Thursday, August 23, 2007

Sanatana Dharma

I've decided to shift the focus of my blog. While I may occasionally touch upon the topics that I tended to focus on in my previous posts, the majority of my posts will be focused on the teachings of the Sanatana Dharma, the "eternal law", "eternal tradition", "eternal religion". The Sanatana Dharma is more commonly known as Hinduism, but as I've come to realize personally the former term does more justice. I want to make it clear from the onset that I by no means am an expert on Hinduism. As a westerner, born and raised in America in a traditional European family, I may not have the authority to talk about the religion. While I believe that Hinduism is open and should be open to all, I understand there may be parts of which I do not understand fully yet. With that in mind, I will remain open to criticism and suggestions from practicing Hindus and those who are knowledgeable about the belief system both about topics that would be a good idea to cover and about errors that I may have introduced.

I believe that the time is ripe to bring the teachings of the Sanatana Dharma to more people. I am not trying to convert anyone, the choice of religion is a free choice, just as it should be, but I want to educate people about eastern beliefs. Over time I have developed many of my own personal views based on New Age and Pagan religions and I've begun to realize how much some of these beliefs have been influenced by Hinduism. Eastern philosophy offers a depth of wisdom that rivals that of western traditions and everyone should have an opportunity to learn about it.