Musings of Jayaraman

  About the Sanatana controversy – again! M Jayaraman Regarding Mr. Udhayanidhi’s statement that Sanātanam must be eradicated, Mr. Karti Chidambaram has defended him (as early as September 4, 2023: Hindustan Times report ). He argued that “Sanātana” refers to the caste system, and therefore it should be understood as a call to eradicate caste. But this is contradicted by the pioneer of the Dravidian movement himself — C.N. Annadurai — in his book Ariya Maayai : “Hindu means one who follows Sanātana Dharma.” ( Ariya Maayai , Annadurai, page 32) If they merely intended to say that caste must be eradicated, they could have simply said so directly. From this, it becomes clear that the use of the term “Sanātanam” carries a deeper implication. Therefore, this is being said with the intention of hurting Hindu religious beliefs. While claiming that government and politics must remain common and neutral to all religions, this is in fact an attempt to throttle the voice of one p...

  Question one According to some views, yoga is a religion and is rooted in Hinduism. In fact, some say it is from the devil. Is yoga a religion? If I practice yoga, will I become a Hindu or should I be one?   “According to some views, Yoga is a religion and is rooted in Hinduism.” Yoga certainly has its historical and philosophical roots in the ancient spiritual traditions of India, especially in what is today called Hinduism. Foundational Yogic texts such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads emerged from this civilizational context. Therefore, it is neither accurate nor necessary to deny Yoga’s Indic or Hindu moorings. At the same time, Yoga is not a “religion” in the narrow sense of demanding conversion, exclusive belief, or adherence to a particular prophet, creed, or institution. Traditionally, Yoga is understood more as a discipline, philosophy, and way of life aimed at self-transformation and inner harmony. Classical defini...