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Sanatana Dharma

The Essence of The Yoga Life

Sanatana Dharma, an ancient Sanskrit term, can be literally translated as eternal truth.

It is a unique worldview of faith, belief, and spirituality, a path of spirituality that is not

opposed to any creed, any prophet, to any incarnation, to any pathway to enlightenment

or Self-realization.

 

Sanatana Dharma, later called Hinduism because its adherents were primarily from the

Indus River Valley, recognizes that each age and each country will bring forth fresh ways

of expressing spiritual truths: different paths of realization, different modes of worship,

different rituals, different names and forms – different ways of relating to - the One

Source and Essence, what we call God.

 

Sanatana Dharma recognizes the spark of Divinity within each individual and the

potential of any being to realize it for themselves. Anyone who has realized this spiritual

Truth is therefore qualified to teach its nature and the means of its direct personal

realization.

One of the most important principles of Sanatana Dharma is found in the Rig Veda, one

of the oldest sacred texts in the world:

               

                                     Truth is One; paths to its realization are many.

The way to experience this Truth is not limited to any one faith tradition. There may be

many trails capable of leading us to the summit of a mountain, but on reaching the top,

we find the same vision. That vision, the experience of oneness of all life, is Sanatana

Dharma. It is a vision of understanding the individual’s need for freedom in finding the

path that best suits them and for the respectful acceptance of the path taken by others.

 

Yoga is a collection of principles and practices that help take us to the mountaintop. To

directly experience the view from the summit. Yoga is a time-tested holistic spiritual path

grounded in moral and ethical precepts, meditation, worship, selfless service, study, and

the promotion of physical well-being.

 

This is the heart of yoga: rooted by tradition in India, but ever-willing and able to adapt to

today’s world.

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