SANATANA DHARMA . . . ETERNAL TRUTH

Religion is one of those most contentious issues globally, an issue that spawns wars, and regardless of attempts to maintain otherwise in many increasingly (overtly) secular societies, religions are an underlying cause of a majority of largescale conflicts globally.

I was at one time a Christian minister--Southern Baptist. I found some semblance of community and some degree of friendship amongst those I came to know in the context of church life. Now I must add, these associations and friendships and community connections do not compare to the honest and true friendships I made over several years of wandering amongst hippie circuits, smoking bowls of nuggets or shwag with numerous "strangers" across the country, dancing ecstatically to jam bands, and spending time in the wilderness with dready-headed, mohawk sporting, flowy-skirt-wearing freaks and unshaven sexy hippie mommas. Nonetheless, at a time in my life when I was in need of friendship and support, some sort of spiritual impetus, etc., "conventional religion" provided a modicum of these things. It was whilst studying at a Baptist university, however, that I came to realize something didn't quite add up with the evangelical (or Christian in general) version of life and death. The Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions were all hiding something--their origins in the ancient religion of India (see posts entitled, "The Hidden Origins of the West" and "One, Two, Three, What Are We Fighting For?").

Another popular faith (especially these days), Buddhism, though not without many merits, is still wanting in my opinion. Though Buddism does not generally deny that the Buddhist religions stem from Sanatana Dharma ("eternal teachings"--the proper name for the "Hindu" religion(s)), Buddhism denies two tenets that I find quite primary: the belief in the eternal divinity present within each and every, आत्मन् Atman, and the belief in the supreme and abiding divine nature of existence and source of Being, ब्रह्मन् Brahman.

Native American religions--or at the least their peoples--can likewise be traced to a cultural source in India (see post entitled, "Maybe Columbus Was Right After All").

Though I suppose it doesn't necessarily follow that the source of most the other religions of the world is the "most true," my personal experiences and the historical facts both lead me to embrace various of the many traditions of India above any other set of religious beliefs.

The concept that Sanatana Dharma is universal, and is as much a science as a religion adds much weight to the merits of these most ancient abiding religious traditions of this world and others (if you believe the accounts of the vimanas--"flying machines of the gods" told of in the Vedas and various of the epics of India: see posts entitled "Ancient Nuclear War . . . Blasted Back to the Stone Age" and "Ancient Flight"). And the notion that the practice of right action (dharma) is more important than specific modes of worship or belief in dogmas is also one of the more appealing and abiding concepts of sanatana dharma. That Hinduism teaches ahimsa (non-violence) and to a greater degree than just about any other of those religions that teach the same, exhibits the practice of non-violence in everyday life adds much merit to the case for sanatana dharma. I should add that much of the teachings of India have been diluted by so many invasions, there are still core teachings that are the source of most of the other popular religions of this world.

I am not advocating that any of you readers "convert" to these practices, I would suggest doing yoga for mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing--oops! I guess I just advocated following sanatana dharma, for yoga (yoke, union) is the core of the teachings of sanatana dharma--returning to unity with the good divine Self.

Atman %{A} m. (variously derived fr. %{an} , to breathe ; %{at} , to move ; %{vA} , to blow ; cf. %{tma4n}) the breath RV. ; the soul , principle of life and sensation RV. AV. &c. ; the individual soul , self , abstract individual [e.g. %{Atma4n}] (Ved. loc.) %{dhatte} , or %{karoti} , `" he places in himself "' , makes his own TS. v S3Br. ; %{AtmanA@akarot} , `" he did it himself "' Ka1d. ; %{AtmanA@vi-yuj} , `" to lose one's life "' Mn. vii , 46 ; %{Atman} in the sg. is used as reflexive pronoun for all three persons and all three genders e.g. %{AtmAnaM@sA@hanti} , `" she strikes herself "' ; %{putram@AtmanaH@spRSTvA@nipetatuH} , `" they two having touched their son fell down "' R. ii , 64 , 28 ; [see also below s.v. %{AtmanA}] ; essence , nature , character , peculiarity (often ifc. e.g. %{karmA7tman} , &c.) RV. x , 97 , 11 , &c. ; the person or whole body considered as one and opposed to the separate members of the body VS. S3Br. ; the body Ragh. i , 14 Ra1matUp. ; (ifc.) `" the understanding , intellect , mind "' see %{naSTA7tman} , %{mandA7-} ; the highest personal principle of life , Brahma (cf. %{paramA7tman}) AV. x , 8 , 44 VS. xxxii , 11 S3Br. xiv , &c. ; effort L. ; (= %{dhRti}) firmness L. ; the sun L. ; fire L. ; a son L. ; [Old Germ. {a1tum} ; Angl. Sax. {oedhm} ; Mod. Germ. {Athem} , {Odem} ; Gk. $ , $ (?).] &42279[135 ,1]


brahman n. (lit. `" growth "' , `" expansion "' , `" evolution "' , `" development "' `" swelling of the spirit or soul "' , fr. 2. %{bRh}) pious effusion or utterance , outpouring of the heart in worshipping the gods , prayer RV. AV. VS. TS. ; the sacred word (as opp. to %{vAc} , the word of man) , the Veda , a sacred text , a text or Mantra used as a spell (forming a distinct class from the %{Rcas} , %{sAmAni} and %{yajUMSi} ; cf. %{brahma-veda}) RV. AV. Br. Mn. Pur. ; the Bra1hman2a portion of the Veda Mn. iv , 100 ; the sacred syllable Om Prab. , Sch , (cf. Mn. ii , 83) ; religious or spiritual knowledge (opp. to religious observances and bodily mortification such as %{tapas} &c.) AV. Br. Mn. R. ; holy life (esp. continence , chastity ; cf. %{brahma-carya}) S3ak.i , 24/25 S3am2k. Sarvad. ; (exceptionally treated as m.) the Brahma8 or one selfexistent impersonal Spirit , the one universal Soul (or one divine essence and source from which all created things emanate or with which they are identified and to which they return) , the Self-existent , the Absolute , the Eternal (not generally an object of worship but rather of meditation and-knowledge [738,1] ; also with %{jye4STha} , %{prathama-ja4} , %{svayo4m-bhu} , %{a-mUrta} , %{para} , %{paratara} , %{parama} , %{mahat} , %{sanAtana} , %{zAzvata} ; and = %{paramA7tman} , %{Atman} , %{adhyAtma} , %{pradhAna} , %{kSetra-jJa} , %{tattva}) AV. S3Br. Mn. MBh. &c. (IW. 9 , 83 &c ,) ; n. the class of men who are the repositories and communicators of sacred knowledge , the Bra1hmanical caste as a body (rarely an individual Bra1hman) AV. TS. VS. S3Br. Mn. BhP. ; food Naigh. ii , 7 ; wealth ib. 10 ; final emancipation L. ; m. (%{brahma4n}) , one who Prays , a devot or religious man , a Bra1hman who is a knower of Vedic texts or spells , one versed in sacred knowledge RV. &c. &c. [cf. Lat. , {fla1men}] ; N. of Br2ihas-pati (as the priest of the gods) RV. x , 141 , 3 ; one of the 4 principal priests or R2itvijas (the other three being the Hotr2i , Adhvaryu and Udga1tr2i ; the Brahman was the most learned of them and was required to know the 3 Vedas , to supervise the , sacrifice and to set right mistakes ; at a later period his functions were based especially on the Atharva-veda) RV. &c. &c. ; Brahma1 or the one impersonal universal Spirit manifested as a personal Creator and as the first of the triad of personal gods (= %{prajA-pati} q.v. ; he never appears to have become an object of general worship , though he has two temples in India see RTL. 555 &c. ; his wife is Sarasvati1 ib. 48) TBr. &c. &c , ; = %{brahmaNa@AyuH} , a lifetime of Brahma1 Pan5car. ; an inhabitant of Brahma1's heaven Ja1takam. ; the sun L. ; N. of S3iva Prab. Sch. ; the Veda (?) Pa1rGr2. ; the intellect (= %{buddhi}) Tattvas. ; N. of a star , $ Aurigae , Su1ryat. ; a partic. astron. Yoga L. ; N. of the 9th Muhu1rta L. ; (with Jainas) a partic. Kalpa Dharmas3. ; N. of the servant of the 10th Arhat of the present Avasarpin2i L. ; of a magician Ra1jat.