The Eternal Law

So what is the Eternal Law of Sanatana Dharma really? Is it a law that was practiced eternally or was the law in itself eternal. Perhaps both. 

Hinduism is complex and by that I mean, you need to be the really open minded sort to know it, before accepting it and then experience it before realizing it. You see, my personal view of my religion is simple : it's actually quite cool. Reason being : It is actually a myriad of different beliefs and concepts fused together yet all existing in balance. It is unity in diversity or diversity in unity. See, what I mean? 

Hinduism today has 4 main denominations much like how Christians have their Roman Catholics, the Angelicans, Protestants. The four main ones being Saivism, Shaktism,Vaishnavism & Smartism. Each one was due to the love for specific Gods.  Albeit, the broad range of beliefs, services and mystic goals, there are some bedrock beliefs.

1. God's Voice of the Vedas

See, when I was growing up, I always thought The Bhaghavad Gita (Gita) was the Hindus bible or Quran. I thought wrong till I stumbled upon something called Vedas. Vedas in Sanskrit  means wisdom or knowledge. Before the birth of ancient people who stayed along the river bank of the Indus and was later known as Hindus,God had whispered the Vedas to illumined sages millions of years ago. Vedas was said to be one of the Shrutis (that which is heard). The Vedas are the most ancient of the Indian scripture that tells a Hindu how to live his life. Maybe if Indus river was never there, probably Hinduism would be called Vedicism. Who knows??

2. There's only one of them ; The Supreme Being.

Another delusional concept. Hinduism isn't polytheistic as many of you might know. We have more than 30 million Gods. Hehe.. Did I not say, it was cool? But there is only one Supreme Being. If you insist on his name, He is called Brahman not to be confused with Brahma though. Brahma is one of the 30 million by the way. Brahman by the way creates this other many million Gods and the universe. He/ She/ It whatever you may call it, is immanent (Everywhere around you, in you) and transcendent ( also in some places you can never see or know it to exist). Fictionally, the Hindu Gods and Goddesses you see in pictures and sculptures everywhere in all colours, shapes, with multiple organs and even weirder forms are jeng jeng jeng... AVATARS. See, if James Cameroon can make his Pandoran Navi's Blue, Brahman can make as many Avatars and colors them as He wish. Period. 

3. The Universe doesn't vanish

The Big Bang theory said the universe came about some 13 billion years ago. It came from a dense hot spot and it's expanding even as I type this sentence out. The cosmo is forever an action of dynamo and probably will never cease to be that way. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. 

4. Reincarnation is Real

Well, if the universe never ends, then why should we, the mere mortals? If the world ends when we die, then how do you explain birth? If death is the end, the universe would be depopulated. No?  Hindus believe the souls reincarnate but not the body. This typically means a soul evolves through many births untill it reaches its final destiny, the liberated state (moksha). In lay term, it would be "Meeting with the Supreme Being". Not a single soul will be deprived of this meeting. 

5. Karma Rules

Your scheduled meeting with the Brahman depends on the law of cause and effect that you accumulate and can CONSCIOUSLY decide/ control at any given moment by your thoughts, words and deeds. Your negative karmic scores lengthens your meet up time and increases the number of births you take and vice versa.

6. Some places you can't see exist

Hindus believe divine beings exist in the unseen world. Temple and home worship, spiritual knowledge attainment and other means of personal devotions allows for connection to this world.

7. Guru is Great

When we were born to this world, we had no knowledge of anything till we were guided by the many teachers in our life. Hinduism believes that for one to attain liberation, spiritually awakened master or satguru leads us to the knowledge of God. Personal discipline, good conduct, mind purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation are measures taken by a disciple under his guru's guidance.

8. Make Love, not War

The practise of noninjury or its Sanskrit equivalent, ahimsa, as we commonly know is that all of life's being are sacred and hence should be treated with love. Ahimsa does not only mean "thou shall not kill' but any form of injury through thoughts, words and deeds also fall in this category. Not all Hindus are vegetarians but one of Hinduism's basic belief is to be one.

9. All is one and One is All

Hindus believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to salvation above others but that all genuine religious paths are facet's of God's Pure Love and Light. This in Tamil we call it "Em mathamum sammathem" which is aptly translated to " Agreement with any religion".  

The whole truth and nothing but the truth 

That is the Hindus basic beliefs delivered in a manner that I hope will appeal to you. Whether the rules are something that you Hindus will practice with or without belief or non-Hindus might or might not believe is a matter of your own personal faith.