In today’s newspaper, one news item that caught my eye is a statement made by Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is the Sports and Youth affairs minister in the Tamil Nadu Government and also happens to be the son of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. In his speech, he has mentioned about eradicating Sanatan Dharm. He said “ Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Certain things like dengue, malaria, and corona need to be eradicated, not merely opposed. Likewise, Sanatan should be also eradicated”.
This statement has triggered a strong reaction from the followers of Hinduism and Sanatan Dharm. The BJP has criticized the I N D I A alliance and its member parties, saying that this is not the first time parties like Congress and DMK have insulted the nation’s culture and Sanatan Dharm.
In our country, there are many politicians and political parties whose only job is to criticize and demean the Hindu culture and Hinduism, without understanding about the Sanatan Dharm.
Now let us see what is Sanatan Dharm
Santan Dharm is a term used for religions based on rebirth. So it is applied to Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. These religions emerged in India millenniums years back and spread across the Indian subcontinent. These have to be distinguished from monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that emerged in the Middle East and spread around the world.
In the monotheistic religion, you are born only once and have to live one life the right way following the word of God revealed through messengers. In this world diversity in society is the result of unjust human actions. Hence, the obsession with justice in this one and only life, and fear of Judgment Day at the end of this life. But the principles of Sanatan Dharm are different, with Jainism and Buddhism veering towards monasticism and Hinduism valuing the householder’s life.
Here are 21 points that can be gleaned from the scriptures of Sanatan Dharm
1 All events have a cause. Causes are neutral, we qualify them as good or bad.
2 All actions have a consequence. Consequences can be positive or negative.
3 In the network of life, there is no single cause or single consequence. Hence life is tough to predict.
4 Multiple causes and consequences create diversity.
5 Diversity gives rise to hierarchy which gives rise to inequality.
6 Everyone wants to be unique and feel special, and so loves hierarchy.
7 When we are burdened by hierarchy, we see it as a problem that needs to be solved. In other words, we speak to dismantle it and speak of justice and equality.
8 Victim, villain, and hero are constructs determined by our ego. If we are beneficiaries of hierarchy, we are heroes, deserving candidates of our fortune. If we are not, we are victims, and the beneficiary is the villain.
9 Our ego is a function of our insecurities. It makes us feel we matter, and that nature should treat us differently from other organisms. It makes us feel we can change the world, alone.
10 As we go about changing the world, and solving problems, we create new problems, as it is impossible to factor in every influencer.
11 No matter what we do, there are never any guarantees in life.
12 History existed before us and will continue after us.
13 Nothing is permanent. Things come together to fall apart.
14 Individuals change, not communities.
15 Diversity is inefficient. So we yearn for standardization, homogeneity, and equality.
16 We take care of what we believe is ours.
17 Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours) are human inventions, as is the idea of debt and fair trade.
18 Justice presupposes the end of history when account books are balanced. This never happens in rebirth cultures.
19 Rebirth is a code to explain diversity in the world and the uncertainty of life.
20 Karma makes you accept the moment and make a choice but without certainty of outcome.
21 Good times follow bad times. Sometimes you are on top of the wheel, sometimes you get crushed. It never ends.
A lot of modern-day Hindus are rediscovering our glorious past, and the significance of the Santan Dharm for the overall well-being of humanity.
Sanatan Dharm is the most beautiful, scientific, and focused on human evolution, and way of life. Veda is the Sanatan foundation of Universal Dharm, original, ancient, Sanatan yet modern, living in creative response to the changing circumstances.
Sanatan Dharm prescribes General duties which include virtues such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism.
In India, 90% of Hindus are the followers of Sanatan Dharm way of living, and some I N D I A alliance partners are giving calls for the eradication of the Sanatan Dharm. One other partner of this alliance wants a caste-based survey to divide Hindus.
This type of strategy might backfire on this alliance, as these types of calls will act as a stimulant for followers of Sanatan Dharm.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
4th September 2023