Sanatan Dharam

The Sanatan Faith

Background

Nasim-e-Da‘wat, having been completed just in time for distribution on the occasion of annual gathering of the Aryah Samaj on February 28, 1903, in Qadian, the Promised Messiah(as) made it a point to see that it reached the target for which it was intended. The annual gathering of the Aryah Samaj ended on March 1, 1903. On the last day, in the last speech by Pandit Ram Bhajadat, President of the Aryah Parti Nadhi Sabha Punjab , Lahore, brought Nasim-e-Da‘wat under discussion. Pandit Bhajadat, making a reference to the Promised Messiah(as)’s regret on the highly revolting teaching of Niyog, said: “If he (Ahmad) had talked to me about the benefits of having Niyog, I would have explained its advantages to him in detail.” This observation came to the Promised Messiah(as) as a complete surprise, specially when it was made by a responsible spokesman of the Aryah Samaj.

The Book

The Promised Messiah(as) then wrote another book as a supplement to Nasim-e-Da‘wat on March 8, 1903. The Promised Messiah(as) fully exposed the vulgar teaching of Niyog and how the Aryah Samaj revelled in it, and then praised the followers of Sanatan Dharam for their courage in rejecting such a vulgar teaching. With the exception of a few drawbacks, the followers of Sanatan Dharam were a thousand times better than the Aryah Samaj. The Promised Messiah(as) specially complimented them for not raising absurd and meaningless objections against Islam. Some of them were humble people and they were not cunning and clever as the Aryah Samaj.

The Promised Messiah(as) further added:

The followers of Sanatan Dharam do not merely love the Gods of the old, but they were also waiting for a reformer, who, on his advent, will purify this land from sin. No wonder, sometimes some of them, after recognizing the Divine signs, may accept the truth, for I see that they were mostly less stubborn and docile.1

Before ending the book, the Promised Messiah(as) again recalled the three basic principles whereby one can judge between a living and a dead religion.

Impact

These books created a great stir among the Aryah Samaj, and an interest among the followers of Sanatan Dharam. After a few months, both the books were translated into English and the copies of the English version were distributed freely.