Without depending on the silent powers-that-be, we as citizens of this great nation, should work together to restore love, peace and amity between the communities in Manipur and revive the vibrancy of our democracy, says OSWALD PEREIRA
Sanatan Dharma, as I understand it, is an eternal dharma or religion that embraces within its infinite fold all religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, and many other faiths. Established by God Himself, it’s the mother-father of all faiths, and doesn’t discriminate against any one of them on the basis of origin or region or nationality.
Like a mother for whom all her children are equal, likewise in Sanatan Dharma all religions are equal ― as well as universal and free. Unity of all religions under the Sanatan Dharma umbrella or banner ensures that there is no conflict.
Divine Mother known by different names in different religions is the custodian or caretaker of Sanantan Dharma. Equal to God the Father, She ensures that Her different children or religions don’t quarrel over petty issues of territory or supremacy. While the Father may even be angry at aberrations by the members of the Sanatan family, Mother sorts out any differences with tender loving care.
The avatars and the prophets who came down to earth to serve humankind as messengers of God preached and practised, essentially Sanatan Dharma, though the faith may have been packaged and labelled differently. The externals may have seemed different, but the internals were essentially the same.
Truth is eternal and doesn’t change whether it is spoken by Krishna, Christ, Buddha, Mahavir, Muhammad, Zoroaster, or others. Similarly, God is forever, infinite, eternal and doesn’t change face, character or colour in different places and times.
Great sages and yogis like Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Paramhansa Yogananda and many others have taught the world about the universalism and unity of religions, without always mentioning Sanatan Dharma, perhaps because it seemed like it was unnecessary to do so.
The great prophet and messenger of God, Jesus Christ, whom his followers believe is an avatar or incarnation of God, the Son of God, essentially preached a new expression of Sanatan Dharma, which was recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. In his sojourn of many years in India, he learned the great philosophy of India with Indian Masters; and later as well as with Tibetan monks and teachers.
He blended their philosophy with the Light and Wisdom bestowed on Him by God the Father. Little wonder then that there are great similarities and parallelisms in the teachings of the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. Christ simplified the teachings that he learned from Indian and Tibetan Masters to help the common disciple better understand their meaning. That is why the Bible seems simple in comparison to the Bhagavad Gita, though the teachings are in sync with each other.
Jesus Christ and Lord Krishna are in constant touch with each other sending out positive vibrations for the welfare of mankind, which is their common cause. When there’s a quarrel, war or differences between people of two countries or a conflict between two groups within a particular country, Bhagwan Krishna and Lord Jesus Christ are grievous.
What is happening in Manipur these days ― the burning down of churches, whose numbers are reported to be large and attacks on Christians and displacement of thousands of them from their homes ― is traumatic not only for the people of our democratic nation, but also for Krishna and Christ, who are united in One God.
The assaults are also an attack on the spirit of Sanatan Dharma. Divine Mother must be really sad and weeping for her children.
Without depending on the silent powers-that-be, we as citizens of this nation, should wake up and work together to restore love, peace and amity between the communities in Manipur and revive the vibrancy of our democracy.
Oswald Pereira, a senior journalist, has also written eight books, including The Newsroom Mafia, Chaddi Buddies, The Krishna-Christ Connexion, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life and Crime Patrol: The Most Thrilling Stories. Oswald is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practises Kriya Yoga.
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Very true…but, how is the question. With so much communally-triggered violence constantly hitting the headlines in this great country of yoga and great yogis, one wonders whether the sempiternal tenets of Sanatana Dharma are being hijacked by petty politicking. Of course, one would argue, Sanatana Dharma is eternal, and has survived innumerable assaults from the outsiders. But, the difference is, right now it is not the outsiders who are posing the real threat to its quintessential essence but its very followers, bigoted and blinkered as they have become.
What has happened in Manipur is nothing short of a tragedy and a shame on the current administration which took so long to take concrete steps to bring the situation under control. The government has been too busy buying state-of-the-art munitions to think of peace.