When Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan makes a point out of Sree Narayana Guru not using the word ‘Sanatana’ as a prefix to ‘Dharma’ in the name of his organisation, the intention is to clearly distance progressive elements within Hinduism from the ‘majority’ who supposedly follow the casteist ‘Sanatana’ version. What Mr. Vijayan and other politicians do not seem to appreciate is that no Hindu reformer including Sree Narayana Guru criticised ‘Sanatana Dharma’ or disowned it in favour of any other religion or philosophy.
Features that are the most ‘Sanatana’
Orthodox opponents of 19th century reform movements such as Arya Samaj and the Ramakrishna mission called themselves ‘Sanatanists’ to emphasise permanence of ancient textual doctrines over dynamism and change, as the essential feature of Hinduism. Just like the many voices that resisted change right from the time of Adi Sankara to the Bhakti movement, these self-proclaimed ‘Sanatanists’ also remained on the wrong side of history. What they failed to realise — like some politicians of today — is that dynamism and propensity for reform are the most ‘Sanatana’ or ancient or original of Hinduism’s ‘Dharmic’ features. Which is why the reformers had no qualms in using the phrase ‘Sanatana Dharma’ to describe their philosophies.
