Sanatan Dharma
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Sanatan Dharma[a] (also Sanatanism) is a term used as a synonym for Hinduism. The term, meaning "eternal dharma," emerged as an endonymic designation for the religious traditions collectively identified by the exonym "Hinduism". It gained broader currency during the 19th century, particularly in the context of Hindu religious reform. A follower of the Sanatan Dharma is referred to as a a Sanatani.[1][2][3][4]
Etymology
The term is found in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.[5][6] In Sanskrit, Sanātana Dharma translates approximately to "eternal law" or, less literally, "eternal way."[7] In Pali, the equivalent term is Dhammo Sanātano (धम्मो सनन्तनो).[7]
Dharma is often translated as "duty" but has a deeper meaning. The word comes from the Sanskrit root "dhṛ" (धृ) which means "to sustain" or "that which is integral to something" (e.g., dharma of sugar is to be sweet, fire to be hot). Sanatan-dharma – duties performed according to one's spiritual (constitutional) identity as atman (Self) and are thus the same for everyone. General duties include virtues such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism.[8]
History
The phrase dharma sanātana occurs in classical Sanskrit literature, for example, in the Manusmriti (4-138)[9] (c. 1st – 3rd century CE) and in the Bhagavata Purana[10][11] (c. 8th – 10th century CE). The phrase dharmāni sanatā is mentioned in the classical Sanskrit literature Rigveda (3.3.1) (c. 1500 – 1000 BCE), which means "eternal duties".[12] In the Atharvaveda (10.8.22) (c. 1200 – 900 BCE), the Supreme Being is called Sanātanam (eternal), and that Sanātanam God is worshipped.[13]
In the late 19th century, the term was revived during the Hindu revivalism movement as a name for Hinduism as a religion in order to avoid having to use the exonym "Hindu" which is of non-native Persian origin.[14][15] The term denotes the "eternal" or absolute set of duties or religiously ordained practices incumbent upon all Hindus, regardless of class, caste, or sect.[8] Many Hindus in the Indian subcontinent call themselves Sanatanis, that is, those who follow the 'eternal dharma', to evoke a certain homogeneity in Hinduism.[16] Its use to signify Hinduism as a religion was popularised since the 19th century by champions of Hindu orthodoxy such as Pandit Shraddha Ram in reaction to missionaries and Hindu reformers such as Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj. Aside from its use in socio-religious contexts, it also sustains a political necessity for many Hindus.[17]
Today, Sanatan Dharma is used as a synonym for Hinduism.[18][4][19][20] In current-day usage, the term Sanatan Dharma is sometimes used to emphasize a "traditional” or sanatani ("eternalist") outlook in contrast to the socio-political Hinduism embraced by movements such as the Arya Samaj.[21][22][23]
Reformists such as the Arya Samaj, the Radha Soamis and the Ramakrishna Mission have competed for adherents for more than a century, sometimes creating deep schisms in Hindu society, as in the case of South African Hindus who were split between the Arya Samaj and Sanatanis.[24] While the reformist groups were better organized initially, by the 1860s, a process of internal counter-reform was underway in Sanatani groups as well, and societies to propagate orthodox beliefs along modern lines emerged, such as Sanatan Dharma Rakshini Sabha in 1873.[25][26][27]
References
- ↑ Knott 1998, pp. 3, 5.
- ↑ Hatcher 2015, pp. 4–5, 69–71, 150–152.
- ↑ Bowker 2000.
- 1 2 Harvey 2001, p. xiii.
- ↑ Kurtz, Lester R. (2007), Gods in the global village: the world's religions in sociological perspective, Pine Forge Press, 2007, p. 49, ISBN 978-1-4129-2715-4
- ↑ Rajarajan, R. K. K. (January 2020). Drāviḍian/Tamil Concept of Religion is sanātanadharma a Religion?. Into the Nuances of Culture. Essays on Culture Studies.
- 1 2 so Harvey, Andrew (2001). Teachings of the Hindu Mystics. Boulder: Shambhala. pp. xiii. ISBN 1-57062-449-6.). See also René Guénon, Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (1921 ed.), Sophia Perennis, ISBN 978-0-900588-74-7, part III, chapter 5 "The Law of Manu", p. 146. On the meaning of the word "Dharma", see also René Guénon, Studies in Hinduism, Sophia Perennis, ISBN 0-900588-69-3
{{isbn}}: Checkisbnvalue: checksum (help), chapter 5, p. 45 - 1 2 "Sanatana dharma | Hinduism". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ↑ Manusmriti (4-138),
... "Satyam bruyatpriyam bruyanna bruyatsatyamapriyam. Priyam cha nanrtam bruyadesa dharmah sanatanah." (Translation: "Speak the truth, speak the truth that is pleasant. Do not speak the truth to manipulate. Do not speak falsely to please or flatter someone. This is the quality of the eternal dharma") ...
- ↑ Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivedanda, "Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) (8.14.4)", Bhaktivedanda Vedabase,
... "catur-yugānte kālena grastāñ chruti-gaṇān yathā । tapasā ṛṣayo 'paśyan yato dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ" (Translation: "At the end of every four yugas, the great saintly persons, upon seeing that the eternal [sanātanaḥ] occupational duties [dharmaḥ] of mankind have been misused, reestablish the principles of religion.") ...
. Other shlokas are 3.16.18 (sanātano dharmo); 7.11.2 (dharmaṁ sanātanam); 7.11.5 (sanātanaṁ dharmaṁ); 8.8.39, 8.14.4, 10.4.39 (dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ). - ↑ Authority, Anxiety, and Canon By Laurie L. Patton, P. 103.
- ↑ Ganga Sahay Sharma (2015). "Rigveda" (in Hindi). p. 573. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ Ganga Sahay Sharma. "Atharva Veda". p. 562. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Ed. John Bowker. Oxford University Press, 2000
- ↑ J. Zavos, Defending Hindu Tradition: Sanatana Dharma as a Symbol of Orthodoxy in Colonial India, Religion (Academic Press), Volume 31, Number 2, April 2001, pp. 109-123; see also R. D. Baird, "Swami Bhaktivedanta and the Encounter with Religions", Modern Indian Responses to Religious Pluralism, edited by Harold Coward, State University of New York Press, 1987)
- ↑ Singh, J. P. (15 June 2023). The Philosophy of Sanatan Dharma and Gita. Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House. ISBN 978-93-5760-326-3.
- ↑ "The concept of Sanatan Dharma: its roots and the historical context of its use". The Indian Express. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ↑ Kurtz 2007, p. 49. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFKurtz2007 (help)
- ↑ Knott 1998, p. 5, 117.
- ↑ Parpola 2015, p. 3.
- ↑ Dansk etnografisk forening (1995), Folk, Volumes 36-37, Dansk etnografisk forening, 1995,
... The Arya Samaj and their activities can be understood as representing a cultural revivalist movement ... the orthodox Hindus, the Sanatanis, who supported and protected Sanatana Dharma (eternal religion) ...
- ↑ Anupama Arya (2001), Religion and politics in India: a study of the role of Arya Samaj, K.K. Publications, 2001,
... the Samaj is opposed to idol worship which is practised in the traditional Sanatana Dharma of Hindu ... difference between the Arya Samaj and those movements was that the former was a revivalist and a fundamentalist movement ...
- ↑ Robin Rinehart (1999), One lifetime, many lives: the experience of modern Hindu hagiography, Oxford University Press US, 1999, p. 20, ISBN 978-0-7885-0555-3,
... the Lahore Sanatana Dharma Sabha [society for the eternal dharma], which was an organization dedicated to preserving what it considered the true Hindu tradition against the onslaught of reform and revival groups ...
- ↑ Thillayvel Naidoo (1992), The Arya Samaj movement in South Africa, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1992, ISBN 978-81-208-0769-3,
... The reception accorded the Arya Samaj ... The Hindu community ... was split into two camps, one supportive and the other antagonistic ... attitudes of intransigence which characterised dialogue between the two groups ... the two terms "Samajists" and "Sanatanis" came into vogue ...
- ↑ Philip Lutgendorf (1991), The life of a text: performing the Rāmcaritmānas of Tulsidas, University of California Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-520-06690-8,
... Perhaps the most significant impact of the Arya Samaj, the most reformist ... came from the organizational model it presented, which increasingly came to be emulated by orthodox groups ... the Sanatan Dharm Rakshini Sabha ... formed in Calcutta in 1873 ...
- ↑ Tika Ram Sharma, D. M. Gupta (1987), Essays on Rabindranath Tagore, Vimal Prakashan, 1987,
... The aftermath of the bitter and violent attack of Aryasamaj on idol-worship and an equally enthusiastic rebuttal by Sanatanis in the first three decades of this century presented as alarming a scene as a clash between Hindu and Muslim ...
- ↑ Agehananda Bharati (Swami) (1972), The Asians in East Africa: Jayhind and UhuruProfessional-technical series, Nelson-Hall Co., 1972, ISBN 978-0-911012-49-1,
... If we regard the Arya Samaj as a Protestant movement— and it is that on all counts— and the sanatanis as the traditionalists, the Hindu "Catholics," so to speak ...
Bibliography
- Knott, Kim (1998). Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-160645-8.
- Hatcher, Brian A. (2015), Hinduism in the Modern World, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-135-04631-6
- Harvey, Andrew (2001). Teachings of the Hindu Mystics. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-57062-449-0.
- Bowker, John (2000). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280094-7.
- Kurtz, Lester R. (2007), Gods in the global village: the world's religions in sociological perspective, Pine Forge Press, 2007, p. 49, ISBN 978-1-4129-2715-4
- Parpola, Asko (2015). The Roots of Hinduism. The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-022693-0.