Analogy between Hinduism (Sanathana Dharma) and OpenSource community (ala Linux)

I believe the best way to explain Sanathana Dharma will be to take an analogy of Opensource and vice versa. This is not just a simple analogy but the whole ideologies behind are the same. This doesn't mean I can compare Proprietary systems with other religions but Opensource Philosophy is very analogous with the Hindu or Indian(or for that matter any natural faith from anywhere in the world e.g, the pagan and pre abrahamic faiths in most parts of the world) religious philosophy and the Sanathana Dharma and Linux community are best examples of this.



Here are some of the common aspects of both which depict the fact that they have common underlying principles.

Hinduism is not a religion(see my other blogs) but an umbrella term used to term all faiths and beliefs from India. this includes all kinds of beliefs, sects, religions, philosophies, etc many times even those opposed to/competing with each other to offer choice and bring out the best options, but there is one common undercurrent to these. i.e., the pluralistic Indian society and accepting that there are many ways for achieving a particular goal and that each has a right to choose his/her path to achieve the goal.

Similarly in the opensource world, it is not a single company or product like microsoft/windows etc. it is an umbrella term used to term all companies/products which are open and free. its includes all kinds of software, services, products, philosophies, sects, groups etc many times opposed to/competing with each other to offer choice and bring out the best options, but there is one common undercurrent to these, i.e, the opensource principles and freedom to do anything with code and accepting that there are many ways for achieving particular goal and that each has a right to choose his/her path to achieve the goal.

In Hinduism no philosophy is considered the only right way only true god or there is no monopoly over ideas, principles etc. its eternal and open. you don't need to be converted but just start following it(though some sects can offer the option to have conversion and membership, again a choice). Ultimately the best philosophies win and its based on law of natural selection. let the best options survive.


Similarly in the open source world no product or method is considered the only rightway or no developer is considered the only greatest(god) developer and is always right etc. its open and subject to review by every one., there is no monopoly of ideas or companies or products. one can just start using/contributing to the products and doesnot need to pay/get membership or accept the only license (although some projects/products may offer membership, paid support, licensing terms etc, again a choice). Ultimately the best products and practices win and its based on law of natural selection. survival of the fittest.



Many aspects/philosophies/practices of Hinduism are subject to continuous change or rather Hinduism itself is continuously evolving and never fixed by the rules of (a set of )book (s) though there are many guiding books some eternal and some written for a particular time. The underlying principles remain the same the implementation keeps evolving and adapting to times. If some aspects have not have changed over time or adopted to change and were forcefully kept alive by an interest group, they die a natural death by rebellion or reform and the interest group looses.

Similarly in opensource world products/processes/projects are are subject to continuous change, no single method or process or a rule book defines the OSS world but there are many guiding books which depict the attitude of the opensource mindset. again similar to Hindu books these can have contradicting views, or complement or derive from one another but the underlying principles remain the same.i.e, open and free systems. the implementation keeps evolving and adapting to times. if some project remains unchanged or have not adopted and were forcefully kept alive by an interest group, they die a natural death by rebellion or reform and the interest group looses.

there are no prophets or a particular god but there have been 100s and 1000s of gurus, rishis, seers, (demi) gods, dieties(devetas like shiva, vishnu, indra, varuna, mithra etc), leaders, reformers and different schools of thought(vedic, vedantha, advaitha, dwaitha, yoga, shunyavada, nyaya visheshika , mimamsa etc), the concept of reality which may or may not represent a theistic god. A Hindu may have allegiance to any one or more of these leaders and/or schools etc but also respects the others and accepts them and does not war with them but may intellectually debate them. some may even accept or reject exclusive religions but most of them are against such concept with restrict freedom of thought.

similarly there are no ultimate leader/CEO/Chief mentor etc but 100s of 1000s of gurus, thought leaders, demigods(like RMS, Linus, ESR, Tanenbaum, Theo de raadt etc), reformers, various schools of thought/licenses (BSD, GNU GPL, apache, mozilla, Xfree, collective commons etc), development model etc and the concept of collective ownership and contribution. An opensource follower may have allegiance to any one or more of these hackers/leaders and/or licenses/schools/development models etc but also respects the others and accepts them and does not war with them but may intellectually debate. they may even accept or reject closed proprietary models though most of them are at intellectual war with closed software models which restrict freedom of code/thought.


these are just some of the good aspects but such open ways of life also have negative aspects which are also common between the two. lack of a formal hirearchy/order, possibility of being misguided due to lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, exploitation by individuals due to these, following some aspects just for ego gratification, creating groups based on ideologies etc are some of these. Splitting of groups unnecessarily due to political reasons and forgetting the underlying goal, reinventing the wheel, repeating efforts, and many many more. I will write more on the negative aspects more later.



I can go on adding many such aspects but will stop here due to lack of time and patience. I will add more if I notice some particular similarities which will be interesting to note.
so we can see that the underlying principles of both the opensource world in virtual world and basic principles of Sanathana Dharma aka the eternal way of life/righteousness aka Hinduism are the same. i.e., openness, freedom, choice, no monopoly, no patenting ideas, no single and only right way, natural selection, the best wins, no forcing ideas, open debates, best logic wins, it worked for me but your mileage may vary, the smarter you are the better it works for you, Do it yourself, if you cant you can seek open support or buy it and so on.

The Nomad

I am just another adventurous traveler with no real destination, exploring the noosphere (search this term, its my fav to explain the world) alone. I do take breaks(recharge time) but keep coming back into this human universe. I intend to explore as much of this world before my rechargeable battery dies out(replacement batteries someone? :P).

I meet a lot of ppl en route who are co-travelers, hosts, guests and locals who keep me company during the journey. some come along and leave when the route changes but I keep going on (hoping to see them enroute again sometime). but the journey never stops to settle for a nomad.

you are welcome to join the journey if we meet en route . I do need company socializing and help on food, acco, routing (gps doesn't work all the time :P) etc and I do know a lot of routes (m a well experienced traveler :>) so may be I can help/route u on ur journey. and if our destinations are the same may be we can trek along and help recharge our batteries for the next journey ahead.

what ever be the destination or even if u believe in destiny, its the journey thats the real destination. keep traveling and share and flaunt the experience and adventure. lets party and celebrate this journey called life when we meet. ;)
I am the nomad.