Importance of Temple Priests in Hinduism

In Hinduism worshippers can worship their personal deities externally (bahya) with specific prayers and offerings or internally (antah) with visualization. Spiritually, the mental worship (manasa puja) is considered more effective. A devotee may perform the external worship either directly without any intermediary or indirectly with the help of a trained priest.

He may also conduct the worship at home, in a temple or at a sacred place. Traditionally, worship in Hindu temples is performed by priests, who are known as archakas (or arcakas) and yajakas. In Vaishnava temples, you invariably need the assistance of a priest to worship the deities. However, in Saiva temples, you can either worship the deity directly or with the help of a temple priest. The priests also have several local or vernacular titles such as pujari, devaswami, maharaj, etc.

Yajaka and archaka

The word Yajaka is derived from the word yaja, which means to sacrifice, worship with sacrifice, or assist those who perform the sacrifice. The worshipper or the sacrificer, and those who assist him are known as Yajis. Yajanam is the act of worship and yajamana is the one who hosts and supports the sacrifice with his patronage. The tradition of yaja dates back to the Vedic times. The word Yajurveda, meaning the Veda of rituals, the second most important Veda after the Rigveda, is derived from the root word, yajus, meaning a sacrificial prayer or formula. Presently, anyone who worships God ritually is considered yajaka.

Historically, the word archana or archaka came into prominence much later. It is derived from the word archa meaning to adore, worship, praise, sing, or salute with honor and respect. Archana is the act of worship and archaka is the worshipper. Archi means an emanation or a ray of light, or flame. The Vedas frequently compare Brahman to the immortal Sun. The immortal world of Brahman said to exist in the Sun itself and those who achieve liberation travel by the sun lit path of gods (devayana) to reach the immortal world located in the Sun. Thus, if Brahman is the Sun, each deity as an emanation of Brahman is compared to a ray of the sun (archa), and the act of worshipping him is called archana.

An archaka is one who worships an arca, meaning an image of God. In traditional Vaishnavism, an arca is a living incarnation of God in image form. The arca itself may be made of stone, wood, clay, gemstones, gold, silver, bronze, or alloys, but will be treated as an embodiment of God.

Temple as an abode of God

In this sense, in Hinduism, a temple is not a mere place of worship, but a sacred house where God resides. Since God lives in the temple not as a mere statute, or an image, but as a living and breathing entity, the temple administration has to ensure through a host of priests and attendants that He is served with great honor and treated respectfully like a king from the time he wakes up in the early hours until he goes to bed. If the particular aspect of God has a consort, family and retinue, everyone in the group has to be given due honors. The temple for all practical purposes is a universe in itself, or a heaven, in which gods dwell and interact with humans at a very personal and intimate level. Since the temple is a house of God, in most temples the principal deity and his consort are installed together and worshipped together. However, in rare cases, where the deity is either unmarried, celibate, or separated from his consort, he is worshipped alone. For example, separate temples exist for Lord Venkateswara and his consort Bhramaramba at Tirumala and Tirupathi respectively since due to a marital conflict they live separately.

Arca, the living and breathing deity

As stated earlier, an arca is a living incarnation of God in image form. Therefore, the expression idol worship in Hinduism is a complete misnomer, used by some to degrade the religion. Hindus do not worship mere stone or wooden idols. They worship a living and breathing form of God who lives inside the body that is made of stone, wood or other material. Because of it, they are treated with utmost respect, as if God is present personally to bless the devotees.

However, not all arcas are made equal. Their power and eminence depend upon how long they are present on earth, how they are installed and how many people offer them regular worship. A deity's power increases in proportion to the fervor of his or her devotees. If more people visit a temple and frequently worship the deity, the arcas installed in that temple gain more power and vigor from the offerings made and develops the ability to fulfill the wishes of the worshippers. In other words, although the same deity resides in several temples, in each temple the deity has a different potency. If they are regularly worshipped, they become active and powerful, radiate positive energy, strengthen the roots of dharma, and help more people to become spiritual and work for their liberation. Therefore, it becomes the duty (dharma) of every Hindu to visit temples and offer worship. In their turn, the temples have to ensure that the deities are regularly worshipped and more devotees are attracted to them, so that the deity (arca) gains power and potency to fulfill their wishes. It cannot happen, unless the worship is conducted by priests who are well versed in the scriptures and who have a perfect knowledge of the rituals and sacrificial ceremonies. With their knowledge and prayers, they can keep the deities well nourished and well attended.

The beginnings of temple worship

Temple worship in Hinduism was not an original Vedic practice. Vedic priests performed sacrificial ceremonies and daily practices, mostly in open places or in their homes. There was no tradition of housing the gods in temples and worship them. The tradition probably evolved overtime with the integration of several indigenous cultures who might have housed their gods and ancestors in special houses to protect them from rain and wind, and became a full-fledged practice in the post Buddhist period. The earliest temples were probably built in honor of deceased kings, saintly people, or sacred objects, by their successor and followers to discharge their debt of gratitude. Subsequently the practice might have been extended to honor the heavenly gods. Historians believe that the earliest temples were temporary structures made of wood, clay, reeds, etc. Hence, none of them survived. Construction of stone temples gained momentum during the post Mauryan era and reached its culmination in the Gupta period. It is even possible that the tradition began in the South during the reign of southern dynasties such as the Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas and Satavahanas, and spread northward. Since the earliest times, the Brahmins have been the traditional choice for all forms of Vedic worship. When temples became prominent in both north and south, they became the natural choice to perform temple rituals.

Types of priests

Broadly speaking, in Hinduism the priests who perform temple rituals fall into one or more of the following four main traditions due to their caste, family and sectarian affiliations.

1. Saivism

2. Vaishnavism

3. Shaktism

4. Folk traditions

In Vaishnava temples, priests follow either Vaikhasana or Pancaratra practices to conduct worship. Of the two, the Vaikhasana is considered the most ancient and a sect in itself. In most Vaishnava temples of southern India, including the Tirumala, Tirupathi and Madurai temples, the temple rituals are performed by Vaikhasana priests. Many Brahmin families who live in coastal Andrha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala belong to this sect. It is said that they migrated from northern India during medieval times and settled in these parts ever since. Some of them also specialize in Ayurveda.

In Saivism and Shaktism also we come across several variations in customs and practices, as they are further divided into several sub sects, each having its own traditions, philosophy and belief system. For example, followers of Kashimiri Saivism, Vira Saivism and Pasupatha Saivism follow different methods of worship and esoteric rituals. In the present day world, with the rise of popular Hinduism and construction of modern temples which house several deities belonging to different sects, you may not see much specialization among the priests who work there. You may see the same priest worshipping different deities, or the same set of priests sharing their duties and responsibilities according to the schedule fixed by the temple administration. With the construction of temples for politicians, film stars, and gurus of modern times, the tradition is getting further diluted.

The role of Archakas or Yajakas

As worshippers of God, the temple priests occupy an important position in Hinduism. According to the scriptures a worshipping priest is a devotee of God (yajaka evam madbhakta). He is verily a part of the body of God Himself (machsariram hi yajaka). One should, therefore, treat with utmost respect any priest, who offers prayers to God. Blaming him is equal to blaming God Himself. In Vaishnavism an archaka is verily considered, without any doubt, Hari himself (archakastu hari sakshat chara rupi na samsayah). We find a similar approach in Saivism also. In terms of importance, the archakas occupy the foremost place in society because by worshipping the deities properly as stipulated in the scriptures, and keeping them happy, they prevent misfortune and calamities befalling upon people and ensure peace, prosperity, and welfare of all in the towns and villages where the temples are situated. The scriptures state that if priests worship deities with pure intentions and great sincerity, it brings rich rewards to everyone. Hence, the profession of archakas is considered the most important and sacred in the world.

A day in the life of a priest

Those who work in the temples as priests have to lead an austere and disciplined life. They have to be well-versed in the scriptures and ritual knowledge. They cannot succumb to any vice or evil. They have to be free from greed, anger, lust, envy and other evils. A priest is a servant of God, who has only one mission in life, to take care of the daily needs of the deity he worships. He has no other duty, because the deity will be responsible for his personal life. Theoretically, for him the needs of God are more important than his own needs. Having a good priest in your local temple, is a blessing, because through his actions he can make a difference to a number of people who visit the temple and pay their respects.

The relationship between the deity and his priest is very personal, deep and intimate. Every priest has to be a Bhagavata, a servant-cum-devotee of the deities he worships. He has to put his heart and soul into his service and worship God with utmost devotion, but without any desire or expectations for himself. Every day, he is expected to wake up early in the morning, take a bath, wear clean clothes, perform his morning oblations, wear necessary marks upon his body according to the sect to which he belongs, and begin the day with a stable mind. Then he should go to the temple, to begin his daily service. At the temple, he should remove yesterday's offerings, (flowers, etc.,) from the place of worship, sweep the floor in the sanctum or the room where the deity is installed, and clean the tools and utensils used in the worship.

After purifying the place and rearranging everything, he should wake up the deity with a morning prayer and perform the morning archana (ritual) with the offerings of light, incense, flowers, water, food, etc. As the day proceeds and devotees start visiting the temple, he should perform various rituals according to their needs and act as a mediator between the deity and his devotees. Depending upon the popularity of the presiding deity, the rituals would continue throughout the day with some resting period in between, during which the priest would attend upon deity as if he or she were a living entity. At the end of the day, after serving the evening meal and performing the evening rituals, he should make arrangements for the deity to take rest by singing lullabies. Finally, when he is convinced that the deity is asleep, he should close the door of the sanctum, secure everything, and return home to take rest. This is the daily routine of a priest who works in a local temple where he happens to be the main priest or the only priest. In busy temples, several priests participate in these daily rituals and share their duties according to the instructions of the head priest or the temple administration. Traditionally, the priests are also entitled to their due share in the offerings made to the deity.

Since a priest is an intermediary between the deity and his devotees, he has to strictly follow the wishes of the devotees in choosing the methods of worship or making offerings. In most cases, the devotees bring their own offerings and request the priests to perform worship according to their needs which involves recitation of different prayers. A priest has to oblige them and fulfill their wishes. Many temples also charge money from the devotees to perform specific rituals. When devotees are present in large numbers, a priest has to ensure that each devotee gets a view of the deity and a proper share in the offerings.

Types of rituals

The rituals that are performed in temples vary from deity to deity. However, they fall into the following categories.

1. Daily rituals which are offered from morning to evening to serve the deity or according to the wishes of the devotees. They usually involve recitations of Sanskrit prayers and names of the deity.

2. Periodic rituals that are performed every week, fortnight, or month to commemorate auspicious celestial or astronomical events. For example there are certain rituals that are performed on every full moon day or new moon day and on specific days in each month when the planets are aligned specifically. They are meant to ensure the smooth progression, the order and regularity of the world.

3. Special worship is also offered to the deity on festive occasions, which may be festivals that are particularly associated with the deity, such as a marriage anniversary (kalyanam)the birth of a saint, or general Hindu festivals such as Deepavali or Dussehra.

4. In case of 2 and 3, some temples may have the tradition of taking out the deity on a procession and carry him through the street. On such occasions, the principal deity along with attendant deities are placed in a chariot or a human carriage and taken out in huge procession, through the streets, to the accompaniment of music and dance. While it is customary for the devotees to visit the deity throughout the year and seek his blessings, on such occasions, the deity pays a visit to his devotees to express his love and see how they are doing. It denotes that the relationship between God and His devotee is not a one-sided affair. It is mutual and God is as eager to see his devotees as the devotees are. It is also meant to ensure that those who cannot visit the temple due to age, any physical disability or personal problem are also not ignored by Him.

Pachakas

While the archakas are responsible for the worship of the deity, they are assisted in their duties by several others. Prominent among them are the pachakas, who are mainly responsible for preparing traditional food items (naivedyam) that are used in the offerings made to the deity. After offering to the deity, the remains are distributed among the devotees. The people who are responsible for preparing and cooking the food items also hail from the Brahmin families. In several ancient temples, the right to cook food for God is hereditary and rests with a few families. Food may be prepared either in the temple premises or outside. The pachakas have to prepare the food in sattvic manner, using the purest of the ingredients that are acceptable to the deity and maintain strict personal discipline as laid down in the scriptures to avoid incurring his displeasure. In preparing the offerings, they have to keep in mind that they cannot compromise on the quality or purity. Some of the preparations are historically well known. For example, the sweet balls (laddus) and other food items prepared by the Tirumala temple for Lord Venkateswara are world famous.

Acharyas

Acharyas are Vedic scholars and spiritual teachers who are employed by the temple for spreading religious awareness and speak about the significance of the temple and its deities. They are responsible for reciting morning prayers, mantras, addressing religious gatherings and narrate stories from the scriptures about legends and anecdotes associated with the deities. They may work either on a part-time or full-time basis. Many big temples also maintain their own publication division and offer books and magazines to the devotes for fees.

Paricharikas

They are specially employed in big temples to perform menial work such as sweeping the temples, cleaning the cooking utensils, booking reservations and accommodation for the devotees, organizing events, making garlands, carrying food items, lighting lamps, and protecting the temple property from vandalism.

Administration

As an abode of God, a temple is also an institution. Small temples can be managed by a single priest and a small number of patrons. However, big temples require a more organized and professional approach to manage the temple activities. Many ancient temples of India are visited by millions of people every year from various parts of the world. Their income and expenditure amount to millions of dollars. Hence, they are managed by a huge body of government officials, trust members, security personnel, priests, administrators, and others. In ancient times, temples were supported by kings and local feudal lords with lands grants. In modern times, Government of India appointed a special board to look after the temple administration and temple lands in several states. Misuse of temple funds is not unknown. However, if people are careful and pay attention, such problems can be avoided through collective effort.

This article has been originally published by by Jayaram V on Hinduwebsite.

Purpose Of Religion

Religion is the means of realizing dharma, artha, kama and moksa. These four are called purusarthas. In Tamil, dharma is called “aram”; artha is known as “porul’; and kama and moksa are called “inbam, “and vidu respectively. “Artha” occurs in the term “purusarthas”, but it is itself one of the purusarthas? What a man wants for himself in his life- the aims of a man’s life- are the purusarthas. What does a man want to have? He wants to live happily without lacking for anything. There are two types of happiness: the first is ephemeral; and the second is everlasting and not subject to diminution.

Kama or in barn is ephemeral happiness and denotes worldly pleasure, orldly desires. Moksa or vidu is everlasting happiness, not transient pleasure. It is because people are ignorant about such happiness, how elevated and enduring it is, that they hanker after the trivial and momentary joys of kama. Our true quest must be for the fourth artha that is vidu or moksa. The majority of people today yearn for the third artha that is kama. When you eat you are happy. When you are appointed a judge of the high court you feel elated. You are delighted when presented with a welcome address by some institution, aren’t you? Such types of happiness are not enduring. The means by which such happiness is earned is porul. Porul may be corn, money, and house. It is this porul that is the way to happiness. But the pleasure gained from material possessions is momentary and you keep constantly hungering for more. Moksa is the state of supreme bliss and there is no quest beyond it. We keep going from place to place and suffer hardships of all kinds. Our destination is our home. A prisoner goes to his vidu or his home after he is released. But the word vidu also means release or liberation. Since we are now imprisoned in our body, we commit the grave mistake of believing that we are the body. The body is in fact our goal. Our real home is the bliss called moksa. We must find release from the goal that is our body and dwell in our true home. God has sentenced us to goal (that is he has imprisoned us in our body) for our sins. If we practice virtue he will condone our sins and release us from the prison of our body before the expiry of the sentence. We must desist from committing sinful acts so that our term of imprisonment is not extended and endeavor to free ourselves and arrive in our true home, our true home that is the Lord. This home is bliss that passeth understanding, bliss that is not bound by the limitations of time, space and matter. Lastly, I speak of the first purusartha, dharma. Dharma denotes beneficent action, good or virtuous deeds. The word has come to mean giving, charity. “Give me dharmam. Do dharmam, mother, “cries the beggar. We speak of “dana-dharma” [as a portmanteau word]. The commandments relating to charity are called “ara-kattalai”in Tamil. Looked at in this way, giving away our artha or porul will be seen to be dharma. But how do we, in the first place, acquire the goods to be given away in charity? The charity practiced in our former birth- by giving away our artha- it is that brings us rewards in this birth. The very purpose of owning material goods is the practice of dharma. Just as material possessions are a means of pleasure, so is dharma a means of material possessions. It is not charity alone that yields rewards in the form of material goods; all dharma will bring their own material rewards. If we practice dharma without expecting any reward in the belief that Isvara gives us what he wills- and in a spirit of dedication, the impurities tainting our being will be removed and we will obtain the bliss that is exalted. The pursuit of dharma that brings in its wake material rewards will itself become the means of attaining the Paramporul. Thus we see that dharma, while being an instrument for making material gain and through it of pleasure, becomes the means of liberation also if it is practiced unselfishly. Through it we acquire material goods and are helped to keep up the practice of dharma. This means that artha itself becomes a basis of dharma. It is kama or desire alone that neither fulfils itself nor becomes an instrument of fulfilling some other purpose. It is like the water poured on burning sands.

Worse, it is an instrument that destroys everything dharmic thoughts, material possessions, liberation itself. All the same it is difficult, to start with, to be without any desire altogether. Religion serves to rein in desire little by little and take a man, step by step, from petty ephemeral pleasure to the ultimate bliss. First we are taught the meaning and implications of dharma and how to practice it, then we are instructed in the right manner in which material goods are to be acquired so as to practice this dharma; and, thirdly, we are taught the proper manner in which desires may be satisfied. It is a process of gaining maturity and wisdom to forsake petty pleasure for the ultimate bliss of moksa. Moksa is release from all attachments. It is a state in which the Self remains ever in untrammeled freedom and blessedness. The chief purpose of religion is to teach us how this supreme state may be attained. We know for certain that ordinary people do not achieve eternal happiness. The purpose of any religion is to lead them towards such happiness. Everlasting blessedness is obtained only by forsaking the quest for petty pleasures. The dictates of dharma help us to abandon the pursuit of sensual enjoyments and endeavor for eternal bliss. They are also essential to create a social order that has the same high purpose, the liberation of all. Religion, with its goal of liberation, lays down the tenets of dharma. That is why the great understand the word dharma itself to mean religion.

Religious Diversity and Biodiversity

Religious Diversity and Biodiversity

BY DAVID FRAWLEY

The Place of Religion

Religion in the true sense of the word is probably the most important aspect of human life. After all, it most clearly addresses our eternal concerns, while the other aspects of life are more transient in their outlook. Religion is perhaps the essence of all human culture and striving, our seeking to transcend ourselves to something of enduring and universal value. It represents the highest urges of humanity, our effort s to reach what is holy, perfect and pure, what grants peace, happiness and the end of suffering for all beings.

Religion, properly understood, is a means of linking the individual with the Divine or higher consciousness, whatever one may call it. This is the same definition as Yoga in the context of Indic thought, which refers to linking the individual soul with the Supreme Self or universal soul. Therefore, true religion naturally leads us to spirituality or internal practices to contact the Divine like meditation and self-inquiry. True religious culture creates a wealth of spiritual practices like the many systems of Yoga or the many forms of mysticism worldwide. It causes us to look within to change our consciousness. It shows us the importance of conquering ourselves rather than conquering the world.

Unfortunately, religion has also fallen under the distortions of the human ego and its obstinate demand for power and position. It has become a means of social control used by various vested interests that are more political than truly religious in nature. People have also limited religion to their own circumscribed beliefs. They have confused the religious urge—which is universal—with the calling of a particular faith that is temporally and culturally limited. Instead of emphasizing internal practices to become one with the Divine, they promote external methods, at time coercion, to convert the world to their particular belief, label or institution. This has turned religion—which should be a nectar that unites us—into a poison that separates us into hostile camps. It has led to every sort of violence, war and genocide, which is still going on in the world today in the name of God.

The Natural Religion

There is a certain natural religion that is common to all beings, an internal sense of the Divine, the universal and the eternal, along with an external recognition of the sacred in nature. It includes all human aspiration to find the truth, spirit or totality, not just formal religion but also philosophy, science, art and even personal aspiration of an undefined type. This natural religion develops differently in different cultures, which can enhance or distort it, but can never create or own it. However, we tend to identify our inherent religious urge with that of the religion we are born into, not realizing that the latter must be to some degree limited and cannot represent that religious urge for everyone.

The religious urge belongs to all human beings and is reflected through each individual and their unique life-experience and seeking. It is similar to the artistic urge and our creative tendencies. Those trained in one culture may have difficulty understanding the religious forms of another culture, just as they may have difficulty understanding its art forms. But if they make an effort it is easy to see that the same basic urges can take many forms. Such differences are not a matter of regret but contribute to the richness of our shared human experience.

To create a real harmony between the world’s many cultures we must honor this natural religion above and beyond the organized, formal or institutional religions that have sought to embody it. No historical, codified religion can claim to be the sole representative of the natural religion of humanity. All particular religions can only be forms or facets of it. This is the same as how as no school of art can claim to represent art in humanity as a whole. We must value the religious experience, which is a personal matter, more so than any particular religious structures or dogma.

In this regard, we should look to Hinduism, the great religious tradition of India, which has looked to the concept of Sanatana Dharma—an eternal or universal tradition of truth—not to a particular historical revelation in order to define itself. We need such an inclusive sense of Sanatana Dharma or a universal natural religion for all humanity. Only such a broad, open and synthetic view can do justice to our diverse religious approaches as a species that continue to grow and change along with our culture.

Yet we must also remember the localism that goes along with universalism, as in the ecological adage, “think globally, act locally.” A universal dharma would not impose a single religion, however broad in its scope, on everyone. It would encourage local traditions that embody each culture’s need and ability to contact the universal in harmony with the soil on which it grows. This is the real harmony between the individual and the universe that we must seek.

Religion and Culture

Most cultures have a religious foundation, with aspects of religion pervading them on many different levels, like sacred music and dance. This is particularly true of traditional cultures that have developed out of nature and the spirit, rather than out of science, technology, economics or politics as has modern civilization. Most traditional cultures see the sacred everywhere and are therefore highly religious, even if the people within them do not belong to one of the so-called major religions of the world.

Each culture, however small, has its unique contribution to the human religious experience and our greater connection with the sacred. Even so-called aboriginal cultures have much to offer in terms of earth wisdom that our present dominant world culture—in its present state of isolation from nature and ecological crisis—can benefit from. True religion comes from life and nature; it is not an invention of ideas or ambitions. One could argue that pre-technological people are more spiritual or truly religious than those today who are trained to look at the world with a scientific or commercial vision. Even today we still look to our oldest books, not our latest inventions, for our greatest spiritual guidance.

Religion is the core factor of most cultures. Therefore, to preserve cultural diversity, religious diversity must also be maintained. To show members of all countries taking on the same religious belief is not an example of tolerance or multiculturalism but the domination of one religion over the others. It is a mark of spiritual poverty, an inability to see the richness of the human religious experience and the reduction of it to one line only. It resembles colonialism as a form of cultural conquest, not a true sensitivity to the human experience in all its abundance.

The Parallel Between Cultural Diversity and Biodiversity

Scientists and ecologists all over the world today recognize the importance of biodiversity for the health and well-being of the planet and all the creatures living on it. A rich biodiversity sustains a healthy ecosystem in which the different interdependent species promote the overall evolution of life on the planet.

When the number of species declines, as is the case today, all of nature suffers. First, the particular plant and animal species are lost along with their important genetic information developed over millions of years that cannot be replaced. Second, the whole biosystem suffers, deprived of the unique contribution of the particular species, like a chain with a broken link. The process of natural evolution is halted or reduced.

The same is true with cultural and religious diversity. Each cultural group carries an aspect of our human heritage just as each species contains a certain aspect of nature. Cultures develop over time and carry a wealth of information and wisdom. When a culture is marginalized or destroyed, the process of social evolution is also reduced and halted.

The destruction of biodiversity occurs along with the destruction of natural habitats and ecosystems. Similarly, the destruction of cultural diversity is occurring along with a destruction of cultural habits and social orders. It is not surprising today that cultural and religious diversity is getting reduced along with biodiversity. It reflects the same alienation from nature and lack of contact with a higher consciousness necessary to synthesize the many sides of life. The result is that we are creating an environment for future generations of both a devastated natural environment and a religious and cultural vacuum or uniformity as well.

Culture, Our Mother

Culture is the field in which we are born, take root and develop. A rich culture like a rich soil allows for the full flowering of all individual potentials. Maintaining cultural and religious diversity is essential to social health and to intellectual and spiritual progress for all humanity. A rich cultural field aids in individual growth and is essential for any real global civilization that must accommodate the many different peoples in the world.

The hallmark of true civilization is diversity, having a variety of peoples, ideas, arts, crafts, foods and goods accessible to all. It represents and honors many cultures—this is what is behind being cosmopolitan as opposed to be provincial. Those who are truly civilized can appreciate different foods, languages, art forms and religions. They are not like the proverbial frog in the well that believes that his well is the sea. For real progress, therefore, we must affirm pluralism in culture and religion as a global value, just as we affirm pluralism in dress, languages or styles of art.

Today our cultural soil is as abused and depleted as our farmlands. Our cultural seeds are being destroyed just as are our agricultural seeds. Instead of sharing the richness of culture, the current globalism tries to impose a materialistic and commercial culture on the entire world, to the detriment of older and deeper traditions. It similarly has certain stereotyped and mass produced religious beliefs that it is seeking to impose worldwide.

The Dangers of Monoculture

Today our cultural sphere has been as severely diminished as much as our biosphere. Multinational business, political and religious interests have eliminated much cultural and religious variations in the name of progress and are seeking to eliminate even more as they plan to dominate the world market. Just as the world’s forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, so too cultural forests are being eliminated, not even knowing the wealth that they contain. We are facing not only bleak natural landscapes after deforestation but our social landscapes are also devoid of nature and the spirit. They are similarly turning into urban and technological wastelands. This is causing various social and psychological problems, like the epidemic of depression among all age groups that is currently occurring in the United States. The solution to these problems is not better drugs to treat them but a restoration of our internal and external connections with nature, the universe and our true selves.

The modern world is rapidly moving towards a monoculture. People all over the world are adapting the values and life-style of the western commercial world. We see how blue jeans, Coca-Cola, Barbie dolls and western pop music are everywhere and where they go indigenous forms of food, dress and behavior get marginalized or eliminated. The new commercial religion is the stock market, shopping malls and sports arenas. Such a monoculture sets in motion a process of ‘deculturalization’, in which local cultures are subordinated or destroyed. It is also destroying traditional religions worldwide, because they inherently resist commercialization and standardization.

Missionary monotheism remains the dominant formal religion of the modern monoculture, just as it was the thrust of colonialism. This is not surprising, as the monoculture is simply colonialism in a new form. As a type of monocultural religion, missionary monotheism has one belief, book and savior or prophet for everyone—a similar mass production and franchising as in the business world. It is hostile to indigenous religions that are locally based and represent independent cultural centers and allow independent spiritual experience among their members. Wherever it goes traditional cultures are subordinated or destroyed. At best they are made into tools or ornaments of the church or the faith. At worst they are removed altogether as unholy.

The Danger of Proselytizing

Cultures today are being destroyed in two primary ways. The first is through economic development that promotes western civilization and its sensate values. The second is through religious proselytizing that causes people to give up their native religious culture and take on a mainstream western religious belief instead. We will address more the second cause, as it is a more direct attack. However, the missionary business is formulated and works like a multinational corporation, with global conversion strategies broadcast on the Internet, so that there is an overlap between both factors.

Proselytizing consists of externally approaching others and seeking to change their religious belief, under the conviction that one’s religion is the highest truth and that whatever religion other people may follow is inferior, wrong or unholy. Proselytizing is a weapon of richer cultures to take over poorer cultures. It is often combined with charitable help, material reward, or promises of social advancement or a better life for new converts. It is not an inner quest for spiritual realization but an outer effort to increase the numbers of the faithful, as if outer religious labels were what really counted. Proselytizing is a rejection and denial of pluralism. Once traditional people change their religious practices, their religious and spiritual heritage is lost, and along with it, generally their entire culture.

We must honor pluralism in religion in order to save traditional cultures. Pluralism is arguably the essence of religion that consists of honoring the Divine—which transcends name and form—in all names and forms. How can we even speak of the Divine, the infinite and eternal, if we cannot acknowledge different approaches to it among human beings? Relative to the unlimited, where can limitations be made and who has the authority to impose them on others? Such religion is a form of spiritual materialism that confuses formless inner truth with fixed outer forms.

However, honoring pluralism in religion is not an attempt to end dialogue and debate between religions, which is a great necessity. It does not mean that we must think that all religions are the same, that we cannot have differing views on religion, or that no one should be allowed to change their religion or even live without religion. It means that we should honor freedom of religion as a spiritual as well as a political principle. We must honor the right of others to follow a different path than our own, even if we may not agree with them.

Many of the churches today that claim to honor political freedom do not honor spiritual freedom or diversity of religion. They don’t really believe in spiritual freedom but use political freedom to impose spiritual uniformity on others. They think that theirs is the only path and use a political freedom of religion not to promote spiritual freedom, but to convert the entire world to their particular belief. This freedom to convert is really a form of cultural aggression and prejudice in disguise. It has nothing to do with human rights and all to do with vested interests.

In fact, we need much more discussion between religious groups, but to find the truth, not to allow one group or church to triumph in the outer world. We need an open and free dialogue between religious leaders in order to preserve and develop our spiritual heritage as a species. Proselytizing, on the other hand, targets the poor, weak and uneducated; those who are defenseless on an intellectual or spiritual level, like tribal people in Africa and Asia. It promotes denigration and disinformation about other religious traditions, upholding prejudicial stereotypes of native beliefs as backward, idolatrous or superstitious. It works covertly, in the dark, where it cannot be easily challenged. The missionary comes with a mind made up, not to learn but to teach, not to be converted but only to convert.

Cultural Depredation

The destruction of traditional cultures, whether through religious or military conquest, often leaves devastation in its wake, like a plant that has been uprooted. Traditional people whose culture has been denigrated or destroyed are like individuals who have been abused. They easily fall into negative behavioral patterns, violence, social division, and addiction to alcohol and drugs. The result is that a vibrant traditional society in harmony with its natural environment ends up as a ghetto of alienated people who often even lose the ability to feed themselves. We have seen this on the Native American reservations in the USA but in many other places in the world as well.

Cultural depredation can be economically, politically or socially advantageous to certain groups. It has been used to gain territory, power and wealth in various ways. But even that done in the name of God is a sin against humanity and nature. It is a violation of the natural order that must lead us all to grief over time. To truly honor the Divine is to recognize the Divine in all beings and let them work out their own destiny without our interference, whatever religious approach they may chose to develop.

Cultures are best preserved by keeping them alive and independent, letting their own members develop and adapt their traditional ways to the demands of the modern world. Some efforts at ‘cultural preservation’ consist of turning cultures into museum pieces or shows for the tourists. This is also a subversion of culture, turning entire cultures into sideshows for western civilization.

Missionary religions also try to appear to be more sensitive to traditional cultures by adapting their forms, like Christian forms of traditional Indian dance to show that Christianity is not against Indian culture. This process is called ‘acculturation’ and consists of giving local cultural forms for the missionary belief in order to make it seem less intrusive. It tries to separate native cultures from native religions in order to make conversion easier, which is dishonest because the two are organically and historically inseparable. This is not real cultural respect but another form of cultural depredation, co-opting culture to another agenda like how a franchise takes over a local business in order to aid in its expansion. We can compare it to McDonalds offering vegetarian burgers in India in order to appear more sensitive to the concerns of Hindus who don’t eat meat. It is still the promotion of the same multinational company that wants to make money however and wherever it can. Similarly, the religions that follow such an approach are showing that they are seeking converts in whatever way they can.

The Need for Indigenous Solutions: Modernization without Westernization

Native or traditional cultures are often materially backwards in the modern world for various reasons, mainly economic or technological in nature. There is the idea—developed during the colonial era—that for traditional societies to advance, they must adopt western culture, including western religion. This has been connected to the further thought that their religion and spirituality is the cause of their backwardness. Therefore, a change of religion is proposed to advance traditional societies in civilization. This idea, however, has been disproven in recent decades. Many traditional peoples have become successful in the modern world without giving up their culture or their native religion. Similarly, many countries have changed their religion to those of the West, without gaining a corresponding economic or social advancement through it.

Japan, for example, has become an economic power by adopting strong economic policies not by giving up its Buddhist and Shinto background for Christianity. On the other hand, the Philippines has remained economically backward because of poor economic policies regardless of becoming Christian some centuries ago. The same is true of the many Catholic countries of Central and South America that remain among the poorest and most backward in the world.

Hindus have shown how they can become successful in the modern world without having to lose their religion or culture. In fact they have found it to be a point of strength, with Hindu family and educational values aiding in a high level of achievement among Hindu students. Hindus in UK, USA and India are successful in every field including modern science and the computer world and yet have remained spiritual and philosophical Hindus. India today is beginning to develop economically by taking up sound economic policies and giving up the old socialist model that kept it down the same way socialist policies kept down the economies of eastern Europe. India’s current economic revival has nothing to do with a change of religion but in fact is coinciding with a revival of Hinduism in the country.

In addition, many traditional spiritual teachings are becoming popular in the western world to fill the spiritual vacuum created by modern materialistic civilization. There is now an entire western counterculture of Yoga, Buddhism, Shamanism, traditional medicine and native practices of all types done not by primitive people but by the elite of the western world. It appears that the western world is looking to such native traditions for a spirituality in harmony with the coming planetary age, not at its own older religious traditions that are often more historically or culturally limited. The very traditions previously considered backward are not looked at as possessing the keys to the future.

Therefore, we must emphasize ‘indigenous solutions’ to the problems of traditional societies today, including for economic or social advancement. Traditional cultures can become modern without losing their religion or culture. In fact, they can experience a renaissance in the modern world by sharing their spiritual traditions and more organic culture with the world as a whole.

The tendency to equate the advances in science and technology with western culture and religion is clearly wrong. People of various cultures and religions are successful today in science and technology. Modern science is not necessarily out of harmony with eastern or native beliefs, nor is something that belongs to the religions of the West, which in fact have often historically opposed it. Religions like Hinduism that recognize consciousness as the ground of a universe and date the universe as many billions of years old are more in harmony with modern science than orthodox religious views that the universe was created by God some few thousand years ago. Many modern physicists have found inspiration in such eastern teachings.

One could argue that native societies have better preserved the spiritual traditions of humanity, just as the West has better developed our material capacities. What we need at this juncture of history is to combine the two in a complementary way. Traditional spirituality can be a source for new ideas in science, culture and religion such as the entire world needs for the dawning planetary age.

The ecological movement is another example of a modern trend that borrows much from indigenous cultures. The emphasis on the Earth as our mother is a common theme in traditional societies from America to India. Ecologists look to tribal societies for ways of living in harmony with nature. They stress the need for organic social systems that include unity and diversity and that sustain ways of interacting with nature with reverence and sustainability.

Religious Exclusivism, Colonialism and Racism

Religious pluralism accepts that the fact that there are many ways to God or Truth and that ultimately spirituality is an individual affair. It cannot accept any single belief, tradition or ritual or prayer as best for everyone. The idea that only one religion is true and that only its members are entitled to salvation is a prejudice akin to racism and colonialism, with which it was associated in the nineteenth century. While globally we have rejected racism and colonialism as prejudices we are still allowing religious exclusivism to go on unchallenged, or even honored as somehow holy or capable of uniting humanity.

Religious exclusivism, in spite of all of its talk of One God, divides humanity into the believers and the non-believers, with the latter and all their spiritual and religious traditions made unholy. This exclusive and social division sows the seeds of violence. As long as it continues, peace and understanding cannot be possible between the members of different religions. As a species we must recognize the danger of religious exclusivism and no longer seek to promote it. The whole idea of one religion as the only truth is contrary to the very meaning of religion, which is meant to connect us with the universal, nameless, formless and infinite. Religious exclusivism is an attempt by one culture to create a monopoly of religion for itself. Yet religion is the spiritual or immaterial side of our culture that cannot be owned, dispensed or controlled by anyone.

Place and Limitation of Secularism

Religious and spiritual freedom is as important as political freedom. There should be no state control, no authoritarian institution or dogma about spiritual truth any more than about scientific truth. Therefore, it is good that modern society has reduced the power of religious institutions, particularly in terms of politics and education. But secularism should not result in banishing the sacred from life or the commercialization of everything.

We need to avoid the control of society by particular religious institutions and beliefs, but at the same time we should cultivate a spiritual approach to life, honoring the religious experience in all of its forms, rather than seeking to impose one form of it on everyone. Then we can create a society that is both free and also spiritual. We should remember that as human beings we are part of the greater universe. A secular humanism that destroys the natural world is inhumane and species wise a form of arrogance. A sacred universalism is the real need of the times.

The Way Forward

• We must aim at preserving religious diversity just as preserving biodiversity.
• We must expose the forces attacking religious diversity and make them accountable, just as we are challenging the forces damaging our natural environment.
• We must challenge disinformation in religion that stereotypes certain religions as pagan, heathen and idolatrous, just as we challenge disinformation about race or ethnicity.
• Leaders of all religions should affirm that there are many paths to the infinite and that no one path is the only one or the best for all.
• Religious leaders should emphasize seeking the Divine directly within ourselves through meditation, not looking externally to an institution or a book, or projecting a need to convert the world to a single religion.

The triumph that we must seek is the victory of truth, not that of one set of ideas, beliefs or another. It is not one religion or another that will save humanity from its present crisis but an honoring of the spiritual life in all of its forms, particularly in our daily lives and personal interactions. We must restore our harmony both with the world of nature on the outside and the world of nature, the Divine Self within. We must restore our natural and spiritual order with the sacred in order to go forwards as a species. All religions can contribute to this, if they go back to the real intention of religion to connect with the infinite and give up their fixation on outer names and forms.

Hidden Horizons: Unearthing 10,000 Years of Indian Culture, Preface

Author’s Preface for Hidden Horizons: Unearthing 10,000 Years of Indian Culture. Published by the Swaminarayan.

The idea for following book arose after a special meeting between the two authors and seven Swamis of the Swami Narayan order, at the behest of Sadhu Brahmavihari Das. The meeting took place at the new Akshardham temple complex in Delhi, which was then not quite yet finished (March 2005). The Swamis also honored us with a tour of this new and spectacular monument.

As part of this tour, the Swamis showed us their “Ten Minute Down the Sarasvati River” display, one of their important cultural presentations on ancient India, and a great production in its own right. They sought our help with the display and its information. In the ensuring dialogue the idea arose of a short book on ancient India written specifically to accompany the display. At the same time, we concluded that the book should have also general value as a concise, complete and well-illustrated volume that would be useful at all Hindu religious centers and, on a broader level, for the general public.

Both authors have written extensively on ancient India, in various books and articles widely published in the Indian press and in other countries, particularly the USA. The present volume allows us to summarize and update the material we have previously presented. We have also individually written on different aspects of Indian culture and Vedic sciences, not simply as specialists on history. Our perspective is of those who respect the Vedic tradition and can look at ancient India from its broader perspective.

We must emphasize that the ancient history of India still requires revision in light of both recent scientific information and a more accurate study of India’s own venerable literature. Many of the commonly accepted and textbook accounts of ancient India have now been contradicted by new evidence in several fields. Whether one entirely agrees with the alternative views we have put forth or not, these old accounts can no longer be accepted without question.

To treat the revision of historical books as a kind of tampering with scriptures, as some scholars in India are suggesting today, makes no sense at all. History is man-made; it must be updated like all knowledge. All over the world, the dates for the beginning of civilization and for human populations are being pushed back in time. India cannot be exempted from such a revision. The historical accounts of fifty years ago cannot be made the last word any more than the science of fifty years ago.

On the scientific side, recent geological finds like the many urban sites along the now dry Sarasvati River and a greater understanding of natural history and genetics, like the dispersal of human populations from Southeast Asia eight to ten thousand years ago, have important ramifications relative to the history and cultural development of India.

On the literary side, the recognition that the Vedas contain important spiritual, scientific and historical knowledge contradicts older European views of them as primitive and unsophisticated. Such data must be considered carefully and cannot be ignored. In this regard, we have tried to make the book engaging, examining the most difficult and disputed issues, so to arrive at a deeper truth.

We have also aimed at a book that honors the cultural heritage of India and seeks to present that as part of the history. A great culture cannot arise from an historical vacuum or from mere borrowings from invading nomads, as many current accounts of ancient India suggest. India’s culture is itself a proof of a great history.

We have tried to make the book relevant and alive for the modern reader, especially the youth. The book seeks to inspire as well as to inform, to turn the history into a cultural experience rather than a technical presentation only. The book is something like a hundred page ride down the Sarasvati River. Through a culture of ten thousand years, numerous sages, and the development of one of the world’s greatest civilizations, it can only provide a few snapshots and summaries that address the main points.

For those who want more information on these subjects, we urge the reader to look into our other books and those given in the bibliography. The history of India is one of the world’s great cultural and spiritual adventures, which all people should study and can learn a great deal from.

We thank in particular the Swaminarayan movement for allowing us this opportunity. We only hope that our work does justice to the great civilization of India and helps renew it for coming generations.

Summary of Main Points Emphasized in the Book

1) India had the largest and most continuous of all the civilizations of the ancient world starting by at least 3000 BCE, with a much more extensive urban civilization than Egypt or Sumeria of the same time periods. Yet its role as a source of civilization has largely been ignored by the historical biases of the West.

2) The Vedic Literature is the ancient world’s largest, with its many thousands of pages dwarfing what little the rest of the world has been able to preserve. This literature reflects profound spiritual concepts, skill in mathematics, astronomy and medicine, special knowledge of language and grammar and other hallmarks of a great civilization. It cannot be attributed to nomads and barbarians or to the short space of a few centuries.

3) The ancient Indian literature, the world’s largest, and ancient Indian archaeology, also the ancient world’s largest, must be connected. We can no longer accept the idea of Ancient India without a literature and Vedic literature reflecting no real culture or civilization. Vedic literature and its symbolism is clearly reflected in Harappan archaeology and its artifacts.

4) Southeast Asia, which included South India, was the home of most human populations, which migrated after the end of the Ice Age, when the water released by melting glaciers, flooded the region around ten thousand years ago. Southeast Asia, not the Middle East, is the likely cradle not only of populations, but culture and agriculture as well.

5) The Sarasvati River, the dominant river in India in the post-Ice Age era, after 8000 BCE, and the main site of urban ruins in ancient India, is well described in Vedic texts. It ceased to flow around 1900 BCE, making the Vedic culture older than this date. All stages of the development and drying up of the Sarasvati can be found in Vedic texts down to the Mahabharata, showing that the Vedic people were along the river at all phases.

6) There is no scientific or archaeological basis for any Aryan or Dravidian race, which are now discredited concepts. No Aryan skeletal remains have ever been found in India apart from the existing populations in the country going back to prehistoric times. There is no archaeological evidence of any Aryan invasion or migration into India but only the continuity of the same populations in the region and their cultural changes. This requires that we give up these old ideas and look at the data afresh apart from them.

7) Connections between Indian languages and those of Europe and Central Asia, which can be found relative to both Sanskritic and Dravidian languages, are more likely traceable to a northwest movement out of India after the end of the Ice Age. The late ancient Aryan and Dravidian migrations, postulated to have taken place c. 1500 BCE into India from Central Asia of western linguistic theories occur too late, after populations and cultures were already formed, to result in the great changes attributed to them. Besides no records of such proposed migrations/invasions have yet to be found. Archaeology, literature and science, including genetics, all contradict it.

8) Vedic spirituality of ritual, mantra, yoga and meditation, based on an understanding of the dharmic nature of all life, created the foundation for the great spiritual traditions of India emphasizing individual experience of the Divine and spiritual practice over outer dogmas and beliefs. Such a spiritual ethos is the fruit of a great and mature ancient civilization.

9) The Hindu view of time, as through the Hindu Yuga theory, that connects human history with natural history of tens of thousands of years marked by periodic cataclysms makes sense relative to new scientific discoveries relative to natural history through genetics and climate changes.

10) This ancient, eternal Vedic culture is still relevant to the world today and lives on in the great ashrams, temples and spiritual practices of India. Reclaiming this ancient spiritual heritage of India and spreading it throughout the world is one of the greatest needs of the coming planetary age, in which we must go beyond the boundaries of creedal boundaries and materialistic values.

Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma and India

By David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri)

First Published in Hindu Voice UK

Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana Dharma, which means the eternal or universal tradition, is the ancient name for what we today call the Hindu religion. It refers to a dharma, a teaching, law or truth that exists in perpetuity, that is all-encompassing, embracing the full spectrum of human spiritual experience, culminating in the direct realization of the Divine as one’s own true Self.

Through the course of time and human limitations, Hinduism may have taken on various elements which do not reflect this eternal essence of universal truth. However, the power of Sanatana Dharma continues behind the Hindu tradition, particularly in its Yoga and Vedanta spiritual forms, providing it with a depth, breadth and vitality that perhaps no other spiritual tradition on Earth is able to sustain.

One can find in Hinduism all the main religious teachings of the world from nature worship, to theism, to the formless Absolute. One can find practices of devotion, yoga, mantra and meditation in a great plethora of expressions, including the world’s most sophisticated spiritual philosophies of Self-realization. Hinduism is not anchored to any single prophet, book or historical revelation that can tie down the expanse of its vision. It does not subordinate the individual to an outer religious authority, but encourages everyone to discover the Divine within their own awareness.

Indeed, if one were to synthesize all the existing religions of the world, one would end up with a teaching much like Hindu Dharma. Hinduism has the devotional theism of western religions, the karma theory and meditation practices of Buddhism, and the nature worship of native traditions, all unified at a deep philosophical and experiential level into one harmonious fabric. Hinduism appears like the common root from which these various religious expressions have diversified or perhaps, departed.

Global Sanatana Dharma and Hinduism in India

Yet though Hinduism has been its main expression through history, Sanatana Dharma as a universal and eternal tradition cannot be reduced to the forms of Hinduism or to a tradition belonging only to India. Sanatana Dharma has counterparts in other lands and traditions. In fact, one can argue, wherever the higher truth is recognized, that is Sanatana Dharma, regardless of the names, forms or personalities involved.

If we look at the ancient world prior to the predominance of western monotheistic traditions, we find much that resembles Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma, whether among the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Celts, Persians, Chinese or Mayas to name but a few. India is the land in which Sanatana Dharma has taken the deepest root and maintained its best continuity. Hinduism is the religion in which Sanatana Dharma has best survived. But Santana Dharma is relevant to all peoples and must be recognized throughout the world for the planet to achieve its real potential for the unfoldment of consciousness.

One then may ask, “If Hinduism is an expression of Sanatana Dharma, why does it appear to be limited to India like a local ethnic religion, rather than a universal approach?” The first thing to realize in this regard is that a universal approach will always seek to create local forms. For example, a universal approach to diet will encourage people to eat the local food that has the best nutritional content. It will not emphasize the same food items for people in all lands and climates.

Sanatana Dharma will always create a great diversity of local forms, and never aim at uniformity. Uniformity is not a sign if universality, but of artificiality. Dharma is not a set of fixed beliefs or practices but a way of adaptation to the living truth that is always changing in form though one in law and principle. Even in India we see a great deal of local diversity in how Hinduism is presented and expressed in the different parts of the country. This variety that exists within Hinduism is probably greater than the variety found within any other religion. Yet through all of this diversity there remains a clear unity of Hindu thought and culture.

Sanatana Dharma is central to the soul of India as a nation. India’s place in human history is to function as the global guru or spiritual guide rooted in Sanatana Dharma as Sri Aurobindo once eloquently proclaimed. The traditional culture of India is infused with yoga, meditation and experiential spirituality of all types. This means that India cannot flourish as a country without a recognition of Sanatana Dharma and an honoring of its values on all levels of India’s culture.

However, besides its connection to Sanatana Dharma, India has another side, much like many other countries and cultures. There are divisive forces that deny this dharmic cultural unity, whether in the name of political ideologies like Marxism, other religious traditions like Christianity and Islam, or sectarian trends within Hinduism itself. Even in Hindu society, we too frequently see an emphasis on clan, family, and community that overrides any greater national interests or even the greater needs of Hinduism itself. This narrow vision can reduce Hindu Dharma to an Indian tradition only, or it can emphasize one Hindu sect or guru while ignoring the greater background of Sanatana Dharma.

One encounters this problem particularly when non-Indians seek to become Hindus. They are often told that one must be born a Hindu and cannot convert to Hinduism, which is not true historically or Hinduism could have never spread so far as it has. We also see this problem with Hindus who have migrated outside of India. They form their own religious communities, which is admirable, but do not make much of an effort to bring non-Indians into these, even when such individuals may approach them seeking to join Hindu Dharma. This further gives the impression that Hinduism is a religion for a particular ethnic group only, not a universal path. It can turn away westerners who have a genuine receptivity to Sanatana Dharma.

The Revival of Hinduism through Sanatana Dharma

To counter such attempts to limit Hinduism and to bring its teachings out for the benefit of all, we need a revival of Hinduism as Sanatana Dharma, the eternal or universal tradition, for the entire planet. Such a global projection of Sanatana Dharma does not deny the importance of Hinduism as central to India, its culture, its past and its future. But it emphasizes a global and expansive Hinduism, not one that contracts itself according to geographical or ethnic boundaries.

Such a bold assertion of Sanatana Dharma makes Hinduism relevant to all peoples, all religions and all cultures. It removes Hinduism from being restricted to local forms or controlled by the dictates of any particular group. This expansive Sanatana Dharma will naturally honor India and seek a revival of Hinduism in India. But it will do so with a global vision and a linking up with Hindus and dharmic groups worldwide.

There have already been important movements in this in direction. In fact, one can argue that the global spread of Hindu teachings like Yoga, Vedanta and Ayurveda is a sign of Sanatana Dharma arising at a global level. Gurus from India and their teachings have spread to all countries.

Unfortunately, many modern teachers from India have left the greater portion of Hinduism behind in their attempt to gain a broader recognition, to the extent of denying their Hindu roots and not educating their disciples in the greater Hindu tradition, its importance and its values. Instead of honoring the Hindu connection with Sanatana Dharma, they promote an artificial unity of all religions that puts Hindu views and practices in the background or ignores them altogether.

Such teachers state that people can add the spiritual practices of the Hindu tradition, like Yoga and Vedanta, on to any other cultural or religious foundation. They do not encourage people to study and honor the Hindu tradition itself but rather to stay within their own culture’s religious tradition, even if it is anti-Hindu. They do not emphasize Hinduism’s special connection to Sanatana Dharma, but try to make Hindus feel that all other religions are the same as their own and no real differences exist between them.

In this regard, such teachers of universal spirituality are making a mistake in their understanding of dharma. Sanatana Dharma is not just a spiritual path or what is called a Moksha Dharma, a way of liberation. Sanatana Dharma shows a dharmic way for all aspects of life starting with personal life-style practices, to the family, education, business, intellectual culture and even politics (all the spheres of dharma, artha, kama and moksha).

Unfortunately, the teachers who try to universalize the Moksha Dharma of Hinduism and apply it to all religions leave out the other aspects of Dharma, which includes the dharmic foundation for both social and individual life. A new resurgent global Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma will project all aspects of dharma and not be limited to a Moksha Dharma. It is important that we replace this “radical universalism” of all religions being the same, which is a misinterpretation and diminution of Sanatana Dharma, with a global Hindu and dharmic resurgence that affirms Sanatana Dharma as both a spiritual path and a way of life on all levels.

It is not only Yoga and Vedanta that have universal value, so does the foundation of Hindu Dharma on all levels. This includes Hindu rituals, which are a science of interacting with the cosmic forces, Hindu temples and holy places which are conduits for cosmic energy, Vedic sciences like Ayurveda, Vedic astrology and Vastu, Hindu music and dance and other Hindu art forms. These outer aspects of Hindu or dharmic living can be developed and adapted in different cultural contexts but their basic principles are as enduring as the great truth of Vedanta that there is only one Self in all beings.

On this foundation of dharmic living, both in terms of our outer culture and our inner spiritual practices, people from all lands and cultures can embrace Sanatana Dharma. They can find in Hindu thought a model for an authentic dharmic culture and spirituality that addresses their own individual, social and environmental needs, which they can use to restructure their lives as way of Self-realization. In that dharmic approach, all divisive religious identities will disappear into a greater unity of consciousness, not only with other human beings, but with the entire universe.