Sanātana Dharma


Sanātana Dharma or Sanatanism is an alternative term for Hinduism, primarily used as an endonym to the exonym of Hinduism. The term is found in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.
The term denotes the "eternal" or absolute set of duties or religiously ordained practices incumbent upon all Hindus, regardless of class, caste, or sect. Many Hindus in the Indian subcontinent call themselves Sanatanis, that is, those who follow the 'eternal dharma', to evoke a certain homogeneity in Hinduism. 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.

Etymology

In Sanskrit, translates approximately to "eternal law" or, less literally, "eternal way." In Pali, the equivalent term is .
Dharma is often translated as "duty" but has a deeper meaning. The word comes from the Sanskrit root "" which means "to sustain" or "that which is integral to something". A person's dharma consists of duties that sustain them according to their innate characteristics which are both spiritual and material, generating two corresponding types:
  1. Sanatana-dharma – duties performed according to one's spiritual identity as atman 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.
  2. Varnashrama-dharma – duties performed according to one's material nature and are specific to the individual at that particular time. One's "own duty" according to his or her class or varna and stage of life should win when in conflict with Sanatana-dharma.
According to the notion of sanatana-dharma, the eternal and intrinsic inclination of the living entity is to perform seva. Sanatana-dharma, being transcendental, refers to universal and axiomatic laws that are beyond our temporary belief systems.

History

The phrase dharma sanātana occurs in classical Sanskrit literature, for example, in the Manusmrti and in the Bhagavata Purana.
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.
Today, Sanatana Dharma is associated with Hinduism. In current-day usage, the term sanatana dharma is diminished and used to emphasize a "traditional” or sanatani outlook in contrast to the socio-political Hinduism embraced by movements such as the Arya Samaj. In sharp contrast to the efforts by Lahore Sanatana Dharma Sabha to preserve the Hindu tradition against the onslaught of reform, now it is being stressed that Sanatana Dharma cannot be rigid, it has to be inclusive without excluding the best and totality of knowledge to guide the karmic process, especially as Sanatana has no beginning and no end.

Competition with other denominations

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. 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 Sanatana Dharma Rakshini Sabha in 1873.