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What is Sanatan Dharma? || Acharya Prashant, with 'Virat Hindustan Sangam' (2021)
Bharat
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2 years ago
Sanatana Dharma
Truth
Ego
Liberation
Mind
Peace
Time
Seeking
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that Dharma is the inquiry into one's identity and the subsequent determination of what one must do. Sanatana Dharma, specifically, implies that an individual's sole responsibility is to seek that which is beyond themselves. He identifies two essential entities: the truth, which is the destination, and the act of seeking, which remains a constant throughout time. While the methods and modes of seeking change, the underlying background remains the same. The first step in the Dharmic process is recognizing that regardless of our actions, we are all seeking one thing, and the second step is realizing that this objective is not a thing within time or a material object at all. He further elaborates that the fundamental tendency of the human mind and ego has remained unaltered throughout history, from thousands of years ago into the future. This core tendency is to seek liberation from itself, aiming for contentment, fullness, and a final rest in the eternal. Therefore, Sanatana Dharma consists only of actions that lead one beyond dissatisfaction and restlessness. Conversely, anything that demands belief in time-bound concepts, specific dogmas, or traditions cannot be considered Sanatana. Because beliefs and rituals exist within the mind and fail to provide lasting satisfaction, they are not timeless. Sanatana Dharma concerns itself only with the timeless truth and the universal presence of the seeker who desires peace, which can only be found through the truth.