Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
$6
Book 1
Book 2
‘Sanatan Dharma’ (SD) refers to the extremely ancient philosophies, history, sciences, metaphysics, theologies (studies of religious beliefs) and myths of India. SD is called ‘Hinduism’ the world over, but this name is not appropriate for reasons mentioned at the end of this section.
First, though, just what is SD? SD can be stated as the science and art of self-realisation or inner realisation, as Vedic scholar David Frawley (Pandit Vamadev Shastri) has put so succinctly.
Sanatan Dharma means ‘eternal law’, ‘eternal way’, ‘perennial philosophy’, etc. The word ‘Sanatan’ means ‘eternal’ while ‘Dharma’ (like the word ‘Tao’ in Taoism) has a dozen meanings and no one English word can do justice to it. (See the explanations attempted in the section ‘Terms’.)
The philosophies of SD posit that every sentient being in the universe is a spark of the Divine Light, that all living beings have an intrinsic nature that aligns with eternal truths. Its teachings encourage everyone, not just followers, to seek self-realisation and liberation (moksha) through understanding their true nature, one that is beyond physical existence. This pursuit involves recognising the interconnectedness of all life, the divine presence within every aspect of creation, and an eternal quest for truth.
Note that the highest goal in SD is moksha—not seeking salvation, not going to heaven, not submission to the ‘will of God’, etc. And moksha can be achieved by several paths, though all of them require searching for the truth.
SD does not possess the narrow, exclusivist, prescriptive characteristics of traditional religions. It does not involve worship of one God; there are no sacred or holy books (‘scriptures’); it does not subscribe to any one set of beliefs or religious rites or dogma; it does not believe in a single philosophical concept; and there are no compulsory beliefs or rites of worship. (Freedom of thought is a big thing in SD.)
Vinay Kumar Rai is an editor (he polishes someone else’s writing); a self-publishing consultant (he tells authors-to-be how to self-publish their books); a copywriter (he writes marketing copy for blog posts, brochures, DMs and eDMs, flyers, profiles, sales letters, Websites, etc); a writer (he writes educational articles for magazines and Websites); and a ghostwriter (he writes books for other people).
He’s been writing professionally since 2001 and for fun since he was six years of age, the latter being more than half a century ago.
His strength is in communicating difficult ideas and jargon. His clients are typically experts, publishers, or business people with products or services to market.
He has no wives, no kids, no pets, and no Pokémon. However, he does have a lot of books.
He’s really into Karma, the Golden Rule, first principles, mental models, universal laws, and philosophy.
He’s not a fan of the “My God true, your God false” types but he is a big fan of Alan Watts, Béchamp, Buckminster Fuller, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Friedrich Nietzsche, Giordano Bruno, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Nikola Tesla, Norman Borlaug, Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, Rudolf Steiner, Socrates, Viktor Schauberger, and Swami
Vivekananda.
Vinay is the founder of Elementum.
Vinay Kumar Rai is an editor (he polishes someone else’s writing); a self-publishing consultant (he tells authors-to-be how to self-publish their books); a copywriter (he writes marketing copy for blog posts, brochures, DMs and eDMs, flyers, profiles, sales letters, Websites, etc); a writer (he writes educational articles for magazines and Websites); and a ghostwriter (he writes books for other people).
He’s been writing professionally since 2001 and for fun since he was six years of age, the latter being more than half a century ago.
His strength is in communicating difficult ideas and jargon. His clients are typically experts, publishers, or business people with products or services to market.
He has no wives, no kids, no pets, and no Pokémon. However, he does have a lot of books.
He’s really into Karma, the Golden Rule, first principles, mental models, universal laws, and philosophy.
He’s not a fan of the “My God true, your God false” types but he is a big fan of Alan Watts, Béchamp, Buckminster Fuller, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Friedrich Nietzsche, Giordano Bruno, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Nikola Tesla, Norman Borlaug, Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, Rudolf Steiner, Socrates, Viktor Schauberger, and Swami
Vivekananda.
Vinay is the founder of Elementum.