Jan Olof Bengtsson

and the International Sanatana Dharma Society

I still have some problems with this term “Hindu” in cases like this. In Western academia it is probably unavoidable for the foreseeable future. But for representatives of the Vedic (in the broad sense) tradition, and not least those who insist on the centrality of the term sanatana dharma? Despite its long history, its use in some (relatively late) traditional texts and by prominent representatives and proponents of sanatana dharma since then, it seems to me it cannot properly be said to come – as a term in the logical sense of concept + word – from within the Vedic tradition. The word’s etymology makes for misleading connotations even when we try to keep them out of the conceptual definition. Saying “Hindu” and “Hinduism” is like saying “Indian” and “Indianism”. Why can’t he just keep to sanatana dharma? But I will perhaps have to change my mind about this.

Wikipedia: Hindu (see the Etymology section)

Dharmacentral