The purpose of this article is not to show the supremacy of one over the other, but to simply point out ‘all that is old or ancient is not mere superstition and all that is new or modern is not necessarily true or right/correct’. Things have to be examined and if they are found to be true in every single examination, we have to uphold that to be true till it stands falsified.

The word Sanatana Dharma is a Sanskrit word where Sanatana means timeless or ever fresh and the word dharma means various things but for now, we can just confine ourselves to few meanings and they are ‘that which sustains, bears, upholds, enlivens, nurtures and nourishes. It can mean an ancient principle or factor that can sustain, bear, uphold, etc. The question would be whom or what does it sustain, uphold, bear nourish? Since it is not mentioned one could think that it is just a meaningless blanket statement or term.

Since it has stood  the test of time if benefit of doubt is given, then we might conclude that, by Sanatana Dharma is meant that which nourishes, enlivens, bears or upholds everything including oneself.

That is purely a conclusion, but then does it have some reality at least or is it just a wild assumption, is something worth enquiring into. That there is some order in the laws of nature is not something hard to appreciate or digest. It is not also difficult to appreciate that only when we butt in we alter things or conditions, some for our good and some that happen to be detrimental. Even those that are good  for us seem to be only time bound and in time, they turn out being detrimental. That we have to act and cannot leave everything to nature is also a fact, which would also amount to disusing the resources one is blest with. Well, the question that one should ask is, how are we to use the resources, but not abuse, misuse or disuse the resources given to us?

Our thinking can possibly be bound by the information that is available apart from our pet ideas and philosophy that is our conclusion and that is natural, which cannot be termed as a defect, but then definitely it can handicap one. We no doubt look up to information that is available processing which we draw our conclusions and possibly begin a course of action. However, instead of just confining ourselves to the present knowledge trends available it would be better if we can include those of the past that have stood the test of time. Religion and ancient cultural practices could come under this category, provided we can wean away superstition that might have crept into both religion as well as culture. We might not have teachers to unfold the truths therein, but that does not diminish any religion or cultural practice.

Among the ancient religions and cultural practices there is this unique body of teaching unfolding the truth of these practices, which was practiced by a set of people living in a place endowed with a rich culture and that religio-cultural life style was called Sanatana Dharma. We can speak about this Sanatana Dharma because there is a live teaching tradition that it still upholds. Though the word ‘sanatana dharma’ might not be so popular today, because another word has become more popular to represent the same teaching which is Hinduism, still the teaching tradition continues.

Well, what does the Sanskrit word Sanatana dharma mean? The word Sanaatana can be resolved as Sadaa nuutanam, meaning that which is ever fresh or new, meaning that which is not time bound and therefore not created. This means that it does not come within the purview of creation. It is very interesting word and the thing pointed out is also very interesting. We are speaking about something that is there in the creation and at the same time use a word that represents or refers to something that is not time bound or limited. So, the word Sanaatana does not mean anything within nor can it  means something outside the creation, but the very basis of this creation which is of the form of manifestation as well as the state of absorption of the  creation. Creation is nothing but manifestation of something that was nmanifest and destruction of that thing  is  the thing going back to its prior state, which we can call absorption or getting into the state of unmanifest. So, what then does the word Sanaatana point towards? It points towards or refers to the basis of creation and the rest, which is the Lord-Creator, in Sanskrit we can say, it points to or refers to Ishwara. This is a very nice term but shall reserve another occasion to explore into. We have already  seen the meaning of the word Dharma. We can resolve  the word Sanaatana Dharma in few ways and the first could be 1) Sanaatanasya Ishvarasya Dharma- the dharma of Ishvara. The dharma laid out by Ishvara. Through the same way of resolving we can also state that it means the dharma of the ancients. By this we mean that it is not a new found technique, but something that was applied in the ancient times and has been preserved up to this point of time. In that sense, it has withstood the vagaries of not only human minds but also of the nature. So, it is a time-tested    It can also be resolved in another way and that is,  Sanaatansca asau dhamrasca-it is both ancient and it is dharma. By this we mean that not only is it ancient but also life-giving, supporting, enlivening, nourishing. It not only nourishes the person but also the set up in which the person is living, which is the creation. It can also be resolved this way, Sanaatanah eva dharmah, meaning that which is ancient alone is dharma meaning that is born in time because of compulsions of human mind directly or indirectly do not nourish or enliven hence not dharma. Commitment to that dharma which helps accomplishment of the Lord for one, can be spoken of as Sanaatana Dharma. There may be many other ways to resolve the word, but for the time being, let us examine the few ways that we have resolved the word and what it means for us.

That which nourishes, enlivens, bears, supports, upholds, cannot be an inert thing-an object in the normal sense of the term, though it could be in the deeper sense of the term. Well, what is it that supports, nurtures, nourishes or even enlivens us? It is not a thing, for that very thing has to be nurtured and nourished for it to nurture and nourish. I as an individual should nourish or nurture a thing and only then can that particular thing nurture or nourish me. In other words, an existent thing alone can nurture or do something like that. If we collectively take ourselves as one entity, then only we nurture and nourish that particular thing and that particular thing would be there  available for nourishing and nurturing us.  So, we should be doing something and this very act of doing something, at sometime in some way protects and bears us. In other words, our actions are primarily needed and the outcome of that or those actions, begets a mechanism that takes care of us. In a very broad and general sense we can say that the results of our action brings out a mechanism that protects us and hence we can say that dharma is karma phala. Phala means a fruit or result and karma means action.

Now a pertinent question would arise. Is it what we do that protects us or is it what obtains as a result of our actions that protects us? If the act cannot protect, we cannot say that the result of such an act will protect us.

So, not only the act protects us but also its result too. This calls for further investigation which we shall take up in the second part.

To sum up, the result of our acts as well as the very act that we put forth can protect us and this is the Ancient’s law as well as an ancient law and that would not only protect us but lead us to the Lord, for this life style is not a product of a given individual or sets of them, but designed by the laws of creation, that is the Lord.