Sanatan Hindu Dharma- Vision and Practice

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The book presents an outline of the spiritual philosophy and practice, which constitute the essence of Hindu Dharma. It also raises some questions about the present reality and historical features of Hindu Dharma. The uniqueness of the monograph is its synthesis of a vast body of complex and erudite literature and commentary in a lucid manner accessible to all readers, without compromising on the rigour of scholarly analysis or eliding the multi-layered concepts and issues involved. In the Socratic tradition or guru sisya parampara of question and answer, it navigates complex concepts through a conversational dialectical enquiry and interplay of point-counterpoint, gathering multiple meanings into a cohesive perspective in a fine balance of faith and critical enquiry. It deconstructs several fallacies that surround Hindu Dharma and situates its theoretical panoply in its diverse practices.

Organised in three sections, the first section discusses the nature of religion and provides a comparative analysis of some modern Western views, and the Indian view that emphasises vision and practice, not a dogmatic creed defined and maintained by an institutional authority. The book presents the immanent dialectic and axiology of the two dimensions of religion as mystical vision and social ethics, as perennial truth (Sanatana Dharma) and its epochal manifestation (Yuga Dharma). As such it traces the historical emergence of ideas that form the immutable core of Hindu Dharma, tracing the Brahmanical and Shramanical traditions to the Indus civilisation, the ideas of Atman Brahman, the principles of meditation and enquiry and devotion, the laws of moral and social life, to the Vedas and their development subsequently upto the modern times. A continuous thread of enquiry in the book is into the nature of language as a social pragmatic construct as well as a medium for articulating transcendental truths.

The second section discusses the essential nature of Hindu Dharma as harmony (Samavaya) of paths and traditions (Pantha Sampradaya), comparing it to a series of concentric circles, each wider than the other, exploring the relationship of Hinduism and tribal religion as well as with cognate systems of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It discusses the three levels of Dharma as the levels of Sadhana, Vidhi and Niti, or the levels of personal realization, social ethics and social policy. It explores the relationship between Dharma and law and culture, defining culture as a process of value seeking and self-consciousness,where the vision of the Self transcends logical and empirical categories. The uniqueness of Hindu Dharma is that it recognises that since modes of Sadhana and intellectual interpretations of Self-knowledge are not uniform, all communities are free to define their ethos and all individuals are free to choose their moral and religious path. Hindu Dharma is, thus not a single creed or cult, but a vast harmony of diverse creeds or cults proliferating around a tradition of Adhyatma, Vidya and Sadhana, which is ancient as well as living and dynamic.

The third section as a set of Q and A offers a precise and lucid exposition of complex ideas and diverse interpretations emerging in the antecedent sections, highlighting their affinities and differences, and their dialectical synthesis, reiterating that Hindu Dharma is not an 'ism' in the usual sense as it is not constituted by any defined system of dogmas, nor religious authoritarianism.

Written with a sense of profound reverence for the great seers and teachers of Hindu Dharma, the discussion is objective and accurate. It does not und the superiority of any Dharma over another.

Professor Govind Chandra Pande (30 July, 1923-May 21, 2011) was a foremost scholar, a historian, a philosopher, an original thinker and writer, and a poet, remarkable for his range, depth and versatility of knowledge, his command over more than a dozen languages giving him a rare mastery over the fields of his study. He wrote more than sixty books and over a hundred research articles and papers on history, culture, art, philosophy, poetics and aesthetics. His acclaimed works include Bauddha Dharma ke Vikas ka Itihasa and its English version Studies in the Origin of Buddhism. Bharatiya Parampara ke Mula Svara was awarded the first Shankara Award of the K.K. Birla Foundation, Mülya Mimamsa was awarded the Union Government prize as an original Hindi work on philosophy, Sahitya Saundarya aur Sanskrti was honoured with the Moortidevi Award for literature. His Sanskrit poems, Bhagirathi, received the Saraswati Samman. His other notable works include Vedic Sanskrti, Foundations of Indian Culture, Shankaracharya: Vichar aur Sandarbh, Meaning and Process of Culture, his three Vimarshas in Sanskrit: Bhakti darśana vimaraśah, Saundarya darśana vimaraśah, and Ekam Sadvipra Bahudha Vadanti discussing the philosophy of bhakti, beauty and unity of religion. His annotated translations into Hindi include the ten Rigveda Mandals, Apohsiddhi and Nyaya Bindu, Gathāsaptśati. He edited several volumes of The History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, in a new beginning in Indian Historiography. His poetry in Hindi includes Agnibeeja, Kşana Lakşaņa, Hansika, Yakşa Praśna, and Jaya. Some of the distinguished posts he held were as Vice Chancellor of University of Rajasthan and University of Allahabad; Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; Chairman, Allahabad Museum Society and the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath; Member, National Commission of Cooperation with UNESCO, Member, Executive Council, BHU, Indian Council of Philosophical Research; Member, Societe Asiatique De Paris, Indian Historical Records Commission, Indian Advisory Board of Archaeology, the Council of Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, the Council of the American Institute of Indian Studies. Various honorary degrees and awards bestowed on him include: D. Litt (Honoris Causa, BHU,); Vidya Varidhi, (Nalanda Mahavihara,); Sahitya Vachaspati (Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad); Maha Mahopadhyaya (Lal Bahadur Shastri Rastriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth,); Vakpati, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath; Sansthana Samman (Hindi Sansthan, Lucknow); Manisha Sammana, (Bharatiya Bhasa Parishad, Kolkata); Mangala Prasad Award, Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad; the Darsana Vijnana Award; and the Naresh Mehta Award. He was conferred Sahitya Academy's Fellowship and the Padma Shri for his contribution to history, philosophy and literature.

The universal truth underlying different religious traditions may be understood as Dharma. Different religions may be regarded as the historical interpretations of Dharma in different cultures and epochs-

Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti Mam vartamanuvartante manusyah părth sarvaśah It would be appropriate to regard Hindu Dharma as a continuum of moral and spiritual traditions of India.

A Hindu may be said to be one whose spiritual inheritance has its genesis in India and who accepts the idea that all faiths may co-exist peacefully. Thus, Hindu Dharma is an inclusive name for diverse faiths and practices, constituting the broad stream of spiritual life in India. Hinduism is not any one defined creed or cult. Hindu society like Hindu Dharma is a unity in differences, a complex harmony of communities and creeds, sects, and schools.

There is a widely current view, which identifies Hinduism with Vedic orthodoxy. This is too narrow a conception. Hinduism includes the Vedic as well as the sramanic and Agamic traditions, the spiritual tradition of seers, sages, saints and Mahatmas from ancient to modern times.

This small book is not intended to provide a history of Hindu Dharma. Nor does it attempt to survey the customs and beliefs current in Hindu society in its numberless segments. What it seeks to do is to present an outline of the spiritual philosophy and practice, which constitute the essence of Hindu Dharma. Incidentally, it also raises some questions about the present reality and historical features of Hindu Dharma.

Religion is the quest for the Infinite. This quest exists at two levels - at the level of the individual psyche and the level of social tradition. What is given of religion in social tradition is intended to be psychically appropriated by the individual. What is psychically appropriated by the individual is, in the first place, a symbol of the infinite and a direction for its realization. Properly attuned, the pursuit of worldly life ought to be in the spirit of sacrifice. Unfortunately, religion itself is usually abused as a means of social and political power. How and when mankind will awake to the proper meaning of life proclaimed by all religions from prehistoric times is a question still unanswered.

Hindu Dharma signifies an immemorial and continual tradition of moral and spiritual value-seeking, but the name Hindu Dharma is comparatively recent, dating only from the period of Muslim rule. While Hindu Dharma underwent a process of renaissance and reformation in the period from Ram Mohan Roy to Gandhiji, during the last fifty years, some enthusiasts, as well as critics of Hindu Dharma, have been asking for a clearer demarcation of Hindus from non-Hindus, especially in the context of political democracy.

This is unfortunate because Hindu Dharma does not have the kind of identity that the great Semitic religions have. From time to time, major or minor movements of religious reforms have arisen within the broad milieu of Indic spirituality or dharma. Some affirm their independent identity for ideological or political reasons. From the point of view of spiritual praxis or sadhana, however, they remain parts of a unified but multiform way of life.