Universal Hinduism: Sanatana Dharma: A New Awakening by David Frawley

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, going back to the dawn of history in the ancient Vedas, and the third largest religion after Christianity and Islam with over a billion followers. It is the largest of non-Abrahamic religions and the basis of India’s dharmic traditions that teach karma and rebirth. Hinduism has given the world Yoga and Vedanta, showing the depth of its spiritual practices and insights into the nature of consciousness that we can explore within ourselves.

Yet Hinduism remains the most misunderstood of the world’s major religions as it follows a very different view of humanity and the divine. It recognizes life and consciousness as pervading the entire universe, which has many worlds, beings, and levels of awareness from our material Earth to pure Being itself.

There is a mistaken tendency to reduce Hinduism to an India- based religion—one has to be born into—not having any universal view. Hinduism has from its origins been based upon an inherent universal view that embraces all existence and is said to take on different forms in every world system and in every world age (yuga). This is explained in its many profound philosophies and paths of devotion and meditation taught by its numerous great gurus and yogis.

Today, as we move into a broader cosmic vision at a scientific level, we should recognize the cosmic vision of consciousness at the root of Hinduism, which teaches us the laws of the self-aware universe and shows us how to realize the entire universe within us, honoring all the divine forces of the self-aware universe. Universal Hinduism is a tool for discovering the universe within yourself according to its yogic vision. Through it you can reclaim your immortal self-nature beyond all ignorance and sorrow and understand the many benefits of Hinduism for all humanity from the dawn of history to the dawning planetary future.

About the Author: David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is a Vedic teacher and Hindu acharya. He is the author of more than fifty books published in over twenty languages worldwide. His fields of expertise include Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedanta, Vedic astrology and ancient Vedic texts. He has also written on historical, social and cultural issues facing Hinduism and India today. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of the government of India, in 2015. He has two doctorate degrees in literature from Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore, and Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Uttar Pradesh. He is a recipient of the National Eminence Award from the South Indian Educational Society, Mumbai. Vamadeva, as he is commonly known, carries on the teachings of Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, the chief disciple of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. He is a disciple of Sadguru Sivananda Murty of Andhra Pradesh. He has been associated with many Hindu organizations, including Swaminarayan BAPS, Chinmaya Mission, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Sri Ramanashram and the magazine Hinduism Today. He is the director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies.

ISBN: 9788196737559
Publisher: Occam
Published: 2024
Pages : 250 
Binding: Paperback