Bharatiya Culture
In this article written for the Sanathana Vedanta Sabha more than four decades ago, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba forcefully points out the urgent need to foster the Vedas and the Sanskrit language.
Dharma [righteousness] is the way of life that confers lasting joy; the shastras [Hindu scriptures] are the source of dharma; they lay down the rules of dharma. The Shrutis and Puranas, the Smritis and Ithihasas [different Hindu Scriptures] are all included in the term Shastra. Of these, the Shrutis are the most authoritative. All the others follow the Shrutis and keep in step with them. Bharatiya [Indian] culture is the expression of such sacred ideals. Throughout the ages, this culture has been providing spiritual teaching and training in a friendly, fruitful manner. The Puranas are but simple and sweet expositions of the Shruti ideals of life; that is why they are called the comrades of man.
Those who study the Vedas [Hindu scriptures] and understand the principles directly from them are called Shrotriyas and Naishtikas; they are the highest grade of seekers. Those who understand them from the popular texts like the Puranas and base their conduct on that knowledge are of the middle grade. Some excellent poems and plays inspire them, and they follow the dharma that is explained through such media. Thus, Hindus have tried to spread the principles of their culture among the masses through various means.
Bharatiya culture teaches not merely the truth about the visible objective world, it lays bare the truth of the subjective invisible world of the spirit as well. This is the task of Sanathana Dharma [eternal codes of righteous path], or Veda dharma. This religion has in it the principles of all contemporary religions. Those who doubt this should examine the scriptural sources with an impartial spirit.
Due to the overwhelming influence of Western civilization, an absence of exposition by persons who have accumulated experience, an inability to clearly grasp the meaning of the texts, and neglect of the Sanskrit language—which is the precious treasure of India, truth about the greatness of the Bharatiya culture is largely unknown today.
As a diamond shines in splendor when it is cut into many facets, the foundational principles of Hinduism will shine brightly and illumine the world only when one starts the inquiry patiently and enthusiastically. How can you know the taste if you do not eat? How can you know the depth if you refuse to enter the water? Those who spurn Bharatiya culture without practicing it are as foolish as those who dismiss a dish without tasting it.
Hindu culture is the pillar and support of the nation. It is the backbone of the spiritually adventurous. And it grants both this world and the next to all beings. It is really the world culture—the culture that the world needs. Other cultures assume various forms in various climes. But the culture of Bharat has asserted eternal values, values for all times and all climes—like daya [compassion], dharma [righteousness], and dama [tolerance]. It [the Bharatiya values] has not bent under the pressure of patronage or persecution.
The impact of Western civilization has given rise to certain new sects that attempt to re-form and modernize the Hindu religion. Hinduism has the strength to correct their egoism and establish concord. Hinduism is the one religion that proclaims the truth that there is nothing separate from God, and it proves it too. Because people are not able to understand this fundamental integrating principle, hatred and malice toward Hinduism has grown in the followers of other faiths.
There are Indians who see only the externals of religious observance and start condemning the religion itself as fraught with disaster to the people. These people even argue that religion itself should be abolished from life. Alas, their insane slogans remind us of the efforts of the ant to judge the depth of the sea or that of the cat to drink up the ocean of milk. It is perhaps because they do not realize that their negation of religion is itself growing into a religion. Had they known this, they would not have ventured into a field about which they know nothing.
Others attempt to design a composite religion, without first seeking to manufacture a composite mind. Unless all become of one mind, all cannot welcome a single religion. Religion has its root in the mind. Correct the source and the end will be corrected. Ensure that the basement is strong and then you can build a house with many floors over it. Unless you ensure the strength of the foundation, the house will collapse. To try to destroy religion without realizing what religion does to man is itself the height of ignorance and irresponsibility. Of course, injustice, indiscipline, and superstition might raise their heads in the name of religion, but religion never sanctions these [ignorant actions].
The chief purpose of religion is to make man aware of his relationship with God. Every person has full rights for worshipping God and winning His grace. But whatever the road, whichever the path, the goal is the same. Vedic religion will not permit you to quarrel with any other religion, or hate or decry it. It insists on tolerance and respect. If you seek to develop love toward all men and the spiritual outlook that will sustain it, you will have to follow the disciplines laid down in the Shastras for your stage and state.
What is truth, what is love, and what is God? Unless these three are clearly understood, man cannot fulfill himself, nor can he realize his true glory. However, people nowadays interpret these according to their pet fancies without delving into their implications or without even approaching those who know those implications for instruction. The Shastras emphasize that it is inner conviction and inner purification that matters. Also, they underscore that the conviction must be expressed through good deeds. This emphasis is now ignored; only the gesticulations of the outer man remain. So people believe that the observance of the ‘don’t touch’ rule is itself sacred, and a sanctioned behavior. This is kitchen religion, not Vedanta darshan or the religion expounded in the Vedas.
The fault lies in those who talk and write about religion without putting the preaching into practice. Thought, speech, and action must be coordinated and complementary. Each should be in strict accordance with the others; that is the sign of the mahatma, the dharmic individual, and the pundit. Those who do not adhere to this are duratmas [bad individuals] and not mahatmas. To be truly religious is to follow the footsteps of these mahatmas.
Religion has to confer knowledge of the self. That is its real purpose, and not just providing material for conversation at social clubs or debates at cafes and hotels. Everyone has to strive to know his own truth and experience it. That striving is the heart of religion; it is the goal of life. Without it, life is as bad as death. Only when superficial activities are transcended does true religion begin. It leads to Brahmananda [the ultimate bliss], through the awareness of one’s identity with Brahmam [the eternal principle].
Bhakti [devotion] is the foundation for all religions. Of course, japa [chanting God’s name] or homa [ritual offerings] or an offering of flowers, or going on pilgrimages to holy places do not represent bhakti. They are good acts that help promote bhakti. True bhakti opens the door of jnana [wisdom]. Faith in God and His glory and His grace must be supplemented by discrimination of the real and the unreal, and the control of the senses. Those who argue as to whether bhakti or nana is superior for God-realization are travelers in the dark for they are ignorant. The unripe fruit and the ripe fruit have different tastes, but, they are the same fruit; the unripe fruit becomes ripe later.
To clearly understand the basic principles, and to explain these principles to others, knowledge of Sanskrit is essential. Samskriti or culture has arisen out of Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the most ancient of all the languages of the world. It is the original spring out of which have flowed all other arts and ideals. The root words of all languages are to be found in the Vedabhasha [the language of the Vedas] or Sanskrit. It [knowledge of Sanskrit] is invaluable for world culture, and its neglect is a cause for concern.
Some supporters of Hinduism who profess to revive it [knowledge of Sanskrit] are, however, engaged in promoting their own name and fame. They fight among themselves, demanding respect much like the Yadavas [people of Krishna’s clan] who destroyed themselves by internecine war. The herd of monkeys ruins itself as well as the garden it enters; so, too, these people ruin themselves while damaging the reputation of Vedic religion itself.
However, there were many great individuals who sacrificed their all and suffered untold miseries for the sake of reviving and re-establishing the religion of the Vedas. Their tapas [penance] has made this religion survive. Without them [these ardent caretakers], we cannot imagine what would have been the fate of the Vedic ways and Sanskrit.
Let us take an example from contemporary affairs. Everyone knows that the whole country is preparing—with single mind—to thwart the Chinese hordes. Few recognize the fact that but for Sankaracharya [a well-known Hindu philosopher], his establishment of advaita [philosophy of non-dualism], and his fostering of the Vedic religion, India would have become another “China.” Deep reflection is needed to realize that enormously important work was carried out by such great personalities and incarnations of God. “The advent of the Great is for no little task,” it is said. They [these great souls] do not move among men to discuss tawdry matter or take part in trivial themes.
Those mahatmas bound themselves with the duties and obligations of dharma. They were ready to engage in activities dictated by the Vedas. They gave up all egotistical desires. They respected the rules and regulations prescribed for them by the Sastras. They curbed all evil desire, and they dedicated themselves to the promotion of the Vedas and the revival of the Hindu religion.
There is no comparison between them and the religious teachers and expounders of today. Those great men spoke from actual experience, so their authoritative exposition promoted faith and encouraged belief. The expositions by present leaders have no base in experience and so, faith is being undermined. For the sake of mankind, this [Vedic] religion has to be revived and strengthened. Nonetheless, Sanathana Dharma has maintained itself even today in spite of the devastating trends.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, June 1966
