WHEN PREACHERS OF THE SANATAN DHARMA GO CONFIDENTLY WRONG

WHEN PREACHERS OF THE SANATAN DHARMA GO CONFIDENTLY WRONG 

Jainism and Buddhism are derived from the Sanatan Dharma, true, but in their rejection of the infallibility of the Vedas they have been called 'Avaidic Dharma' (non-Vedic religions). Hence, though in the wider sense of origin and derivation, and core content of karma, transmigration of the embodied soul, and eventual mukti/moksha/nirvana on illumination these Indic dharma traditions are inseparable in spiritual essence from the Sanatan Dharma, in the strictest philosophical sense from the rigid grammatical standpoint Jainism and Buddhism are non-Vedic religions and, hence, outside the ambit of the Sanatan Dharma. But today we need to form a united front of all Indic dharma traditions in combating the aggression of the Semitic religions, Islam and Christianity. This is our existential necessity and must be achieved. Each one of you lend your helping hand in achieving it.

In this video there are certain factual errors such as the six streams of the Sanatan Dharma having been enumerated as Bauddha, Jain, Sikh, Vaishnav, Shaiva and Shakta, the last three having been collectively called Hindu. This is erroneous. The six streams of the Sanatan Dharma are Sankhya, Yoga, Vaisheshik, Nyaya, Purva Mimaangsa (Karma Kanda of the Vedas) and Uttar Mimaangsa (Jnana Kanda of the Vedas, that is, the Vedanta). The speaker has seemingly mixed up the Shrutis with the Smritis too and presented the twain apparently as forming the body politic of philosophical and practical Hinduism which is alright but in including the Jain and the Buddhist traditions as also part of the Sanatan Dharma has erred in puritanical terms, though not in view of the vaster Indic context. This is why scholarship among Hindu preachers is so very necessary. Otherwise, as it so often happens, these preachers will be blown off their feet by erudite adversaries who may be Christians or Muslims in debate. Such a mess needs to be avoided by our preachers, especially when they refer to the Sanatan Dharma with a superior air of assumption. Certainly their fight for the survival of the Sanatan Dharma will be better fought when they are armed to the teeth with correct data of both the Indic dharma traditions and the Semitic faiths of Abrahamic origin.

Written by Sugata Bose