Sprawled across a four-acre campus between two iconic temples in Ponda in South Goa, the Sanatan Sanstha ashram has been in the dock over the controversial murders of rationalists and in the spotlight for bomb attacks in Maharashtra and Pune. But its national spokesperson, Chetan Rajhans, tells Outlook Editor Chinki Sinha that the Sanstha has emerged as the new whipping boy for its detractors because it’s still a small organisation and their original target, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is a much more powerful entity now with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm of the country. Edited excerpts...
Why did Sanatan Sanstha set up base in Goa?
Known as a tourist destination, Goa has become a land of enjoyment; known for fish, alcohol, beaches and casinos. Owing to churches built during the Portuguese era, Christianity is also rooted here. So, ‘Why build an ashram here, in Goa’, is a question we are often asked. This question is natural considering that there is a tradition of building ashrams mostly in pilgrimage-oriented places like Kashi, Haridwar, etc.
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In 1987, Dr Jayant Athavale, founder of Sanatan Sanstha, was blessed with the vision of his Guru, Sant Bhaktaraj Maharaj, who prophesied that Sanatan would have many seekers in Goa, and that an ashram would be built in Goa from where spiritual science would be propagated across the world. His words have come true!
What can you experience at the ashram?
Personal guidance to seekers who are following various paths of spirituality, such as the path of devotion (bhakti yoga), the path of knowledge (jnana yoga), the path of meditation (dhyana yoga) and the path of arts (kala yoga) are the focal points of Sanatan’s activities. Therefore, seekers of all age groups and followers of all sects are provided guidance. Seekers belonging to different sects and religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Zoroastrianism etc., stay in the ashram and devote their time and energy to spiritual practice. The ashram is a miniature ‘Hindu Rashtra’ where there is no discrimination towards any religion or sect, but where seekers are guided on the path of spiritual progress.
We publish books on various subjects like dharma, spirituality, spiritual practice, sanskruti palan (adhering to tenets of our culture), bal sanskar (for the overall personality development of children), swabhasha rakshan (protection of Indic languages), rashtra rakshan (protection of nation), ayurveda, etc. More than 350 books in 17 languages have been published so far.
There are two studios with state of-the-art equipment and ten sections dedicated to video-editing. Presentations on different topics such as dharmashikshan (education on dharma), dharmajagruti (awakening dharma in people), importance of various places of pilgrimage, information on known and unknown saints (sant parichay) etc., are produced here.
We have an arts section where spiritual practice is performed with the perspective that every form of art is meant to be a path to God-realisation. By studying the science of idol-making (murti-vijnan) from dharmashastra (scriptures), sattvik (spiritually pure) images of deities and idols of Shri Ganesh are being prepared.
Spiritual research using scientific equipment is an important task being undertaken in the ashram. Spiritual research is conducted on various aspects of Hindu culture, such as Hindu achaar (e.g. diet, hairstyle, dressing style, etc.), religious acts (dharmik kruti), yajna-yaag, religious symbols, classical music etc., using equipment like universal aura scanner, electrosomatographic scanning, polycontrast interference photography etc. Besides, the ashram also houses a ved-pathashala, yajnashala, temples, and a unique spiritual museum. Shankaracharyas and peethadheeshwars consider the Sanatan ashram as their own and stay here on their way to South India.
Attempts to defame Sanatan Sanstha.
Sanatan has been repeatedly targeted by so-called rationalists and anti-Hindutva factions for two reasons. One, the increasingly positive response from the society to Sanatan’s contribution to the field of spirituality, and two, the nationwide Hindu unification being achieved based on the idea of Hindu Rashtra. Sanatan’s detractors follow the adage ‘give the dog a bad name and hang him’ and leave no stone unturned to besmirch our name.
Allegations of terrorist activities.
The media tried to put Sanatan Sanstha in the dock in the bomb blasts which occurred in 2008 at Thane, Vashi, and Panvel. In these cases, Sanatan Sanstha was neither an accused nor was it found guilty. Even in the 2009 Margao (Goa) blast case, attempts were made to blame Sanatan Sanstha; six seekers from Sanatan were arrested. Our innocence was proved after a lengthy legal ordeal. But despite the acquittal of Sanatan’s seekers, the Sanstha is still referred to as the ‘organisation involved in the Margao bomb blast’.
The media frequently rakes up the murder cases of four rationalists—Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh—and Sanatan’s detractors have a field day in such discussions. To be fair, we learned the names of Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh for the first time after they were killed. Dr. Dabholkar and Pansare had opposed Sanatan’s activities, while Sanatan had opposed the anti-superstitions Bill prepared by them. It was an opposition at the ideological level; but there were concerted efforts to portray Sanatan as the guilty party.
Continued discussions on the killings of Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh, while brushing the murders of Hindu activists by jihadi organisations under the carpet, reek of a conspiracy. Earlier, the RSS used to be the whipping boy, no matter what the incident was. The pseudo-secularists also used to claim that ‘saffron terror’ was born in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the chief minister. Now that the BJP is in power, the same people are targeting the comparatively small Sanatan Sanstha that has no political backing.
Sanatan Sanstha has also been accused of hypnotising youth, attracting them and turning them into human bombs!
Our founder, Dr. Athavale, is a researcher of world renown in clinical hypnotherapy. He was engaged in research from 1971 to 1978 in the United Kingdom. He was the first to discover stress-induced eosinophilia. He conducted research on mental health and discovered that autohypnosis can be used to improve mental health. He is credited as the inventor of a disposable ear speculum.
On returning to India in 1978, he started practising as a hypnotherapist and is known as the first Indian expert in hypnotherapy. Later, he realised that some patients who could not be cured by hypnotherapy were cured after they visited some pilgrim sites or saints. Curious, he met around 25 saints between 1983 and 1987, coming to the realisation that spirituality is indeed a superior science. The biggest misconception about hypnotism is that it can be used to gain complete control over a person and make them completely obedient.
Sanatan’s activities have been expanding despite the false accusations. We have published 90 lakh books on spirituality, conducted hundreds of satsangs, provided spiritual guidance to several Hindu organisations and run ashrams where thousands of middle-class families and college students reside. We count highly qualified people, businessmen, professors, doctors, advocates as well as blue collar workers among the seekers.
We promote the concept of Hindu Rashtra and we have devoted ourselves to the noble task of Hindu dharma; therefore, we are always on the hit-list of jihadi terrorists.
In the face of such strong hostilities, the Sanstha’s activities have grown by leaps and bounds. The sole reason being our unwavering faith in the national motto, satyameva jayate (Truth alone triumphs)!
