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HINDU SANATANA DHARMA
Hinduism is referred to as
Sanatana Dharma, the eternal
faith. Hinduism is based on the practice
of Dharma, the code of life. Hinduism
has no founder, anyone who practices
Dharma can call himself a Hindu. The
greatness of Hinduism is its Freedom of
Thoughts and Actions.
Sanatana Dharma or Righteousness Forever was
the original name of Hinduism. It was Persians who invaded
India during 6th century B.C. who gave the name Hinduism
meaning the religion of people living near the Indus river.
In Persian the letter H and S are pronounced almost the same
so they mistook the word Sindhu (Sanskrit name for Indus) to
H and then started calling Hindus and Hinduism.
Although the terms Hindu and Hinduism were
created by foreign invaders, sometimes using them as
derogatory terms, the indigenous people then co-opted these
terms (mostly in the past 200 years) as collective or
umbrella terms to describe themselves and their various ways
of living, and many different religions and spiritual
practices, a custom which continues today. The original
term, predating these by thousands of years, was Sanatana
Dharma, a profound term that is rich with beauty and
inherent wisdom.
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