What is Hinduism Religion?
What Hinduism beliefs and practices are?
What is Hinduism based on?
What is Sanatana Dharma?
Comparison between Dharma and Religion?
Difference between Sanatana Dharma and Religion?
What is difference between Hinduism vs Islam vs Christianity?
What is the meaning of Yoga?
What is the relation between Dharma and Yoga?
Why is Hinduism not a organized religion?
Why Hinduism is oldest religion?
You must have thought many questions like these.
In this blog, we will discuss all these and will try to address these queries based on Hindu scriptures.
First of all you need to understand, that there are many words in Sanskrit for which English language is unable to give any exact word for translation. Still, many so called scholars, keep on trying to translate the Sanskrit words to English or any other language and belittle its meaning, which is quite unfortunate. This not only distorts the meaning, but also misguides people and creates wrong perception in the minds of people.
Therefore, I prefer to call Sanskrit words as it is and try to understand their meanings as described in the scriptures.
One such common misconception is calling Dharma as Religion.
You cannot compare Hinduism vs Islam vs Christianity or any other religion. Because it is like comparing apples with oranges.
What is the meaning of Religion?
If you go by the dictionary meaning of word Religion, it means –
A personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.
The service and worship of God or the supernatural.
Commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance.
And looking at this definition, the correct translation of the word Religion in Hindi, will be ‘Panth‘ and not ‘Dharma‘, which people usually call religion as.
What is the difference between Religion and Dharma?
Panth and Dharma, both are two entirely different things.
Panth is actually a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.
But Dharma is actually, a divine law which one should follow as a Human. Not just humans, even nature is following the divine law.
Trees follow it by growing to their full potential. bearing fruits and giving to others.
River following its dharma by flowing and merging into the ocean.
Wind is following its dharma by blowing throughout the planet.
Soil is following its dharma by assimilating everything into it, by germinating the seeds and transforming them into plants and trees.
Sun is following its dharma by showing up every single day and giving warmth.
Similarly, the moon, stars, other planets, all animals, all kinds of organisms and the entire universe are following their dharma by doing what they are meant to do.
In the early Vedas and other ancient Hindu texts, Dharma referred to the cosmic law that created the ordered universe from chaos. Like we know about the Gravitational Law or the Newton’s Law.
You may wish to agree with it or not, but your mere agreement won’t make the law false. It will remain there as it is and it will work.
No one can create it nor one can destroy it. It has never been started and it will never disappear.
That is why there is only one Dharma, that is Sanatan Dharma, which is followed by every true Sanatani, who are also called Hindus.
So, please stop calling Hinduism a religion, it is Dharma, Sanatan Dharma.
As per scriptures, Dharma means realising your duty and following the path of righteousness which is in sync with the universal energy.
The word Dharma comes from the Sanskrit root word Dhri, which means “to hold,” “to maintain,” or “to preserve.” A duty to preserve and maintain righteousness.
What is the relation between Dharma and Yoga?
If you want to understand Dharma, you need to first understand Yoga.
By Yoga, I don’t mean what you see on Social media posts especially on International Yoga Day, people stretching their bodies here and there, doing certain postures. Those are just body exercises.
It’s not bad, at least good for the body. But it is a distorted form of Yoga which is being sold by western countries. It is a very small part of Yoga. You can watch Acharya Prashant’s video on YouTube where he has explained this beautifully.
What is the meaning Yoga?
The true meaning of Yoga is Union. But UNION with what?
Union of your Mana within your Atman, in a way that your Mana dissolves and exists no more.
Now, don’t start calling Mana as Mind and Atman as Soul.
What Westerners refer as Mind, is more of Buddhi, not Mana. Western says that the Soul leaves body, but Atman does not reside only in one body, it is omnipresent, everywhere. Jeeva or Jeevatma is the one which limited to a body. Jeeva travels from one body to other during rebirth. The closest you can call Atman as the Real Self.
You may use these words to refer them but remember that these English words do not do enough justice to represent the actual Sanskrit words. (I will write a separate article to list down all such Sanskrit words related to Sanatan Dharma which don’t have exact translation)
What Bhagavad Gita says about Mana (Mind)?
चञ्चलं हि मन: कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् |
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् || 34||chañchalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛiṣhṇa pramāthi balavad dṛiḍham
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣhkaramTranslation
The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate, O Krishna. It appears to me that it is more difficult to control than the wind.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 34
What Bhagavad Gita says about Atman (Soul)?
अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थित: |
अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च || 20||
aham ātmā guḍākeśha sarva-bhūtāśhaya-sthitaḥ
aham ādiśh cha madhyaṁ cha bhūtānām anta eva cha
Translation
O Arjun, I am seated in the heart of all living entities. I am the beginning, middle, and end of all beings.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 10, Verse 20
So, the process of dissolving your Mana into Atman is Yoga. And the one who follows Yoga, is called Yogi.
There are broadly three kinds of Yoga. Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga.as explained in Bhagavad Gita.
What Bhagavad Gita says about Yoga?
योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते || 48||
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate
Translation
Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjun, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yog.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 48
यदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मस्वनुषज्जते ।
सर्वसङ्कल्पसन्न्यासी योगारूढस्तदोच्यते ॥ ४ ॥
yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasv anuṣajjate
Sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī yogārūḍhas tadocyate
Translation
A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 4
What Bhagavad Gita says about a true Yogi?
श्रीभगवानुवाच
अनाश्रित: कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति य: ।
स सन्न्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रिय: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ
sa sannyāsī ca yogī ca na niragnir na cākriyaḥ
Translation
The Lord said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true Yogi, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 1
But the question is, why would someone follow Yoga?
Mana is basically the form of Vrittiyan we have. By Vrittiyan, you can refer to our behavioral tendencies which may be good or bad.
If you see in the world, one suffers just because he/she is not able to take control of his/her tendencies. Because of that one feels pleasure or suffering and keep swinging between the two like a pendulum.
In order to rise above that, when one leaves all those Vrittiyan and becomes a pure form, it dissolves into Atman.
That’s the goal of Human life. And Sanatan Dharma helps you attain that..
Why is it important to follow Yoga?
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जित: ।
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ॥ ६ ॥
bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatru-vat
Translation
For him who has conquered the mind (Mana), the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 6
जितात्मन: प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहित: ।
शीतोष्णसुखदु:खेषु तथा मानापमानयो: ॥ ७ ॥
jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ
Śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
Translation
For one who has conquered the mind (Mana), the Supersoul (Param Atman) is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 7
Conclusion – What is the meant by Sanatana Dharma?
What is the definition of Sanatana Dharma?
Dharma is the duty of each one to follow the path of righteousness which enables one to follow Yoga and be one with the Atman.
And the true freedom is to allow each individual to follow their journey as a seeker. Rather than forcing one religion on all or trying to convert them, just for the vested interest of a few.
Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important scriptures of Sanatan Dharma in which Krishna explains every aspect of Yoga and Dharma. Bhagavad Gita is Upanishad in action, as Acharya Prashant says, because Krishna is guiding Arjuna by using the essence from Vedas and helping him implement that right away in the battlefield.
धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः ।
तस्माद् धर्मं न त्यजामि मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत् ।।
dharm ev hato hanti dharmo rakshati rakshitah । tasmaaddharmo na hantavyo ma no dharmo hatovadheet ।।Translation
Those who destroy Dharma, Dharma destroys them. Those who protect Dharma, Dharma protects them. That’s why I do not abandon Dharma, so that Dharma doesn’t abandon me.
Manusmriti 8.15
Protection of Dharma means Dharma Paalan (following Dharma). And those who follow the Dharma are ever protected.
Following Dharma is necessary so that individuals have the freedom to establish themselves in Yoga. If any Panth tries to take over the world and snatch away the freedom of individual consciousness to practice Yoga, then it is Adharma, against Dharma.
And those who are against Dharma, will be destroyed by Dharma itself.
Then,
What about other religions in the world?
All other institutions which we know as religion, fit correctly in the definition of religion. And in Hindi, they should be called as Panth, not Dharma. Calling them as Dharma, is demeaning the essence of Dharma itself.
Every Panth has its beginning and its downfall. You can take any example from the history.
But when you talk of Dharma, there is no beginning, there is no end.
Every Panth was founded or discovered by someone.
Christianity was founded by Jesus.
Islam was founded by Prophet Mohammad.
Judaism was founded by Abraham, Moses.
That’s why Abrahamic religions, like Christianity, Islam or Judaism is not a Dharma. It is a Panth.
Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji and is derived from Sanatana Dharma.
Similarly, Buddhism was founded by Buddha, also derived from Sanatana Dharma.
But Sanatana Dharma was founded by? None.
From time to time, spiritual beings and saints come to remind people of Sanatana Dharma and its principles. But you will not find any specific person or time in the history when it all started.
Because it is eternal and has always been there.
I hope I was able to provide some clarity on whether you should called Hinduism a religion or Dharma, Sanatan Dharma to be accurate.
Do let me know if you have questions or if you want to add something to make the piece more useful for audience.