Grateful to you, dear Bhaarat ! : 2. Why the name “Bhaarat”?

 

[1]

The word “Bhaarath” combines powerful and sweet acoustical vibrations.

Like a fetus in a mother’s womb that is intrinsically and innately connected with its mother, I’m connected to divinity in whose womb I live. When I say “Bhaarath”, realizing its meaning, I’m reminded of this divine connection and get inspired to live in it.

1. Bhaarath means “Attracted by and attached to the effulgence within me , and outside of me”. Bha – Effulgence.  Rath – attract
2. Bhaarath means “Loving the effulgence within me and outside of me, totally and exclusively.”  Bha – Effulgence. Rath – love totally and exclusively.
3. Bhaarath means “Living in tune and in rhythm with divinity.” Bha – Bhaava, Experience. Ra – Raaga, Tune. Ta – Taala, Rhythm. There is an inherent music and dance to everything in life and in nature. If I observe closely, there is a rhythm to my heart beat, to the functioning of all my internal physical organs, to the circulation of blood in my body, to the firing of neurons in my brain etc etc. My physical body itself functions in tune to the rhythm of time. I appear and disappear. All things in nature do the same. There is audible music in my breathing, in my heart beat and in the loving words I utter. This is in tune with the audible sound I hear when I cup my ears. Etc etc. Signs of this divine music and rhythm abound when I carefully observe around me and within me. Bhaarath means living in consonance with the divine music and rhythm of nature and experiencing it.
4. Bhaarath. Some say the name  Bhaarath was coined after a king named Bharatha in the Ikshvaaku dynasty. But the name must have existed before the king for him to be named such!  The king was named after the nation of Bharateeyas, who were God-loving and lived peacefully in consonance with nature and divinity.
5. Bhaarath does not denote a piece of geography as in the boundaries of a country, even though we tend to associate Bhaarath with current India.  Land mass of current India is only part of what the name Bhaarath denotes. Bhaarath was a nation, not a country. It was a conglomeration of different kingdoms, some small, some large, but all bound by a common culture, the culture of experiencing divinity in all aspects of life. In terms of geographical boundaries, Bhaarath was much larger than today’s India.

Additional notes:

Words matter.

“Words can confer strength; they can drain it off. Words can gain friends; they can turn them into enemies. Words can elevate or lower the individual” – Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The word “Bhaarath” is pregnant with tremendous purifying power and reinforces goodness.  The word “India” coined by the Westerners is utterly meaningless. This name is potentially destructive to the psyche of its citizens because it decouples them from their heritage. It’ll benefit the 1.3 crores of people of India and also the rest of the world if the name of the country is changed back to Bhaarath, in sync with its cultural heritage. This change itself will promote unity among its citizens cutting across political, religious, linguistic and demographic differences

The term Hindustaan was historically coined to denote the land bounded by the Himalayas and Indu Saagar (Indian ocean) (Hi + Indu = Hindu). People living in this area, the Bharateeyas practised a discipline of “not harming” others. “Hindu” also means “Him – hurt; du – far away from” (ie not hurting). Bharateeyas were “Hindus”, “harmless people”.

The term “Hinduism”, coined and perpetuated by the West is stuck with us till today to denote a religion.  Truly speaking, the term “Hindusim” is not a religion at all, even though we think it is. This phrase robs the Bharateeyas of their rich cultural heritage of Bharateeya Samskaaram, diluting it slowly and steadily through successive generations.

In the English language  “ism” implies a limitation that seeds doubt to the voracity of the subject matter that precedes the “ism”  (eg: Liberalism, Conservatism. Capitalism, Socialism, Hinduism etc). Bhrateeya samskaaram , living in consonance with divine connection in every aspect of life, has no limits. “Hinduism”, a term coined by the West, does not do full justice to the meaning of “Bharateeya samskaaram” . The phrase, “Sanatana Dharma” captures more aptly the Bharateeya Samskaaram,  the heritage of the Bharateeyas .

My sense is we all will benefit if we start using “Sanatana Dharma” instead of “Hinduism”

Next blog: “How did the universe come about?”

---

[1] –  Image credit;  “Bhaarath”, a book published by Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust (Books and Publications Division)