is no trace in them of REINCARNATION, of the
hopeless mire of birth and rebirth. Reincarnation
appears in the Upanishads, the small texts that
were appended to the prose portions (BRAHMANAS)
of the Vedas, along with the first evidence of the
sense of entrapment in a web of endless births.
The Buddhist and Jain traditions also focus on
KARMA and the hopeless trap of the world.
Further reading: Rajeshwari Vijay Pandharipande, The
Eternal Self and the Cycle of Samsara: Introduction
to Asian Mythology and Religion, 3d ed. (Needham
Heights, Mass.: Simon & Schuster Custom, 1996);
Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1974).
samskara
Samskaras (from the Sanskrit samskri, refined, the
source of the word SANSKRIT) are ritual ceremo-
nies that mark and purify life cycle events. Every
samskara requires a BRAHMIN priest to preside and
includes prayers, oblations, offerings, and a fire
ritual.
Rituals are performed to encourage impreg-
nation and to obtain a male child. A special
rite is performed at birth. The annaprashana is
usually performed at the sixth month after birth
to mark the feeding of the first solid food. The
investiture of the SACRED THREAD, the upanayana
ceremony, is performed for twice-born (high-
caste) Hindu males when they are between ages
eight and 12.
Perhaps the two most important samskaras
for Hindus are the wedding ceremony and the
sraddha, or death ceremony. The sraddha can be
performed only by a male child. It ensures that a
soul does not remain as a ghost but goes on either
to liberation or to its next birth. A yearly ritual
is performed to feed the deceased, in particular
Brahmins, lest they fall from heaven. This ancient
ritual of feeding the ancestor seems to conflict
with the belief that nearly everyone is reincar-
nated, and that few proceed directly to heaven.
Further reading: R. B. Pandy, Hindu Samskaras: Socio-
Religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments (Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass, 1969); Prem Sahai, Hindu Marriage Sams-
kara (Ahmedabad: Wheeler, 1993).samyagdarshana See JAINISM.
samyagjnana See JAINISM.
samyakcharitra See JAINISM.
sanatana dharma
Sanatana dharma (eternal way) is a term created
in 19th-century India as a more meaningful syn-
onym for Hinduism. The word Hindu, after all,
was not indigenous to the culture, but was coined
by ancient Persians (based on their pronuncia-
tion of Sindhu, the Indus River). Indian spiritual
traditions had typically described themselves as
“the DHARMA.” Dharma admits of many English
translations; it refers to an essential set of rules
and prescriptions that make up a given religious
path. Those who coined the term sanatana dharma
wanted to emphasize the Indian sense that their
“way” was an eternal one that had had no begin-
ning in time.
Because of the universality of certain Hindu
notions, and the acceptance of a wide diversity
of spiritual paths within the Hindu fold, the term
sanatana dharma sometimes is taken to mean the
ancient truth behind all religions (not just those of
India), the truth that all seek in their own unique
ways. In that sense, the santana dharma is not
merely the religions practiced by the inhabitants
of India who look upon the VEDAS as the supreme
wisdom, but the “way” of all who seek the highest
truth, whatever their religion.Further reading: Balasubramania N. Aiyer, Principles
and Practice of Hindu Religion, Sanatana Dharma Sastra:
A Comparative Study of the Ancient Tradition and the
Perennial Philosophy (Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,K 380 samskara