Enter 2024 and the words “SanatanDharma” have become the talk of India, that is Bharat. That our journal’seditors considered this topic as the theme for 2024, several months before itbecame so mainstream is indeed an act of serendipity and divine providence.Recently an inadvertent and bizarre clarion call for the eradication of SanatanDharma raised by a political faction which has a large connect with the masses rakedup a political slugfest that only stirred up the rajasic sentiments acrossall corners of the nation. Their claim that Sanatan Dharma was but a diseasethat needed to be eradicated; a vestige of a past that holds no value for the presentand the future, drew sharp responses from the opposite faction which wasted noopportunity in garnering support to save the Sanatan Dharma which was now in peril.Somewhere in the cacophony, the gen Z unfortunately disconnected with his/herroots; thanks to the digital revolution which incessantly feeds them withreels, viral videos and memes day in and day out, is left wondering if ‘SanatanDharma’ is naught but another tool of wily politicians to divide the people fortheir personal gains. It bodes us well to understand the true meaning ofSanatan dharma. Sri Aurobindo recognized Sanatan Dharma to be a core value thatwas the foundation of India’s freedom and in his letter to ParthasarathyIyengar, he had emphasized that care must be taken not to indulge in the oldkid of politics.

Be verycareful to follow my instructions in avoiding the old kind of politics.Spirituality is India’s only politics, the fulfilment of the Sanatan Dharma itsonly Swaraj  (CWSA  36:170)

Even acursory look at the rich history of our motherland will reveal that a waragainst Sanatan Dharma is not really a very novel concept. Wave after wave ofinvasions took place with the aim of not just looting her wealth but also fordestroying the cultural heritage and wisdom; for that was truly the bedrock ofthe strength and brilliance of our civilization.  But these demonic attempts failed and it is afact that all future attempts too shall fail; for we have a guardian who isHimself Sanatan or eternal. In the great battle of Kurukshetra, between thePandavas and Kauravas; a symbolic battle for justice between the forces of goodand evil, we see the hero Arjuna confused and confounded right in the middle ofthe battle field. Initially he cries us to Sri Krishna to let him escape the battleand in a fit of emotions, claims that Sanatan dharma would get destroyed if heparticipated in the battle. kulakshaye pranashyanti kuladharmaahasanatanaaha. But a terse Sri Krishna simply does not yield to Arjuna’sfervent appeals, which included his quoting various shastras and texts tojustify his not partaking in the battle of justice. Instead, Sri Krishna slowlyand lovingly starts transferring the wisdom of the Vedas and Vedanta throughthe form of a divine song, that we call the Bhagavad Gita. It is only later on;after Arjuna’s consciousness has risen after learning about the truths of theAtman and the Brahman, the metaphysical soul journey of life and death, andfinally when he is granted the divya drishti, he realizes while watchingthe primal and almighty Vishwaroopa Darshana, which is both beautiful andterrible at the same time, remarking in submission –

tvam aksharam paramam veditavyam

tvam asya vishvasya param nidhanam

tvam avyayah sasvata-dharma-gopta

sanatanas tvam purusho mato me           

                                                                                                (Bhagavad Gita 11.18)

The highest immaculate truth that by man
can be known,

The foundation upon which our universe has grown
The indestructible guardian of righteousness eternal
I believe, Thou art the one- celestial and supernal 11.18

In this light, we can definitely takesolace and be at peace by not falling into a rajasic trap of impulsivereactions; fully confident that the wisdom of the Vedas, the Upanishads and allthe shastras will remain until the fire burns in the eye of the sun. However, wecertainly cannot afford to once more slip into the dark and tamasic slumber ofignorance.  The call to serve the Divinecan neither be forgotten nor dare neglected. Sri Aurobindo, in the dark prisonof Alipore, received the instruction to uphold Sanatan Dharma from the Purushahimself; as he declared to the world in his Uttarpara speech.

       We speak often of theHindu religion, of the Sanatana Dharma, but few of us really know what thatreligion is. Other religions are preponderatingly religions of faith andprofession, but the Sanatana Dharma is life itself; it is a thing that has notso much to be believed as lived. This is the dharma that for the salvation ofhumanity was cherished in the seclusion of this peninsula from of old. It is togive this religion that India is rising. She does not rise as other countriesdo, for self or when she is strong, to trample on the weak. She is rising toshed the eternal light entrusted to her over the world. India has alwaysexisted for humanity and not for herself and it is for humanity and not forherself that she must be great…

. When you go forth, speak to your nation alwaysthis word that it is for the Sanatana Dharma that they arise, it is for theworld and not for themselves that they arise. I am giving them freedom for theservice of the world. When therefore it is said that India shall rise, it isthe Sanatana Dharma that shall rise. When it is said that India shall be great,it is the Sanatana Dharma that shall be great. When it is said that India shallexpand and extend herself, it is the Sanatana Dharma that shall expand andextend itself over the world. It is for the dharma and by the dharma that Indiaexists (CWSA 8:6)

Aswe meditate upon the words of Sri Aurobindo, each of us must resolve to becomeconscious, of our existence that is essentially divine and vast so that we cantruly play our roles as instruments of the divine manifestation that isunderway.  This and this alone is the waywe can pay our tributes to the master and the centuries of sacrifices that havetaken place to uphold the nitya jyoti or eternal flame of Bharat.

For Nine days, the inferno at Nalanda burnt,

Hoping to erase all the sacred texts that werelearnt.

Other sanctums of learning too were thenraided;

Knowledge suffered distortions and struggledunaided!

Over generations this loss compounded andspread,

The hidden wisdom was lost- unheard and neverread.

The devilish ploy was that the light be foreverburied —

And down the ages nothing was passed orcarried.

But little was really known or understood byman,

That all of this too was part of the grandplan.

The Vedic treasures were destroyed in time'scourse,

But no force on earth could touch the divinesource.

From the same planes where the truth was heard,

Would reverberate once more the first word.

The newer texts too would once more come-

From this churning the world too will immortalbecome.

Across the oceans shall burst the volcanoes oflight,

Flooding and cleansing the plagued lands ofblight,

Descendants of Angiras, Atri and the otherrishis shall rise;

And one hotar shall perform Vishwajit Yagnya-the final sacrifice!

May we firstly, ourselves becomeconscious of the mission and the vision of the master Sri Aurobindo and our bhagyavidhaata, Sri Krishna who is charioteering our Bharata to a new Dawn.

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Echoing Krishna’s words from the Gitaand also the Isha Upanishadic phrase – “Uttishta Bharata!  Krato smara.  kṛtaṁ smara “

Awake, Bharata. May we remember thegreat deeds of our ancestors, May we rise again to their consciousness!

This issue will focus on the Veda,which has very rightly been called ‘the foundation of Sanatan Dharma’.

SushrutBadhe is a disciple of Sri.M.R.Damle and is a manufacturer of ayurvedicmedicines at his guru’s factory—KVMResearch Labs. His prose journey began with writing articles for SriAurobindo’s action in 2015 and he has a habit of writing poetry in rhymes.