Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about Sanatana Dharma from Class 8 Social_Science. You would have heard this verse: Om Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, Sarve santu niraamayah, Sarve bhadrani pashyantu, Ma kaschit duhkha bhaagbhavet, Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi. What does it mean? It means, may all be happy, may all be free from worries and diseases, may everyone see only goodness, may no one be sad, and may all the living things in this world always have peace, prosperity, and happiness. Such benevolent thoughts are the foundation stones of Sanatana Dharma. The word Sanatana means most ancient and it also stands for ever new, which means everlasting and eternal. Sanatana Dharma was born and flourished in India. Today, this has been understood as the Hindu Religion.
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Now let us explore the sources of Sanatana Dharma. The first source is the Shrutis. Vedas are the main sources of Sanatana Dharma. The word Veda means knowledge. The Vedas are the most ancient and important texts of the ancient religious literature of India. The Vedas are called Shrutis, as this knowledge is heard and learned by the sages. This knowledge has been passed on through the tradition of Guru and Shishya, without the help of a script. The abundant knowledge of the Vedas available in ancient times could not be learned or taught to a student in one lifetime. So, sage Krishnadwaipayana categorized the immeasurable cluster of Vedas. Since Vyasa in Sanskrit also means to classify, he was also called Vedavyasa. The four Vedas available today are Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvanaveda.
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Each Veda has four divisions or skandas. Let us learn them one by one. The first is Samhitha. These are mantras that praise the natural elements after giving them human embodiment. They are mentioned with different poetical metres and also contain hymns of different deities. The second is Bramhana. It is the part of the Vedas which deals with the ritualistic methods of performing the yagnas, and it is mostly written in the form of prose. The third is Aaranyaka. It gives interpretations of the stotras and yagnas. The fourth is Upanishad. They are the philosophical discussions between Guru and Shishya about the creation, the creator of the universe, and the existence of human beings. The Upanishads have a special importance among the four parts. While the Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Aaranyakas give importance to Karma, the Upanishads are concerned with knowledge. They remove the ignorance of man and propound true, other worldly knowledge.
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For example, consider this sloka from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad: Om Asatoma sadgamaya, Tamasoma jyotirgamaya, Mrityorma amritam gamaya, Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi. The message of this noble, thoughtful prayer is to lead from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality. This prayer is a great thought and a desire to create a life beyond all narrow mindedness. Now let us move on to the second source, the Smritis. Smriti means that which is remembered. These works of the post Vedic period are called Smritis because they are reminiscent of the Vedas and the Upanishads. They are also called Dharmasutras, or manuals on Dharma, because they give the rules of everyday life, the rules to lead a worldly life, its ethics and etiquette, and the rules of good character and conduct.
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Though there are eighteen Smritis, the most ancient and influential among them is the Manusmriti. Although it has been revered as a doctrinal text of Sanatana Dharma for nearly two thousand years, no one today would ever accept the hierarchical world view it advocates. Rather, our Constitution is the highly regarded foundational text of our social outlook. Traditionally, along with Dharmasutras, the Smritis corpus also includes Vedanga, Purana, Itihaasa, and Darshanas. Let us look at the Vedangas. Vedangas are the auxiliary disciplines to understand the Vedas, its pronunciation and practice. They are six in number. They are Siksha, which is phonetics, Chandas, which is prosody, Vyakaran, which is grammar, Nirukta, which is etymology, Jyotishya, which is astrology, and Kalpa, which is religious practices. All Vedangas have the tradition and history of teachers and the taught.
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Next, we will learn about Itihasa and Puranas. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two great epics of India. These epics contain numerous discussions, stories, and sub-stories which answer our questions with regard to moral and religious practices. Even to this day, these epics are the guiding lights for good values. They have been retold in many ways in the Indian languages. The eighteen puranas and an equal number of upapuranas contain stories of devatas, genealogy of kings, the rules and rituals of worship, and instructions and guidelines to worship. Now, let us discuss the Darshanas. Darshanas are the pillars of Indian philosophy. The six major Darshanas are Nyaya, Vaisesika, Saankhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, and Uttara Mimamsa. These are classified into two broad groups, the Asthika group and the Nasthika group. The Asthika group accepts the authority of the Vedas, whereas the Nasthika group does not accept their authority. Jainism, Buddhism, and Charvaka are the non Vedic Nasthika group of Darshanas, while the rest are Asthika Darshanas.
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Let us now understand the worship of idols. In the Vedas, Brahma is considered dualistically as Saguna and Nirguna. Having Nama, which means name, and Roopa, which means form, is Saguna. Having no name and form is Nirguna. The worship of deities bearing names and forms is found in the Vedas itself. The Agama Sahitya, which accepted the Vedas and grew into a theistic branch, gave scope to the worship of idols. Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shaakta are the three major schools of Agama traditions. Consisting of such vast and diverse sources, Sanatana Dharma basically accepts pluralism in principle. It rewards diversity and permits differences of opinions. A Vedic chant says, Aano bhadrah kratavo yantu vishwatah, which means let good things flow to us from all sides of the universe. This is the aim of Sanatana Dharma.
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The following words of Swami Vivekananda, from his lecture on the last day of the Chicago Parliament of Religions dated 27/09/1893, have always been and should be worth emulating for all religions. He said, help and not fight, assimilation and not destruction, harmony and peace and not dissention. Now, dear students, it is time to go through the exercises to strengthen your understanding. I will read each question and provide the complete answer. Exercise one asks you to fill in the blanks with suitable words. Question one: The meaning of the word Veda is knowledge. Question two: Most of the Upanishads are in the form of dialogues. Question three: The auxiliary disciplines to understand the Vedas, its pronunciation and practice are the Vedangas. Question four: The great epics of India are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Question five: The pillars of Indian philosophy are the Darshanas.
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Exercise two asks you to answer the following questions in brief. Question six: Name the Vedas. The four Vedas are the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvanaveda. Question seven: What are the four divisions or skandas of the Vedas? They are the Samhitha, the Bramhana, the Aaranyaka, and the Upanishad. Question eight: What is Smriti? Why are they also called Dharmasutras? Smriti means that which is remembered. They are called Dharmasutras because they give the rules of everyday life, the rules to lead a worldly life, its ethics and etiquette, and the rules of good character and conduct. Question nine: Which are the important Darshanas? The six major Darshanas are Nyaya, Vaisesika, Saankhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, and Uttara Mimamsa. Question ten: How many major schools of Agama traditions are there? There are three major schools: Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shaakta. Question eleven: What is the message of the Sanatan Dharma? The message is to accept pluralism in principle, reward diversity, permit differences of opinions, and let good things flow to us from all sides of the universe, aiming for peace and harmony.
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Exercise three lists activities for you to complete. Activity one asks you to listen to properly intonated Vedic chants and find out in which language they are composed. You will find that they are composed in Sanskrit. Activity two asks you to list out the values and messages written in the Upanishads. The Upanishads emphasize moving from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality, focusing on knowledge that removes ignorance and propounds true other worldly wisdom. Activity three asks you to take the help of your teacher to know and collect at least five Shanti mantras and their meanings. You can start with the one we learned today, which prays for universal happiness, freedom from disease, and peace. I encourage you to discuss these activities with your teacher and classmates.
Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]