Credits Voice-over- Shilpa Narain Format: Audio CD
Chapter One The word “Hindu” was first used by the Persians to refer to the people who lived on the southern side of the Sindhu River (now known as the Indus River). The Sindhu River divides what was at one time the Middle East (Persia and Afghanistan) and India (then known as Bharata). In the Parsee language, the ‘S’ is pronounced ‘H’, and because of this oddity, the Persians called the river ‘Hindu’. Thus it was that the people who lived on the other side of the Sindhu River in India came to be called ‘Hindus’. Over time, the word ‘Hindu’ came to refer to both the people and their religion.
Hinduism is also called Sanatana-dharma. It is hard to find a literal English translation of the term. The English word “religion” maps to the second part of the term – dharma, but does not quite encompass the meaning of the complete term (sanatana-dharma) itself. The term ‘religion’ conveys the idea of a particular faith, but faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process or path, and he may then change it and adopt another.
Sanatana-dharma, on the other hand, refers to that activity which cannot be changed. Sanatana-dharma is, therefore, not something sectarian. Rather, it refers to the duty of all living entities in this world to understand our spiritual essence and to understand our relationship with God.
Sanatana means “eternal, that which has neither beginning nor end.” Sanatana-dharma is thus the eternal occupation of the living entity. That eternal dharma is to serve God.
While talking of Hinduism and the word Hindu, it is interesting to note that these words do not find a mention in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures; nor are they Sanskrit words. These words have never been used in any scripture or by any spiritual teacher. The words the scriptures use to indicate Vedic society are “Aryan” or “Sanatana-dharma.”
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