Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana Dharma (as Hinduism is called in India) can rightfully be called the oldest religion on earth. It cannot be tied to any specific period of time, it does not have a specific founder. The view of the most ancient religious books in the history of mankind - the Vedas (Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharva Veda) is as follows: Sanatana Dharma appeared simultaneously with the creation of the Universe.

Today, there are over one billion followers of the Sanatan Dharma in the world.

In the Vedic texts, Sanatana Dharma is not considered to be any one teaching, but rather a specific vision of life and the spiritual path. In this context, we can say that all currently known religions reflect one side or another of the Sanatan Dharma.

The legal definition of Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) was given by the Supreme Court of India in 1966, as amended on July 2, 1995, it includes seven main features:

• 1. "Respectful attitude to the Vedas as the highest authority in religious and philosophical matters."
• 2. The presence of a spirit of tolerance in relation to a different point of view, arising from the recognition that the truth is multifaceted.
• 3. Recognition of the cosmic "great world rhythm" - huge periods of creation, preservation and destruction of the Universe, following one after another in an endless sequence, the idea of ​​which is shared by all six main systems of Hindu philosophy.
• 4. Belief in rebirth (reincarnation) and the previous existence of the soul (individual spiritual essence).
• 5. Recognition that liberation (from the "wheel of reincarnation") is achievable in various ways.
• 6. Awareness as "equal" possibilities of "idolatry and denial of veneration of the visible image of the gods."
• 7. Understanding that, unlike other religions, Hinduism is not associated with the recognition of a certain set of philosophical postulates.

The Supreme Court of India did not include any national-ethnic criteria neither in the signs of Hinduism itself, nor in the list of criteria that a follower of Hinduism must meet.

Basic principles and postulates of Sanatan Dharma:

• Yama

  • - Ahimsa is nonviolence.
  • - Satya - truthfulness.
  • - Asteya - non-appropriation of someone else's.
  • - Brahmacharya - abstinence for monks and moderate sex life for lay people.
  • - Aparigraha is non-acquisitiveness.

• Niyama

  • - Tapas - self-discipline, the ability to self-control and diligent spiritual practice.
  • - Santosha - satisfaction with what we have, a joyful attitude towards life, thanksgiving.
  • - Shaucha - observance of external and internal purity, purity of the body and purity of thoughts.
  • - Svadhyaya - the study of sacred texts.
  • - Ishvara-pranidhana - acceptance of God as the only ideal in life, dedication of your life to the knowledge of God and the spiritual path.

• Karma and Moksha

  The belief that any perfect action brings appropriate results, hence the desire to accumulate positive results and avoid non-harmonious manifestations of body, speech and mind, so as not to accumulate bad reasons. The belief that through correct spiritual guidance and diligent practice, you can achieve Liberation from the bondage of earthly, mortal reality.

• Sadhana and Tapasya

  Belief in the methods received from the teachers, and diligently practicing them throughout life until the attainment of Liberation. Bringing all life in line with the practice of the path.

• Guru-disciple principle

  Acceptance of spiritual authorities, direct leadership.

  “There are nine basic tenets of faith, or shraddhas, which, while not exhaustive, are a summary of Hindu spirituality.

  • 1. Hindus believe in the divinity of the Vedas, the oldest scripture in the world, and worship the Agamas as equally frank. These primordial hymns are the word of God and the basis of the Sanatana Dharma, an eternal religion that has no beginning or end.
  • 2. Hindus believe in one all-pervading Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendental, who is both the Creator and the Unmanifest Reality.
  • 3. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, conservation and dissolution.
  • 4. Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect, according to which each individual creates his own destiny with his thoughts, words and actions.
  • 5. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, developing in many births until all karmas are exhausted and moksha, spiritual knowledge and liberation from the cycle of reincarnations are attained.
  • 6. Hindus believe that divine beings live in invisible worlds and that temple services, rituals, sacraments, as well as personal performance of rituals, create communication with these virgins and gods (mahadevas).
  • 7. Hindus believe that a spiritually awakened teacher, or satguru, is important in order to know the Transcendental Absolute, and that personal discipline, righteous behavior, purification, pilgrimage, pursuit of self-knowledge and meditation are just as important.
  • 8. Hindus believe that all life is sacred and should be loved and honored, and therefore they practice ahimsa, harmlessness.
  • 9. Hindus believe that no single religion teaches the only path to salvation before all others, but that all truly religious paths are facets of Pure Love and the Light of God, deserving tolerance and understanding.”

  Sadguru Shivaya Subramuniya Swami "Dance with Shiva"

PANCHA-SHRADDHA - (Skt. Five beliefs), Pancha-shraddha is a short description of the Hindu "creed":

• 1. Sarva brahman: God, the Absolute is everything, He is in everything, the soul is also divine.
• 2. Mandira: Belief in temples and divine beings with whom one can communicate through rituals of worship, prayer, and worship.
• 3. Karma: Belief in the law of cause and effect.
• 4. Samsara-moksha: the world is the cycle of birth-death of conditioned souls, and one must free oneself from this cycle.
• 5. Vedas and satguru: the need for scriptures and a guru-spiritual master.

The core of the Sanatan Dharma is the doctrine of the non-duality of the world (Advaita-Vedanta). Here are the basic tenets of Advaita:

• The whole world is a manifestation of the mind, the creative consciousness and the created world are inseparable as a dream and a dreamer.

• The thought “I am the body” is false, the understanding “I am the Absolute” is true.

• All ignorance about the nature of Reality is eliminated through self-inquiry and meditation.