Sanatana Dharma

Sanātana Dharma — the eternal law — is the self-designation of what is commonly called Hinduism, but the word “Hinduism” carries the implication of a religion bounded in the way Christianity or Islam is bounded, with a founder, a creed, and a community defined by belief. Sanātana Dharma makes a different claim: that the principles it articulates are not the revelation of a particular deity to a particular people at a particular moment, but the eternal structural features of reality itself, discoverable by any sufficiently rigorous inquiry. This is why the tradition contains such philosophical diversity — multiple competing schools of metaphysics, ethics, and practice — without fragmentation: the diversity is the point, the tradition being a space of ongoing inquiry rather than a fixed set of propositions. Understanding this distinction is the first step toward understanding why Hindu civilization responds to philosophical challenge differently from Abrahamic traditions.

Wiki Pages

• [[sanatana-dharma-and-metaphysics]] — Sanatana Dharma and Metaphysics
• [[bodha-and-its-mission]] — Bodha and Its Mission
• [[schools-of-thought]] — Schools of Thought
• [[big-questions]] — Big Questions

Source Files

Big Questions

• What Idea Must Die, for Hindu Renaissance?

• What is the Core of Sanatana Dharma?

• Is Modernity Compatible With Hindu Values?

• What Will Save Sanatana Dharma?

Schools of Thought

• School of Cultural Traditionalists
• Sri Aurobindo’s School

Research Projects

• The Battle for Dharma in North-East
• Dharmic Design

Thinkers

• Ram Swarup

Blog Articles

• Ahoi Aṣtamī – How Hindu Dharma Teaches Deep Ecology through Festivals
• Culture and Warfare - Finding Balance Through Dharma
• A Dharmika Frame for Sustainability and Technology
• The Dhārmika Gene
• Towards Dharma-centric Polity - Lokmanya Tilak and the Universalization of Gaṇeśa Utsava

Associated Books

• Essential Coomaraswamy (Ananda Coomaraswamy) essential-coomaraswamy — General overview of Hindu tradition, covering its beliefs, practices, social vision, and intellectual foundations.
• Future of Mankind (Sri Aurobindo) future-of-mankind — Civilizational reflection arguing for a spiritually grounded future rooted in perennial wisdom.
• The Vedas (Chandrasekharendra Saraswati) the-vedas — General introduction to the Vedas, outlining their structure, themes, ritual setting, and long civilizational influence.
• Outline of Hindu Philosophy (M. Hiriyanna) outline-of-hindu-philosophy — Broad survey of major schools and recurrent philosophical themes in Hindu thought.
• Hinduism Ancient and Modern (Rai Bahadur Lala Baij Nath) all-about-hinduism — Comparative overview of continuities and changes in Hindu tradition across historical periods.
• Hindu Dharma (S. Radhakrishnan) hindu-dharma — General account of Hindu dharma, its philosophical foundations, social vision, and practical disciplines.
• Hindu Dharma Radhakrishnan (S. Radhakrishnan) hindu-dharma-radhakrishnan — Essay by S. Radhakrishnan presenting Hindu dharma as a living, adaptive, and philosophically grounded religious tradition.

Related Concepts

• Dharma — Sanatana Dharma is the eternal form of dharma — the two concepts are inseparable
• Metaphysics — Sanatana Dharma’s metaphysical framework is what distinguishes it from religion in the Western sense
• Civilizational Consciousness — Civilizational consciousness is Sanatana Dharma made collective and historical