‘Santana Dharma’ means The Eternal Law

Santana Dharma is the traditional name for the Hindu religion. Santana means eternal, and the word Dharma is one that holds society together from disruption and disintegration.

The Hindu religion is traditionally referred as ‘Santana Dharma’ – The eternal religion. Here is an excerpt from ‘Hindu Blog‘…

It must be noted that the term ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hinduism’ is not found in any of the important ancient religious texts associated with Hinduism. The word ‘Hindu’ came into being with the arrival of Muslims invaders. They called the people who lived along the Sindhu River as ‘Hindu’ and the place ‘Hindustan.’ The term Hindu and Hinduism was first widely used by the British.

# Andhra Pradesh: Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati.

# Bihar: Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Kameshwar Nagar, Darbhanga.

# Delhi:
- Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (Deemed University), 56-57, Institutional Area, Janakpuri, New Delhi.
- Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi.

# Gujarat: Somnath Sanskrit University, Somnath Trust, BITCO Building, Prabas Patan, Somnath, Junagarh.

# Kerala: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Sree Sankarapuram, Kalady, Ernakulam.

# Maharashtra: Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya,Baghela Bhawan, Sitalwadi, Mouda Road, Ramtek.

# Orissa: Shri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya, Srivihar, Puri.

# Rajasthan: Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit University, Vill – Madau (Muhana), Bhankrota, Jaipur.

# Uttar Pradesh: Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi.

A page on “Academic Sanskrit Studies around the World” is available at myweb.uiowa.edu/pjai/Sanskrit/SanskritStudies.htm . It has been posted by Pankaj Jain.

Ref: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan

Namasté is an Ancient Sanskrit Blessing that means ‘The Divine in me, honours The Divine in you’

In other words, Namasté means ‘I bow to you.’ According to Hindu religion, the Brahman (Supreme Soul) exists in all living things. The folded palms placed before the chest symbolizes that the divinity in me and you are the same. The bowing down of the head and closing the eyes is worshiping the divinity in you.

Ref: Hindu Blog

Meaning of prANa:
m. breath - esp. vital breath, vitality
pl. life - the vital organs or organs of sensation

The Prana combines with the 5 vayus (elements) to create and maintain the body. The Seven elements such as blood, bones, flush, inteligence, etc are included in the formation of the body.

Prana is born from Anantam (infinite existence), and it exists everywhere. Our body is filled with this Prana. The removal of Prana from the body is called death.

There are five vayus which are part of the life force energy that do various functions in our body. They are…

1. Prana vayu: From the tip of the nose, it performs breath in and out..

2. Apana vayu: It performs the excretion process.

3. Vyana vayu: The body is filled with this vayu. It processes the food that we intake, combines it with blood, and circulates it to the entire body.

4. Udhana vayu: Takes care of all actions such as thinking, talking, eating… It is also responsible for occasionally pushing inner things out due to actions like coughing, sneezing, etc… During sleep, this takes the jeeva in us to the heart. After death, it separates the stula sharira and sukshma sharira, and takes the atma to the paramatma.

By chanting “OM”, the Udhana which is present in the prana gets activated.

5. Samana vayu: It is present at the navel, and performs digestion.

In general, a deficiency in any of these pancha (five) vayus would give rise to diseases.

By Veena

According to the theories of the ancient seers, evolution and perfection equal satyam – truth, shivam – auspiciousness, and sundaram – beauty. These are the three components that we need to attain in our lives to complete the journey. Once you attain a nature which is full of truthfulness, auspiciousness and beauty, then you attain what is known as realization, completeness in life, moksha or nirvana.

The words sound nice but the process of attaining them is a sadhana. Sadhana is a conscious, ongoing effort which you make to experience the transformation of your nature. It is not something that you do for one hour. Sadhana is continuous awareness, being in the present moment. The entire process of yoga is based on the principle of sadhana.

Ref: Yoga Magazine

Meaning:
The mind and the vital airs are endowed with consciousness and activising force respectively. These are the two branches of one basic power.
(Source: Upadesa Saram, verse-12)

The mind and breathing are two branches of the same energy, linked to consciousness and activity. By controlling one, the other is controlled. If breath is calmed, the mind is calmed as well. If the mind is calmed, the breath will be calmed. Observe when you are excited how hard and short the breath becomes, and how soft and relaxed it is when you are at peace.

I am reminded of the principles of “Art of Living foundation“.

To be able to deal with our mind and negative emotions is an art: the Art of Living. There is an inbuilt ability within us to calm the mind, relax the body and energize the entire system within minutes. The secret lies in the breath.

Ref: Upadesa Saram translated by Gary Weber

We learnt about how chanting takes us higher in the previous post. Here is some introduction to the power of mantras. I found a page of excellent articles that will briefly introduce you to the essence of mantras. Check it out if time permits!

Here is the cheat sheet…

Purpose of Chanting
Chanting regularly with dedication and concentration will allow the development of devotion which will then bring the aspirant into harmony with the world around himself and the worlds within and without.

The Meaning of Mantra
Mantras, being sacred sound vibrations, are composed of sacred syllables representative of and containing within great spiritual power, or energy.

Categories Of Mantras And Yantras
1. Shantikaran
2. Vashikaran
3. Stambhan
4. Videshan
5. Ucchatan
6. Moksha

Methods Of Chanting Mantra
1. KIRTAN: Loud chanting congregationally so all who hear it may be benefited.
2. BHAJAN: Melodious chanting or singing of mantras accompanied by musical instruments.
3. JAPA: The Repetition of a mantra.

Ref: Hindu Universe

Meaning: Unchanging equipoise of mind is called Yoga
(Source: Bhagavad-Gita, 2.48)

Yet another definition of Yoga…

Meaning: Yoga is the control of thought waves in the mind

Yoga achieves a perfect harmony of mind, and the byproduct is a perfect health. First of all, find out for yourself what it means to be healthy. Sri Sri Ravishankar puts it very well…

Health is…
a disease-free body.
a quiver-free breath.
a stress-free mind.
an inhibition-free intellect.
an obsession-free memory.
an ego that includes all.
a soul that is free from sorrow.

Yoga is attaining bliss and blessedness through union with the Supreme Universal Spirit. Yoga is therefore a spiritual quest. However, along the path of yoga, the aspirant also gains health, happiness, tranquillity and knowledge which are indicators of progress and an encouragement to continue their practice.

Ref: Divine Life Society

In Sanskrit, pronunciation is very important. A mild variation in dialect can vary the intended meaning of the Sanskrit verse. So, read through this quick-pronunciation guide before you learn words from a dictionary. Its a great resource that quickly teaches how to pronounce the transliterated Sanskrit text. The site contains a couple of pronunciation guides on the right panel. The first one is a pdf file that you can print, and the second one is a mp3 file you can listen and learn.

Ref: Devasthanam

Meaning: Human wealth or purpose.

Purusha means human being and artha means object or objective. Purusharthas means objectives of man. Ideally, a man should strive to achieve four chief objectives (Purusharthas) in his life. They are:

1. dharma (righteousness)
2. artha (material wealth)
3. kama (desire & enjoyment)
4. moksha (salvation)

A detailed description of each of the four purusharthas can be read from ‘Oneness Commitment‘