Hinduism is the world’s oldest living tradition. Hindus prefer to call their tradition ‘Sanatana Dharma’ - The universal tradition without a beginning and without an end, because the concepts it believes in are ageless and timeless. It’s not only a belief, but also a way of life. It is peace loving and culturally rich. There is a saying that: “Sanatana Dharma is timeless in its concepts, rich in its diversity, wise in its age, practical in its morality, enthusiastic in its festivals and thoughtful in its philosophy. Today, Hindus worldwide can be proud of their ancient tradition and believe that this saying is the truth.
The four beliefs of Sanatana Dharma. They are:
• Avatar: Manifestation of God on earth. God Himself incarnates on earth in various forms to establish dharma and grant liberation.
• Murthi Pooja: Worship of God’s images and His different manifestations. Consecrated images represent the presence of God which is worshipped. The images help devotees offer their devotion to God.
• Law of Karma: Karma means action. This means we receive the good and bad fruits of our past actions now, and we also have to bear the good and bad fruits of our present actions in the future. Well-intentioned acts yield positive karma (punya) and ill-intentioned acts yield negative karma (papa). Such consequences have to be lived.
• Punarjanma (Reincarnation): Our souls are born and reborn in one of the 84,00,000 species until we attain liberation.
Prarthana (Prayer) is a way to communicate with God. By offering prayers to God we thank Him, ask Him for forgiveness for the mistakes we might have made, and ask Him to help us become enlightened and attain peace in our lives. God hears all our prayers that come from the heart at all times of the day. By offering prayers to the Supreme God, we are able to live our lives without worries and stress, because we know that God will take care of us. AUM is a divine sound. It was the first sound of creation from which life was formed. By chanting AUM, it generates a creative and divine energy. The ‘A’ is the sound emanating from the base of the throat, ‘U’ is produced by the impulse rolling forward in the mouth and ‘M’ is produced by closing the lips. So AUM covers the full range of sounds and the entire phenomenon of sound. It also symbolizes the three-fold functions of God: Creation (Brahma), Preservation (Vishnu) and Destruction (Maheshwara).
A Guru or a Teacher is needed to guide us through school. Our parents are needed to guide us through our lives. A Guru is needed to guide us on the spiritual path. Only a true Guru knows how to reach God. We have to accept a true Guru who embodies the saintly qualities of God as described in the Hindu shaastras. A true Guru is the only person who can guide us on the correct spiritual path that will lead us to moksha (liberation).
As long as one is praying at home, it is not necessary to go to a temple to remain a Hindu. One never stops being a Hindu. While prayer at home is good, prayer at a temple is much better, because the temple is a specially consecrated place, and the idols are specially consecrated idols. The atmosphere and spiritual ambience in a temple are more powerful and effective.
The Vedas are the most sacred of all Hindu texts. There are four Vedas. In addition, there are other texts that are means to be read with the Vedas to fully understand them, which are called Veda-angas or limbs of the Vedas. Also, the text related to the Agamas and Tantras are integral to religious practices of the temple. There are also other texts like the Puranas, and the Ithihaasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata), and various philosophical texts, and Bhagavad Gita (which is a part of Mahabharata) and Brahma-Sutras, which are considered sacred texts.
Hinduism regards all creation as divine. From a spiritual perspective there is a no higher or lower place awarded to women, although in the role of mother who gives birth, a woman is compared to the Divine Mother (Shakti) who has given birth to all creation.
There is evidence of women being given the Yagnyopavitha (sacred thread) and being allowed to practice spiritual rituals. However, there is also recognition that a woman is essentially different from a man in her ability to give birth (to a child). In this regard, a woman has been compared with the Divine Mother who has given birth to the entire Universe.
These articles are the ‘Ashirvashanas’ given by His Holiness Sri Balagangadharanatha Mahaswamiji, 71st Pontiff of Sri Adichuchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, during different occasions