Friday, July 18, 2008

The seven basic principles

The Sanathana Dharma ,over hundreds of years, from 2000 BC to 800 AD, absorbed the entire population of the Indian Subcontinent into its fold , simply by accepting all their indiviudal customs , traditions , habits , beliefs etc as part of a greater religion . Thus india became a salad bowl of religious traditions with every denomination or community ( presently over 4000) having its unique identity within the greater frame work of Hinduism .Thus the Sanathana Dharma is a salad bowl and not a melting pot !! Nobody was forced to accept one particular system . However despite all their diversity , they are all broadly agreed on some fundamental principles .
These are
1. That God ( Brahman) exists , is eternal , and is one perfect universal power and being , but has many names and forms , and cannot be described ,but has to be experienced through spirituality ,
2. That the spiritual tradition embodied in the Shruti or Vedas is the ultimate authority for the Sanathana Dharma ( Hinduism ),
3. That the universe is eternal, infinite and cyclical , ( the wheel of time ); and that we ( individual souls )find ourselves repeatedly reborn in the toils of Samsara ( the worldly trials and tribulations , pitfalls of desire and sorrow, the cycle of birth and death ) ,due to our past Karma (or actions ),
4. That there is a triple path of Karma , Bhakti and Jnana ie (a. right action and duty , b . devotion ,
and c . knowledge and wisdom through reasoning ) which can lead us out of the coils of rebirth in Samsara ,and lead us to the perfection of God ,
5. That those who wish to be liberated and free , should cultivate the five cardinal virtues of purity ( sattva ), self control ( sama and dama ), detachment(vairagya ), truth (Satyam )and non violence (ahimsa) , in their various forms and become a Dharmatma , or a noble spiritual person ,
6. And further , the individual has to concentrate on his/her Ista Devata ( or form of God that appeals to him/her), (or meditate and contemplate the formless ), according to their Adhikara ( or moral and spiritual competence and understanding ) , and accquire the grace of God,or the infinite spirit ,
7. And that ultimate freedom , liberation, and true peace lies in becoming eternally free from the cycles of birth and death, and entering the world of the infinite , or Universal spirit or God ( Brahman) .

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