Sanathana Dharma

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Answers to Jaya Kishore¹s questions.

 

1) Why India was defeated so easily and occupied by

various agressors like Mangols,Arabs,Afghans or Europeans?

2) They fought among each other to emerge victorious but

no Indian ruler seems to stumble them(few exceptions like

Rana Pratap,Sri Krishnadeva raya.Shivaji etc)

 

The Hindu kings, having abandoned Dharma were more concerned with their own

self-interest than they were in establishing a unified opposition to the

invaders. The had no concept of a Unified India ­ only of their own

parochial kingdoms which they wished to preserve. So they were easily played

off one against the other.

 

3) What was the reason behind Buddhism disappeared in India?

 

Buddhism disappeared from India because of two reasons.

1. Buddhism was a centralised monastic movement with huge

monasteries/universities such as Nalanda and Takshashila with thousands of

monks and students. When the Muslims conquered India these great monastic

centres of learning were destroyed along with the teachers and students.

(This holocast also happened in Srirangam with the murder of thousands of

Srivaishnavas including Sudarshan).

2. Buddhism is not definably different from Hinduism in most respects since

it is a product of Hinduism and as such most Buddhists simply reverted to

their previous practices and beliefs.

 

4) Are vedas superior to Upanishads or vice versa? Or do

they both deal same?

 

The Vedas are divided into four sections ; Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and

Upanishad. The Upanishads are the concluding sections of the Veda and are

therefore called Veda-anta = Vedanta. They are the milk of the cows of the

Vedas and the Gita is the cream of the Upanishads.

 

5) As of now there is no evidence of Saraswati Valley

civilization. It is a belief,right?

 

The existence of the Sarasvati valley has now been sighted from photographs

taken from space shuttles. From the ground the valley is not discernable

because it dried up thousands of years ago. The space photoraphs now prove

the previous existence of the Sarasvati river- so we can conclude that it is

true and not simply a belief.

 

6) Then how can we say that there exists Dharma 3000 years

back? or any time?

 

The modern scholars now try to date the Vedas by internal astronomical

references and have concluded that the Vedas are more than 6000 years old.

There are many papers and articles written on this subject. The original

dating by 19th century Western scholars was based upon a Christian reckoning

that the world was only some 5000 years old and therefore the Vedas could

not have predated the Christian world view, hence a date of 1200 BC was

assigned to the Vedas.

 

7) Is Karma the cause of all our disturbances/difficulties?

If so majority people in India are sinners or what? If so,

for how long have they been sinners? What is remedy?

 

All beings: humans, devas, asuras, pretas and narakis are all suffering from

the effects of their karmas. Karma is not "sin" but the reaction of intended

actions. We have been incarnating for millions of births from beginingless

time and have all accumulated so much karma (anadi) that we are bound in

Samsara. The only way out is take to refuge (saranagati) in Sriman Narayana

the "Ground of all Being". "Sin" or papam is defined as those acts which

cause suffering to other beings. "Punya" is defined as those acts which

bring joy and happiness to others. Whatever we put out into the cosmos we

get back in equal measure ­ this is Karma.

 

8) Why do western countries are more prosporous and lead

decent way of life and not India? Can we say they peope are

with good karmas/vasanas in previous incarnations?

 

Western countries are not better off or worse off than India. It is a

question of development. Western civilization is based upon Protestant work

ethic and values. Religious teaching has been integral part of western

education system for hundreds of years. Whereas 90% of Hindus are profoundly

ignorant of their own religious tradition. Most Hindus do not know whether

the Vedas are something you eat with chutney or drink with milk! The

brahmins have not remedied this by taking an active teaching role ­ in most

cases actively ignoring the spiritual needs of the massess to keep them

ignorant. Until this is rectified India will be beset by corruption,

self-interest, indifference to the needs of the massess etc.

 

Srirama Ramanuja Acharya