Acharya Prashant begins by defining 'Sanatan' as eternal or timeless, something that holds true irrespective of the age, era, or period. He explains that the fundamental human conditionābeing born into ignorance and bondageāis something that does not change with time. The mind inherently dislikes this state of ignorance and bondage and thus longs for understanding and liberation. This responsibility upon the human being to gain understanding and freedom from bondage is what is called 'Sanatan Dharma'. It is a dharma that applies to all people, at all times, and in all places. Addressing a recent remark by Udhayanidhi Stalin, Acharya Prashant calls it a classic case of a straw man fallacy. He states that the speaker is taking Sanatan Dharma to be something it is not and then criticizing that distorted image. He clarifies that Sanatan Dharma is, in fact, a great unifier, founded on the principle that all human beings have one core and common true identity, which is called 'Atma'. Therefore, all differences among human beingsāsuch as caste, color, creed, language, gender, economic status, or ideologyāare merely superficial and unreal. He points out that the fundamental scriptures of Sanatan Dharma, like the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, which constitute Vedanta, are what truly represent it. He mentions the Vajrasuchika Upanishad, which is entirely devoted to denouncing caste, and explains that according to the scriptures, caste belongs neither to the body nor to the Atma, but is an imagination of the mind. Social evils like the caste system exist not because of Sanatan Dharma, but because of a lack of understanding of it. Acharya Prashant further distinguishes between Sanatan Dharma, Hinduism, and Hindutva, stating they are not on the same plane. Sanatan Dharma is a philosophical pursuit of truth, a relentless and ruthless discovery of truth that requires discarding all beliefs. It is founded on self-inquiry (Atma-jigyasa) leading to self-knowledge (Atma-gyan) and ultimately, liberation from the self. Hinduism, on the other hand, is a liberal belief system comprising various streams of beliefs, stories, rituals, and folklore, which can easily slip into superstition. Hindutva is a political ideology dealing with cultural nationalism, aiming to make culture, nation, and political power synonymous. He concludes by stating that Sanatan Dharma has not just been misunderstood by Indians, but there has been no real attempt to understand it. People mistake handed-down doctrines, dogmas, and stories for religion, whereas true Dharma is about inquiry and the upliftment of consciousness.
