Sanatana Dharma in simple terms – 4

Sri:

The Main Scriptures of Sanatana Dharma

Before we go into the topic of this article, let me make an important remark. I would like to clarify, as strongly and unambiguously as possible, that there is absolutely NO political angle attached to the term ‘Sanatana Dharma’ in any of my articles – past, present and future. It is unfortunate that the term has acquired a political connotation in current times and is being used across the political spectrum with narrow meanings and interpretations. My series of articles is NOT meant to express any political opinion, but to STRICTLY limit the discussion to philosophical ideas and concepts based on authentic ancient scriptures, and their practical relevance for modern times. In this context, Sanatana Dharma refers to the ancient traditions, schools of thought and practices, in short the way of life which has the Vedas as its fundamental source of knowledge.

This reflection is also in line with the underlying principle of this website.

The above clarification also gives us a neat transition to today’s topic which is about the main scriptures in Sanatana Dharma.

What are the main scriptures in Sanatana Dharma?

The Vedas

The fundamental scriptures of Sanatana Dharma are the Vedas or the Shruti. They are in Samskritam (Sanskrit).

There are four Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharvana. The classification was done by a rishi called Veda Vyasa.

Rig Veda is one of the oldest texts in the world, if not the oldest! It dates about 3000-2500 years BCE according to conservative estimates. Other estimates go as far as 20000 years BCE.

Each Veda has three parts:

• Mantras or hymns
• Brahmanas or explanations of rituals, rites
• Upanishads or metaphysical contemplations and philosophical discussions

The Hindu philosophy is essentially based on the Upanishads which come at the end of the texts. Hence it is called Vedanta, anta meaning end. We will see later that Vedanta is one of six major Vedic philosophical schools of thought.

All the other (following) scriptures are based on the Vedas.

Smritis

These are rules or codes of conduct (Dharma Shastras) to be followed by individuals in their personal lives as well as in the society. The most important authors are Manu (1000-500 BCE), Yajnavalkya and Paraasara. Some of the modern laws have evolved from them; of course some are entirely new. 

When we say Dharma Shastras, the question arises as to what is Dharma? The concept of Dharma can be conceived at various levels, from the cosmic level all the way down to the level of a minute being. As far as humans are concerned, let us say in short “virtuous/good conduct” but this concept needs more elaboration and we will devote an entire article to it.

Itihaasaas

Iti-ha-aasa means ‘indeed thus it happened’ and hence they are historic narrations. The author of the Itihaasaa lived while the story was unfolding and is even one of the characters in the story. There are only two Itihaasaas – Ramayana (by Maharishi Valmiki) and Mahabharata (by Maharishi Vyasa). Both have important messages on how to lead our lives following the rule of Dharma laid out in the Vedas. Till today, the protagonists in these stories shape the domestic, societal and national ideals of Hindus. The main characters in these Itihaasas are considered as incarnations of the Supreme – Rama-Sita in Ramayana, Krishna-Rukmini in Mahabharata. The principal aim of an incarnation is to protect the good, punish the bad, and establish Dharma, as stated by Bhagavan Krishna himself in the Bhagavad Gita. 

The Bhagavad Gita which is contained in the Mahabharata is considered as the fifth Veda as it reiterates and summarises the philosophy of the Upanishads. As we all know, it is a dialogue between Arjuna (one of the five Pandavas) and Krishna (Vishnu’s incarnation, and Arjuna’s charioteer in the story). This text is the very essence of Sanatana Dharma with all its components clearly explained and is the most widely read Hindu philosophical text in the world. During this conversation, Bhagavan Krishna preaches Dharma to Arjuna asking him to follow his duty leaving the result to the Supreme and shows Arjuna that He Himself is the Supreme by revealing his Vishvaroopam (Cosmic Form) in which Arjuna sees the entire universe as well as the innumerable cycles of creation and destruction of the universe.

Puraanaas

These are legends and historic narrations of various lineages of kings and rishis which also contain important messages on what is right and wrong, and how to lead a good life. They insist on devotion to the Supreme as a path to liberation as well as a dharmic (say virtuous) life of selfless service. There are 18 main Puraanaas and many secondary Puraanaas,the most important and well-known being Vishnu Puraanaa and Bhagavata Puraanaa.

The Itihaasaas and Puraanaas largely inspire the lifestyle of Hindus even in current times. It is in the Puraanaas that we find the 10 main incarnations of Vishnu (dashaavatara) that one often talks about. 1. Matsya (fish), 2. Koorma (turtle) 3. Varaha (boar) 4. Narasimha (lion-faced human) 5. Vamana (dwarf) 6. Parasurama (man) 7. Rama and Sita (the perfect man and woman) 8. Krishna and Rukmini (the divine couple) 9. Balarama (Krishna’s brother) and 10. Kalki (yet to happen). Sometimes Balarama is replaced by Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Note that the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata also appear in the Puraanaas, in addition to being separately narrated in the Itihaasaas. 

Agamaas

These are manuals of rituals and worship practices that glorify the Supreme. They contain prayer (araadhana) rituals at home as well as in the temples and are still being followed. There are three major systems of worship: worship with Vishnu as the Supreme (Paancharaatra Agamaas), worship with Shiva as the Supreme (Shaiva Agamaas) et worship with Shakti as the Supreme (Shakti Agamaas or Tantraas).

Darshanaas

These are texts pertaining to different philosophical schools of thought that have developed over the ages. There are six Vedic darshanaas: Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Poorva Mimamsa, Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta). Each one can be associated with a ‘founder’ whose Sutras (short phrases) form the basis of that school of thought. Vedanta is the current dominant system of Sanatana Dharma, although many concepts are common with the previous systems. In fact, Poorvaand Uttara Mimamsa are often combined into a single system and called Vedanta. The Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita are the three main philosophical treatises of Vedanta. The knowledge contained in the first two is based on the spiritual experiences of the rishi-ka-s, and the third text is of course spoken by the Supreme Being Itself in the form of Bhagavan Krishna. We will devote a separate article on darshanaas at a later stage. Hence, I will not elaborate more on this here.

Then we have a vast library of texts, in Samskritam as well as in other ancient languages such as Tamizh, that are further elaborations and explanations on various aspects of Hindu philosophy and traditions. They can also be commentaries on parts or whole of the above Veda-based texts as well as devotional outpourings, written by great acharyas (spiritual teachers) and bhaktaas (devotees) to help the common human get a better understanding of Hindu philosophy and spirituality. And these writings go on until today and will go on for ever.

Let me stop here. This article has turned out to be shorter than the previous ones, but I feel it may be denser in content. So, better not to prolong it further! I will finish with one question which is obvious and also similar to a previous one in a previous article.

Question: We said there are many scriptures starting from the Vedas. What happens if there are passages/texts that seem to contradict each other?

Now, answers to the questions from the previous article.

Question 1: Whom does It (Brahman) choose to reveal Itself?
Answer: One who lovingly mediates on It! How do we know? Bhagavan Krishna says it Himself in the Gita!

Question 2: Name an acit thing that does not have any sense organs. Name a sentient being with a body (acit) that does have some sense organs but not all.
Answer: There can be many correct answers. For example: a) mountain, cloud, stone… b) earthworm – not in the way we have described sense organs; of course it does sense through other means. In fact, it may even be able to sense more things than humans! Or snake – no ears although it can ‘sense’ vibrations. Many more possible answers!