Sanātana Dharma is often portrayed as a religion of many gods, elaborate mythology, and devotional traditions. While this picture reflects an important part of the tradition’s later cultural development, it does not represent its philosophical core. At its deepest level, Sanātana Dharma represents a disciplined inquiry into the nature of reality, the self, and existence itself.

The earliest and most authoritative philosophical texts of the tradition — the Upaniṣad — do not present a theology in the conventional sense. Instead, they present a profound metaphysical investigation. The sages who composed these works were not primarily concerned with identifying a creator deity or describing a divine personality who governs the universe. Their questions were more fundamental: What is ultimately real? What is that knowledge by knowing which everything else is known? What is the true nature of the self?

Through this inquiry they arrived at the concept of Brahman — the ultimate, non-dual reality that transcends all names, forms, actions, and personalities.

Over time, however, this subtle philosophical vision came to be overshadowed by the rich narrative traditions of the Purāṇa. These texts are best understood as symbolic mythology rather than literal metaphysics. Purāṇic literature introduced elaborate stories populated by gods, demons, incarnations, heavens, hells, and cosmic conflicts. Although they served important social, ethical, and devotional purposes, these narratives gradually came to be treated as literal descriptions of reality rather than symbolic expressions. Consequently, Sanātana Dharma is frequently misrepresented — both by outsiders and by many within the tradition itself — as a polytheistic religion.

The Upaniṣadic understanding of divinity as Brahman differs fundamentally from the popular idea of ‘God.’  The philosophical foundation of Sanātana Dharma lies in the realisation of non-dual reality rather than in belief in a divine being.

Brahman: The Ultimate Reality

The ground of existence from which everything appears to arise is called Brahman, meaning the infinite expansion. It is not a being among other beings, but Being itself—the ultimate reality of everything that exists.

In the Upaniṣadic tradition, Brahman is described as:

• Anādi – without beginning
• Ananta – without end
• Sanātana – eternal
• Nirākāra – formless
• Nirguṇa – without attributes
• Nirnimitta – without cause
• Nirmohī – unattached
• Advaita – non-dual

This understanding is fundamentally ontological — concerned with the nature of existence itself — rather than theological.

1. Brahman And Creation

Although the universe arises from Brahman, it is not ‘created’ in the sense of a deliberate act of construction. Brahman does not stand apart from the universe as a designer or maker. Rather, the universe appears or manifests within Brahman, which is the ultimate reality underlying all existence.

A simple way to understand this is through the analogy of the ocean and its waves. Waves arise naturally from the ocean. They are not separate objects manufactured by the ocean, nor does the ocean consciously decide to produce each wave. The waves are simply expressions of the ocean’s nature. In the same way, the universe can be understood as an expression or manifestation of Brahman.

Another analogy sometimes used is that of clay and pots. Many different shapes of pots may be made from clay, yet all of them are nothing but clay in different forms. Similarly, the countless forms and objects in the universe are ultimately expressions of the same underlying reality.

From this perspective, there is no external material from which the universe is made. Everything that exists already exists within Brahman. There is also no single moment of creation separate from time itself. Time, space, and causation all belong to the universe that appears within Brahman.

Because of this, the idea of cause and effect cannot ultimately be applied to Brahman. Cause and effect operate within the world we experience—they help explain how one event leads to another. But Brahman is not just another object within this chain of causes. It is the fundamental reality in which the entire chain of causation appears.

In this sense, Brahman is the infinite reality in which the universe arises, exists, and dissolves, much as waves arise, move, and subside within the ocean.

The universe is therefore not separate from the ultimate reality; it is a manifestation of that reality itself.

2. Why ‘God’ Is a Misleading Translation

The English word ‘God’ often connotes a cosmic architect who designs and constructs the universe. This conception carries several theological assumptions:

• God is a distinct being
• God possesses intention and will
• God creates the universe at a specific moment in time
• God judges and governs moral order
• God exists independently of creation

These assumptions do not apply to Brahman.

For this reason, translating Brahman simply as ‘God’ is not only inaccurate but ontologically misleading. It imposes a theological framework that the philosophical vision of Sanātana Dharma does not share.

An Upaniṣadic statement approaches the idea of Brahman through negation:

Neti Neti – “Not this, not this.”

This method rejects every attempt to objectify Brahman. Anything that can be described, imagined, or conceptualised belongs to the realm of the finite. Since Brahman is infinite, it cannot be captured by any attribute or form. A deity with a body, emotions, desires, or intentions cannot represent the ultimate reality, because all such characteristics imply limitation.

A verse from the Upaniṣad defines Brahman as:

Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma – Brahman is truth, knowledge, infinity.

Even this brief description separates Brahman from the notion of a personal God. Truth is not a person. Knowledge is not an agent. Infinity has no form, boundary, or personality. Brahman is therefore not a creator who exists independently of the universe; it is the very foundation of existence itself.

3. Ātman And Brahman

One of the most radical insights of the Upaniṣad is the declaration that the inner self (Ātman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman) are not separate.

A famous line from the Upaniṣad states:

Tat Tvam Asi  – “That thou art.”

Here ‘That’ refers to Brahman. The statement does not say that the individual belongs to God or was created by God. Instead, it declares that the deepest nature of the individual self is identical with that ultimate reality.

Another line from the Upaniṣad expresses the same insight:

Aham Brahmāsmi  – “I am Brahman.”

When this truth is realised, the apparent separation between worshipper and deity disappears. There is no eternal distinction between creator and creation, master and servant, or God and devotee. What appears as multiplicity is ultimately a manifestation of one non-dual consciousness.

This is not merely mystical language. It follows logically from the nature of Brahman. If Brahman is truly infinite and all-encompassing, nothing can exist outside it — not even an individual soul.

Role Of The Purāṇa

The Purāṇa emerged in a different historical and social environment from the Upaniṣadic texts. Their purpose was largely pedagogical and cultural. Through stories and symbolism they conveyed ethical values, devotional attitudes, and cosmological ideas in forms accessible to the wider population.

1. Purāṇic Deities

Within these narratives, figures such as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva function as personifications of cosmic principles rather than as the ultimate metaphysical reality.

However, the characteristics attributed to these deities clearly situate them within the realm of change:

• They are born and sometimes destroyed
• They grant blessings and pronounce curses
• They display emotions such as anger, attachment, or favouritism
• They participate in conflicts and cosmic dramas

Anything subject to time, emotion, or narrative development cannot represent the timeless absolute described in the Upaniṣad.

This does not make the Purāṇic texts meaningless. Their stories communicate moral insights, cultural memory, and devotional inspiration. They function as mythological expressions of philosophical ideas, rather than as literal metaphysical descriptions.

2. How Mythology Came To Dominate

Several historical developments contributed to the increasing prominence of Purāṇic belief systems:

• the decline of philosophical education within the traditional Gurukula system
• the rise of temple-centred devotional culture
• the influence of bhakti movements emphasising emotional surrender
• colonial and missionary interpretations that labelled Hindu traditions as polytheistic religions

Gradually, philosophical inquiry was replaced by devotional belief, and metaphysical realisation by ritual practice. As a result, Sanātana Dharma came to resemble the religious frameworks it had originally transcended.

3. Bridging Purāṇa And Upaniṣad

The Upaniṣad present the original insights into Brahman, while Vedānta represents the philosophical traditions that reflect upon and systematise those insights.

Classical Vedānta resolves the apparent tension between mythology and metaphysics by recognising different levels of reality:

• Prātibhāsika Satya – illusory reality, such as dreams or hallucinations
• Vyāvahārika Satya – empirical reality, including the world, society, and religious practices
• Paramārthika Satya – absolute reality, where Brahman alone exists

Purāṇic deities belong to the Vyāvahārika level. They are meaningful within lived experience and devotional practice, but they dissolve upon ultimate philosophical inquiry. Only Brahman exists at the Paramārthika level.

Recovering The Upaniṣadic Vision

Reclaiming the philosophical spirit of the Upaniṣad does not require rejecting cultural traditions, devotional practices, or mythology. Rather, it requires restoring their proper place within a broader understanding that:

• Mythology can illuminate philosophy, but should not replace it.
• Deities can guide the mind toward truth, but they should not be mistaken for the ultimate reality they symbolise.

Vedānta places devotion within a broader spiritual process to serve important purposes:

• purification of the mind
• emotional discipline
• ethical refinement
• preparation for deeper inquiry

Yet devotion alone does not lead to the realisation of ultimate reality; it arises through knowledge of one’s true nature.

A verse from the Upaniṣad states:

“By knowing That alone, one becomes free.”

Not through belief, ritual, or mythology, but through knowledge.

The Upaniṣad do not ask us merely to believe in Brahman. They invite us to inquire deeply, to observe the nature of existence itself, and to realise that our true nature has never been separate from the ultimate reality.

Conclusion

At its highest expression, Sanātana Dharma is not centred on belief in God but on the realisation of reality itself. Brahman is not a deity to be appeased or feared, but the very essence of one’s own being.

The gods of mythology—meaningful and culturally powerful as they are—belong to the realm of narrative and devotion. They serve as symbolic expressions within the human search for meaning, not as the final metaphysical truth.

The Upaniṣad invite the seeker to look beyond belief, ritual, and religious forms towards direct insight into the non-dual reality that alone ultimately exists. In that realisation there is no separate God and no separate worshipper; there is only Brahman.

Different traditions within Sanātana Dharma express this reality through different names and symbols. The Śaiva tradition may speak of Śiva as the supreme principle, while the Vaiṣṇava tradition may speak of Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa. These names do not refer to separate ultimate beings, but to different ways of approaching the same non-dual truth described in the Upaniṣad.

In that realisation, the seeker discovers that the reality sought has always been the very ground of one’s own being.

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© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Sujata Khanna’s book, ‘The Eternal Law’, explores Sanātana Philosophy in its elemental form. Available on Amazon worldwide: India, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherland, Poland, Sweden, Japan

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