09/28/2023
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐น๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ
Sadhguru unpacks what it means to be Hindu, and how the essence of this civilization has been uniquely preserved through the ages. Most profound classical music, mathematics, mysticism, and a rich tapestry of culture are all born from the land between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean. Delve into the fascination of this civilization.
๐๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ง: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. My question is, what really is Hinduism?
๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ: ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ง โ-๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆโ
๐๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ง๐ช: Hindu is not an -ism. Hindu is a land, and over a period of time, it became a civilization. Because of political situations and power tussles, people may twist and turn it, but essentially, Hindu is rooted in the land. The land that lies between the Himalayas and the Indu Sagara or Indian Ocean, is considered Hindu. The people who lived here naturally became Hindus, and the region was referred to as Hindustan, the land of Hindus.
This civilization is not an outcome of a single belief, teaching, or book. There is an immense variety of geography, ethnicity, languages, food, and culture. This civilization is a consequence of fearless, guiltless, greed-less human beings. When freed from the fear of punishment, guilt, and the bait of heavenly rewards, naturally, human intelligence will seek our ultimate nature.
In this seeking, this civilization encountered astronomy, mathematics, and music. In terms of complexity of its foundations, there is nothing like Indian classical music. Every accomplished musician in the world could testify to that. When there is a complex foundation, there is no limit to what you can build on it. Likewise, there is a very complex understanding of mathematics and astronomy.
๐๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐
In this culture, even thousands of years ago, we knew that the planet is round, and that it is going around the Sun. We never believed that the Earth is the center of the universe. We arrived at this understanding because we were seekers, not believers. If you are genuinely into science, you must be a seeker. You cannot be a believer and be a scientist because belief means you have made conclusions about things that you have no clue about.
In this pursuit, we came across mathematics, music, astronomy, mysticism โ many magical and mystical things. As our seeking and perception deepened and became very profound, we found nothing. When we found nothing, we said, โShiva.โ Then we found that the basis of everything was this nothing. The greatest miracle in the universe is this: Everything comes out of nothing and goes back to nothing. Everything โ you and me, this planet, this solar system, these galaxies, and this cosmos โ is merely a manifestation.
This is a civilization of exploration in all kinds of ways. From very systematic disciplines and absolutely wild ways of seeking, nothing is taboo. There are aghoris, tantrics, and a variety of people with different approaches. The important thing is that you are seeking, and that your intent is to touch the core of the life that you are.
We know that the core of life is not somewhere in the center of the galaxy but in every life. Whether you are a man, woman, animal, or an ant โ the core of life is within you. Life cannot happen without the source of life throbbing inside.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐
Today, human intellect is definitely far more active than it used to be even a hundred years ago, as it is less influenced by dogmas or doctrines than it was in the past. People are beginning to understand that unless they handle their life well, it will not work. That means they understand, โMy life is my Karma.โ That means they become Hindus.
So, Hindu is not an -ism, religion, or a particular way of life. Hindu is a land. Because of the land, people became Hindu. Because of the people, the civilization became Hindu. Because of the civilization, the nation became Hindustan. If you free your intellect from the influence of fear, guilt, and greed, you become Hindu.
Hindus are not a particular type of people. It is called Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana literally means eternal. Dharma does not mean religion โ dharma means the law. So, what is the eternal law? As we sit here, all of us are different. But eventually, everybody goes back to the soil, whether they burn or bury you.
Will you realize that everything comes from the same source when you die or now? If you are aspiring to realize it now, you are a sanatani. When you are aspiring for your eternal nature, you are in tune with the Sanatana Dharma, the eternal law.
Your individual manifestation has many limitations. No matter what you become in life, you will still suffer as long as you are identified with the manifestation and not searching for its source. You have not found access to the fundamental, eternal nature of its existence. Once you realize that you have gathered the body and you will shed the body, you have the intelligence to seek what this life is about.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐
In the last one thousand years, the land and the people have seen enormous atrocities. Still we retained our way of being because of how this entire civilization was naturally structured. Because it is not a religion, there was no singular leader whose beheading would have caused everything to fall apart. There was no singular doctrine or book that, if burned, would have resulted in the loss of everything.
It was individual seeking. The invaders did everything possible โ they killed all the leaders and religious teachers, and ravaged thousands of temples. But they could not kill the Sanatana Dharma because it was in everyoneโs hearts and minds.๏ฟฝ
You cannot kill the natural longing to know. As I have been saying, if you free your mind of fear, greed, and guilt, this life will naturally seek its eternal nature. This is the only land which has been invaded with this kind of force but still retained its culture to a large extent. You can destroy a system, but you cannot destroy an organized, intentional chaos.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ
If we move the worldโs population in the direction of becoming free of fear, guilt, and greed, we will see Sanatana Dharma sprout across the planet. Sanatana Dharma does not mean everyone will chant a mantra or do pooja. No, all of them will seek. That is all that matters. We do not care how they seek. As long as they are seeking their eternal nature and their ultimate possibility, we call them sanatani. This is because Sanatana does not mean a particular group of people โ Sanatana means eternal nature.
So, what is Hinduism? There is no such thing; there is no -ism. People are trying to make it into an -ism for survival purposes, unfortunately. But I do not fear for our survival โ I only see a metamorphosis. Many people think I am not Hindu enough, but because I am born in this land, in terms of geography, I am a Hindu. And because my longing has always been to know the eternal nature of who we are, I am a sanatani, not because I subscribe to any philosophies.
I want to see every human being look for their ultimate nature; then everyone is a sanatani. But do not think they are converting to a religion, because there is nothing to convert to โ no ideology, no philosophy, no God. It is just that when your attention shifts from the manifestation to its source, it means you are a sanatani.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐
Manifestations are transient. They are like footprints โ here today, gone tomorrow. But the source is always there. Once your interest shifts from the body to the source, you have become a sanatani. You are seeking the eternal nature. This must happen to the world โ not as a religion, not as a philosophy, but as a natural longing to know what is beyond what is manifested right now.
Manifestations are many, and they are fantastic. But if you get identified with the manifestation, then you will become so small that many human beings do not even consider other life-forms as life. Being a sanatani does not mean disregarding oneโs biology or psychology. We do not want to move away from it โ we want to be above it, so that we can use our biology and psychology the way we want.
Right now, for most human beings, their biological and psychological needs occupy all their time. Sanatana means to be above all manifestations. Your biggest blocks are your own body and your own mind. If we were to take you to the most sacred place in the universe, and there are steps, but you misunderstood the steps as blocks, it would be a tragedy. That is what has happened to most human beings.
This body, this mind, this cerebral capability, these emotions, these energies, this chemistry, are all stepping stones. But right now, you are experiencing them as obstacles in your life. Whether you call it religion, family, marriage, or anything else โ these aspects should be stepping stones, helping you to climb and go beyond, but unfortunately, they have become quicksand. Once you make your body and mind into stepping stones and stand above them, you are a sanatani.
Source: https://isha.sadhguru.org/magazine/forest-flower/2023/9/what-being-hindu-really-means-the-indomitable-spirit-of-seeking-the-ultimate.html
P.S:
๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ข ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ-
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