Sanatana

Sanatana Sanatana refers to eternal and dharma which holds. The Dharma which holds the eternality is Sanatana Dharma. Whatever is born in this universe dies and whatever is created destroys (change form). But one thing amongst them is eternal, which is neither born nor die; that is the awareness; universal awareness as God and individual awareness as jeeva is eternal. The religions, the darshana believes in that eternality of the existence is known as Sanatana Dharma. Lord Krishna refers Sanatana in Gita (2.24) अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च | नित्य: सर्वगत: स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातन: || The soul is unbreakable and incombustible; it can neither be dampened nor dried. It is everlasting, in all places, unalterable, immutable, and primordial. But to experience the eternality of true self by the human mind it has to cultivate and possess certain qualities. Each individual has to therefore to live a life of righteousness to remove impurities of heart and mind. To see eternality in all creatures, one has to walk on right path. Manusmriti (4.138) tells सत्यं ब्रूयात् प्रियं ब्रूयात्, न ब्रूयात् सत्यम् अप्रियम् । प्रियं च नानृतम् ब्रूयात्, एष धर्मः सनातन: ॥ One should speak what is true one should speak what is pleasant. One should not speak what is true if it is not pleasant nor what is pleasant if it is false. Buddha’s Dhammapad doctrine is, न हि वेरेण वेराणि सम्मन्तीध कुदाचनम् । अवेरेण च सम्मन्ति एस धम्मो सनन्तनो ॥ The exhortation is not to return hatred for hatred but to conquer it by loving-kindness (absence of hatred). To speak truth and remove hatred from each others heart is eternality of Indian Dharma. But the dispute comes when the kuldharma of varnashrama is called Sanatana. Gita 4.13 explains, चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः। तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्।। The four categories of occupations were created by Me according to people's qualities and activities. But when it comes to BG 1.39 कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः । धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥ With the destruction of the dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion. The kula and kuladharma indirectly promotes Varna by birth. The eternality of awareness in the form of God and Soul as pure consciousness fall into the divisions of human bodies and minds; into superior-inferior, above-below by birth. This generates hatred amongst the Indians and the glorious thought of eternality of life gets killed by the orthodoxy. Let’s accept the Sanatana as oneness of all in the universe and discard the inequality and discrimination created by humans by birth. न हि वेरेण वेराणि सम्मन्तीध कुदाचनम् । अवेरेण च सम्मन्ति एस धम्मो सनन्तनो ॥ The exhortation is not to return hatred for hatred but to conquer it by loving-kindness. Punamchand 18 February 2024