Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana Dharma, commonly called Hinduism, is not just beautiful temples, colorful festivals, gurus and unusual beliefs.

It is, simply put, “The Way Things Are” on a cosmic scale. It is the facts of existence and transcendence.

It illumines who we really are, what the world is, and how we should live our lives to go from mere belief to actual Realization of the Ultimate Reality we call God or Brahman.

Swami Nirmalananda has edited for the modern reader a book originally printed nearly one hundred years ago in Varanasi, India, for use as a textbook by students of Benares Hindu University. Its original title was Sanatana Dharma, An Advanced Text Book of Hindu Religion and Ethics.

In Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Religion you will discover:

• Basic Hindu Religious Ideas, including karma, rebirth, spiritual evolution; the worlds, visible and invisible, and the path of Freedom.
• General Hindu Religious Customs and Rites, including mantras, worship, the stages of life, the castes (as they should be understood), and the purpose of life.
• Ethical Teachings, including the foundations of ethics, right and wrong, the teachings of the ancient rishis, duty, virtue and vice, training and control of the mind, and human relationships.
• The Wisdom of the Manu Smriti: Swami Nirmalananda has extracted and commented on passages from the Manu Smriti, an ancient scripture in India, examining those parts of the Manu Smriti that deal with the Supreme Dharma (Param Dharma) which embraces both Atmajnana, Knowledge of the Self, and Brahmajnana, Knowledge of Brahman the Absolute Being.