General knowledge of Sanatan Dharma

Sanatan Dharma
Sanatan Dharma is the oldest religion of human civilization, which is also called ‘Sanatan Dharma’ due to its antiquity and vastness. Like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism etc., Hinduism is not a religion established by any prophet or individual, rather it is a collection of various religions, sects, beliefs and practices that have been prevalent since ancient times. Being a developing religion, new dimensions were added to it at different times. In fact, Sanatan Dharma is a religion with such a vast landscape that everything from primitive village deities, ghosts and demons, local gods and goddesses, tantra-mantra to Trinity and other deities and formless Brahma and extremely esoteric philosophy is included without any contradiction and Everyone is worshiped according to the place and the particular person.

In fact, Sanatan Dharma shows a perfect coordination of small and great traditions. On the one hand, Vedic and Puranic gods and goddesses are worshipped, while on the other hand, extremely horrific ritualistic worship is also performed by Kapalikas and Avadhutas.
On one hand there are devotees drenched in devotion, On the other hand, atheists and even atheists are also seen.
If seen, this religion is a perfect and easy coordination of completely opposing principles. This is the generosity of Sanatan Dharma followers, It is the result and reflection of the noble spirit of equality of all religions, coordination and religious tolerance.
Sources of Sanatan Dharma.

To study the traditions of Sanatan Dharma, we will have to look back thousands of years to the Vedic period. The Vedas are the origin of the traditions of Sanatan Dharma. Vedic religion was a nature-worshipping, polytheistic and traditional religion.
Although at that time the belief of each material element having its own special presiding deity or goddess was prevalent, but among the deities, Varun, Pusha, Mitra, Savita, Surya, Ashwin, Usha, Indra, Rudra, Parjanya, Agni, Brihaspati, Soma etc. were prominent. These deities were worshiped through yagya and chanting mantras. There was lack of temples and idol worship.
The philosophical aspect of Hindu religion developed during the Upanishad period. Also the concept of monotheism became stronger. God is immortal, eternal, Said to be omnipresent.
At this time, six philosophies like Yoga, Sankhya, Vedanta etc. developed. The concepts of Nirguna and Saguna also arose. Various Puranas were composed between the ninth and fourteenth centuries.

Five subjects (five characteristics) are described in the Puranas-
1. Sarga (Creation of the world),
2. Pratisarga (expansion of creation, extinction and re-creation),
3. Dynasty (genealogy of kings),
4. Manvantar (major events of the times of different Manus) and
5. Hereditary (detailed description of other glorious dynasties).
Thus the medieval religion in the Puranas, Description of knowledge, science and history is available. The Puranas introduced the concept of incarnation in Hindu religion. Apart from this, idol worship, pilgrimage, fasting etc. are the gifts of this period.
After the Puranas comes the Bhakti period, in which various saints and devotees laid emphasis on the worship of the corporeal God and public service, Charity and equality and service to all living beings were described as forms of worshiping God. As a result, the bonds of ancient difficult rituals became somewhat loose.
Alwar saints of South India, Narsi Mehta in Gujarat, Tukaram in Maharashtra, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in West Bengal, Tulsi, Kabir in North India, Sur and the devotional hymns of Guru Nanak left their indelible mark on the public mind.
Concepts and traditions of Sanatan Dharma.

Following are the main concepts of Sanatan Dharma-
Brahma- Brahma is considered to be omnipresent, the only existence, qualityless and omnipotent. In fact, this is the ‘Parabrahma’ of ‘Ekoham, Dwitiyao Nasti’ (ie, there is only one, there is no other) of monotheism, Who is immortal, immortal, eternal and the creator, maintainer and welfare provider of this world.
Soul – Brahma is considered omnipresent, hence its part is present in living beings also. This part of Brahma present in living beings is called soul, which does not perish despite the death of the living being and takes a new body. Ultimately after attaining salvation she merges into Brahma.
Reincarnation – The concept of rebirth is also strengthened by the concept of immortality of the soul. After the death of a living being, its soul takes a new body i.e. it is reborn. In this way the body is merely a medium for the soul.
Yoni- The form of life obtained by each birth of the soul is called yoni. 84 crore such species have been imagined, which include insects, birds, animals, trees and humans etc. Vagina can be called a biological species in modern scientific language.
Karmaphal- The soul has to suffer the consequences of the actions done throughout life during each birth in the next birth. As a result of good deeds one is born in a good life. From this point of view, man is the best species. But the ultimate goal of the result of karma is to attain salvation i.e. the soul becoming absorbed in Brahma.
Heaven and hell – these are two worlds related to the results of karma. Gods and Goddesses live a very luxurious life in heaven, whereas hell is very painful, dark and miserable. A person who does good deeds gets a place in heaven after death and a person who does bad deeds gets a place in hell.

Moksha – Moksha means the soul becoming free from the vicious cycle of life and death, i.e. getting merged in the Supreme God. For this, it is necessary to do good deeds and worship God without any hesitation.
Four Yugas – In Sanatan Dharma, Kaal (time) is considered cyclical. In this way, four eras – Krit (Satya), Sat, Treta, Dwapara and Kali – are considered in one time cycle. Among these four Yugas, Krita is considered to be the best and Kali is considered to be the worst. In these four ages, man’s physical and moral strength gradually weakens. By combining all four Yugas, a Mahayuga is formed, whose duration is 43,20,000 years, at the end of which a great cataclysm occurs on the earth. After that the new creation of the universe begins.

Four Ashrams – Ancient Samhitas consider human life to be 100 years old and divide it into four stages i.e. Ashrams – Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. The probable duration of each was considered to be 25 years. In Brahmacharya Ashram, a person goes to Guru Ashram to study, in Grihastha Ashram, he marries, procreates, earns money, donates and indulges in other pleasures. In Vanaprastha, a person gradually hands over the worldly responsibilities to his sons and becomes detached from them. And finally, after leaving his home in Sannyasa Ashram, he becomes free from vices and gets absorbed in the worship of God.

The four efforts of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha-
These four efforts are the desired objectives of life, appropriate conduct and duty is religion, earning money through hard work as per one’s intellectual and physical capacity and spending it in a proper manner means, Enjoying physical pleasures is lust and attaining freedom from life and death by behaving according to religion is salvation. Dharma is the guide of a person throughout his life, while Artha and Kama are the two main tasks of Grihastha Ashram and Moksha is the ultimate goal of entire life.

Four Yoga-

Gyanayoga, Bhaktiyoga, Karmayoga and Rajayoga – these are the four yogas, which are the ways to connect the soul with Brahma. While Gyan Yoga follows philosophical and logical methods, Bhakti Yoga is based on surrender and service, Karmayoga follows the service of the downtrodden of the society and Rajayoga follows physical and mental sadhana. These four are not contradictory, but helpful and complementary.

Char Dham –

The four Dhams situated in the four directions – North, South, East and West are Badrinath, Rameshwaram, Jagannathpuri and Dwarka respectively, visiting which is a sacred duty of every Hindu.

Major scriptures –

The main texts of Sanatan Dharma are – Four Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda), Tirtha Upanishad, Eighth Purana, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Geeta, Ramcharitmanas etc. Apart from this, there are many stories, ritual texts etc.

sixteen sanskars

Sixteen sacred rites are performed from the birth of a human being till his death –

1. Conception
2. Punsavan (ritual performed to get a bright son in the third month of pregnancy),
3. Seemontonnaya (for the happiness and solace of the pregnant woman in the fourth month of pregnancy),
4. Jaatkarma (at the time of birth)
5. Naming
6. Nishkraman (bringing the child out of the house for the first time),
7. Annaprashan (Eating food for the first time at the age of five months),

8. Churadakaran (Mundan)
9. Ear piercing
10. Upanayan (wearing Yagyopavit and departure to Guru Ashram)
11. Keshant or Gaudan (cutting the beard first)
12. Samavartan (return to home after completing education)
13. Marriage
14. Vanaprastha
15. Retirement
16. Funeral