Opinion: Oppose 'Sanatan', Appease Minorities

Many in politics have the habit of 'throwing the baby out with the bath water'. They do not have what we call Neer-Ksheer Viveka - the ability to differentiate between water and milk. The latest example is the DMK assailing Sanatana Dharma without understanding what Sanatan is.

Etymologically, the term Sanatan is about eternal; something that has continued for generations. Many of our beliefs and traditions are Sanatan as they have been inherited and passed down for generations. Sanatan is ever ageing but never old.

Sanatan has nothing to do with any obscurantism. One must remember that everything that is open, accommodative and resilient can sustain the attacks of outsiders, invaders and encroachers. Anything that is eternal must always maintain a robust element of relevance to the times. Sanatan, as the term implies, refers to tenets of a belief system that were acceptable to adherents not only in the past and present, but will also endure in the future.