Hindus themselves prefer to use the Sanskrit term sanatan Dharm for their religious tradition. Santana Dharm means eternal and universal law or principle that governs everyone irrespective of culture, race, religion, belief and practices. These truths regarding the universal principle were divinely revealed to ancient rishis (sages). For many eons they were passed down orally and only later written down, apparently around the start of the Kali Yuga when people's memories began to deteriorate.
The thought of Dharm generates deep confidence in the Hindu mind in cosmic justice.
The distinction of Dharm from the Western sense of religion is crucial to understanding Hindu religious identity. To the extent that Hinduism carries with it the Western meaning of being a 'religion' the words distort Indian reality. In the West a religion is understood to be conclusive — that is, it is the one and only true religion. Second, a religion is generally exclusionary — that is, those who do not follow it are excluded from salvation. Finally, a religion is separative — that is, to belong to it, one must not belong to another. Dharm, however, does not necessarily imply any of these.
The word sanatan, meaning immemorial as well as eternal, emphasized the unbroken continuity of the Hindu tradition. Sanatan Dharm comprises of spiritual laws which govern the human existence. Sanatan Dharm is to human life what natural laws are to the physical phenomena. Just as the phenomena of gravitation existed before it was discovered, the spiritual laws of life are eternal laws which existed before they were discovered by the ancient rishi (sages) for the present age during the Vedic period. Sanatan Dharm declares that something cannot come out of nothing and, therefore, the universe itself is the manifestation of the Divine being.
The Hindu tradition encourages Hindus to seek spiritual and moral Truth wherever it might be found, while acknowledging that no creed can contain such Truth in its fullness and that each individual must realize this Truth through his or her own systematic effort. Our experience, our reason, and our dialogs with others — especially with enlightened individuals — provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth. And Hindu scripture, based on the insights of Hindu sages and seers, serves primarily as a guidebook. But ultimately truth comes to us through direct consciousness of the divine or the ultimate reality. Hindus refer to it by many names, but the most common name is Brahman which is relatively different in meaning and understanding from the conventional word "God".
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