Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma?

Some clarifications on what these names mean and what they entail.

The Name 

In current times, a common belief is that Hinduism was originally named Sanatana Dharma. This is absolutely false. There is no evidence that such a name was ever used to describe any religion in the Indian subcontinent – either in part or in full. The text “esha dharma sanatanah” from Manu Smriti is sometimes quoted as evidence, but it does not pass prima facie tests of grammar and context, where ‘sanatana’ is used as an adjective. The truth is actually the opposite, with Hindu being the older term – at least 1000 years old, while SD originated as late as in the 19th century, possibly created by Vivekananda due to social and political reasons.

For a long time, the name Hindu was almost exclusively used by by foreigners to denote people in the geographic area, east of the Sindhu river. When Islamic rulers established their governance in India, the name Hindu officially came to be used to denote non-Muslims.

So, which of these two is the correct or preferred name – Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma? The answer is either, as they are exactly the same.

The Form

Hinduism is fundamentally different from other popular religions in the world. Other religions such as Buddhism, Christianity and Islam started out as a single set of beliefs, with a founder and a single set of teachings. Over time, they developed internal schisms and were distributed into different denominations. Buddhism broke up into Mahayana and Theravada, Islam into Sunni, Shia, Sufi, etc., and Christianity into dozens of denominations. However, in general, the root founder and other such fundamentals of the religion are recognized and accepted.

In striking contrast, Hinduism goes the other way. Various indigenous beliefs from India and the surrounding regions such as Veda Dharma, Buddhism, Jainism, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Pashupata, Vaishnava, Bhagavata, Shaiva, Shakta, Tantra and countless unnamed, regional beliefs have syncretically come together under a convenient banner named Hinduism. Consequently, unlike other religions, Hinduism does not have a singe founder, book or a single set of teachings.

It is commonly claimed that Hinduism is based on the Veda, This is again, a false idea, based on the concept of religion as defined by Western scholars. They modeled Hinduism along western religions – single scripture (the Veda), single God, etc. This is an oversimplification that ignores the complexity of the syncretic Hindu system, which contains various beliefs that are not rooted in the Veda (Tantra, Veera Shaiva, Gadhimai and several others). There is no common set of books or even a single book that is regarded as the definitive scripture by all Hindus. Millions of Hindus do not have scriptures at all – their beliefs, traditions and practices being handed down to them by the previous generation. This is hard to understand if one has not spent time with different Hindus around the country.

The Identity

So, who is a Hindu? A Hindu is anyone who meets one of these conditions –

1. Born to a Hindu parent and does not reject the Hindu identity
2. Not born to a Hindu parent, but subscribes to one or more Hindu beliefs by choice.

The constitution of India provides a much broader definition. Anyone who claims to be a Jain, Buddhist, Sikh or Hindu, is a Hindu.