There has never been a century in which Vedic or Hindu Dharma in some form did not exist. Its roots go back to the very origins of civilization as we know it over five thousand years ago. Hindu Dharma traditionally defines itself as Sanatana Dharma or Eternal and Universal Truth, not as a religious dogma but as an aspiration to higher consciousness and a seeking to integrate it into all aspects of human life. Hinduism has endured throughout the millennia and watched other religions come and go along with various cultures and civilizations, starting with ancient Egypt and Sumeria many millennia ago. Hindu Dharma has survived and enriched itself through many clashes of culture and stands poised to do so again today.

What is the secret of this ability of Hindu Dharma to survive? Hindu Dharma not only defines itself as an eternal tradition but as a perpetual or ever developing one. The very term Sanatana means not only eternal but that which is always being renewed. Dharma does not means a historically based belief but the eternal and ever present laws behind the universe. Hence Hindu Dharma recreates itself in every generation and in every person who follows it. It is a system as vast, variable and adaptable as life itself. It never stops growing and does not limit itself to its previous forms. It holds the vitality of life itself, which though based on immutable law, uses ever evolving forms. Hindu Dharma therefore can endure any clash of cultures and emerge renewed.

Beyond outer clashes between cultures a greater encounter is developing on an inner level. A spiritual clash of cultures is also occurring, a struggle over the primary values that human beings should follow. It is my contention here that the main clash of culture in the long term, particularly on intellectual and spiritual levels, will occur between India, with its predominantly spiritual ethos, and the commercial, political and religious expansionism represented mainly by the West. Yet this implies a broader concept of the West including not only Europe and America but also the Islamic world as Western.

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