Author: Prasad Aryal

WHAT IS THE HINDU DHARMA ?  CONTINUES……

2. Ashram Vyavastha (four age-based life stages)

According to the scriptures, humans got a hundred years of life blessing from  god. Rishi (sages) or senior people gave blessing to the junior people as a blessing.  “ जीवेम शरदः शतम्” It means blessing given  to live for  100 years. In this ashram Vyavastha applied suppose human life is 100 year. They are divided into four stages of life. Every stage 25/25 years is as arranged. Which are as follow : a) Brahmacharya b) Grihastha c) Vanprastha d) sannyasa

a) Brahmacharya Ashram: Brahmacharya means walking to understand Brahma (god). When a  boy’s  age reaches seven years, parents send the Gurukul to acquire education /knowledge  for  life.  when they wear yagyopavit ( as Hindu ritual). Gurukul  was an ancient residential school to get higher education and acquire useful knowledge for life.

The brahmacharya ashram is the age of up to 25 years for gaining strength, intellect and knowledge. Nobody was in the cast before Brahmacharya at that time. Teacher guru selected the student in four categories. If the  students are talented and interested to read, write and understand Veda and Upanishad. These types of students were selected in the brahmin group.

If the students are strong, brave, and have leading power. who wants to know and interested in the skill of diplomacy, fighting and dhanurvidya. These  students were selected in the kshatriya group. They were taught  political sciences. If students are interested in loss and profit and want to benefit from others.

These students are in the Vaishya group. They were taught trade and business. If students were not interested in the above things. They were taught technical training education like  instrumental music, crafts, tailoring, making daily goods for all students and socially useful wooden, metal goods.

All these students were in the sudra group. In summary, it is a student life that acquires knowledge for 25 years of initial life. According to eastern philosophy, students came out from gurukul.

They had four types of quality and ability. Like Brahmin, kshatriya, Vaishya and sudra . Actually these were educational degrees of Gurukul.  When they came to Grihastha life they applied their knowledge.  In this way, In  Hindu sanatan dharma has started a caste system. 

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WHAT IS THE HINDU DHARMA ?  CONTINUES…..

It is also argued, they have named our Vedic Sana tan Dharma’s name as  Hindu religion. There was no protest from Vedic Sana tan dharma’s followers at that time. It was automatically established in the name of Hinduism the people of Indian continental other than Muslim and Christians. 

One of Indian man swatantra Savakar taking credit for naming him for Hindu religion. He even wrote such verses in Sanskrit.

असिन्धू सिन्धू पर्यन्ता यस्य भारत भूमिका  । पितृ भूःपुण्यभूश्चैव स वै हिन्दुरितीस्मृतः।।

It means : The land from Himalaya  (the source of river Sindhu ) to the indian oceans, which was called Indian continental in ancient Vedic time, They consider that land as holy place and fatherland/ motherland. Those who live there are called Hindus. 

What exactly is the essence of the so-called Hindu religion ?

I found it from several sources, I tried to explain what I understand.

There are four basic pillars. Which is also called the four rituals.

1. Purusharth (four human pursuit) a) dharma b) Artha (economic) c)  Kam (deep extensive desire, ego, sensuality)  d) Moksha (freedom from rebirth)
2. Ashram system (four age-based life stages)          
3.   a ) brahmacharya ( student) b) grihasthashram( householder) c) Vanprastha ( freedom from family responses) d) Sannyasa ( renunciation) 
4. Varna system(four social classes/ cast) Varna contextually means “color, race, tribe, species, kind, sort, nature, character, quality, property” of an object or people in some Vedic and medieval texts. Varna refers to four social classes in the Manu smriti.
5. Rin system (loan/credit like responsible  arrangement) a) Dev Rin (loan/credit of god) b) guru (rishi)rin ( credit of teacher)  c) Pitri Rin ( loan/credit of parents ) d) Lok / Manav Rin (social responsible )

Beside this four pillars there are four Veda a) Yajurveda – this related with religious ritual ceremonial b) Sam Veda ( related literacy, melody  chanting and singing lyrics )    C) rig Veda ( hymns about mythology)d) Atharva Veda (“the procedures for everyday Vedic art life architecture)

And four mind conscience:  a) man ( mind) b) buddhi ( intelligence) c)Chitta ( heart) , d) Ahamkara (ego) 

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WHAT IS THE HINDU DHARMA ?  CONTINUES…..

धारणात् धर्ममित्याहुः धर्मो धारयति प्रजाः। यः स्यात् धारणसंयुक्तः स धर्म यति निश्चयः।।

 Dharma is the only one on this planet. Above Sanskrit sentences gave the meaning of the Dharma is that do not revel, do not covet greedy, to be celibacy, to be kindness for whole animal kinds, mercy for animal kinds, involving worship with devotion, follow the path of truth and hold the feeling of mercy and forgiveness,  Such as dharma holds its  followers without discrimination, That has ability to keep own followers in one thread. Of course it is the same  as Dharma. That was the scriptures explaining Dharma.  The riots that are going on in the name of religions in the world. Most people blamed Dharma but it is not so. But it is happening due to  religious politics. It is just a vicious cycle of hypocrites who boast of being great in the name of religion. That is my opening.

यतो अभ्युदय निः श्रेयस सिद्धिः सः ःधर्मः

It means Dharma is to attain prosperity in this life and to attain salvation in future life. 

Progress is definitely natural science but salvation is a Dharma. The above version told us that human beings can be improved if we could balance science and Dharma. We can describe if science supports the save of human beings on this planet, salvation is the goal of  dharma. According to these  verses If we live with balanced science and Dharma, Human life can be improved and developed. If Science saves and keeps people on the planet, but Karma/dharma decides to accept  or reject people from the world. 

How did our Vedic Sanatan dharma become Hinduism ? 

Arabia’s people had been trading with India since immemorial time. They purchase herbs, spices, diamonds, clothes, silk, gold and silver from India. They used to trade in Europe through the Sindhu valley. There were more than a hundred countries in Indian continental. Indian people never know India is a country.  Indian continental cover the more than hundred small countries in India and including Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. British never couldn’t make colonization to Nepal, Gorkha was very brave they couldn’t take over Nepalese soldiers, but large part of land of Nepal taking with diplomatic way, that called “Sugauli Treaty””.  British was return from India but they did not return the land of Nepal which undertaking “Sugauli Treaty”

Main sources of Sindhu river from Sindhu valley. Sindhu valley was the main national border check post of Indian continental. Arabizes European even English people called  the Indus  for  their resident people.  Then they started calling this country India. In course of trade, Muslim mugals ruled India for hundred years. It was named Hindustan as it is the country of Hindus. Mughal and British governments used to dominate and discriminate against words like Indian. At that time,  in the Oxford Dictionary – 1900 century at Page no. in 789,  it was written Indian word means Poor – Old fashioned – Criminal people. They used to word Hindu as the dominant word for Indian.  British ruled India as the name of an East India company for more than 200 years.

WHAT IS THE HINDU DHARMA ?  continues…..

Millions of people are embracing Hindu Sanatan Dharma, most of the saints and sages in all religious sects want to see the desire for enlightenment and nearness of God. As for the attainment of God, The sect  is vague and incomplete as for the attainment of God. There is no way without coming into the Vedic Sanatan (Hindu) as  science of religion.  That’s what those people say That  other religions in the world are called religions, not actual Dharma. 

The meaning of religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”  Therefore they said. So all these religions are religious sects, the community in which they believe God is worshiped.

The religion of monotheism was developed by the ancestors of Israel 500 years before Christ. Which is called Judaism... Christianity began in the first century after Jesus’ death. Jesus was also a Jewish teacher and healer. Who declared the world to be God’s empire. He was crucified between 30 and 33 in the first century.. He was Jewish before that. Islam is believed to have originated in Mecca, Medina, 600 BC, in the seventh century.

The Qur’an was written in 610 BC. The angel Gabriel appeared and recited the Koran to Muhammad Giving this all a quick read. It seems we are pretty much understanding islam and Christianity developed from base of  Jewish religion. Even these religions became divided. Orthodox Judaism (Jewish) and Conservative Judaism. Similarly, Christians were divided into Protestantism, Orthodoxies and others. Similarly, Muslims are also divided into Shia and Sunni. 

Similarly, there are hundreds of sects close to our Vedic religion, Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism, Shaivism and its branches as their Gurus.

 Our ancestors Rishi Muni considered the world our own family and they said thousands of years ago. 

अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघु चेतसाम् | उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् |

Meaning of this sentence is: There is such a kind of man who has narrow thoughts  like this is mine and that is yours. But some people with generous thoughts who say that the world is one family. Now everyone has accepted that the world is a global village. After a while, all the people will say that this earth is equal to all living beings. It is my belief that a person or creature has the right to say that this is my earth.

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If any religion has to dominate mankind. They do not follow their religion. If they do violence to living beings. If they thought that we are great other than. If they thought we are superior other than religions. They did not establish a Dharma. So Dharma is not a name like religion. It is a character.

Muslim people said his religion as Maj hub. That also means religion. So we can call religion a kind faith of tradition. Dharma is establishing human life as excellent, happy, joyful, peaceful, loving, true , kind and forgiving with balancing  to the natural laws. That is called dharma.

These include the duties, rights, policies, law, truthful justice, manner of conduct, kindness and forgiveness, devotion, morality and other things that human beings have to follow. Dharma is a constitution of human civilization and culture that is disciplined in accordance with nature.

If any dharma is used to humiliate, hurt, to human beings as  name of Dalit and lower caste that is not a Dharma or religion. It is hypocrisy. It is not a Dharma that insults one god to another, which are universally accepted in the scriptures, but the politics are involved in religions and they exploit human beings today.

Dharma is that which brings the life of the human race to a higher level and promotes higher civilization. Dharma should respect and promote not only human beings but that entire animal kingdom and nature. Dharma has to lead where everyone is happy, loving, peaceful, truthful,  

असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर् मामृतं गमय ।

Dharma is that which leads from falsehood to truth and darkness to lights, leads from death to immortality. 

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिन: सर्वे सन्तु निरामया:।                                                                                                                               सर्वे भद्राणी पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दु:खभाग्भावेत् ।                                                                                                                     ओम् शान्ति: शान्ति : शान्ति :।। 

This is Vedic Sana tan Dharma. 

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•  Dharma and Religion ?

• 

A man naturally wants to seek knowledge about Dharma and  religion who wants to take the path of spirituality. That would be necessary. That’s why I tried to in written what I have learned from studying. There are many weak points in this.

Sometimes I think that I would die without knowledge of most subjects in my life ! Many people have died neither knowing oneself nor understanding life and the universe. There are very few people who could understand what man has created in the world.

So the universe is a big mysterious thing to know. However, the supernatural element created living beings and materials. They are bound in it and that power is automatically controlling and operating the lunar sun and planets through magnetic attraction.

That supernatural divine is formless and omnipresent. Maybe some great philosopher could understand that ? I couldn’t dare say because It could be daredevil.

If people are understood a Dharma as Hindu, Muslim, Buddha, Christians, Jain and Sikhs etc.. It will be meaningless. Dharma is not a denomination, religion or cult. Dharma are not Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Christians, Muslim, Jewish, Jain and others etc. All of these religion organizations have their own gods, whom they worship. Religion does not literally mean dharma. 

According to eastern philosophy, dharma is called qualitative quality of living and even material. Dharma may be hidden within religion, but Dharma cannot be divided nor can it be torn apart. Dharma is a great eternal belief, rites and spirituality.

The interpretation of dharma began to change with time. People have succeeded in confusing the people by uttering the same words religion and Dharma. So the word Dharma began to be interpreted in conjunction with religions and sects. Thousands years ago, our Rishi(explained) dharma in this way. 

अद्रोह्श्चाअप्यलोभश्च दमोभुतदया तप:। ब्रह्मचर्य तथा सत्यमनुक्रोश: धृति :।।

Means: “not to be malice, betray, greedy, to subdue the senses, to be celibacy, to be merciful to the animal kingdom, to worship devotion, to be  on the path of truth, to hold the feeling of mercy and forgiveness.”

All these qualities must be accepted by a Dharmic person. Eastern philosophers said that it is the Dharma of mankind. In this way  eastern philosopher said that dharma is as cosmic order, dharma as a social order, dharma as ethical behavior, dharma as duty or responsibility, dharma as service to the community, dharma as self- expression, dharma as a means for Moksha,  

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