Sanatana Dharma, which means the eternal or universal
tradition, is the ancient name for what we today call the Hindu
religion. It refers to a dharma, a teaching, law or truth that exists in
perpetuity, that is all-encompassing, embracing the full spectrum of
human spiritual experience, culminating in the direct realization of the
Divine as one's own true Self.
Through the course of time and human limitations, Hinduism may have
taken on various elements which do not reflect this eternal essence of
universal truth. However, the power of Sanatana Dharma continues behind
the Hindu tradition, particularly in its Yoga and Vedanta spiritual
forms, providing it with a depth, breadth and vitality that perhaps no
other spiritual tradition on Earth is able to sustain.
One can find in Hinduism all the main religious teachings of the
world from nature worship, to theism, to the formless Absolute. One can
find practices of devotion, yoga, mantra and meditation in a great
plethora of expressions, including the world's most sophisticated
spiritual philosophies of Self-realization. Hinduism is not anchored to
any single prophet, book or historical revelation that can tie down the
expanse of its vision. It does not subordinate the individual to an
outer religious authority, but encourages everyone to discover the
Divine within their own awareness.
Indeed, if one were to synthesize all the existing religions of the
world, one would end up with a teaching much like Hindu Dharma. Hinduism
has the devotional theism of western religions, the karma theory and
meditation practices of Buddhism, and the nature worship of native
traditions, all unified at a deep philosophical and experiential level
into one harmonious fabric. Hinduism appears like the common root from
which these various religious expressions have diversified or perhaps,
departed.
:: Global Sanatana Dharma and Hinduism in India ::
Yet though Hinduism has been its main expression through history,
Sanatana Dharma as a universal and eternal tradition cannot be reduced
to the forms of Hinduism or to a tradition belonging only to India.
Sanatana Dharma has counterparts in other lands and traditions. In fact,
one can argue, wherever the higher truth is recognized, that is
Sanatana Dharma, regardless of the names, forms or personalities
involved.
If we look at the ancient world prior to the predominance of western
monotheistic traditions, we find much that resembles Hinduism and
Sanatana Dharma, whether among the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians,
Greeks, Celts, Persians, Chinese or Mayas to name but a few. India is
the land in which Sanatana Dharma has taken the deepest root and
maintained its best continuity. Hinduism is the religion in which
Sanatana Dharma has best survived. But Santana Dharma is relevant to all
peoples and must be recognized throughout the world for the planet to
achieve its real potential for the unfoldment of consciousness.
One then may ask, "If Hinduism is an expression of Sanatana Dharma,
why does it appear to be limited to India like a local ethnic religion,
rather than a universal approach?" The first thing to realize in this
regard is that a universal approach will always seek to create local
forms. For example, a universal approach to diet will encourage people
to eat the local food that has the best nutritional content. It will not
emphasize the same food items for people in all lands and climates.
Sanatana Dharma will always create a great diversity of local forms,
and never aim at uniformity. Uniformity is not a sign if universality,
but of artificiality. Dharma is not a set of fixed beliefs or practices
but a way of adaptation to the living truth that is always changing in
form though one in law and principle. Even in India we see a great deal
of local diversity in how Hinduism is presented and expressed in the
different parts of the country. This variety that exists within Hinduism
is probably greater than the variety found within any other religion.
Yet through all of this diversity there remains a clear unity of Hindu
thought and culture.
Sanatana Dharma is central to the soul of India as a nation. India's
place in human history is to function as the global guru or spiritual
guide rooted in Sanatana Dharma as Sri Aurobindo once eloquently
proclaimed. The traditional culture of India is infused with yoga,
meditation and experiential spirituality of all types. This means that
India cannot flourish as a country without a recognition of Sanatana
Dharma and an honoring of its values on all levels of India's culture.
However, besides its connection to Sanatana Dharma, India has another
side, much like many other countries and cultures. There are divisive
forces that deny this dharmic cultural unity, whether in the name of
political ideologies like Marxism, other religious traditions like
Christianity and Islam, or sectarian trends within Hinduism itself. Even
in Hindu society, we too frequently see an emphasis on clan, family,
and community that overrides any greater national interests or even the
greater needs of Hinduism itself. This narrow vision can reduce Hindu
Dharma to an Indian tradition only, or it can emphasize one Hindu sect
or guru while ignoring the greater background of Sanatana Dharma.
One encounters this problem particularly when non-Indians seek to
become Hindus. They are often told that one must be born a Hindu and
cannot convert to Hinduism, which is not true historically or Hinduism
could have never spread so far as it has. We also see this problem with
Hindus who have migrated outside of India. They form their own religious
communities, which is admirable, but do not make much of an effort to
bring non-Indians into these, even when such individuals may approach
them seeking to join Hindu Dharma. This further gives the impression
that Hinduism is a religion for a particular ethnic group only, not a
universal path. It can turn away westerners who have a genuine
receptivity to Sanatana Dharma.
:: The Revival of Hinduism through Sanatana Dharma ::
To counter such attempts to limit Hinduism and to bring its teachings
out for the benefit of all, we need a revival of Hinduism as Sanatana
Dharma, the eternal or universal tradition, for the entire planet. Such a
global projection of Sanatana Dharma does not deny the importance of
Hinduism as central to India, its culture, its past and its future. But
it emphasizes a global and expansive Hinduism, not one that contracts
itself according to geographical or ethnic boundaries.
Such a bold assertion of Sanatana Dharma makes Hinduism relevant to
all peoples, all religions and all cultures. It removes Hinduism from
being restricted to local forms or controlled by the dictates of any
particular group. This expansive Sanatana Dharma will naturally honor
India and seek a revival of Hinduism in India. But it will do so with a
global vision and a linking up with Hindus and dharmic groups worldwide.
There have already been important movements in this in direction. In
fact, one can argue that the global spread of Hindu teachings like Yoga,
Vedanta and Ayurveda is a sign of Sanatana Dharma arising at a global
level. Gurus from India and their teachings have spread to all
countries.
Unfortunately, many modern teachers from India have left the greater
portion of Hinduism behind in their attempt to gain a broader
recognition, to the extent of denying their Hindu roots and not
educating their disciples in the greater Hindu tradition, its importance
and its values. Instead of honoring the Hindu connection with Sanatana
Dharma, they promote an artificial unity of all religions that puts
Hindu views and practices in the background or ignores them altogether.
Such teachers state that people can add the spiritual practices of
the Hindu tradition, like Yoga and Vedanta, on to any other cultural or
religious foundation. They do not encourage people to study and honor
the Hindu tradition itself but rather to stay within their own culture's
religious tradition, even if it is anti-Hindu. They do not emphasize
Hinduism's special connection to Sanatana Dharma, but try to make Hindus
feel that all other religions are the same as their own and no real
differences exist between them.
In this regard, such teachers of universal spirituality are making a
mistake in their understanding of dharma. Sanatana Dharma is not just a
spiritual path or what is called a Moksha Dharma, a way of liberation.
Sanatana Dharma shows a dharmic way for all aspects of life starting
with personal life-style practices, to the family, education, business,
intellectual culture and even politics (all the spheres of dharma,
artha, kama and moksha).
Unfortunately, the teachers who try to universalize the Moksha Dharma
of Hinduism and apply it to all religions leave out the other aspects
of Dharma, which includes the dharmic foundation for both social and
individual life. A new resurgent global Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma will
project all aspects of dharma and not be limited to a Moksha Dharma. It
is important that we replace this "radical universalism" of all
religions being the same, which is a misinterpretation and diminution of
Sanatana Dharma, with a global Hindu and dharmic resurgence that
affirms Sanatana Dharma as both a spiritual path and a way of life on
all levels.
It is not only Yoga and Vedanta that have universal value, so does
the foundation of Hindu Dharma on all levels. This includes Hindu
rituals, which are a science of interacting with the cosmic forces,
Hindu temples and holy places which are conduits for cosmic energy,
Vedic sciences like Ayurveda, Vedic astrology and Vastu, Hindu music and
dance and other Hindu art forms. These outer aspects of Hindu or
dharmic living can be developed and adapted in different cultural
contexts but their basic principles are as enduring as the great truth
of Vedanta that there is only one Self in all beings.
On this foundation of dharmic living, both in terms of our outer
culture and our inner spiritual practices, people from all lands and
cultures can embrace Sanatana Dharma. They can find in Hindu thought a
model for an authentic dharmic culture and spirituality that addresses
their own individual, social and environmental needs, which they can use
to restructure their lives as way of Self-realization. In that dharmic
approach, all divisive religious identities will disappear into a
greater unity of consciousness, not only with other human beings, but
with the entire universe.
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/brahmasri-chaganti-koteswara-rao/-hinduism-and-sanatana-dharma-/449081628474574