EXPLAINED - Udhayanidhi Stalin Vs Sanatan Dharma | Deshbhakt Takeover Ep.4 - ft Devdutt Pattanaik

After Udayanidhi Stalin's controversial statement, political turmoil has intensified, especially when elections are near. Udayanidhi has said that he believes that Sanatan dharma is against the concept of social justice, and should be eradicated. Obviously, this made a many furious, as it is associated with people's emotions. BJP's Amit Malviya tweeted, in short he is calling for genocide as 80% of India's population follow Sanatan Dharma. Udayanidhi Stalin reiterated and compared diseases with

Sanatan dharma which is responsible for many social evils Problem is that DMK is a critical ally of I.N.D.I.A alliance What other parties can do? This is a matter of religion and people's feelings. Priyank Kharge of Congress supports it, he believes that if a religion gives no dignity, does not value human life, and doesn't give equal rights, then it is as good as a disease Question is on Congress - do they support this statement? Priyanka Chaturvedi takes a balancing stance and says sanatan dha

rm stands for eternal truth, a way to live life - sanatanis have withstood attacks by invaders, then this statement can change nothing ... those who do not understand the inclusiveness of Sanatan Dharma and talk about it in a bad way, they do not know what Sanatan Dharma means. Obviously, there is a political issue, political rotis are being roasted on this In Tamil Nadu, Annamalai has said that this entire family of Gopalakuram has only one job, to earn money, to collect more money for yourself

than the GDP of the state. And even on Udayanidhi, he said - you, your father and the ideology you follow is Christian missionaries ideology. And you dimwits are told to parrot this ideology of social equality. You don't understand Sanatan Dharma. And this is the problem. Which Sanatan Dharma is being discussed here? The Sanatan Dharma which talks about eternal truth? The religion which talks about soul rebirth? That Sanatan Dharma which believes in caste system? Or the Sanatan Dharma which has

given birth to the concept of untouchability and purity about which no one wants to talk? Remember, a political game is being played here. Everyone is making their own interpretations. But if you want to understand this controversy in a little more detail, then you will have to understand what is Sanatan Dharma Hinduism? Is the Sanatan Dharma caste angle a debate? And is it true that in Sanatan Dharma untouchability angle is not addressed? What is the origin? Some say 1000 years, some say 10,00

0 years, some say 100-200 years. Remember that Udayanidhi is also playing politics. But will he backfire in the North? Will people understand? Is the language that he used, is that language correct? And what are the strong points and what are the weak points as far as Sanatan Dharma is concerned? To understand that, no one better than Devdutt Pattanaik ...because he has studied Hindu Dharma read the scriptures, understood what these concepts are. So today, I will not talk ... I am giving the mi

c to Devdutt Pattanaik He will take over on Deshbhakt and he will explain to us a little bit about the concept of Sanatan Dharma What is the context, then you will understand the context of the politics that is being played today. ~subscribe and press bell icon~ Namaste, my name is Devdutt Pattanaik - my expertise is on Veda-Purana. So I write on mythology, I write on Vedas and Puranas, on belief systems of people. And according to me, there is a big difference between the truth based on faith a

nd the scientific truth/ In matters of faith, you don't ask for evidence, you only believe in the words of the Guru. There is no doubt here. But in science, there is doubt. You don't accept the words of the Guru and you give a lot of value to the proof. Today, I want to talk to you about Sanatan Dharm, what is the meaning of it and this video is about that so that we understand what is Sanatan Dharm. So, is Sanatan dharma same as Hinduism? Sanatan means that which is timeless and eternal ... whi

ch has no beginning or end. In today's language, we use dharma for religion, for our faith. Now, we use the word Hinduism very loosely, but in the olden days, Hinduism meant the culture of Al-Hind. Al-Hind is a word which was used by the Persians when they came to India, they used to say that this is Al-Hind. Hind comes from Sindh ... Sindh comes from Sindhu, which is Sanskrit for river - in this case Indus river So when the Arab people used to come to India, they used to say that this river, th

e Sindhu river, the people who live beyond that, their culture is very different. We will call it Hindu culture. Slowly, about a thousand years ago, when Muslims started coming to India, the kings of India said that our culture is very different. The people who are coming from outside, their culture is very different. They said that Hindu dharma is different from Turku dharma We believe in worshiping inside the temple ... but they do not believe in temples and gods Their gods are inauspicious, t

hey do not worship idols, they build mosques. Turku and Hindu dharma words were used ... typically we would say 1300 years ago ...and slowly Hindu Dharma became a word. Is this a culture? Is this a religion? We can always debate. But we know that Indian culture and culture is very different from Middle Eastern society. Now, would we call this a religion? In Indian culture, conversion was not given much value here. You live within your birth community ... every community having different god, la

nguage, customs - we always appreciated diversity Monotheism has standardization, uniformity and Indians don't like that If someone asks, what is sanatan dharma, then it is specific to India culture believing in polytheism and diversity ...different types of thoughts, different types of deities, rituals, and the one that changes with time, No need to convert anyone. You keep your religion, we keep our religion, you practice your religion, we practice our religion. We can call this sanatan dharma

this is a unique feature of Hinduism that we believe in other religions. But what happens is that Hinduism accepts other religions, but do other religions accept other religions? In monotheism, they don't believe in other gods, so there is tension Because the monotheist demeans polytheist, Hinduism says polytheism is also right, atheism is also right, monotheism is also right. That's why there is fight Because one says, you know, everybody is allowed to practice anything you want. And the monot

heist says- no, no, what I practice, that's right. So there is tension. Now, these days the word Hindutva is used. So, we should remember that the word Hindutva is used politically and does not have to anything with knowing oneself or spirituality So, this Hindutva is a political word, used by kings and warriors who want to get to the power. It was used in 19th century Bengal and in 20th century, Savarkar brings to Maharashtra and then it spreads throughout India. This is a different kind of th

inking. So, the word Hindu is very old. Earlier, the Arabs brought it, then slowly Indian kings started using the word Hindu dharma for our Indian culture At the same time, the word Sanatan started being used. So, the word Hindutva and Sanatan both emerged in the 19th century, and this is basically a conservative movement who are against women's education. Only men should be studying, women should not be studying. Then they used to say, teach only Brahmins or upper class. There is no need to tea

ch everyone. Now, people talk about Macaulay, he said teach everyone, stop Sanskrit teach Hindi - he became a very bad person. Macaulay was against Indian civilization. He said that English should be spread everywhere. Indian society was now under threat. The thing about Macaulay is that Macaulay's system said that everyone should be educated. Everybody should be educated including women, including all castes. And the people who opposed this, they used the word Sanatani, they used the word Hindu

tva, they said that our society is very perfect, there is no need for any reform. Here, Brahmins are educated, they do jobs. Here, we don't need to teach Dalits, we don't need to teach women, we don't need women's rights. Old system was considered good. So sanatan and Hindutva words are used here - they opposed the samaj like Arya samaj, Brahmo samaj, Prarthana samaj - the samaj who wanted upliftment of women, lower caste and reforms They wanted to change the society, people opposing them used t

he word sanatani and hindutva Today it is a political word, remember These days some people say don't use Hindu word, use sanatan. Rigveda does not have word sanatan, sanatan word is in Bhagavad Gita, which is a part of Mahabharata Krishna says what he is about to teach is sanatan because he is teaching about atma, which has no end Krishna talks about rebirth and which has no end, so it is sanatan He is not promoting a religion ... this promoter word comes from missionary concept, who are monoth

eists, like in Islam and Christianity So monotheists have missionaries they used the word mission Sanatan word is used where there is talk of rebirth Buddhism is also sanatan as they believe in rebirth, but not in soul Jainism is about the soul, but they talk about the Jeevatma, not about the paramatma. Jainism is about the Jeevatma, about rebirth. That is why Jainism uses the word Sanatan, that we are Sanatanis. But Sanatan, broadly speaking, is such a thought, such a thought, which originated

in South Asia or India, where there is belief in rebirth This is called digambar tradition in which there is talk of giving up arrogance, and non violence Digambar tradition says that I want self-knowledge. The opposite of this is the Paigambar tradition. The Prophet tradition comes from Middle East, Arab countries, Farsi countries. here the Prophet tradition means that there is a God, He has given birth to man, He has made the ethics and rituals for man, which comes from the medium of the Proph

ets on earth. There were different Prophets, Abraham was a Prophet, Moses was a Prophet. And as per Islam Jesus was also a prophet - Masiha means prophet. Last prophet was Muhammad Christianity says that Jesus was not just a prophet ... he was the son of God and God too. They don't believe in Muhammad - so there were fights between Islam and Christianity. If you look at Europe, Islam is coming to Europe and saying that Muhammad is the final prophet. This is Paigambar vaad. The Sanatan of India,

which we call it, where there is self-knowledge, where there is faith in rebirth, that is the digambar vaad When we use the word religion or God, it is the language of Christianity or Islam According to paigambar vaad, God gives instructions to prophet These days some people say that they have a paigambar too. Shri Krishna has given us a message on how to live. Krishna told us how to live. I have seen these videos that, Manu says to live like this, Krishna says that we should live like this. Ram

says that we should live like this. This language is not found in Sanatana Dharma. Because here were different castes, different communities - and every group had different customs, passed down by family There was no talk of a message or rules ... what Krishna said, Ram said or Manu said. That is not digambar vaad. Saying that we also have a paigam, a message - manusmriti - this is not Indian way or Hindu way of thinking It is a very monotheistic, missionary way of thinking. So this is a war o

f ideology, of different kinds of ideology. The king who wants power says that everyone should think like me. So, I have noticed that when we talk about Hinduism, we talk about polytheism, diversity. When we talk about Hinduism, we talk about polytheism But the words that are used by Hindutva, who say that we are Sanatan Dharma, if you look closely, they don't believe in polytheism, they don't believe in diversity of thought They say that they are going to give you a message about what is Hindu

religion. So they try to control the discourse. So this is politics. Technically if someone says that I believe in Sanatan Dharma, then check if he respects people or if he is egoistic. If he is egoistic, he believes his own words to be true, and does not listen to others, does not respect others, then he is a Poga Pandit - calling himself sanatani by only using a language as a weapon - but is not sanatan As we say, Muh me Ram Bagal me Churi - a hypocrite. God on his mouth but Ravana in his hear

t. These days Poga Pandits say that Ram on your lips and scalpel by your side - to protect Hindu religion. This is manipulation. This is not Raj Dharma... so beware of Poga Pandit as there are many. They respect ego, not self awareness. Tribals have their own customs and you go teach Hindi, English - and say follow Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, etc. You are telling them to give up their customs, language ... this is called conversion or imposition like prachaarvaad - as we are not respecting th

eir culture We are saying we will develop them but is that right? Why do we want to change faith, culture and lifestyle of the tribals Do we want control of their lands? That we are bringing progress, english education, jobs - but what after that? Are these thoughts naxal vadi or Marx vadi? We have to be wary of this. Sanatan dharma means that whatever you believe is right and what I believe is right - now how to live together - let's figure out. This is the thought. If the thought is right, you

are accepting of other's thoughts - then that is sanatan. In sanatan, Vir means warrior but Mahavir means who has control of mind. So we worship Mahavir. Jain Mahavir is called Vardhamana Mahavir. Hindu Mahavir is called Hanuman. Now-a-days, the Sanatanis, the Hindutvaists, always show Hanuman as a warrior. They never show him as an artist. You know, Hanuman was a poet, he was a musician, he wrote music, he did drama, he was a Sanskrit scholar, but no one says this. They will always say that Ra

van is a Sanskrit scholar, but Hanumanji was also a Sanskrit scholar, he was educated, very educated. But why is Hanumanji always shown as a warrior, as a nomad? Lack of information. The one who does politics is a Poga Pandit, he is illiterate, he takes advantage of your ignorance. So, casteism is in India, we have to accept this. Is this an indispensable part of Sanatan Dharma? Yes, it is an integral part. Varnashrama Dharma is the civilization of India since 2000 years. Before 2000 years ago,

was there Varnashrama Dharma? Don't know. At that time, people were getting married. If we look at the genetic evidence, it seems that 2000 years ago, there was no casteism, anyone married anyone. But 2000 years ago, the caste system became very famous. People said that the concept of Roti-Beti has started to come. The concept of Roti-Beti is associated with casteism. 2000 years ago, there was no concept of Roti-Beti. After 2000 years, the concept of Roti-Beti has come. So we sit, dine and marry

only within community Different communities did different jobs - carpentry, warrior, businessman, writer, etc. These days it is called as division of labor. They say brahmins did one thing, kshatriya did another job. But it's not that simple Because there is a word - untouchable - a horrible word linked to casteism We have to understand untouchability and caste Caste system is roti beti system ... sounds rational, but when we talk untouchability, ugly picture of caste system appears So if som

eone's job is cleaning toilet, they won't be respected So division of labor - what about the child of toilet cleaner ... they will also be forced to clean toilet and because you are cleaning toilets, we won't touch you. We won't let you live inside village ... so a community lives on the outskirts, cannot enter, cannot drink their water - so talk of pure and impure started happening These days it will be said the one who is veg is pure and non-veg person is impure. This talk of pure impure is ug

ly truth of caste system. And it was linked to rebirth ... so when people asked why they were born into a particular family, then the answer was it depended on one's past karma. So there was no choice. These days it's not the case - brahmins are doing business ... how can that be? Brahmins are in top IT firms, they are bureaucrats - but they should be involved in worship, they should be inside temples They had a choice. But the ones working in sanitation system, cleaning toilets - they were cons

idered untouchable. Which is why this system is criticized globally Caste system or untouchability - upper class talk about division of labor and not of untouchability There was a symposium on jaati purana ... that every community has different role, rules. But they never mentioned untouchability. Communities like Mahad in Maharashtra ... words like chamaar, doom in North India are used as insults and not just because there is difference in hierarchy - which is the case everywhere in the world .

.. there is class system But untouchability, purification - this language is only in India That is why left ideology people say that Hindu religion is based on purification - they link sanatan with purification Right wing people will not mention purification, talk division of labor, caste, rebirth, vedanta, etc. but not untouchability, purity, chandaal, These words are controversial. By using these, Christian missionaries attacked Indian thought, and brahmins. 10 to 20% were considered untouchab

le in society and not allowed in villages. Their stories are horrifying. If there were no Jyotirao Phule, Periyar, Ambedkar - we would not have come to know about them, about discrimination and exploitation, how they are looked down upon. Not educating them, in olden times they were given rotten food. So vegetarians gave bad meat and called them impure, demeaned them; to have a good image of their own. This is a part of Indian history we don't talk about. Left wing groups talk about it. Those wh

o promote Christianity and Islam talk about it. In politics, you find weak spot of opponent. This is weak spot of Hindu religion - untouchability. So in politics, we should look at both sides. Every religion has a weak spot. For example, in Islam, they will say that we believe in Hijab. Allah has said. They say this for everything - there is no choice. We have to listen to the call to prayer. This is what God has said. Then you will ask about gay rights. They have gay and lesbian - Do you give

them rights? No, no, no. Allah has said that this is not right. They take the advantage of religion and say that we are allowed to be homophobic. This is Islam's weak spot. Christianity's weak spot is colonialism. The British came to India, and they were all over Asia, Africa, slavery. Who justified slavery? Church justified it. The Church said, go to America and kill all the people there. If they don't convert to Christianity, you can kill them. So this was their weak spot. Christianity has a w

eak spot. Islam has a weak spot. Hinduism has a weak spot. Marxists will never talk about Stalin, Pol Pot - horrible people who were worse than Hitler. Not talk about Mao. So every politician will only talk about good things, not bad things. And his enemies will only talk about bad things, not good things. So if you have a little bit of wisdom, like Hans of Saraswati, you will have knowledge about every point of view, then you will understand that there are good thoughts and bad thoughts in ever

y religion. And which thoughts you can move forward with, that is important. You know, Hindus are in danger. So you will always learn this thing. The Poga Pandit will always say that Hindus are in danger. where there is life, there is danger. Like a tree is in danger of being cut down. All living beings are in danger - not just Hindus. Every thought is in danger. Where there is life, there is danger. Because the one who is living attacks another who is living and thus survives. Every society has

conflict. Everyone is in danger. There is nothing new to this. Hinduism is in danger. In earlier times there were yagna, Buddhism said there is no need, just dhyana. So we started dhyana in Hindu religion. Someone said idol worship can be prosperous. So we built temples and idols. Another new thought was giving up idol worshiping, so it happened. Then someone said, leave god, temple, yagna - only follow the guru. Hindus accepted that. So, Hinduism keeps adapting, Hinduism keeps changing. Becaus

e whenever there is a threat, you adapt - this was Indian style There is no need to be afraid. That we are in danger so we should take the violent route? Those saying words like sanatan and Hindutva love violence. They see Ram with bow and arrow. They see Krishna, not with flute but with Sudarshan chakra, Shiva not with his dance but with Trishul - they see gods as warriors, not as artists. Not as artists. Only as warriors. These people find danger everywhere. I also think that it is political p

arties that are always in danger. My faith is strong. But because of politics - I hope you understand south has social justice politics, as we did an episode. That formula is very strong, so maybe what DMK is trying works there. But using language - comparing to dengue, malaria - of course all systems have problems. All religions have weak spots. How you address that weak spot or improve upon it - that matters. BJP will ensure that they target DMK and I.N.D.I.A alliance on this language. DMK sho

uld also understand that the definition of words is very important in politics especially when you are talking about religious sentiments. I hope that the Deshbhakt family has enough maturity to understand that this is not about religion or Sanatan Dharma. This is a political game. This is a deliberate statement. If there is enough maturity, we will understand that there are some shortcomings. Some things should be improved. But we should also understand that there is no one who is perfect. Espe

cially politicians.