Thoughts on Sanatana Dharma by an ex-Muslim woman
Sanatana Dharma’s roots predate time immemorial. It is recorded in Quran and Bible too that such people and civilisation existed, who worshipped natural forces like fire, water, trees and idols of deities. As a matter of fact before the construction of Mecca, there were a lot of archaeological evidences like idols of deities and scriptures engraved in stones to be found across the world including Mecca and with the rise and expansion of Islam these pagan civilizations were destroyed.
The Kaaba in Mecca was a holy site for various Bedouin tribes who used to make an annual pilgrimage to worship their Gods (idols) placed in tside the Kaaba. However, they were destroyed by the followers of Muhammad, upon his command. Prophet Muhammed wanted to destroy all evidences of indigenous practices before laying the foundation for Islam.
The holy black stone of Mecca is nothing but a left over artefact of our pagan cultures of the region, simply served and marketed under brand Islam. Muslims circumambulate the Kaaba in anti-clockwise direction unlike how devotees do it in temples in clockwise direction. The holy black stone in Kaaba, and the water body Zam Zam looks also looks similar to a Shiv Lingam. The three towers of devil also could possibly be a manipulated relic.
As an ex-Muslim, I believe that Islam has destroyed and also taken in a lot of the Dharmic elements only to be twisted and remarketed it under its name.
Sanatana Dharma was practised under different name across the world before Islam or Christianity was founded. Some creative minds came up with their very own exclusive version of religion to establish control and power. That is how Islam, Judaism and Christianity emerged.
While Islam and Christianity spread across the globe, and Asian counties were untouched because of its Hindu rulers of that time. But they too fell under the Islamic onslaught over time. Now, India remains the only land where Hindus can be found along with other Abrahamic religions flourishing and this is because of its worldview.
The Dharmic world view regards Param Aatma as universal energy flowing through everyone and everything. It regards human beings as the highest level of life form with consciousness and recognizes them as an aspect of the creator and also as carriers of divinity. It teaches us to live in harmony with nature and know the creator as an unseen but loving and accepting universal force that resides in the heart of everything. This world view encourages us to develop an inner consciousness.
This inner awareness makes one realize that we are actually in all things leading to miraculous manifestations and that we are all actually connected to all. This worldview wants us to embrace the infinite variations of the universe so that the divinity of nature can flow and unfold through our lives. This worldview enables us to realize the Satya. The Satya being Advaita – that Aatma is nothing but a tiny fragment of the Param Aatma and vise versa.
The Western World view has always accorded God the status of a ‘white bearded sky daddy’ and someone who is beneficial but at the same time authoritarian, paternal and tyrannical who holds us accountable for our transgressions and worldy sins. It basically tells us how we are separate from God and how we are a sinner as far as our basic nature is concerned.
On the contrary the same world view accused Jesus and crucified Him when He proclaimed “I and the Father are one” without even realizing that this is the statement coming out attaining ultimate consciousness. Through this worldview, one will forever believe that God or the eternal source lies outside and thus will never be able to tune into the power and energy of the universe to create and have a fulfilled life.
(Views expressed are the author’s own).
