Index:
1. Preface – TB Added
2. India That is Bharat
3. Who is a “Guru”
4. Sanatan Dharam
5. Teaching Sanatan Dharam (I)
6.Teaching Sanatan Dharam (II)
7. Core Doctrine of Sanatan Dharam
8. Our Scriptures
9. Namaste
10. Significance of Tilak
11. Aum
12. Swastika
13. Shiva “Linga Form”
– Bel Patra
– Rudraksha
14. Lord Ganesha
15. Related Topics:
– Healing Properties of Ganga
– Significance of “108”
– Significance of “1 rupee coin in Shagun envelop”
16. Sanatan Dharam & Science
– Vishnu Avatar & Charles Darwin Theory of Evolution
– Sanatan Dharam & Development
17. Hindu temples
18. Sanatan Dharam & Ancient System of education
19. Common Mantras
India, That is Bharat
According to the Article 1 of the Indian Constitution states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” India’s Constitution recognizes both ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ as the official name of the country.During the adoption of the constitution there was no consensus over the name of the Country, so India was adopted as the name, but it was defined as “Bharat” to link it with our ancient Vedic Culture.
During the G20 meet in Delhi on Sept 9 and 10,2023, the official dinner hosted by President Draupadi Murmu had used the word “Bharat” instead of India in her official invitation. This has created a lot of discussions among the political circles and the general population in India and Indians (or Bhartiya) living abroad.It is the land which lies “North of the ocean and South of the Snowy mountains (Himalayas)” is called Bharat-for their dwells the descendant of Bharat.
Bharata is the lands of “work” where men and women supposedly go to Heaven or obtain “Emancipation”- “Vishnu Purana” chapter 3, 340 BCE. The name of our country has always been Bharat amongst the cognoscente.Word Bharat is found in Vedic scripture – Bhra (भ्र) dhatu- in Sanskrit means “भरती पुष्णाति इति भारतम– “जो सबक़ा भरण पोषण् करता है ै” One who provide sustenance to community. The Bharat name originates from the Sanskrit wors” Bharata” which means Agni or fire.
Another meaning is Aditya (sun), Bharat is also another name of Arjuna and Manu. Rishapdev son was also called “Bharat”. It was even the name of the whole community in our Vedic scripture. In Rigveda the son of Dushyant and Shakuntala was called Bharat. King Dashrath’s son was also Bharat. (In Ramayana). Bharata is presented as a symbol of our Dharma. He is regarded as an incarnation of Sudarshan Chakra, the divine discus of Vishnu- this is another name of Lord Krishna – one of the avatars of Vishnu. Kauravas/ Pandavas is also called “Bharat Vanshi”. Origin of the word India:
The name “India” is originally derived from the name of the river Sindhu (Indus River) and because of the pronunciation differences Persian people called it Hindus for the province at the lower Indus basin. The Greek explorer who came upon the Indus River for the Persian emperor probably took over the Persian name and passed it into Greek and they called it Indos Ἰνδός for the Indus River. The loss of the aspirate/h/ was probably due to the dialects of Greek language. The French called it by “Ynde” or Inde or “Indie”. The name “India” then came back to English usage from the 17th century onward and may be due to the influence of Latin. Since this reminds people of colonial rule and many injustices done to us, many people would love it to be called Bharat instead of India.
Many states in Bharat have changed their names – Bombay to Mumbai, Orissa to Odisha, Bangalore to Bengaluru and many countries – like Ceylon to Sri Lanka, Burma to Myanmar to say a few. The name of our country has always been Bharat. How does it affect our present or future if we call it “Bharat”. Will it change our progress in any way? We can distort our history but cannot distort our Civilization. Nations have weakened not because of their past but rather how they are taught, for the last 70 years, we have been taught to glorify our past injustices and forget our venerable history. The injustices have been deliberately made visible and celebrate the humiliation.
Those who love the sound of our heritage when we enunciate “Bharat” should be proud of it and the detractors may call it what they please …the choice is quite evident!!
— Dr. Suresh Khanna
(For more such articles, please click on left side article links.)