Means to Timeless Wisdom and Lasting Happiness
This is an article I had written a year ago based on a request by an Ashram in Rishikesh (who have since published it in their annual magazine). This has no connection to the recent political discussions in India on this topic and is shared here merely for spiritual seekers who are in quest of the nature of ultimate truth, about themselves and the world.
Sanatana Dharma is the basis for India’s doctrine of right living, truthfulness, and the pursuit of ultimate happiness. Translated as eternal religion or universal values, it is the foundation of Hinduism while not being limited to Hindus alone. Its wisdom and values are the foundation for all of humankind. Instead of the seeming divisive characteristic of religions, Santana Dharma has a unifying vision aiming to bring peace and harmony among all of human race.
चतुर्युगान्ते कालेन ग्रस्ताञ्छ्रुतिगणान्यथा ।
तपसा ऋषयोऽपश्यन्यतो धर्म: सनातन: ॥
At the end of every cycle of four Yugas (a time period spanning several centuries), the Rishis with their higher perception, seeing the degeneration of society over time, set about to revive the universal truths based on the Vedic texts. These form the basis of universal principles of the eternal religion.
(Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana 8.14.4)
What is Dharma?
Dharma has several interpretations. In colloquial language it is used as duties pertinent for a particular individual or a community such as Varnasharma Dharma refers to the duties specific to a particular caste. For instance, the dharma or duties of a Kshatriya is to protect and fight for his nation. Much more widely used connotations of dharma are as duties for various individuals based on their specific roles and positions in the society, such as the dharma of a father towards his children and that of a King towards his subjects and so on.
However, when used within religious contexts, dharma is the righteous way of life that leads to merits (punya) and adharma being the unrighteous way of living that leads to misfortune (paapa). Thus, dharma becomes a prescribed set of observances especially when applied within the domain of a moral or religious system.
Dharma is also interpreted variously as ‘laws,’ such as the laws of nature that sustains all of creation and the need for humans to live in alignment with it. This interpretation was common in Nastika Darsans (non-theistic schools of Indian philosophy) of Buddhism and Jainism. Buddha’s reference to Dharma-chakra symbolises the universal moral order and ‘the turning of the wheel of dharma’ is used in the context of the historic sermons given by the Buddha. These are the variations and adaptations of the root word.
The word dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root word ‘dhri’ which means that which upholds or sustains. At a macrocosm level, dharma is that energy or force that upholds the entire creation. At a microcosm level, dharma is that which not only upholds one’s being but also is intrinsic to one’s being. For instance, humaneness is the dharma which is intrinsic to every human being. It is not something one has to do or attain, but one must merely recognise and align oneself with it. Thus, the word dharma has a deeper appeal when we understand it within the context of ‘Sanatana Dharma.’
Quest for understanding the eternal
The Sanskrit word Sanatana is comparatively less complicated as grammatically it is derived from the word nitya and can be translated as ‘eternal.’ The Vedas say, that which is not subject to creation and destruction or that which doesn’t undergo modifications, is nitya, while all others are anitya (non-eternal)[1]. Of course different darshans (philosophical schools) of India take different things as being eternal as Sankyan school take ‘purusha and prakriti’ to be eternal and Nyaya-Vaishesikas take ‘paramanu’ to be eternal. While these philosophical views may differ about what is eternal concerning the world and creation, almost all of them agree that Atma, the soul or consciousness, is eternal and beyond birth and death.
Atma doesn’t have a beginning or an end; it is the intrinsic essence of our being. Our body in this life has a date of birth and will certainly have a date of death as well. But Atma was not seen in the same perspective among all those Darsans aligned with the Vedic vision [2]. Thereby, Santana Dharma pertains to our intrinsically true nature and is thus a worthy subject to understand regardless of what religion, caste or race we come from.
Eternal values versus time-based values and wisdom
It may be clear by now that when we refer to Sanatana Dharma, we are not considering the laws or ethical codes that are time-bound or subject to certain situations. A set of rules within the legal system of any state or country needs to be reviewed over time as they are subject to external circumstances and changes in society. Nor are the dharmas specific to any one religion or to the four castes of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras.
On the other hand, the eternal values of this eternal religion are the intrinsic code for all living beings, especially human beings. These are the universal values from the perspective of our timeless existence. Nevertheless, here is where the difficulty arises. What are these eternal laws and how are they revealed? Can they be listed in a set of do’s and don’ts?
Every religion has created its own set of values and commandments. Various Indian scriptures list the ‘dharmas’ for individuals based on their roles, responsibilities, castes, and so on. Yet these are specific to the individual’s time-based identities and any one individual doesn’t always remain as a son, a king, and so on. With time, their roles and identities also change.
In this regard, the following quote from Manusmriti (4.138) may give us some insight.
सत्यं ब्रूयात् प्रियं ब्रूयान्न ब्रूयात् सत्यमप्रियम् ।
प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयादेष धर्मः सनातनः ॥ १३८ ॥
“One who abides by the eternal religion (Sanatana Dharma) shall utter the truth that leads to harmony among people, not that which may be the truth but is divisive nor that which is flattering but untrue in essence.”
Following dharma doesn’t give one the right to call out a lame person as such if that hurts one’s sentiments. Nor is it dharmic to endorse certain unethical but powerful people, despite their occasional or seeming noble deeds done with the motivation to gain public support. It is obvious that in our pursuit of Truth, we must rise above the letters of the law and embrace the spirit of the law. The various religious rules and spiritual approaches were meant to aid us in the quest for the ultimate reality.
Over time immemorial, the spiritual seekers in India have engaged in the quest for understanding the verities of life such as, ‘Who am I?,’ ‘What is the nature of this creation,’ and ‘Who or what is the source of this creation and my body-mind entity.’
For this they have relied on the support of the Vedas along with their understanding and reasoning. Of these, they have come to one certain conclusion that only that which is eternal can be the ultimate source of our existence. Otherwise, our existence would be inherently programmed with the seed of destruction. Such an understanding and process of discerning enables us to take the next step of prioritising values which are eternal from that which is fleeting and time-based.
So what is that which is eternal and how does one abide by or align with the eternal? This then is the quest and purport of Sanatana Dharma, i.e., to align with values and live according to that which is eternal is us. Thus of the various translations of Santana Dharma, such as eternal laws and eternal religion, the most important for a seeker of truth is Eternal wisdom and values.
When there is a lack of higher wisdom, there arises the diversity in ethics and values from one society to another. There also arises divisiveness, distrust, and lack of common vision and purpose. When we understand that the eternal values in life are not determined merely based on a social or religious system, then we begin to explore into the nature of reality itself. This pursuit is the highest of all human efforts (Purushartha).
To live life for material welfare or for fulfilling our desires is a common instinctive urge in all human beings. To have a secure job, a good bank balance, and material possessions is what society convinces us to be the means to happiness. Then some others are driven by their passions to achieve things in the world that very few can. Being the best actor, sports player, or climbing the Mt. Everest appears to be the height of human pursuits. But the ancient Indian scriptures tell us that these too do not guarantee lasting happiness because our soul journeys through life after life and that what we do not carry all the material gains and achievements of one life to another.
What then could be the means of security – your wise and virtuous deeds! You reap what you sow is not just applicable for one life but for lives beyond as well. The first step towards aligning with Sanatana Dharma is to follow the virtuous life, especially one where we follow certain Vedic practices for ourselves, our families, and our deceased elders. However, the Vedas ascertain that, by itself these are inadequate. As long as our soul is pegged to the balance of merits and demerits accumulated over lifetimes, it remains limited and lost. It is subject to the diverse, non-eternal dharmas that come with its various roles and responsibilities.
Harmonising diverse paths and religions
Such a diversity of paths and value systems is what leads to outer and inner conflicts. These rules and values of different religions cause conflict not just between individuals but within one individual itself. As a result, there is a modern movement where individuals have come to abhor scriptures of any kind. It is true that several scriptures are based on the perspectives and insights of one individual and thus could be prone to the limitations and flaws of the human mind. Furthermore, several religious scriptures have been quoted and flaunted by individuals for personal gains.
The Vedas on the other hand are not a text designed by a human mind and is thus called as ‘apaurusheya’[3]. Its truths were obtained by the Rishis who intuited it directly through their meditations. These were passed on through a lineage of Sages (who mostly lived a disciplined life embracing simplicity and purity), not for the purpose of perpetuating a religion but so that everyone put it to practice and realise its truth for themselves.
When we truly understand the universal values left behind in our Vedic scriptures, then we also learn to use our intellect wisely, not just for immediate worldly gains. Through our earnestness and humbleness, we learn to grasp the true purpose of these texts and how they can lead us to the ultimate emancipation. The highest of all human efforts is to seek Moksha, which is the ending of our ignorance of our essential nature. The darkness of ignorance can end only with the dawn of wisdom. That can truly come about only when we comprehend the universal values and align all our thoughts, words, and deeds with the primary source of our being.
This is in essence the wisdom and values of Sanatana Dharma—when our actions conform with the ultimate reality of life, then just like the many enlightened masters, we too shall find true, eternal happiness.
[1] The classification of nitya (eternal) and anitya (non-eternal) is for the purpose of discerning what is real and what is only relatively real (such as the objects in the world which in its current state will undergo change and destruction). From the ultimate level of reality however, even this classifying for the purpose of Viveka (discriminating wisdom) have to be discarded.
[2] Yet it is true that the earlier understanding of Atma based on the Vedas refers to what western religions call as soul, an entity that survives death. This entity was spoken of in the Vedas as being subject to reincarnation. Such an Atma came under attack by Buddhists who denied the notion of there being such an individual permanent entity. However, the Vedanta portion of Vedas, which was revived by Adi Shankaracharya, when understood accurately clarifies that Atma doesn’t imply an individual soul-like entity but is the universal nature of that One Consciousness itself.
[3] The use of the word ‘apaurusheya’ for the means of how the Vedic texts were obtained by the Rishis is hard to translate. Words such as revelations and intuition may come close. The main import is that unlike someone who ‘comes up with an idea’ or derives through logical reasoning, the intuition referred to here is not from an individual mind. Thus these Vedas were given to humanity for a common purpose. Especially, with regard to the Upanishad texts of Vedas we observe that despite there being several texts, their underlying message is not conflicting. So viewed from the essential part of vedas (or Vedanta), the purpose of Vedas was for elimination of all human suffering and attainment of the supreme bliss.
Swami Nirgunananda Giri 