Conservation of wildlife and forest - Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana Dharma teaches its followers to respect nature. Trees, mountains, animals, rivers, lakes and ocean are revered and respected. Animals and plant life forms are jeevatmas and are considered to be equal to human beings. Conservation of wild life and forests was praised in ancient vedic societies. Trees belonging to certain species could not be cut down. If a person cuts down a tree, that person has to plant seven saplings belonging to the same species. Cutting down a gooseberry tree is equal to killing a Brahmin. A person has to apologize to the plant before plucking fruit or flower from it. Any flower plucked without apologizing to the plant and requesting it’s permission will not be accepted by God when the flower is offered to him. Flowers and fruits should not be plucked from the plant using sharp instruments or by pinching them with finger nails. They must be gently plucked using only the fleshy portion of the index finger and thumb.

Many animals are considered to be the vehicle of transport for the Devas. Deer is the transport for Varuna who is in charge of rain, peacock is the vehicle of Kartikeya the commander of the celestial army, elephants remind us of Lord Ganesha, peacock reminds us of Lord Krishna (an avatara of Vishnu) since he sports a peacock feather in his locks, cobra reminds us of Adishesha as Lord Vishnu lies down on Adisesha, a lion reminds us of Lord Narasimha (an avatar of Lord Vishnu), lions and tigers are also revered as they are the vehicle of Goddess Durga, cows in general are revered as they give us milk; they are treated as our mother, monkeys remind us of Lord Hanuman and so on. As every animal has a connection to divinity they are respected and people think twice before killing them. Hunting was allowed only for kings and soldiers for the purposes of target practice. Even kings and soldiers were not allowed to hunt during certain months.

All rivers were worshiped as goddesses and people treat rivers with respect. Littering and polluting areas near a river was prohibited. The very earth we walk on is Goddess Bhumi the consort of Lord Vishnu. Every day before stepping down from the bed in the morning one has to request permission from Bhumi to walk on her.

The entire world along with the Universe is pervaded by paramatma Lord Vishnu and hence everything is treated with respect since he is found in every living or non-living entity. Sometimes when it becomes necessary to kill an animal or cut down a tree, the person requests God to pardon the misdeeds and takes corrective measures like planting seven trees to take the place of the tree that had been cut.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma? conclusion

To conclude followers of Sanatana Dharma believe in one God with many names. He has many forms and people choose the form that suits them the best. Sanatana Dharma promotes unity in diversity. God is not limited to being formless as he has the powers to take on any form to please his devotees. We do not have the right to say that he cannot exist in a beautiful form with auspicious attributes. He has the power to take on any number of forms and above all his grace and endless love for his devotees causes him to take on a beautiful form so that it is easy for his devotees to meditate on him. He knows that it is impossible for most people to comprehend his Universal Form.  

 Every major religion agrees that he is omnipresent. If he is omnipresent and is present inside all objects why will he not exist in a consecrated idol? As he has many names, Hindus even accept that the followers of other major religion worship the same God and that the name they use to identify him is one of the many names he has. There are no “false” Gods per Sanatana Dharma. Everyone has the freedom to choose any one of the many forms of God to worship. This promotes a high level of religious tolerance amongst the followers of Sanatana Dharma. They respect other religions and their places of worship. As a result Hindus do not force followers of other religion to convert to Hinduism.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma? contd

There are also nine types of relationship between paramatma and jeevatamas. They are as follows. The relationship between father and the son, the relationship between the Saviour and the Saved, the bond between and owner and the thing owned, the relationship between the Knower and the object of Knowledge, the relationship between the Property and Proprietor, the relationship of the Self to the Body, the relationship between the Supporter and the Supported and finally the relationship between the Enjoyer and the Enjoyed. Paramatma fulfills all the relationships. If a person is looking for a friend, that person can worship paramatma as a friend. If a person does not have any children, that person can worship Paramatma as baby Krishna to fulfill the void in their life. Similarly any relationship can be fulfilled by Paramatma. Arjuna worshiped Lord Krishna as a friend, Sugreeva worshiped Lord Rama as a friend, Meera worshiped Lord Krishna as her husband, to Yashoda he was her child and so on. Many people also worship Paramatma along with Goddess Lakshmi as their parent.

To conclude followers of Sanatana Dharma believe in one God with many names. He has many forms and people choose the form that suits them the best.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma? contd

Followers of Sanatana Dharma worship only one God (Lord Vishnu) but they worship different forms of the same God. He is also known by many names and he exists in different forms . Lord Vishnu's incarnations are worshiped by people. Everyone is free to choose the form or incarnation of their choice for worship and meditation. Paramatma, Lord Vishnu exists as the soul of all jeeva atmas. At the same time he also exists in all non-living things and he exists in a beautiful form with auspicious qualities so that it is easier for jeeva atmas to meditate on him & reach his divine feet.

Paramatma has five forms or five types of incarnations. Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryami and Arcavatara are the five forms or modes of the Lord Vishnu. To explain the difference between the forms let us take the example of a person who is feeling thirsty and is in search of water.  Para form of the Lord can be compared to the waters which surround the cosmos. It is not easily reached and cannot be used to quench thirst immediately. The presence of cosmic water is beyond our imagination. This is the transcendental form of Lord Vishnu; Undifferentiated Unity. This form is absolute, unlimited and unconditioned. He is omnipresent and self-existent. It is not even possible to describe this form. He exists in his supreme abode of parama-pada. This location transcends both space and time. He has six attributes which are knowledge, energy, power, creative potency and splendour.

Vyuha is compered to the milky ocean which cannot be reached easily to quench thirst either. Paramatma emanates into four beings; Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. They are not separate from one another. They are one and the same. They are just different forms assumed by Paramatma to project, maintain & withdraw the universe. It is hard to meditate on this form as well. The cosmic creation is cyclic in  nature. The universe is projected, maintained and then withdrawn by Paramatma. The term “vyuha” means splitting and describes the division of paramatma’s six attributes into three pairs for the purpose of creation, maintenance and dissolution of the universe.

Vibhava forms are like flash floods. Floods appear suddenly and then disappears completely. The water in a flash flood is available only if the person is present at the location and at the time when floods occur. Lord Vishnu incarnates in this world due to his compassion for all creatures. He incarnates to uphold dharma, show everyone the path to liberation, to protect the righteous and to destroy wicked. The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu – Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Nirsimha, Vamana, Parasu Rama, Rama, Balarama & Kalki are examples of vibhava avatar. Krishna incarnated during the Dwapara yuga. Only people who lived during the time period of the incarnation experienced Krishna avatara.

Antaryami is like the subsoil water It is not easy to access water that is below the soil surface. In this form he exists as the soul of all jeevatamas. He cannot be easily experienced and it is very difficult to meditate on this form.

Archa form is like the rivers, ponds, wells, lakes, etc. It is very easy to obtain water from these water bodies when one is thirsty. This is the iconic embodiment of paramatma. He exists as idols in temples. It is very easy to see this form and to meditate on this form. The idol has to be consecrated properly per all the sacred scriptures and the temple has to be constructed properly per the agamas; only then is the idol empowered with the divine presence of paramatma. His unlimited compassion for all human beings causes him to exist in the archa form. He bestows his grace on his devotees and accepts their devotion and worship. The 106 Vishnu Temples in India which are part of the 108 Divya Desams are examples of archa avataras. People can easily see Lord Vishnu at these temples and they can experience and feel his power as well as grace. It is very easy to meditate on his beautiful form at the temples. Again, everyone is free to choose the deity of their choice. They can select the form that is easy to meditate or the form that appeals to them.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma? contd

Lord Vishnu also known as Narayana is the supreme personality. He is our master. He bears the entire universe including all  the living & non-living things. From the outside he supports them while at the same time he pervades inside every jiva atma as well as non-living matter; he is the super soul and all the non-living things and all the jiva atmas including ourselves form his body. He is omnipotent and he is the place of residence for all auspicious attributes. Even though people worship many different deities, he is the object of  their worship since he is the soul of all the devas and other deities. He loves each one of us. When our “punyas” (good deeds from current and previous births) mature, through his grace we develop love for him which enables us to break the cycle of re-birth and reach his divine feet.

People get confused with the fact that there are 33 billion devas. Most of the names of devas like “Indra” & “Kubera” refer to posts. These posts are occupied by different jeeva atmas who have been selected based on their qualifications. These posts are similar  to posts in a company such as manager, managing director, CEO etc.  Even “Brahma” refers to a post. The person who occupies this post is assigned the task of creation. Lord Vishnu is the only constant who oversees all & appoints various jeeva atmas to these posts so that they may serve him.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma?

There is only one true God as per Sanatana Dharma. It does not promote polytheism as  claimed by followers of other faiths. There is only one true God Vishnu. He has many names and he exists as Brahman, the one supreme universal spirit which is the origin of the universe. Brahman supports the universe and is the absolute reality. The Mundaka Upanishad says that Brahman is infinite and is the absolute truth. The “Devas” mentioned in Hinduism are thought of as “Gods” by followers of other faiths and hence they are confused and conclude that Sanatana Dharma is polytheistic in nature. The “devas” are living beings; they can be thought of as  “angels” or “spirits”. They go through the cycles of birth, death & rebirth as well. They are not the supreme being but they do have some powers when compared to human beings. If prayed properly, the devas can full fill some of our materialistic wishes. They not only grant our wishes but  they add fuel to our materialistic nature and submerge us further in this vast ocean of samsara (birth, death & rebirth) from which there is no escape. Those people who want to reach Brahman and break the cycles of rebirth worship Vishnu alone.

To be continued

Women in Vedic Society- post script

A widower cannot perform fire sacrifices as such rites can only be performed if the wife is present. Both the mother & father of a girl give her away in marriage. It is not just the father who gives his daughter away. Similarly both the mother & father perform the “Upanayana” ceremony to initiate their son in to higher learning. A widower is not allowed to perform the ceremony; the ceremony is performed by some other couple. A man loses his identity as a householder along with his rights when his wife passes away.