The Origin of Sanatana Dharma
Sanatana Dharma is the heritage of our Bharatiyas.
Seeing the play of nature around them, they were filled with wonder and searched for its truth. Thus, after a long wait through many ages, they realized that this universe they see is not different from themselves.
I searched for how to move from the limited to the limitless. In that journey, he realized again that the reason for my limitations is this attachment to the physical subjects. They found that only liberation from these subjects can lead me to the limitless.
Thus, they set out on a journey realizing that life itself is to transcend the body. Understanding how to live with dedication for this purpose, they discovered what life is, along with its meaning and its practices.
That truth is referred to as the four aims of human life.
What are the aims of man?
It is found that life has a rhythm or a beat, and it has an orbit. Just as planets in the solar system move along a precise path, it is also found that life has a goal, and to achieve it, I must traverse certain paths. It is understood that some of these paths are filled with obstacles, and therefore, one must navigate through them with careful observation. Thus, humanity determines its orbit – that is the pursuits of life.
- Dharma
- Artha
- Kama
- Moksha
What is Dharma?
We all live in a society, and when living in society, humans develop the awareness that they must act according to the social laws and systems. As a result, they create certain social regulations in society. Just like our body extracts the necessary proteins from food and discards the rest, humans have established a legal framework for what is permissible and impermissible, necessary and unnecessary, good and evil.
What is Yukthi?
Dharma is not about certain fixed things; rather, it exists as a path formed by the combination of circumstances and experiential reasoning.
To kill is a sin in the context of Dharma. However, the Kshatriya Dharma, like the military protecting one’s nation, is not a sin; instead, it bestows a glorious afterlife.
Whether stealing food to sustain life, or being reluctant to spend money and stealing food instead, both are actions but vary in context – one is Dharma and the other is Adharma. Thus, we need to examine Dharma in this manner.
What is Artha?
Wealth that is amassed in a righteous manner, that is, it should be accumulated in a way that does not affect life and health with diseases. A doubt may arise again, what is the connection between wealth, health, and life? In Ayurveda, it is stated clearly how wealth is acquired, and that it bestows both good and bad qualities regarding health and longevity. This means one should accumulate wealth in such a way that out of a thousand, 999 can be spent entirely for treatment without any costs.
What is Kama?
Finding a suitable spouse with mutual harmony and living a righteous life with the wealth earned through righteous means brings happiness. Knowing the eternal values of life, understanding the four dharmas: the dharma of the husband, the dharma of the wife, the dharma of the son, and the dharma of the daughter, knowing, realizing, and acting upon them, along with serving God and becoming aware in the goal of life, is what is referred to as Kama.
What is Moksha?
Moksha can be said to be the total amount of the three states mentioned above. In short, it is the essence of performing the prescribed duties in accordance with the arts and engaging in all actions ethically, traveling for the realization of God, which is Moksha.
“മോഹക്ഷയെതി ഇതി മോക്ഷ”
Moksha is the state where desires or attachments diminish or cease to exist.
What is meant by the term ‘Tantra’?
‘Tantra’ is the science that awakens the dormant consciousness within one’s body. The inherent fragrance within each person has been experienced in a material form, awakening the mind step by step, and ‘Tantra’ becomes the gateway to the awakening of the ego consciousness.
Conclusion
Sanatana is a culture that is an unbroken stream of a great heritage that is both ancient and eternally new. This Dharma, which has many voices, includes Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Parsis as part of it.
However, certain modern misinterpretations have greatly tarnished this Dharma, acting contrary to the eternal principles in the name of caste, violating boundaries and crossing all limits, thus bringing disgrace to this Dharma.
Sanatana is not a religion because there is no law. There are no law enforcers, no legal advocates. There is no scripture or a teacher. There is no deity or a ritual.