Are we eating right? Because we become what we eat. The food we eat nourishes our body, but there is much more than nourishment. Our Vedic scriptures distinguish food into three categories based on its effect on our body on the physical and mental level. Understanding the food
we intake is necessary to ensure it benefits our body. Food in Sanatan Dharma is not just “any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth”.
According to the Vedic scriptures, food is beyond
what is eaten through the mouth and digested by the body. In Sanatan Dharma, food is understood to affect one’s thoughts, emotions, and mind, and food can lead to God-realization. Food is distributed into three categories in Vedic Culture: Sattvic, Rajas, & Tamasic.
A Sattvic diet incorporates simple, light, and healthy food. They are neither too sweet nor salty or spicy. Consuming Sattvic food helps in purifying our body and mind. Food that we obtain after harming any living beings falls under Rajasic or Tamasic foods. Rajasic food
accelerates the mind into action. A person consuming Rajasic food becomes restless. Rajasic food increases the energy level of our body stimulating, every part of the system. However, it promotes aggression and reckless behavior. Sometimes a person becomes dominating due to their
extreme violent nature and robustness. Foods prepared by harming living beings fall under the Rajasic or Tamasic category. Tamasic foods become heavy to our digestion system. Stale or oily food also falls under Tamasic food. Tamasic foods lack life force in the diet and lead to
a confused state of mind. Tamasic food promotes laziness, slowness, clumsy behavior, etc.
The word Jyotirlinga originates from the Sanskrit Language, which means Symbol. Further, the Agama text defines the literal meaning by breaking it into three pieces. “Jyoti” means light, “Ling” means to dissolve or destroy and, “Ga” means to emerge or create. The in-depth sense
of jyotirlinga lights on Lord Shiva’s infinite nature, we are a creation of Lord Shiva (Universe), and we all dissolve back into him at the end. Jyotirlinga marks the cosmos of the universe.
There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India:
• Somnath in Saurashtra (Gujarat)
• Mallikarjuna in Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh)
• Mahakaleswar in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)
• Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh
• Kedarnath in Uttrakhand
• Bhimashankar in Pune, Maharashtra
Do you know the meaning of the word Dharma? The word dharma means duty. And, when we say Sanatan Dharma, it means ‘eternal duty.’ Therefore, we feel it is necessary to understand the different duties mentioned in the Vedas. The Vedic principle states that every
grihastha (householder) needs to follow five vital duties known as the Panch Mahayajna to attain their maximum capacity and capabilities as a person. When talking about Panch Mahayajna, the word panch means five, Maha means Main, and Yajna is sacrifice. Yajna is the spine of
Sanatan Dharma and require immense study in different layers of understanding. When broken into sections, the word Panch Mahayajna defines itself. It gets necessary for a householder to perform these five vital duties in their daily life to initiate spiritual evolution and growth
Our Dharma believes that a person should follow sixteen sanskaras (sacraments or rituals) in its entire life to mark different stages of a human life cycle. Following these rituals lead to a passage of possessing Ashram (stage of life). Sanskara acts as a turning point,
celebrated like an auspicious occasion. Practicing these sanskaras have turned out to bring great personality with effectiveness. The 16 Sanskars are as follows:
The Sanatan Temples are the place where people worship the god. The architecture of the temples is more than just a spiritual approach. A lot of science indulges in the construction of these temples. Sanatan Temples are the place where science meets spirituality to attain the
highest knowledge to strive for eternity. Every single facet, the structure created is a science that affects the visitor. Temple architecture is a highly developed science. The place perfectly holds positive energy around the people visiting them. The architecture helps visitors
to indulge in meditation effortlessly.
The temple floor is to let the positive energies flow through the people, entering from their feet. Every aspect of a temple starting from the construction to the type of rituals followed and the presiding everything lets the cosmos flow
Ramayana is one of the two major epics in Sanatan Dharma. Mahabharat is the second one. These two together form the primary part of our Itihaas from the Treta and Dwaparyuga. There are ten primary Avatars of Bhagwan Vishnu that are also known as Dashavtara. Bhagwan Ram is his
seventh Avatar, who incarnated after Bhagwan Parshurama. In Valmiki Ramayana, Maharishi Valmiki narrates the life of Bhagwan Shri Rama. Ramayana consists of two Sanskrit words, Rama and Ayana, meaning the journey of Bhagwan Shri Rama. The main objective of the seventh
incarnation of Bhagwan Shri Rama was to mark an influence, exhibiting the importance of morals and virtue in life to become an ideal Human being. It is one of the main reasons he is a symbol of Maryada Purushottam. Another aspect of his incarnation as Rama was to exhibit victory
The four great eras in Sanatan Dharma are Satya Yug, Treta Yug, Dwapar Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Satya Yuga or the Age of Truth lasts for 4800 divine years, Treta Yuga for 3,600, Dwapara Yug for 2400, and Kali Yuga will last for 1200 divine years a divine year equalling 360
earthly years. Sanatan tradition holds three of these great ages of this current universe that have already passed away, and we are now living in the fourth yuga the Kali. It is quite hard to look at the meaning of huge quantities of time expressed, the numbers are quite huge.
There are different theories about the meaning of these measurements of time. The four yuga ages may showcase the four phases of evolution during that humans gradually lose awareness of their inner selves and subtle bodies. Sanatan dharma believes that humans have five kinds