Eastern Spirituality

Glossary Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Submit to FacebookSubmit to Google PlusSubmit to Twitter

Sanatana Dharma is another, lesser known, name for the path of Yoga Spirituality. In fact, it can be truthfully said that the practical techniques of Yoga are nothing less than the philosophy of Sanatana Dharma in practice.

Sanatana Dharma is the world's most ancient culture and the spiritual path of almost one billion of the earth's inhabitants. Followers of Sanatana Dharma are known as Dharmis (“followers of Dharma”). Though the majority of followers today are Indian (South Asian), Sanatana Dharma is a global spiritual path that has adherents from almost every nationality, race and ethnic group in the world, including an ever-increasing number of Americans. There are approximately 5 million followers in America, of which roughly a third are from India and the majority (3.5 million) are non-Indian Americans (Whites, Hispanics, African-Americans, etc.). Statistics aside, Sanatana Dharma represents much more than just a religion in the normative sense of the term; rather, it provides its followers with an entire way of life and with a coherent and rational view of reality.

Sanatana Dharma is by its very essence a term that is devoid of sectarian leanings, denominational prejudices, or ideological divisions. This is evident by the meaning of the very term itself. The two words, "Sanatana Dharma", come from the ancient Sanskrit language. "Sanatana" is a Sanskrit word that denotes "that which does not cease to be", "that which is eternal".

The word "Dharma", on the other hand, is a term that is only properly rendered into the English language with a bit of difficulty. This is the case because the word "Dharma" is describing, not an object, but rather a profound philosophical concept. Its approximate meaning is "Natural Law," or “the Natural Way”, or those principles of reality which are inherent in the very nature and design of the universe itself.

Thus the term "Sanatana Dharma" can be roughly translated to mean "The Eternal Natural Way."

Dharma - Natural Law - is universal. Dharma is eternal. Dharma is nothing less than God's laws as they are manifest in the natural world around us. Sanatana Dharma is referring to those natural principles and ways of being that are in concert with the Absolute. Being a direct reflection of God's will in this world, such principles are therefore axiomatic, or unalterable, laws of the cosmos. The term Sanatana Dharma is not referring to something that is open to alteration, speculation or human manipulation. Neither is Sanatana Dharma referring merely to some denominational faith or sectarian belief system. The principles of Dharma are transcendent and eternal laws, and thus applicable to all people for all time.

Glossary Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z