India’s Hindu Sanatana Dharma (HSD) is perhaps the oldest surviving and the most misunderstood religious ism in the whole universe. It will be quite surprising to note that it is more misunderstood in India where officially 80% of the population is born into the religion. More astonishing will be the fact that it is more misunderstood among the so-called educated Hindus than among their illiterate brothers and sisters in the villages of India. There is only one reason for the sad state of affairs in HSD – the strange phenomenon of secularism as implemented in post-liberated India.

For those who are in the know of things about religions understand that there is only one religious philosophy that has undergone the complete evolution of rational discourse and it is none other than Hindu Sanatana Dharma. The evolutionary process has taken about 5000 years and finally what has won the approval is Advaita – the theory of non-duality. As it stands now, the four principal Mahavakyas of Hindu Sanatana Dharma are:-

• prajnanam brahma - "Brahman is Prajna"(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
• ayam atma brahma - "I am this Self (Atman) that is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
• tat tvam asi - "Thou art That" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda)
• aham brahmasmi - "I am Brahman", (Brahadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)

In short, HSD is the only religious philosophy that advocates the omnipresence of God. This means that God did not create Man in HIS own image but IT is present in everything in this universe. Logically it means that IT can be present in all of us, but definitely in varying degrees at various times. A direct result of this belief is the acceptability of Godmen (and Godwomen) in HSD. Also the belief in evil entities indicating complete absence or negative concentration of divinity.

Semitic religions (Juadaism, Chrinistianity and Islam) are built on Creation Theory, they do not accept the omnipresence of God and hence the divine presence in humans. Followers of Semitic religions cannot be blamed for their lack of understanding about the famed Godmen and Godwomen of HSD. But it is time that the followers of Semitic religions also realised and respected (not accepted) this established belief of the vast majority of India. The occasional presence of a few ordinary mortals in the garb of Godmen and Godwomen do not make all of them imposters. We simply cannot accept and allow the minority disbelievers to ridicule the faith of an overwhelming majority of Indians.

Contemporary Godmen or Avatars or Prophets like Sai Baba, Mata Amritanandamayi, Sri Sri Ravishankar etc etc cannot be denigrated and derided by a few ridiculously miniscule set of our population with foreign beliefs. They are only inviting odium on themselves by such acts.