Sanatan Dharma For All

Sanatan Dharma is dharma not only for India, but for all living entities, who are in innumerable universes, says SRILA BHAKTI BALLABH TIRTHA GOSWAMI MAHARAJ

There is lack of knowledge among some people about the real meaning of Sanatan Dharma. Some consider Sanatan Dharma as the religion of Hindus only. This, indeed, is a very limited conception. One thing is ‘dharma‘ and another is ‘religion’. Both do not convey the same meaning. We do not find any other word for dharma in English, so we use the word ‘religion’. In the Oxford dictionary, the meaning of religion is, ‘A system of faith, especially personal God entitled to obedience.’ Therefore, the word ‘religion’ is not a proper translation of the word ‘dharma‘.

We should understand that performing rituals alone is not dharma. Worship is the method. The mind gets purified by the remembrance of the Supreme Lord. A pure mind develops love for the Supreme Lord, which in turn, results in love for all living beings. Such evolved minds never indulge in violence in both thoughts and deeds towards anybody. Therefore, love for the Supreme Lord is the highest dharma.

Srila Sacchidananda Bhakti Vinode Thakura, philosopher and reformer, says that meaning of ‘dharma‘ is ‘nature.’ Whatever nature (behaviour) one possesses, is his/her dharma. Dharma is of two types: Naimittik (temporary) and Nitya (eternal). For example, water is liquid by nature. However, due to excess cold, it takes the form of ice, and if heated, it changes to vapour. The chill was the cause for the water to become ice; so ice is the Naimittik dharma (temporary nature) of water and liquidity is nitya dharma (eternal nature) of water. Removal of cause (chill) will bring water to its own eternal nature.

Similarly, two kinds of dharma are observed in living beings―Naimittik and Nitya. But, before understanding these, we must understand what is the nature of jiva (living Soul). Because only when the knowledge of nature is there, it can be better understood, which dharma of jiva is Naimittik and which is Nitya dharma.

In general, we understand body as the person, but do not tell body as a person. We use the following terminology in our daily use, ‘my body’, ‘my mind’, ‘my intelligence’. Nobody says ,’I body’, ‘I am mind’. This explains that the speaker of ‘I” is not the body but somebody else from the body. Even if we see externally, nobody identifies body as the person. Whether it’s an atheistic country or theistic, everywhere until the body has the conscious principle, it is considered as a person. On loosing conscious principle, nobody calls the dead body as a person. So burning the dead body, giving it to animals or birds, does not cause any punishment. And nowhere does the dead body have the right to cast a vote.

Until the body has conscious principle, which is also called as atma or soul in scriptural language, it is identified as a person and not a body. Until the atomic soul, the energy of the eternally existing, eternally blissful, eternally knowledgeable Supreme Lord, remains in the body, it is identified as a person. By the existence of that principle, ‘I’ remains and by the absence of that principle, ‘I’ does not remain; that is my nature (means, I am a soul). This means, Soul is eternal, body is not eternal.

Now let’s think about the real position of the living entities (jivas). Where did the living entities come from? What is its dharma? The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna in one place in the Sreemad Gita says that living entities are parts of His energy. However, in another place, He says that they are His own parts. On the basis of the second statement, some say that jiva is a part of Bhagavan; so he is also bhagavan.

However, this is not correct. The jivas are not mentioned as bhagavan here. Both of the Sree Gita’s statement should be taken into consideration. Lord Krishna says, ‘apareyam itas tv anyam prakritim viddhi me param, jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat.’ (O mighty armed Arjuna, There is another superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities).

According to Sree Gita, living entities are not part of the Supreme Lord, but a part of His energy. Because the part of the Lord is Lord only. Every part of infinite is infinite. Every part of infinite is infinite, but part of energy of infinite cannot be infinite. For example, the part of Sun will be Sun, however his light rays cannot be called Sun. Even all the light rays collected together cannot be called Sun.

Similarly, jiva is part of Lord’s energy, not of Lord’s. The Sun is 1,400,000 times the size of the earth. If the Sun’s light is coming to my room by the window, then I cannot say that the Sun has come to my room. Sun is 1,400,000 times of the size of the whole earth, how can it come? It is the light rays of the Sun or the part of the Sun’s energy. Sun gives light, but light does not become Sun.

The Supreme Lord has infinite potencies or energies. Sree Gita talks about two of those, ‘superior’ and ‘inferior’ potency. Jivasare superior energy. Material and subtle bodies are inferior energy. Jiva is the part of the Lord’s marginal potency―atomic consciousness. Jiva is from Bhagavan, in Bhagavan, and therefore for Bhagavan.

For example, if one asks the finger of the hand, ‘who are you?’ and finger were to reply ‘I am the person.’ If we take the photo of a finger, someone may develop misunderstanding about the person, because that is not a person. Similarly, if we consider Jiva as Bhagavan, then we will misunderstand Bhagavan. Just like, finger is a small portion of the body, jiva is also a small part of Lord’s potency, not the complete Lord.

Since Lord is eternal, Lord’s potency is eternal. Jiva, the part of Lord’s potency, is also eternal. Their relationship is also eternal and their dharma is also eternal. This is called as eternal dharma or ‘Sanatan Dharma’. The meaning of Sanatan is, whatever existed in past, is existing and will remain to exist. However, the dharma of the body is not Sanatan, because the body is destructible. The subtle body made of mind, intelligence and ego is also not eternal. When one’s tendency for sensual enjoyment ends, his subtle body also ends.

Therefore the dharma of destructible things cannot be ‘Sanatan dharma’. This is called Naimittk dharma. Due to the influence of Maya, the soul has got two coverings; first is material covering and the second is subtle covering. Both of these bodies have different nature. How many different types of material dharmas we have in India due to geographical, social, and national barriers?

But the soul is superior to the mind and the body. It is eternal. Therefore. its dharma is also eternal. Sanatan Dharma is dharma for not only India, but it is dharma for all living entities, who are in innumerable universes. The essence is that soul is eternal, body is destructible. Therefore all body-related dharmas are destructible and only soul’s dharma is eternal.

Living entities are part and parcel of Lord’s potency. Potency is always under control of potent and serves the potent. Similarly the service of the Lord is the highest duty of a living entity. This dharma of soul is known as Bhagavat dharma, Sanatan dharma or Vaishnva dharma. This is the natural dharma of living entities.

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Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj was President-Acharya of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math from 1979 till he left his physical body on April 21, 2017 at the age of 92. For more than six decades, he preached the philosophy of universal unity, travelling the globe to spread his message of transcendental divine love, interacting with theologians of all faiths.

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