Many people wonder, What is Sanatana Dharma Foundation? Why does it exist, and what are its goals and so on. This FAQ document is intended to address most of these questions. On reading this if you are left with any further questions, please e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

1. When was Sanatana Dharma Foundation created ?
   

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation was incorporated in Dallas, Texas in March, 2007.

2. What kind of an organization is it ?
   

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation is a non-profit organization.

3. Is it 501c3 certified?
   

   As of September 5, 2008, Sanatana Dharma Foundation’s 501c3 certification application has been approved by the IRS, with backdated effect from the date of its inception which is March 8, 2007. With this 501c3 certification, all contributions made to Sanatana Dharma Foundation are tax-deductible.The IRS Tax id # for Sanatana Dharma foundation is 20-8615051

4. Is it associated with any Guru, Swami or Acharya?
   

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation is not associated with any one Guru, Swami or Acharya or Sampradaya. We can say however, that it is fundamentally inspired by the “Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha” and its resolutions.

5. Why create yet another Hindu organization, when there are so many already?
   

   This is a good question. There are many Hindu organizations, which are exclusively focused on Religious and Spiritual activities; there are also many Hindu organizations inspired by various Gurus, Acharyas and Swamis which are doing both educational, spiritual and charitable works. Apart from these, there are Hindu organizations, which are quasi-political or political in nature.

   We believe that Sanatana Dharma Foundation is different from all of the above. We believe that there is a “Gap” in the current scheme of things, and SDF is designed to address that. Sanatana Dharma Foundation is focused on the “Intellectual” dimension of work pertaining to Hindu Dharma, that will benefit all people who are involved in Hindu Dharmic Leadership in all other organizations.

   Sanatana Dharma foundation will thus promote various forms of intellectual dis-course related to Sanatana Dharma as a whole, spanning all its major Sampradayas; It will also promote the intellectual defense of Sanatana Dharma vis-à-vis other traditions and ideologies of the world.

   Thus explaining Sanatana Dharma, understanding its varieties, comparing it with other traditions, to bring out Sanatana Dharma’s uniqueness, and enabling people who come into contact with the Foundation’s work, to develop a genuine pride in Sanatana Dharma, as well as an authentic interest in learning more and a commitment to preserve our Dharma, and promote it, will be a central “Sankalpa” (commitment) of Sanatana Dharma Foundation.

6. What is this “Gap” that Sanatana Dharma Foundation is addressing ?
   

   We believe that the major gap that exists in the institutions of Sanatana Dharma today are in the realm of Kshatriya Dharma – which essentially involves a ‘defense’ of our Dharma. As a result of this weakness, Hindus often find themselves the victims of stereotypes, their institutions are frequently vilified and attacked, and we find ourselves on the defense most of the time.

   Some prominent examples are Arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya on Diwali day, Plan to destroy Rama Sethu, Murder of Swami Laxmanananda on Janmashtami, Portrayal of Hinduism in California Text Books, Arrest of Swami Prakashananda of Barsana Dham, Expulsion of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir Valley, Destruction of temples in Kashmir, Pakistan and Malaysia, State of Western academia and its portrayal of Hinduism, Ongoing terrorist attacks against Hindus in India and in in many countries and so on.

   A majority of the Hindus do not even know that their Dharma needs to be defended, and that they have a responsibility to do so. Sanatana Dharma Foundation is committed to providing that critical knowledge that will not only allow Hindus to recognize the problems and issues facing their Dharma, but also provide them the basic foundations to participate in the defense of their dharma in a responsible way.

   Most Hindu institutions, such as Temples, Ashrams, Gurukulas, Centers of Learning are dedicated to the promotion of the Dharma in all their positive aspects. While they are very useful in providing places of worship and puja, and to some extent educating Hindus about our Dharma, they do not generally address the dimension of Kshatriya Dharma very well at all.

   Modern Kshatriya Dharma involves shaping public opinion, using the media, using the courts of law, forming alliances and engaging intellectually with the competing forces in the world. Thus Sanatana Dharma Foundation is committed to the concept of an “Intellectual Kshatriya” – modeled after Shri Adi Shankara, who took on the prevailing ideologies and religious ideas of his time, in intellectual debates involving the technique of Purva Paksha.

7. How is Sanatana Dharma Foundation different from other Hindu organizations?
   

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation is not a temple. We don’t expect to ever build a place of worship. But we will work with temples, in various ways.

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation is not a Spiritual organization. As such we are not concerned with promoting any one form of Puja, Yagna, Yoga, Mantra, or Japa or technique or Sampradaya. Our work is however inspired by the spiritual ideals of our Dharma, and will span all Sampradayas, and therefore can engage people from diverse groups within Hindu Dharma.

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation is not a charitable organization in that its primary purpose is not to create Charitable projects, like schools, colleges, hospitals, hostels, Chatralayas, orphanages, homes for the aged etc. But Sanatana Dharma Foundation will support the charitable projects being done by different Hindu Dharmic organizations around the world.

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation is not a political organization. We do not expect to support one political party over another, endorse candidates or support electoral processes in any way. We do hope that we can educate all politicians regardless of their political leanings and bias, and give them a basic understanding of Hindu Dharma, so that they may grow to be sensitive to the concerns of our Dharma.

   Santana Dharma Foundation will create projects and programs that are designed to bring different Hindu groups together, and create common platforms for action, and collaborative initiatives.

   Sanatana Dharma Foundation will also sponsor Inter-Religious dialogues, to bring together leaders from religions as well, in an effort to build bridges of understanding, and create common programs of action.

8. What problem is Sanatana Dharma Foundation trying to solve?
   

   We believe that Hindu Dharma today is under relentless attack, from various external forces. Some of these forces are as follows :

   1. Modernity - Modern education based on an essentially westernized paradigm is creating Hindus who are not grounded in any way in their essential religious tradition. This seriously impairs their understanding of their own Dharma, and renders them easy victims of Anti-Hindu propoganda of various strains before they have had a chance to properly evaluate their own Dharma dispassionately.
   2. Capitalism - The forces of Capitalism based as they are on a survival of the fittest paradigm, reduce most Hindus into competitive individuals, concerned largely about their own individual success and family security. This dis-associates them from a Dharmic outlook which is essential to understand the basic principles of Sanatana Dharma and live a life consistent with the spiritual foundations of the traditions that constitute Sanatana Dharma.
   3. Secularism - A mis-understood need for separation of the State from Religion, which was a European idea, has rendered Hindus unable to bring Dharmic principles into the creative operation of their every day lives, including their collective social and political life. Even in India Hindus are disadvantaged to exist in a competitive framework, where they have become one of the many religions of India, competing for space with other foreign-born religions. Hindu Dharma has been banished from our schools and colleges, and our politics and social institutions in the name of Secularism, while other religions are given excessive space for promotion in the name of being minorities. Adharma in the form of Corruption is on the rise in India.
   4. Christianity - Especially evangelical, aggressive strains of Christianity, are very active in converting the lower income groups, systematically targeting poor and weaker sections of Hindu society in India, while employing illegal and unfair means to incent conversion while at the same time, posing a clear and present threat to those Hindu saints and Gurus who take a public stand against proselytization.
   5. Islam - The demographic explosion of Islam, uncontrolled and supported by upholding of an Islamic Law; the uncontrolled infiltration of Islamists from Bangladesh and other neighboring countries; the relentless export of terrorism into India from states (i.e. Pakistan) bent on India's dis-memberment; the blatant ethnic cleansing and harrassment pursued by Muslims in pockets that have fallen into a Muslim majority ghettos all pose an enormous threat to the native religious ethos of India.
   6. Communism - An ideology that grants to the State excessive powers and denies the individual all freedoms is fundametnal antithetical to the Hindu social organization, which is infinitely flexible and individual-centric. Communism has eroded Hindu Dharma, and alienated millions of Hindus from their mother tradition in such a way that renders them easy targets for conversion into Islam and Christianity.
   7. Marxism - An interpretation of history exclusively based on economic class struggles, and a committed view that religion is the opium of the masses, has mounted the most vicious and relentless attack on both the so called Caste System as well as the Brahmins who have been accused as being the evil perpetrators of the system. This has caused an intellectual erosion amongst the Hindu intelligentsia - to the point that being Hindu is consisdered anti-intellectual.
   8. Atheism - A view of life which has no reverence for the hidden powers of this universe, that does not acknowledge the forces of nature behind birth, death and the cycle of life, and therefore takes a very materialistic, anti-spiritual view of life, is inherenetly inimical to the highly sophisticated Spiritual foundations of Sanatana Dharma.
   
   

   We also believe that there are many internal problems that are facing Hindu Society as well. Some of these are :

   1. Lack of knowledge and interest in learning
   2. Apathy and abdication of responsibility
   3. Lack of Unity (Sampradayas and Varnas (Castes))
   4. Fragmentation of Hindu Society
   5. Lack of organization – We are very dis-organized.
   6. Lack of Leadership and Vision
   7. Lack of committed Volunteers who are self-less
9. What kind of projects and programs does it undertake?
   

   Currently Sanatana Dharma is focused on three major areas of work. They are :

   1. Media
   2. Academia
   3. Charity
   
   

   In the year 2007, Sanatana Dharma Foundation started a Radio program, in Dallas, Texas, which we hope will become a model for many other cities in the USA and elsewhere including India. A good sustainable Radio presence is a major gap in today’s Hindu Dharma.

   In 2007, we also hosted the 5th annual HEC conference in Dallas, where intellectuals and activists numbering around 250, participated for 2 days together in discussing, debating and brainstorming on various important issues and concerns facing Sanatana Dharma.

   So far, members of Sanatana Dharma Foundation also donated over $250,000 to various charitable organizations in both the USA and in India. Some of the beneficiaries of our charitable work were :

10. 1. Aim for Seva
    2. Infinity Foundation
    3. Bharat Heritage Foundation
    4. HEC conference
    5. Hindu Mandir Executive Conference
    6. SDF Radio program
    7. Hindu American Foundation
    8. Ekal Vidyalaya
    9. World Association of Vedic Studies (WAVES)
    10. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam
    11. Various Temples, Ashrams and Mutts
    12. DFW Hindu Temple
    13. Veda Patahslas in India
    14. Hindu Students Association (HSA)
    15. Hindu Scholars and Activists
    
    

    In the near future, Sanatana Dharma Foundation will continue to develop a presence in various Media domains such as Radio, Television and Print. We expect that our programs and materials will gain acceptance in many parts of world over time.

    We will also support various conferences and gatherings of Hindus in a variety of Forums around the world, where Hindu leaders, scholars, thought-leaders, activists as well as Spiritual Masters can gather together and dialogue amongst each other. We will continue to support the HEC conference every year. We are also planning to support the first conference on Indian History, in Delhi, in 2009.

    We will continue to host various gatherings of Hindu intellectuals, Scholars and scientists who can present new information in a compelling way to our fellow Hindu audiences.

    We will develop well done White papers, on various issues and concerns facing Hindu Society and make it available to various Hindu organizations. These White papers will be turned into small booklets and distributed amongst various lay Hindus, during temple gatherings, Seminars, Workshops and other functions.

    We will also develop Educational material, workshops and seminars targeting different age groups, and different levels of competency – youth, adults and scholars which can be delivered to Hindu gatherings in any part of the world.

    We will continue to support projects that are strategic to the future of Hindu Dharma, such as creation of Think Tanks, Academic Scholarships to support students and grants for various research projects that are crucial for strengthening Hindu Dharma.

    One ambitious project that we have discussed in the past is to raise around $25 million or so, with which Sanatana Dharma Foundation, will be able to sponsor and create five University departments in prestigious American Universities, which are focused on Hinduism studies or Vedic studies, which are managed by Hindu scholars, on behalf of the Hindu community.

    We will also support various charitable organizations which are engaged in the field in doing specific service activities, in areas of India which are weak and vulnerable, and susceptible to lose their Hindu identity, and their forms and symbols such as their traditional festivals, temples and gurukulas etc.

    These are just a few possible ideas. Ultimately, what Sanatana Dharma Foundation is, and how it develops is going to be a matter for how well the Hindu community embraces these ideas, and supports them over time.

11. How does it generate funds for its activities?
    

    Today Sanatana Dharma Foundation is entirely dependent on donations for its activities. These donations come from lay Hindus who are inspired by Sanatana Dharma Foundation’s activities and wish to support it.

12. How can I contribute to Sanatana Dharma Foundation?
    

    First of all, we are very open to contribution, from all Hindus who feel strongly about the causes that we are articulating.

13. There are three areas where we need your help the most :
    
    1. Leadership – We need Initiative Leaders who are willing to bring forward their time and energy to support various projects and programs.
    2. Volunteers – We need Volunteers who can work with our Initiative Leaders, and bring various projects and programs to fruition.
    3. Money – We need your money. Nothing worthwhile can be accomplished without financial support, and we invite you to donate generously to Sanatana Dharma Foundation.

14. How do I contribute financially to Sanatana Dharma Foundation?
    

    You can make a payment on the Web site. Go to http://www.sdfglobal.org and make a payment through Paypal.

15. How do I get in touch with Sanatana Dharma Foundation ?
    

    You can E-Mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it