Hinduism – Religion or Dharma?

“Hinduism – oh, it is not a religion, it is Sanatana dharma” is a frequently heard statement from pundits. Some others say, ‘oh, it is a way of life’. Even religious leaders quibble on these terms and leave the people confused. Hence, we can examine the nature of the two terms – religion and dharma.

We are familiar with two kinds of Hindu texts. Books of the first type are the Manu smriti (called the code of Manu), Parashara smriti and such other smriti texts which lay down certain norms for social behaviour of persons of various stages (student, householder etc.,) and categories (priest, warrior etc.,) in society. They describe the offences, punishments, describe the duties and responsibilities of kings, the system of judiciary and thus cover the whole gamut of social activity. Books of the second type are the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana, Shiva purana, and several other puranas. All our religious behaviour, the avatars of Vishnu, the glorious accounts of gods, the atrocities of demons, their clashes with gods, victory of good over evil and so on are found in the second type of books. They give us the religion we now follow every day, the calendar of festivals, and the vows we have to keep during such festivals. They carry stories which demonstrate morality through exemplary characters such as Rama, Dharmaraja and many others, but do not lay down norms like in a book of law.

Now, if we see our daily life, we follow both types of books to some extent as per the occasion. When a vratam has to be performed, or when Vishnu or Shiva has to be worshipped, we read out the glory of a god from a purana and follow the procedure mentioned therein. On the other hand, when a question arises about the mandatory duties of a householder, or how a bride or bridegroom has to be chosen, or whether a particular action is prohibited or not, we follow a smriti. We may not have read these smritis, but some knowledge is inherited in the form of traditional knowledge from our parents.

Are these two types of texts unconnected? No; they are both derived texts, taking the general spirit and vision of life from the Vedas. Vedas, particularly the end portions of the Vedas, known as Upanishads, give the larger framework in which the above texts operate. They tell universal truths such as the presence of divinity in all beings, the need for unconditional love to all etc. The Upanishads analyse the nature of the human being, the nature of creation and the nature of the highest Reality. These provide a vision with which a person has to function in society, in consonance with nature and its laws. Because of the eternal nature of philosophical truths and the universality of social values, the Vedic vision of life is called Sanatana (eternal) dharma.

Thus, the Vedas (including the Upanishads), known traditionally as shruti, are the primary texts. All other texts – those relating to religion (puranas) and those relating to social conduct (dharma shastra) – are the secondary texts, which are known as smritis. The word smriti literally means that which is composed after recalling what is mentioned in the shruti. There is a general rule that when there is any disagreement between the shruti and the smriti, the authority of shruti will prevail. If any instruction in the smriti is discriminatory, or if it is not according to the spirit of the shruti, it can be ignored. The shruti has the final say.

After studying our scriptures and seeing the range of such texts, Max Muller, the famous Indologist, remarked that the Upanishads are philosophy and religion at the same time. Based on the Upanishads, two types of sages composed two types of books – the smritis and the itihasa/puranas, giving both social and religious values. The western religions plead inability to change, because God has himself given the religious and social instructions. We are more comfortable because the texts are by humans, and we can discard those which are not in consonance with eternal principles. The doubt, whether Hinduism is a religion or dharma disappears if we see this. It is a religion guided by eternal dharma.

(The writer is a former DGP, Andhra Pradesh)