Who is the founder of Sanatana Dharma?

Sanatana Dharma does not have one single, historical founder or a specific date of origin. Hindus believe that the Vedas, the most authoritative primary sacred texts of Hinduism, are the oldest in the world, and are a revelation from God to many enlightened rishis of India. The rishis meditate on God, and in the state of samadhi they heard the truths revealed to them by God. The revealed knowledge of the rishis was passed on from generation to generation through an oral tradition, and it came to be known as Sanatana Dharma.

The Vedas are known as Shruti shastras. Shruti means that which was heard or revealed. Later it was written and classified by Veda Vyasa into the four Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva

How old is Hinduism?

The concept of time is cyclical in Hinduism and not linear as it is in the West, where there is a beginning and an end. According to the Vishnu Purana (1.3 & 6.3), the four yugas or eras are Satyuga (1,728,000 years), Tretayuga (1,296,000) years), Dwapara (864,000 years) and Kaliyuga (432,000 years). At the end of the final era, namely, Kaliyuga, the cycle repeats itself, beginning again with Satyuga. So that is why Hinduism is believed to be eternal or Sanatana Dharma. Also, since it was revealed by God, who is eternal, hence the name Sanatana Dharma

Hinduism originated in Bharat (India) and spreaded across the globe.

How old is Hinduism?

The concept of time is cyclical in Hinduism and not linear as it is in the West, where there is a beginning and an end. According to the Vishnu Purana (1.3 & 6.3), the four yugas or eras are Satyuga (1,728,000 years), Tretayuga (1,296,000) years), Dwapara (864,000 years) and Kaliyuga (432,000 years). At the end of the final era, namely, Kaliyuga, the cycle repeats itself, beginning again with Satyuga. So that is why Hinduism is believed to be eternal or Sanatana Dharma. Also, since it was revealed by God, who is eternal, hence the name Sanatana Dharma

Hinduism originated in Bharat (India) and spreaded across the globe.

How did Hinduism get its name?

In ancient times one of the names of Hinduism was Arya Dharma (the religion of noble people). The name was derived from its people, who were indigenous to Bharat (India) and were known as Aryas and later as Aryans.

The Aryans lived on the eastern bank of the River Sindhu (also called Indus) in northwestern India. On the other bank lived the Persians. They called the River Sindhu as ‘Hindu’, because in Persian they pronounced ‘s’ as ‘h’. So they called the people who lived around and beyond the River Sindhu as Hindus. Later, the country was called Hindustan or the land of the Hindus. A couple of centuries ago the religion of the Hindus came to be named Hinduism.

 The Greeks called the River Sindhu as Indos’ and its people as Indoi. Later, they became Indus and Indian in English respectively. The country came to be called India. Where real name of country India is Bharat 

Which other religions originated in Hinduism?

Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism were born from Hinduism

1. Buddhism

Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, means the enlightened one. He is also known as Gautama Buddha and Shakya Muni. He was born and lived in India, circa 557 BCE to 477 BCE. After witnessing another’s suffering and death, he renounced his princely comforts at age of 29 to seek the path of nirvana or freedom from sorrow and suffering. He performed austerities and meditation and attained enlightenment at 35. For the next 45 years he spread his wisdom and established a religious order of monks.

He taught the four noble truths: 

(1) Dukha or the existence of suffering; 

(2) Dukha samudaya or cause of suffering;

(3) Dukh nirodh or that it is possible to stop suffering and

(4) Dukkha nirodha-marga that there is a way out of all suffering. 

He prescribed an eight-fold noble path for attaining the last truth, namely,

right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. 

The four noble truths and eight-fold noble paths form the core of Buddhism.

Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism and is regarded as a revising or reformation of Hinduism in Buddha’s time. Ahimsa or non-violence is its primary ethical principle. Buddha de-emphasized caste and ritual and taught liberation through an ethical life and meditation. He did not recognize the authority of the Vedas, therefore Buddhism is considered to be a nastika (heterodox) system in Indian philosophy. In 380 BCE, which is about 100 years after Buddha passed away, there was a schism in Buddhism. The conservatives came to be called the Theravadis. The rest came to be known as Mahasanghikas. These two groups evolved into the Hinayana and Mahayana schools. The Hinayana sect, which developed from the Theravada branch, is inclined towards the spiritual knowledge that Buddha came on earth for his own liberation. The Mahayana sect is a reformist movement and believes Buddha to be God and that he came to liberate countless souls. This sect is mainly inclined towards the path of devotion or bhakti marga. The Mahayana spread to and flourished in China, Japan and Tibet, whereas Hinayana spread to Sri Lanka, Myanmar and some Southeast Asian countries.

2. Jainism

Jainism is a world religion that has its origin in India. The Jains claim that it originated from their first leader, Sage Rishabhdeva (an avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu), and acknowledge Mahavira (599-527 BCE) to be the founder. They believe in 24 Tirthankars. A Tirthankar is one who achieves enlightenment (perfect knowledge) through asceticism and then becomes a guru and role model for those seeking spiritual guidance.

Jain philosophy believes in two fundamental principles: the jivatattva (living beings) and the ajivatattva (non-living objects). Various experiences of birth, life and death arise due to the actions and relations of these two principles. Liberation is prescribed through a five-fold ethical code: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (celi-bacy) and aparigraha (non-possession)

Jainism developed into a mass religion with lay followers. 

Kings and nobles were also attracted to the religion. Chandragupta Maurya (340 BCE-298 BCE) of the Magadha empire and King Naresh Kharvela (circa 1 BCE or 2 BCE) of Kalinga (Bengal) are said to have converted to Jainism. In the first century CB the Jain order split into two groups: Digambara (‘heaven-clad’, i.e., naked ascetics, following the orthodox, stricter tradition) and Shvetambara (white clad’, whose ascetics wear white clothes and follow a liberal path of renunciation).

3.Sikhism

After Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, Sikhism is the fourth religion born in Bharat. It is the youngest of the world religions. Guru Nanak (1469-1539 CB) was the founder of Sikhism. He was succeeded by nine gurus who developed and nourished Sikhism. The last guru was Guru Govind Singh (1666-1708 CF). He ended the guru tradition with himself and declared the Granth Sahib, the main scripture of Sikhs, to be venerated as the guru. The Guru Granth Sahib or Adi Granth was compiled by Guru Arjun Dev (1563-1606 C), the fifth guru, in 1604. The holy book comprises 6,000 devotional songs written by five of the gurus. Furthermore, songs by Namdev, Ravidas and Kabir have also been included. The crux of the teachings in Guru Granth Sahib is that God is one and that his name is Truth or Tat. He is also known by the names of Satnama (Holy name), Kartar (Creator), Akal (Creator), Wahe-guru, Khuda and Paravardigär (Cherisher). Repeating his name and remembering him are the main spiritual means to attain him. The scripture also states that without the guru’s grace one cannot attain moksha.

According to Sikhism God does not incarnate on earth. It accepts the principles of karma, rebirth, samsara (transmigration) and attainment of mukti through spiritual knowledge and bhakti to God. A person can realize God only through the help of a guru. Constant utterance of God’s name (nam-smarana) and total surrender to him are the important spiritual disciplines. Sikhism rejects the traditions of yajnas and rituals, caste system and image worship.

Sikhism has many things in common with Hinduism. It is a historical fact that the Sikhs fought for and even sacrificed their lives in defense of Hinduism.

The five K’s are the symbols of Sikhism. They are Kesha (hair), Kanga (comb), Kutcha (underwear), Kirpana (small dagger) and Kada (wristlet). Every Sikh is supposed to have unshorn hair which he should tie into a knot at the top and sport the other symbols of the faith. The Sikhs were the sword arm of Hinduism, who fought against the invaders of Bharat.

The Golden Temple of Amritsar is the holiest of the holies in Sikhism. It has very high significance not only to Sikhs but to other Sampradays in Hinduism There the devout perform menial service called kär seva, irrespective of birth, status, etc.

Why do Hindus cremate the dead?

Hindus believe in cremating the dead, ideally within 24 hours of death. They believe that after death the soul, out of its attachment and love for its own body and relatives (vasana), remains in the vicinity of its physical body. The burning of the body clearly reflects that the soul can no longer come back into the same body. Thus, cremation of the body finally severs all ties that the soul has with its body. It is also an act that signals to the soul to relinquish attachment to the body and continue its onward journey.

Hindus do not believe in the resurrection of the body for each soul to reunite with, which is the purpose of burial in other beliefs

Mourning is not considered inappropriate nor is it to be suppressed. In fact, it allows the release of inner emotions and grief for the deceased. However, the Hindu tradition teaches that excessive crying or sadness holds the departed soul in carchly consciousness. So, for an easy departure of the soul to a higher realm and for the solace of those bereaved the chanting of God’s holy name (dhun), singing of bhajans and reading of (the divine life of God, such as, the Garuda Purana, Shrimad Bhägavata or Bhaktachintamani are practiced.