Udhayanidhi Stalin’s recent comments on Sanatan Dharma have kicked up a storm. The roots of the controversy lie in a false contextualisation of the concept itself. Of late, Sanatan Dharma has come to be understood by some quarters as the correct way to refer to what they believe to be a misnomer — Hinduism. Just a perfunctory glance at the subject is more than sufficient to dispel any doubts about Sanatan Dharma being a metonym or an interchangeable term for Hindusim, let alone being the true appellation.
The name “Sanatan Dharma” is itself riddled with inconsistencies that are inherently inimical to the central tenets of Hinduism. Dharma, in classical Hinduism, is one of the four goals or aims of a human life — Purusartha (literally meaning “objective of men”). Dharma is understood as righteousness and it along with Artha (economic prosperity) and Kama (desire) is supposed to lead one to the fourth Purusartha — Moksha (liberation). Dharma, hence, is the guiding light that helps us to wade through the waters of Artha and Kama to help reach the end of liberation, which is Moksha.
The prefix Sanatan is far more problematic. The word itself literally means eternal and it not only takes a very narrow and parochial view of Hinduism but also chips away at the very core of its organic evolutionary nature. Sanatan Dharma’s false attempts at pigeonholing and compartmentalising the true absolute nature of the divine goes against the pluralistic teachings of Rigveda, which says Ekam sad viprãh bahudhã vadanti (it is of One Existence, that the wise ones speak in diverse ways) [Rigveda 1.164.46]
While the atavistic Sanatan Dharma tries to restrict and fossilise Hindu philosophy, Hinduism, in its truest form, on the other hand, has always been forward-looking and all-encompassing. The Vedic pantheon of the likes of Agni, Vayu, and Indra was later expanded with the advent of Shaivism and Vaishnavism in the first millennium BCE. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the same rituals, festivals, and practices vary across the land — the names may be different, but the essence is the same.
This holistic Hinduism is a far cry from the revisionist Sanatan Dharma, which tries to negate Hinduism’s beauty of unity in diversity. This tolerance and acceptance of different standpoints is at the heart of India as a nation. In the immortal words of Firaq Gorakhpuri (born Raghupati Sahay): Sar zamin-e-Hind par aqwam-e-aalam ke, Firaq/Kafile aate rahe aur Hindustan banta gaya (On the soil of Hindustan, O Firaq /Caravans from all over the world kept coming, And so Hindustan was made).
The secular fabric of our nation can undoubtedly be traced to the indomitable quality of Hinduism to accommodate differing opinions harmoniously.
The dualistic Dvaita Vedanta can peacefully coexist with the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta only in Hinduism. Both these schools differ on the very fundamental nature of reality and yet are equally embraced in Hindu philosophy.
Udhayanidhi’s grandfather grew up acutely aware of the caste realities of his time — he faced the crippling circumstances that arose from him being born into a “low” caste. Tamil Nadu is not only the state with the most temples in the country, but it is also the land of Periyar and C N Annadurai. Through espousing the progressive ideologies of these great men, Udhayanidhi’s grandfather forged his destiny and blazed a trail across the political landscape of the state. Would the stuck-in-the-past Sanatan Dharma have ever let him surmount those caste hurdles? The present India has come a long way from the times of Dharamashastras and Dharamasutras owing to the ever-evolving nature of Hinduism. We today have a woman from a tribal community as the President of our nation who succeeded a Dalit man. The regressive worldview of Sanatan Dharma affords no space to such Rams and Droupadis.
Hinduism doesn’t bother about “Akhand Bharat” like Sanatan Dharma does because it sees the whole world as one. It is universal in both its essence and outlook, and doesn’t believe in breaking up and dividing the world through tags and labels as Sanatan Dharma does. It transcends such boundaries and believes all to be one.
Ayam nijah paro veti ganana laghucetasam/ tujakaritanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam
(One is a relative, the other stranger, Say the small-minded/For the magnanimous, the entire world is a family) [Maha Upanishad vi.71-73]
Our forefathers knew the importance of these teachings and that is the reason why this verse is engraved in the entrance hall of the Parliament of India.
The previous generation understood this and the current generation mustn’t forget. The future is in our hands and it all depends on how we decide to shape it.
The writer is an MLA, ex-housing minister of Maharashtra, General Secretary Nationalist Congress Party and represents the NCP in the working group for media in the INDIA alliance
