A View of Santhigiri Ashram

A View of Santhigiri Ashram
Lotus Parnasala and Sahakarana Mandiram , Santhigiri Ashram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Showing posts with label God's Universal Spiritual Order. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Universal Spiritual Order. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

What is Sanatana Dharma? Sanatana Dharma in a Nut Shell



Structure and Definition

What is Sanatana Dharma? Sanatana Dharma means God’s eternal spiritual order. Everybody knows that its nature and definition are known from the revelations of Rishis and Sages who are the authors of the Vedas and Upanishads, philosophies such as Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga, and Nyaya. There are auxiliary texts like Bhagavad Gita, Jnana Vasishta, Guru Gita, and Narada Bhakti Sutra that are secular in nature and supportive of the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma. These constitute the wisdom bank of Sanatana Dharma. Puranas, Epics, Smritis, etc. are the elaboration of these ideas focusing on ethics, history, rituals, and so on through the eyes and interpretation of various sects. These are the source material or different ways through which the question of God, Creation, the meaning and purpose of life have been approached.

But what one does not know is that their interpretation and application change from Yuga to Yuga through the authority of Dharma, namely a Kalanthara Guru, in order to fulfill the directive purpose of spiritual evolution as envisaged by Brahma Nischayam or Brahma Sankalpam. This Will of Brahman gets implemented through the sages or Kalanthara Gurus in the Manu Parampara under Manvanatara Time Order. This is the basic structure and definition of Sanatana Dharma.

Creation Theory in Sanatana Dharma

The idea of creation in Sanatana Dharma differs from the Puranic myths, which mention that god Brahma is the Creator. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru reveals that every solar system, in which all living beings have their abode, is created through the medium of an Archetypal Manu who is said to be the first self-projection of God and through whose ideation or sankalpam manifests the visible universe consisting of planetary units and stellar systems. Because of this, the Indian rishis calculated the age of the cosmos in terms of Manvantara after the name of Manu. Manu is the God manifest - the primordial Purusha, the Hiranya Garbha, or the Mahat or Ishwara mentioned in the Vedas and Upanishads - that creates our local universe consisting of twelve zodiacs, twenty-seven stars, and nine planets. This Manu, therefore, is not to be related to the author of Manusmriti, one of the dharmic treatises (Smriti) in Hinduism.

Spiritual Authority - The Kalanthara Guru

The great rishis have said that God is pure Consciousness and Light indefinable. However, God transforms Himself into a Cosmic Person (i.e. Manu) wishing to create the human universe. Various divinities, humans, and other sentient and insentient beings in the solar system get evolved through a long process of cyclical evolution by the limitless potential of knowledge and action potential (jnana shakti and kriya shakti) and ideation (sankalpam) of this Cosmic Person. Four Trikala Jnani Gurus or Kalanthara Gurus, plus one Santhi Guru, like Sri Krishna who appeared in between Dwapara and Kali Yuga, appear in every yuga to guide the spiritual evolution of Jeevas.

Sanatana Dharma - the Natural Spiritual Order

The pathetic religious discords today arise owing to the ignorance about this natural spiritual order. Every sect claims that theirs is the only way to God or the true path, which produces discord and conflicts in society. Numerous gurus, seers, and prophets of different caliber come for a different duration such as 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, or 5000 years according to the socio-spiritual evolution of society. Sri Ram, Sri Krishna, Sri Buddha, Mahavir, Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammad, Guru Nanak, and others were great preceptors who appeared for such spiritual renovation during historical intervals.
This process of spiritual renovation goes on until the end of a cosmic age that has a length of billions of years. The spiritual evolution of humanity is not limited to 2000 or 5000 years. Therefore, no prophet or guru can claim to be the final messenger of God or the only way to God. It is this spiritual culture or character of Indian spirituality known as Sanatana Dharma which makes it eternally relevant, vibrant, and tolerant of other religions.