Sanatana Dharma (Part 1)

Before starting on the Bhagavat Gita and other texts, it will be a good idea to have a brief background on Hinduism and its Scriptures. These will be discussed in the next few postings.

Origin of the word “Hinduism”

The name “Hinduism” for the ancient religion of India is a misnomer. The word “Hindu” is really a mispronunciation of “Sindhu”, which was the name of the river Indus. The Persians, who had contacts with India since ancient times, pronounced ‘Sa’ as ‘Ha’. So “Sindhu” became “Hindu” as the name of the inhabitants this land, their land was called “Hindustan” and later, their religion “Hinduism”. Wide use of the term “Hinduism” as a name for a religion happened only during the British rule.

Sanatana Dharma

In ancient India the guiding principles to live a moral and spiritual life was referred to as “Sanatana Dharma”. The word Sanatana is derived from the words Sada Nutana, which means ever-fresh, always-new. So Sanatana Dharma is an Eternal Dharma.

Dharma itself has no direct English meaning. Using “Religion” to mean Dharma severely restricts and limits its scope. Dharma is a way of life; it is righteous living, in harmony with all beings, nature and the cosmos. There are no fixed set of doctrines and dogmas; there is no room for bigotry and narrowness. Dharma is based on eternal laws and provides the framework of principles guiding us both in our secular and spiritual pursuits.

Sanatana Dharma is not a religion to be followed, but rather to be lived.

Since Sanatana Dharma is not often used now, I will in future, for the sake of simplicity, use the more common term “Hindu Religion”. But please do bear in mind what I have stated above.

In my next posting, I will discuss some of the important features of Hinduism.