Salient/Unique Features of Sanatan Dharma/Hinduism

 #UniqueSanatanDharm #UniqueHinduism #HaveToSay-LikeItOrNot

Antaryami God - The Hindu God dwells within everyone and everything - including people that hate him and hate Hinduism. No, you cannot get rid of Him. He does not discriminate by religion, nationality, creed, caste, color, or even form ....he dwells even within animals, birds, insects, and plants. He is sitting there watching every thought, every intent, every decision and every action. 

Karma - Karma works! it equally applicable to one and all. Every intent, decision, and action counts. Every unethical intent and action does not go unpunished - in this life or in a future life.

Rebirth - Everyone returns back here for another life. What you will be in the next life depends on your Karmic Merits from your behaviour in this life, and your aspirations. If your intent, decisions, and actions are not ethical in this life, don't count on a good life in the next one. Based on karmic merits and final aspirations at the time of death in this life, one could even be born as an animal, bird, insect or plant. Only a minuscule % that get Moksha escape next life. 

Shastras - Ethical/Unethical - good deeds/bad deeds - are determined by the Hindu shastras - the Shrutis (Vedas), and Smritis primarily. They describe an individual's duties - duties of kings, duties of common people, duties of soldiers, duties of educators, duties of judges, duties of artisans, duties of farmers, duties of traders...everyone. These is something in them for every human being.  Each person is expected to follow them - whether you believe in them or not, whether you know them or not, whether you have taken the effort to study them or not. Ignorance is not an excuse. Nor can you hide behind incorrect or liberal interpretations.

Universality - Sanatan Dharma aka Hinduism cannot be destroyed like some people in this world are aspiring to. It exists Universally. Including earth, there are 14 Lokas in the Universe that sustain various lifeforms. All these Lokas follow Sanatan Dharma. They are also bound by the points stated above - Antaryami God, Karma, Rebirth, Shastras.

Dharm and Karm

Dharm:

Dharm is a complex system of Ethics, Duties, and Recommendations. Dharm is a means to attain a goal, when done as described in the Vedas. Activities not described in the Vedas are not Dharm.

Examples of Ethics : Speak the Truth, Practice Ahimsa.  These are normally, common to all people. Acts that don't align with the Ethics framework, incur "paap" karma, that in-turn lead to sorrow.

Duties:  Duties are more complex as they are segregated by Varna and Ashrama. For example, a Brahmin's duties are different from that of Kshatriya.  They are both different from that of a Vaishya. Duties are also segregated by the "Ashrama" of each person. The Ashram's are Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprasta, and Sanyasa.  The duties of a Brahmin Brahmachari are different from the duties of a Brahmin Grihasta. etc. Duties are most intense for Brahmins (and conversely the punishment for non-performance). They are a bit more relaxed for Kshatriya, further relaxed for Vaishyas, and highly relaxed for Shudras and others. 

Non-performance of duties incur "paap" karma, that in turn lead to sorrow.

While performance may not have stated benefits, it leads to 

Recommendations: These are completely optional, but when performed, bestow the intended rewards to the doer. However, when performed incorrectly, could lead to "paap" karma. For example, donation aka "Daan", when performed as stated in the Vedas, bestow the intended benefits. Some of the things specified in the Vedas, that can be donated include, Gold, Cow, Footwear, and Umbrella. For Daan to be effective, it must be donated in the prescribed procedure, chanting the required mantras, and with the attitude that the item being donated does not belong to the doer.

Karm:

As stated above, doing or not doing one's Dharm, leads to Karm. In the case of ethics and duties, if not performed, the responsible person incurs "paap karma".  In the case of recommendations, proper performance leads to "punya" karma that eventually (in some birth) translates to the intended benefits requested by the doer. However, incorrect performance could lead to "paap karma".

Note that, since the Atma that is eternal, takes on a perishable body, in an event we call as "birth". Similarly when the Atma decides to leave the body, we call it "death". After death, the Atma takes on another body and keeps moving thus, from one body to another. Karm is accumulated only when the Atma takes on a human body, because that is when the person becomes eligible to learn the vedas, know about Dharm and Karm, and make decisions that are aligned with Dharm. Each Atma in today's world has taken countless/zillions of births in different bodies - including human, animal, bird, plant, insect etc.

Karm is of three types - Sanchita (Total Accumulated), Prarabdha (A minuscule part of the Sanchita that has started yielding results in this birth), and Aagaami (future karma that we would accumulate in this birth via our acts).

Karm accumulated thus can only expensed in two ways :

1. Experiencing pleasure (punya) or pain/sorrow (paap) - here on earth or in other locations in the Universe (aka svara/naraka loka). Note that the Atma is the experiencer of the effect of the pleasure or pain, but it always needs a "body" through which it experiences it. Therefore a "body" is mandatory in each life.

2. Bhagavan's kindness to cancel part of it.  This He does, when the person behaves well in one fine life, and makes himself/herself eligible to receive such pardon/amnesty.

When both Punya and Paap are completely exhausted, the person attains Moksha or Liberation from Samsara.