Sanatan Dharm is a Fully Coordinated System of Spiritual Knowledge
Swami Prakashanand Saraswati Group
The Sanskrit scriptures of Sanatan Dharm are a fully coordinated
system of spiritual knowledge whose aim is to guide the souls to their
ultimate good. Among all of these scriptures, three hold prime
importance: the Upnishads, the Gita and the Bhagwatam. The Upnishads
give the knowledge of supreme God and teach that a soul has to desire
God; they also briefly indicate the path to God.
The Gita is the essence of all of these Upnishads. The knowledge of
God is scattered throughout 1,180 Upnishads. The Gita, said by Shree
Krishn, consolidates the Divine philosophy of all those Upnishads and
gives a clear and precise understanding of several important topics:
1) There are three eternal tattvas (existences): God, the souls, and
maya. All three of these have existed for ever and will continue to
exist forever.
2) The soul is our true identity, not the physical body. The soul
remains unaffected by the changes which we experience through our
physical body, like birth, maturing, aging and death. The soul can
never die. When this body dies, the soul takes another body.
3) This world has a nature to produce situations which are both
pleasing and displeasing to our senses; to produce situations which
give us both comfort and pain, hope and disappointment. These two
situations follow one another in an endless cycle. This is the eternal
nature of this mayic manifestation; it will never change. Thus, we
must learn to accept the dual nature of physical existence and remain
calm in all the situations. Someone who can do this is eligible to
become God realized.
4) Following the path of God realization while living in the world is
called karm yog. To do this, a person has to decide that the
attainment of God is the first priority of his life, and then he
simply fulfills his other duties in the world in a detached and
efficient manner, with the feeling that his beloved God is always with
him. This is called offering all of your actions to God, and this is
karm yog.
5) Upon the perfection of karm yog, a person becomes qualified to
receive the Divine vision of God. Arjun received this in the eleventh
chapter. When Shree Krishn Graced him with Divine eyesight, Arjun saw
in Shree Krishn's body what had been described in the Upnishads: that
God has a Divine personal form, and within that form He is holding the
whole universe, and with that form He is omnipresent in the universe,
yet He can also be seen at one place, at one time. This is a very
important philosophy which is made clear by the Gita.
6) In the end, Shree Krishn concludes His teachings in the Gita by
revealing "the secret of all the secrets" to Arjun: that if any soul
comes to Shree Krishn wholeheartedly, it is His promise that that soul
will reside with Him forever. If a soul leaves all of his prideful
efforts in the world and takes refuge in Krishn alone, Krishn releases
that soul from the bondage of maya and gives him whatever he wants in
the Divine world: either absolute liberation, or the Divine vision, or
Divine love. Thus ends the philosophy of the Gita.
It is said that where the Gita ends, the Bhagwatam begins. The Gita
ends with selfless devotion to God (bhakti) and the Bhagwatam explains
the real form of bhakti, how it is practiced and what are the
indications of true bhakti. Thus, the scriptures of Sanatan Dharm are
arranged in a Divine style to systematically guide the souls toward
the ultimate goal of God realization.
However, all of the scriptures advise that if a soul wants to receive
the real benefit of this scriptural knowledge, then he should seek the
help of a God-realized Saint who can explain the true meaning of these
Divine scriptures and impart a practical experience of bhakti. The
true Spiritual Master, who is one with God, has the ability to teach
the process of devotion and to Grace the devotee with relational
affinity for God. These devotional feelings purify the heart and
ultimately qualify a soul to receive the Divine vision and Divine love
of God.