BellaCH: Sanātanī

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Sanātanī

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'''''Sanātanī''''' ({{lang|hi|सनातनी}}<ref>Neo-[[Sanskrit]] ''sanātanin-''- "eternalist", from ''sanātana'' "eternal" plus the possessive ''-in'' suffix</ref>) is a term used to describe [[Dharma|Hindu duties]] that incorporate teachings from [[The Vedas]], [[The Upanishads]], and other [[Hindu]] religious texts and scriptures such as ''[[The Ramayana]]'' and ''[[The Bhagavad Gita]]'', which itself is often described as a concise guide to [[Hindu philosophy]] and a practical, self-contained guide to life.<ref>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; On The Bhagavad Gita; A New Translation and Commentary With Sanskrit Text Chapters 1 to 6, Preface p.9</ref> The word sanatani is coined from [[Sanātana Dharma]] ({{lang-sa|सनातन धर्म|lit='the Eternal Dharma'}}) which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the [[Hindu texts]].{{sfn|Knott|1998|pp=3, 5}}{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|pp=4–5, 69–71, 150–152}}{{sfn|Bowker|2000}}{{sfn|Harvey|2001|p=xiii}}

A Sanatani performs duties according to one's spiritual (constitutional) identity as ''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|atman]]'' (Self) and thus these duties are the same for everyone. General duties include virtues such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism.<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web|title=Sanatana dharma {{!}} Hinduism|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/sanatana-dharma|access-date=2021-07-04|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>In other words, any follower of Sanātana Dharma ([[Hinduism]]) irrespective of their [[varna (Hinduism)|varna]], [[Hindu denominations]] or choice of god/s, can be considered a Sanatani.

==Sanatanis as a denomination==
Since many reformist groups had the word ''Samaj'' (meaning ''society'') or were led by a ''sant'' (meaning ''saint''), ''Sanatanis'' are often held to be in contrast with ''Samajists'' and ''Santpanthis'' (meaning those who walk on the ''panth''/''path'' shown by their ''sant''/''saint'').<ref name="ref70xaqif">{{Citation|author=Lynn Teskey Denton, Steven Collins|title=Female ascetics in Hinduism|date=6 August 2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ivUAJ1YneQC|publisher=SUNY Press, 2004|isbn=978-0-7914-6179-2|quote=... The Sanatani-Santapanthi distinction ... ascetics recognize a sharp distinction between the sects that are snatani, orthodox or traditional ... and those that are not ... unorthodox sectarians are called santa or santapanthi, 'those who follow the creed or path (panth) of a sant' ...}}</ref><ref name="ref64jirum">{{Citation | title=The Arya Samaj movement in South Africa | author=Thillayvel Naidoo | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | isbn=978-81-208-0769-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2z1mnXSPmEC | quote=... The reception accorded the Arya Samaj ... The Hindu community ... was split into two camps, one supportive and the other antagonistic ... attitudes of intransigence which characterised dialogue between the two groups ... the two terms 'Samajists' and 'Sanatanis' came into vogue ...| year=1992 }}</ref> Unlike [[South India]], where religious traditions such as [[Shaivism]], [[Shaktism]] and [[Vaishnavism]] form the principal Hindu denominations, "they were effectively subsumed under the Sanatani identity" in many regions of [[North India]], and the ''Samajs'' and ''Santpanths'' became the other distinct Hindu denominations.<ref name="ref70zapif">{{Citation | title=Political process in Uttar Pradesh: identity, economic reforms, and governance | author=Sudha Pai | publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2007 | isbn=978-81-317-0797-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S46rbUL6GrMC | quote=... Being Vaishnava, Shaiva or Shakta didn't matter for the Dwijas since they were effectively subsumed under the Sanatani identity. Multi-point religious fragmentation has become limited to the internal debates between the Sanatanis and the Arya Samajis ...}}</ref>

Reformist denominations such as the [[Arya Samaj]] are often fundamentalist in their approach. The Arya Samaj regards the [[Vedas]] as infallible scripture, and rejects what it regards as non-Vedic innovations in Sanatani Hinduism.<ref name="ref36lobaq">{{Citation | title=Social background of Indian nationalism | author=A. R. Desai | publisher=Popular Prakashan | isbn=978-81-7154-667-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZykLXjdG9S8C | quote=... It declared the Vedas infallible and further, an inexhaustible reservoir of all knowledge, past, present and future ...| year=2005 }}</ref> These non-Vedic additions included inherited caste, the position of Brahmins as a revered group, idol-worship, and the addition of thousands of deities to the Sanatani Hindu pantheon.<ref name="ref36lobaq"/><ref name="ref41cacor">{{Citation | title=Folk, Volumes 36-37 | author=Dansk etnografisk forening | publisher=Dansk etnografisk forening, 1995 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qM9KAAAAYAAJ | quote=... As a religious sect, the Arya Samaj came to contest the religious authority of the dominant orthodox Hindus (Sanatanis), thereby creating a dispute over the content of Indian and in particular Hindu ethnic identity, caste hierarchy and ...| year=1995 }}</ref>

These differences are often apparent in social practices. Arya Samaji weddings, for instance, are based on Vedic practice and tend to be simpler and shorter with a qualified individual of any caste-heritage conducting the wedding, whereas Sanatani weddings are longer, with more complex rituals and always involve an officiating Brahmin priest.<ref name="ref82duxag">{{Citation | title=Glimpses of the Arya Samaj in Mauritius | author=Pahlad Ramsurrun | publisher=Sarvadeshik Prakashan Ltd., 2001 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ogRAQAAIAAJ | quote=... Sanatani families may have an Aryan (Vedic) marriage ceremony and then revert to Sanatani practices. ... is far less expensive, not so strict as to caste, simpler, and shorter ...| year=2001 }}</ref>

==Competition with other denominations==
Sanatanis and reformists (such as the [[Arya Samaj]], the [[Radha Soami]]s and the [[Ramakrishna Mission]]) have competed for adherents for more than a century, sometimes creating deep schisms in Hindu society, as in the case of [[South Africa]]n Hindus who were split between the Arya Samaj and Sanatanis.<ref name="ref64jirum"/> While the reformist groups were better organized initially, by the 1860s, a process of internal counter-reform was underway in Sanatani groups as well, and societies to propagate orthodox beliefs along modern lines emerged, such as Sanatan Dharm Rakshini Sabha in 1873.<ref name="ref13baqeb">{{Citation | title=The life of a text: performing the Rāmcaritmānas of Tulsidas | author=Philip Lutgendorf | author-link=Philip Lutgendorf | publisher=University of California Press, 1991 | isbn=978-0-520-06690-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19zvfkwXyzUC | quote=''... Perhaps the most significant impact of the Arya Samaj, the most reformist ... came from the organizational model it presented, which increasingly came to be emulated by orthodox groups ... the Sanatan Dharm Rakshini Sabha ... formed in Calcutta in 1873 ...''| year=1991 }}</ref><ref name="ref48royoq">{{Citation | title=Essays on Rabindranath Tagore | author=Tika Ram Sharma, D. M. Gupta | publisher=Vimal Prakashan, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p7ljAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... The aftermath of the bitter and violent attack of Aryasamaj on idol-worship and an equally enthusiastic rebuttal by Sanatanis in the first three decades of this century presented as alarming a scene as a clash between Hindu and Muslim ...''| year=1987 }}</ref> Some religious commentators have compared the Sanatani-Samaji dichotomy within Hinduism as similar to the [[Catholic]]-[[Protestant]] division in [[Christianity]].<ref name="ref38ropil">{{Citation | title=The Asians in East Africa: Jayhind and UhuruProfessional-technical series | author=Agehananda Bharati (Swami) | publisher=Nelson-Hall Co., 1972 | isbn=978-0-911012-49-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWFyAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... If we regard the Arya Samaj as a Protestant movement— and it is that on all counts— and the sanatanis as the traditionalists, the Hindu "Catholics," so to speak ...''| year=1972 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanatani}}
[[Category:Hindu denominations]]

Sanātanī - Revision history

BellaCH: Sanātanī