This and some of the upcoming articles are from collection of discourses rendered by His Holiness Shri Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Kanchi Math. These were published in Tamil spiritual magazine Dhyanabhoomi. This series of articles we are posting is an attempt to summarize the articles from the magazine. Author asks for forgiveness, for errors and omissions. It is beyond our capacity to understand the full meaning of the discourses. In order to understand meaning it is advisable to go through the book Hindu Dharma which is collection of discourses of His Holiness.
Is Hindu Dharma correct name?
The popular name of our religion i.e. Hindu Dharma may not be correct. Our religion being the oldest, it need not have a name to distinguish from other religions which did not exist at that time. The other religions are about 2000 years old, hence they require a name to distinguish from the other religions present at that time. The apt name for our religion is Sanatana Dharma. The name Hindu religion was given by our invaders and the scholars who visited our land before 2000 years back. At that time they found people living very close to river Indus and hence they gave name Hindus and religion practiced as Hindu religion. These invaders also created a division among the people as Aryans and Dravidians so that they can rule very easily. But the fact is there was no concept of Aryans and Davidians originally.
The word Dharma is derived from the word “Dhru”. The meaning of word Dharma means that which is determined by the elders and learned people (Sages from our scriptures). According to Aadi-Shankara, Dharma means to uphold, to nourish and to sustain. Satya means speaking truth and Dharma means translating Satya into action. According to the sages the ultimate reality is perceived by one - who has faith (shraddha) and his acceptance of the truth as stated in our scriptures and taught by one’s own Guru. Shri Shankaracharya answered the question – what is Dharma? He answered Abhimato yah shishtanam nija kulinam. It means Dharma is that which is determined by elders and learned people. If the supreme power (God) is to be reached we must perform the duties mentioned by Him. All these duties together are known as Dharma.
Dharma is universal law of conduct
Dharma is the law that governs the conduct of one and all. This law which is universal law is meant for living and non-living things. This was created by the Lord to be worthy of Lord’s grace. But off late, we humans have started violating this Dharma, as we feel that we are more intelligent. Our forefathers lived with nature and understood the meaning of this law and practiced it. Hence our religion can be stated as nothing but the Dharma practiced by our forefathers.
Is Hindu Dharma correct name?
The popular name of our religion i.e. Hindu Dharma may not be correct. Our religion being the oldest, it need not have a name to distinguish from other religions which did not exist at that time. The other religions are about 2000 years old, hence they require a name to distinguish from the other religions present at that time. The apt name for our religion is Sanatana Dharma. The name Hindu religion was given by our invaders and the scholars who visited our land before 2000 years back. At that time they found people living very close to river Indus and hence they gave name Hindus and religion practiced as Hindu religion. These invaders also created a division among the people as Aryans and Dravidians so that they can rule very easily. But the fact is there was no concept of Aryans and Davidians originally.
The word Dharma is derived from the word “Dhru”. The meaning of word Dharma means that which is determined by the elders and learned people (Sages from our scriptures). According to Aadi-Shankara, Dharma means to uphold, to nourish and to sustain. Satya means speaking truth and Dharma means translating Satya into action. According to the sages the ultimate reality is perceived by one - who has faith (shraddha) and his acceptance of the truth as stated in our scriptures and taught by one’s own Guru. Shri Shankaracharya answered the question – what is Dharma? He answered Abhimato yah shishtanam nija kulinam. It means Dharma is that which is determined by elders and learned people. If the supreme power (God) is to be reached we must perform the duties mentioned by Him. All these duties together are known as Dharma.
Dharma is universal law of conduct
Dharma is the law that governs the conduct of one and all. This law which is universal law is meant for living and non-living things. This was created by the Lord to be worthy of Lord’s grace. But off late, we humans have started violating this Dharma, as we feel that we are more intelligent. Our forefathers lived with nature and understood the meaning of this law and practiced it. Hence our religion can be stated as nothing but the Dharma practiced by our forefathers.