee aanuu njan".** ***The I in myself is you, and the you in yourself is I.*** Amma constantly asks all her children to chant, **"Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu"** *"May all the beings all over the world be happy"* This is Sanatana Dharma. This Sanatana Dharma has been sought after for millennia together. Be it the ancient Greeks, the Egyptians or the Romans or the recent Indologists across Europe and America, they have all poured in tremendous effort to dip their spoons in this grand pool of wisdom. Today, Sanatana Dharma is the largest pluralistic and oldest surviving native tradition in the world. It indeed, is the largest non-semitic / non-organised religion. Today Sanatana Dharma is the largest surviving tradition that worships the creator of the universe as Goddess. In Devi Mahatmyam of Brahmandapurana, Brahma proclaims, **tvayā etad dhāryate viswam tvayā etat srjyate jagat,** **tvayā etat pālyate devi tvam atsy ante ca sarvadā** *"By you this universe is born,* *By you this universe is created,* *By you it is protected oh Devi* *And you always consume it at the end"* According to Sanatana Dharma everything and everyone is divine. As Amma often says, "Each and every being has a direct hotline to God.". No being, living or nonliving, is different from God. Hence every individual is divine, and through self-effort every individual is on her / his own path to self realisation, eternal happiness. In Sanatana Dharma eternal happiness is everyone's birthright. Sanatana Dharma offers a rich spiritual culture that actively extends to artistic, intellectual and physical tiers, engaging any person with the principles of spirituality in any area she / he chooses. This diversity within Sanatana Dharma is astounding. Anyone can easily observe that there are more traditions within Sanatana Dharma, than outside. One can further observe that, while there are disagreements among traditions within Sanatana Dharma, every single one of them has that attitude of live and let live. There is no version of Sanatana Dharma that forces another to accept it as the sole truth. There is no version of Sanatana Dharma that forces another to convert and accept its perspective of the world. Every tradition within Sanatana Dharma believes in living and letting live. trayī sāṅkhyaṃ yōgaḥ paśupatimataṃ vaiṣṇavamiti prabhinnē prasthānē paramidamadaḥ pathyamiti cha । ruchīnāṃ vaichitryādṛjukuṭila nānāpathajuṣāṃ nṛṇāmēkō gamyastvamasi payasāmarṇava iva ॥ 7 ॥ **Shiva Mahimna Stotram** *Be it Sankhya, Yoga, Shaiva or Vaishnava sampradaya or the Vedas themselves, whatever path one takes, it all leads to that state of permanent happiness, the Paramatman.* The Rgveda, the most ancient literature on philosophy available teaches us, इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान् । एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ॥ **RgVeda 1.164.46** *"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān.* *To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan."* The Shvetashvatara Upanishad tells us, एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः सर्वव्यापी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा। कर्माध्यक्षः सर्वभूताधिवासः साक्षी चेता केवलो निर्गुणश्च ॥ **SU 6.11** *"God, who is one only, is hidden in all beings. He is all-pervading, and is the inner self of all creatures. He presides over all actions, and all beings reside in Him. He is the one witness, and He is pure Consciousness free from the other Gunas of Nature."* Iśavasya Upanishad advises similarly, यस्तु सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मन्येवानुपश्यति । सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं ततो न विजुगुप्सते ॥ **Iśavasya Upanishad - 6** "*He* *who* *sees* *everything* *in* *himself* *and* *himself* *in* *everything* *never* *hates* *anything*." We can take up any of the paths in Sanatana Dharma. We should identify that path that is suitable for us, and tread that path to reach the Paramatman. And it is the Guru that helps us identify that path. Sanatana Dharma says, in reality, whether one attempts to or not, whether one is aware or not, each and every being on this planet is on the path to Paramatman. It is just that, if a path identified by the Guru is adopted, one enters the shortest path available to him / her. **LEARNING OUTCOME** 1\. Sanatana Dharma is the largest pluralistic and oldest surviving native tradition in the world. It indeed, is the largest non-semitic / non-organised religion. 2\. Every tradition within Sanatana Dharma believes in living and letting live. 3\. One must identify path that is suitable for them, and tread that path to reach the Paramatman. It is the Guru that helps us identify that path. 4\. One must understand that there is **no shortcut to success instead,** only **self-directed and lifelong learning can drive one to success.** 5\. If one adopts a path advised by the Guru, one enters the shortest path available to him / her.