(Pancha shraddha)

Pancha shraddha, translated from Sanskrit as "Five Beliefs," summarizes the catechism or creed in Hinduism in Sanatana Dharma.

We become wayfarers on the Path of Sanatana Dharma when we accept these five principles as our worldview, our system of values.

These five beliefs and principles make it straightforward to check whether you are Sanatana Dharma.

These five beliefs are:

1. Sarva Brahman - Everything is God.

"Everything is Absolute, Brahman, God." It is the central statement of Vedanta philosophy.

God is - all-pervading, all-filling Iternal Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss (sat-chit-ananda), is "All in All," the soul of every being is divine.

Absolute-Brahman is an indescribable, inconceivable reality beyond color, name, form, quality, time, and space. Still, everything permeates the original truth, goodness, and beauty (Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram).

We recognize that This Universal Divinity is pervasive in everything and is in everyone--the sage, the businessman, the peasant, the cat, the dog, the mountain, and the tree.

2. Mandira - Temple

Mandir is a temple, i.e., a belief in temples and divine beings with whom you can establish a spiritual, telepathic connection through temples as holy portals (yantra).

The connection is established through prayers, offerings, veneration, worship, invocation, and worship services (theurgy).

All Hindus believe in the divine cosmic hierarchy that exists in the universe, at the top of which is the Absolute, Brahman, and below that is Trimurti, the three great Gods - the Creator God, at its apex are the Absolute, Brahman, and below that the Trimurti, the three great Gods - the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and the Almighty God - who dissolves the universe; then the kumaris and rishis - the universal sages; below that the god Indra and the other gods in his suite; below that the asuras, then the ancestral spirits (Pitris), still below the humans, the nagas, etc.

Our body is also a temple - it has deities and universes and must be respected and kept clean.

3. Karma, The Law of Cause and Effect.

All people following Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, believe in the law of cause and effect, the transmigration of the soul from one body to another, reincarnation, and that reincarnation occurs according to the law of karma.

To purify one's karma, do only good deeds in body, speech, and mind, and accumulate "white seeds"- merit through practice-sadhana, service-seva, and pilgrimage - is the duty of every believer in Sanatana Dharma.

4. Sansara-moksha. Binding by illusion and Liberation

The world for people is Sansara, the cycle of birth and death. It is a delusional illusion, Maya, a generation of ignorance; one must not become attached to it.

The true purpose of human life is Liberation from illusion in the Absolute.

The wisest of the human race is the one who, having stopped pursuing desires, material things, fame, and prestige, sets out on the Path of Liberation, seeking the Absolute within himself.

5. The Vedas and the Sadguru, the necessity of the scriptures and the preceptor.

When walking on the spiritual Path, it is essential to accept the authority of the Vedas, the scriptures, and the gurus, the spiritual teachers, to learn their wisdom and receive their instructions.

It, however, still needs to replace the importance of personal effort in the spiritual life.

By accepting a spiritual teacher through Diksha, the disciple receives Refuge (Sharanam), connection with the Deities, the chosen Deity (Ishta-Devata), and the Lineage of holy sages, name, mantra, and mala accepts the gates (spiritual principles), and is like being born a second time, spiritually. They are like seeds. Once one receives them, one must respect them, cherish them as a jewel, and never leave them, watering them with the water of faith and diligence. Then these seeds will bear excellent fruit.

The third birth, Enlightenment, takes place within - in contemplation, meditation, and Samadhi, through the blessing of the inner teacher, the Sadguru, the Atman, the awakening of the inner divine light.

Once accepted, remember these ancient principles given by the holy sages, meditate on them, cherish them as a jewel, and follow them.

If you have entered the great Eternal Path of the Divine, the Path of Santhana Dharma -

Satya Sanatana Dharma Ki Jaya!

(Based on Sri Swami Vishnudevananda Giri's Satsang)

The Five Beliefs