Enter 2024 and the words “Sanatan Dharma” have become the talk of India, that is Bharat. That our journal’s editors considered this topic as the theme for 2024, several months before it became so mainstream is indeed an act of serendipity and divine providence. Recently an inadvertent and bizarre clarion call for the eradication of Sanatan Dharma raised by a political faction which has a large connect with the masses raked up a political slugfest that only stirred up the rajasic sentiments across all corners of the nation. Their claim that Sanatan Dharma was but a disease that needed to be eradicated; a vestige of a past that holds no value for the present and the future, drew sharp responses from the opposite faction which wasted no opportunity in garnering support to save the Sanatan Dharma which was now in peril. Somewhere in the cacophony, the gen Z unfortunately disconnected with his/her roots; thanks to the digital revolution which incessantly feeds them with reels, viral videos and memes day in and day out, is left wondering if ‘Sanatan Dharma’ is naught but another tool of wily politicians to divide the people for their personal gains. It bodes us well to understand the true meaning of Sanatan dharma. Sri Aurobindo recognized Sanatan Dharma to be a core value that was the foundation of India’s freedom and in his letter to Parthasarathy Iyengar, he had emphasized that care must be taken not to indulge in the old kid of politics.
Be very careful to follow my instructions in avoiding the old kind of politics. Spirituality is India’s only politics, the fulfilment of the Sanatan Dharma its only Swaraj (CWSA 36:170)
Even a cursory look at the rich history of our motherland will reveal that a war against Sanatan Dharma is not really a very novel concept. Wave after wave of invasions took place with the aim of not just looting her wealth but also for destroying the cultural heritage and wisdom; for that was truly the bedrock of the strength and brilliance of our civilization. But these demonic attempts failed and it is a fact that all future attempts too shall fail; for we have a guardian who is Himself Sanatan or eternal. In the great battle of Kurukshetra, between the Pandavas and Kauravas; a symbolic battle for justice between the forces of good and evil, we see the hero Arjuna confused and confounded right in the middle of the battle field. Initially he cries us to Sri Krishna to let him escape the battle and in a fit of emotions, claims that Sanatan dharma would get destroyed if he participated in the battle. kulakshaye pranashyanti kuladharmaaha sanatanaaha. But a terse Sri Krishna simply does not yield to Arjuna’s fervent appeals, which included his quoting various shastras and texts to justify his not partaking in the battle of justice. Instead, Sri Krishna slowly and lovingly starts transferring the wisdom of the Vedas and Vedanta through the form of a divine song, that we call the Bhagavad Gita. It is only later on; after Arjuna’s consciousness has risen after learning about the truths of the Atman and the Brahman, the metaphysical soul journey of life and death, and finally when he is granted the divya drishti, he realizes while watching the primal and almighty Vishwaroopa Darshana, which is both beautiful and terrible at the same time, remarking in submission –
tvam aksharam paramam veditavyam tvam asya vishvasya param nidhanam
tvam avyayah sasvata-dharma-gopta sanatanas tvam purusho mato me
(Bhagavad Gita 11.18)
The highest immaculate truth that by man
can be known,
The foundation upon which our universe has grown
The indestructible guardian of righteousness eternal
I believe, Thou art the one- celestial and supernal 11.18
In this light, we can definitely take solace and be at peace by not falling into a rajasic trap of impulsive reactions; fully confident that the wisdom of the Vedas, the Upanishads and all the shastras will remain until the fire burns in the eye of the sun. However, we certainly cannot afford to once more slip into the dark and tamasic slumber of ignorance. The call to serve the Divine can neither be forgotten nor dare neglected. Sri Aurobindo, in the dark prison of Alipore, received the instruction to uphold Sanatan Dharma from the Purusha himself; as he declared to the world in his Uttarpara speech.
We speak often of the Hindu religion, of the Sanatana Dharma, but few of us really know what that religion is. Other religions are preponderatingly religions of faith and profession, but the Sanatana Dharma is life itself; it is a thing that has not so much to be believed as lived. This is the dharma that for the salvation of humanity was cherished in the seclusion of this peninsula from of old. It is to give this religion that India is rising. She does not rise as other countries do, for self or when she is strong, to trample on the weak. She is rising to shed the eternal light entrusted to her over the world. India has always existed for humanity and not for herself and it is for humanity and not for herself that she must be great…
.When you go forth, speak to your nation always this word that it is for the Sanatana Dharma that they arise, it is for the world and not for themselves that they arise. I am giving them freedom for the service of the world. When therefore it is said that India shall rise, it is the Sanatana Dharma that shall rise. When it is said that India shall be great, it is the Sanatana Dharma that shall be great. When it is said that India shall expand and extend herself, it is the Sanatana Dharma that shall expand and extend itself over the world. It is for the dharma and by the dharma that India exists (CWSA 8:6)
As we meditate upon the words of Sri Aurobindo, each of us must resolve to become conscious, of our existence that is essentially divine and vast so that we can truly play our roles as instruments of the divine manifestation that is underway. This and this alone is the way we can pay our tributes to the master and the centuries of sacrifices that have taken place to uphold the nitya jyoti or eternal flame of Bharat.
For Nine days, the inferno at Nalanda burnt,
Hoping to erase all the sacred texts that were learnt.
Other sanctums of learning too were then raided;
Knowledge suffered distortions and struggled unaided!
Over generations this loss compounded and spread,
The hidden wisdom was lost- unheard and never read.
The devilish ploy was that the light be forever buried —
And down the ages nothing was passed or carried.
But little was really known or understood by man,
That all of this too was part of the grand plan.
The Vedic treasures were destroyed in time's course,
But no force on earth could touch the divine source.
From the same planes where the truth was heard,
Would reverberate once more the first word.
The newer texts too would once more come-
From this churning the world too will immortal become.
Across the oceans shall burst the volcanoes of light,
Flooding and cleansing the plagued lands of blight,
Descendants of Angiras, Atri and the other rishis shall rise;
And one hotar shall perform Vishwajit Yagnya- the final sacrifice!
May we firstly, ourselves become conscious of the mission and the vision of the master Sri Aurobindo and our bhagya vidhaata, Sri Krishna who is charioteering our Bharata to a new Dawn.
Echoing Krishna’s words from the Gita and also the Isha Upanishadic phrase – “Uttishta Bharata! Krato smara. kṛtaṁ smara “
This issue will focus on the Veda, which has very rightly been called ‘the foundation of Sanatan Dharma’.
Sushrut Badhe is a disciple of Sri.M.R.Damle and is a manufacturer of ayurvedic medicines at his guru’s factory—KVM Research Labs. His prose journey began with writing articles for Sri Aurobindo’s action in 2015 and he has a habit of writing poetry in rhymes.
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