Dr. Frank Gaetano Morales aka Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya ( ? ) He earned a Ph.D in Languages and Cultures of Asia from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He specializes in Sanskrit, Hindu Studies, Philosophy of Religion and History of Religion. At the young age of 14, Dr. Morales visited a Hindu temple for the first time. So awed was he with the majestic beauty and spiritual power that he encountered in this temple that, on the spot, he decided to devote his life to the path of Yoga. After living the life of a celibate Yoga monk for six years, Dr. Morales was ordained as a brahmana (a spiritual teacher) in 1986. His Sanskrit name is Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya. He is a follower of the ancient Vishishta-Advaita philosophy of Ramanuja. His first book Experiencing Truth: The Vedic Way of Knowing God is scheduled to be published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
He has observed:
"The Sanskrit word "Sanatana" denotes that which always is, that which has neither beginning nor end, that which is eternal. Sanatana Dharma can cautiously be translated as The Eternal Natural Way". Hinduism is a way of life and world-view that is trans-geographical: traces of Sanatana Dharma are to be found in many of the ancient cultures of the world. No one actually knows when Sanatana Dharma was first started. Both practitioners of Hinduism, as well as all academic scholars of Hinduism, agree that there was no one specific time in known history when the religion was founded. Additionally, there was no one individual - a prophet, saint or priest - who can be claimed as the founder of the religion. It is an eternal spiritual culture that is as old as the Earth herself. Moreover, it is the sustainer of the Earth. This is indicated by the meanings of the two words that constitute the very name of this culture: sanatana means “eternal” and dharma means “natural law."
(source: Dharma Central - http://www.dharmacentral.com/faq.htm).
Lord Ganesha: God of Wisdom
Hinduism is an eternal spiritual culture that is as old as the Earth herself. Moreover, it is the sustainer of the Earth.
This is indicated by the meanings of the two words that constitute the very name of this culture: Sanatana means “eternal” and Dharma means “natural law."
For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor
***
"The related terms "myth", "mythology", "mythological", etc., have had an interesting history and a very pointed polemic use. That the terms are rife with very negative connotations is doubted by very few. The way the terms are used today both within academia, as well as by the general public, is to denote something which is untrue, false, "primitive" (i.e., not European), a lie. Polemically speaking, one culture's "myth" is another culture's sacred history...and visa versa. The academic field of the study of "mythological" literature was started by 18th century European Classicists who took their misconceptions about their own Greco-Roman pre-Christian religious and cultural heritage and attempted to apply them to all contemporary non-Christian cultures - including that of Bharat. There is the wonderful saying that we have all heard, that "history" is written by the victors. Consequently, the stories of Noah's Ark, Abraham, Moses, the Judges, David, etc. are unquestioningly accepted by most European historians - and sadly by many Hindu historians! - as being incontrovertible and established fact. What these Western scholars and their Westernized Indian counterparts called the "mythical" Sarasvati River, for example, was discovered to be a concrete geological fact in our century by satellite photography; Krishna's "mythical" city of Dvaraka was, likewise, discovered off the coast of Gujarat about two decades ago. Despite these facts, the Puranas, Itihasas and traditional histories of Bharat, unlike the Biblical "myths", are relegated by modern Western scholars to the misty realm of "myth". Bluntly: primitive fables. If you've guessed that what has brought this situation about has been nothing less than European racism and intellectual colonialism, coupled with a strong element of Hindu inferiority complex, you've guessed right! The terms "myth", "mythology", "mythological", etc., have been used as a powerful weapon by anti-Hindu bigots for decades as a way of delegitimizing Hindu beliefs and the Hindu way of life. Such terms should be absolutely anathema to every sincere and self-respecting Hindu when speaking about the sacred stories of Sanatana Dharma. Our stories are not "myths". If we truly respect our religion, our culture, our selves, we must never use these terms again. Rather, we should do what many other formally oppressed non-Christian cultures have recently done (such as many Native American tribes), and call these "Sacred Stories".
(source: Word as Weapon - By Frank Morales - Hindu Renaissance magazine).
Also refer to Does Hinduism Teach That All Religions Are The Same? A Philosophical Critique of Radical Universalism - By Dr. Frank Gaetano Morales.
Refer to A Map of Sacred Stories of the Ancient World - Contributed to this site by Dom Sturiale of Sydney, Australia.
He has observed:
"The Sanskrit word "Sanatana" denotes that which always is, that which has neither beginning nor end, that which is eternal. Sanatana Dharma can cautiously be translated as The Eternal Natural Way". Hinduism is a way of life and world-view that is trans-geographical: traces of Sanatana Dharma are to be found in many of the ancient cultures of the world. No one actually knows when Sanatana Dharma was first started. Both practitioners of Hinduism, as well as all academic scholars of Hinduism, agree that there was no one specific time in known history when the religion was founded. Additionally, there was no one individual - a prophet, saint or priest - who can be claimed as the founder of the religion. It is an eternal spiritual culture that is as old as the Earth herself. Moreover, it is the sustainer of the Earth. This is indicated by the meanings of the two words that constitute the very name of this culture: sanatana means “eternal” and dharma means “natural law."
(source: Dharma Central - http://www.dharmacentral.com/faq.htm).
Lord Ganesha: God of Wisdom
Hinduism is an eternal spiritual culture that is as old as the Earth herself. Moreover, it is the sustainer of the Earth.
This is indicated by the meanings of the two words that constitute the very name of this culture: Sanatana means “eternal” and Dharma means “natural law."
For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor
***
"The related terms "myth", "mythology", "mythological", etc., have had an interesting history and a very pointed polemic use. That the terms are rife with very negative connotations is doubted by very few. The way the terms are used today both within academia, as well as by the general public, is to denote something which is untrue, false, "primitive" (i.e., not European), a lie. Polemically speaking, one culture's "myth" is another culture's sacred history...and visa versa. The academic field of the study of "mythological" literature was started by 18th century European Classicists who took their misconceptions about their own Greco-Roman pre-Christian religious and cultural heritage and attempted to apply them to all contemporary non-Christian cultures - including that of Bharat. There is the wonderful saying that we have all heard, that "history" is written by the victors. Consequently, the stories of Noah's Ark, Abraham, Moses, the Judges, David, etc. are unquestioningly accepted by most European historians - and sadly by many Hindu historians! - as being incontrovertible and established fact. What these Western scholars and their Westernized Indian counterparts called the "mythical" Sarasvati River, for example, was discovered to be a concrete geological fact in our century by satellite photography; Krishna's "mythical" city of Dvaraka was, likewise, discovered off the coast of Gujarat about two decades ago. Despite these facts, the Puranas, Itihasas and traditional histories of Bharat, unlike the Biblical "myths", are relegated by modern Western scholars to the misty realm of "myth". Bluntly: primitive fables. If you've guessed that what has brought this situation about has been nothing less than European racism and intellectual colonialism, coupled with a strong element of Hindu inferiority complex, you've guessed right! The terms "myth", "mythology", "mythological", etc., have been used as a powerful weapon by anti-Hindu bigots for decades as a way of delegitimizing Hindu beliefs and the Hindu way of life. Such terms should be absolutely anathema to every sincere and self-respecting Hindu when speaking about the sacred stories of Sanatana Dharma. Our stories are not "myths". If we truly respect our religion, our culture, our selves, we must never use these terms again. Rather, we should do what many other formally oppressed non-Christian cultures have recently done (such as many Native American tribes), and call these "Sacred Stories".
(source: Word as Weapon - By Frank Morales - Hindu Renaissance magazine).
Also refer to Does Hinduism Teach That All Religions Are The Same? A Philosophical Critique of Radical Universalism - By Dr. Frank Gaetano Morales.
Refer to A Map of Sacred Stories of the Ancient World - Contributed to this site by Dom Sturiale of Sydney, Australia.