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Dharma - Indian concept.

                       

             


धर्मः तस्माद्धर्मात् परं नास्त्य् अथो अबलीयान् बलीयाँसमाशँसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवम्
यो वैधर्मः सत्यं वै तत् तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर् धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्तँ सत्यं वदतीत्य् एतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति ।।
Nothing is higher than dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by dharma, as over a king. Truly that dharma is the Truth (
Satya); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.xiv 

In order to thoroughly understand an object or subject, one must understand the essence of it. That essence, or the inner inseparable quality of a thing, is what in Sanskrit is called Dharma. The term dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root verb dhr, meaning 'to uphold or sustain'.

Dharma, according to Van Buitenen, is that which all existing beings must accept and respect to sustain harmony and order in the world. It is neither the act nor the result, but the natural laws that guide the act and create the result to prevent chaos in the world.

Dharma is a concept of central importance in Indian religions and an important concept found in many spiritual philosophies from the Indian subcontinent, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

In the sense of the Buddha's teachings, the Dharma makes up one of the Three Jewels in which practitioners of Buddhism take refuge. The three jewels are:



·         the Buddha (can also be understood as buddhahood, i.e. enlightenment),

·         the Dharma (teachings and methods), and

·         the Sangha (the community of committed practitioners of the buddhadharma).

It reminds us to honor, study, and preserve those sacred spiritual teachings that help to inspire deep insight. Dharma most frequently refers to the Buddha’s teachings on liberation.

In Jainism, non-harming is considered the true religion because all life contains a soul.  Therefore, the “path of dharma” includes precepts that align with the highest ethos of causing no harm to any living thing, large or small. It encourages us to reflect on non-violence as a necessary condition for the true spiritual path. Lord Mahavira said you should not say or do anything to others that you would not like to have done to you. Everybody in this world wants to be happy. No one likes to be hurt.

“In Sikhism, dharma means the “path of righteousness,” including a fundamental belief in the equality of all people and the duty to share and offer service to others. Sikh scriptures seek to answer the question, “What is the righteous path?” Given that for Sikhism the essential goal of human life is union with God, the path of the Sikhs is one that includes ethical observances and spiritual practices that direct one to this final release into the divine.”

In Hinduism dharma means 'duty', 'virtue', 'morality', even 'religion' ‘righteousness’ and it refers to the power which upholds the universe and society. Hindus generally believe that ‘dharma’ was revealed in the Vedas and has the power that maintains society, it makes the sunshine, cows to give milk and makes us moral people or rather give humans the opportunity to act virtuously.

The meaning of the word dharma depends on the context, and its meaning has evolved as ideas of Hinduism have developed through history. In certain contexts, dharma designates human behaviours and actions necessary to all life in nature, society, family, and at the individual level.

It is a key concept in Hinduism and refers to the four proper goals or aims of a human life but which are neither independent nor exclusionary,  according to Hinduism :

1)     Dharma - enables the individual to satisfy the striving for stability and order, a life that is lawful and harmonious, the striving to do the right thing, be good, be helpful to others,  and society.

2)   Artha – the striving for means of life such as food, shelter, power, security, material wealth,etc.

3)     Kama – the striving for sex, desire, pleasure, love, emotional fulfillment, and 

4)  Moksha  the striving for spiritual meaning, liberation from the life-rebirth cycle, self-realization in this life, and so forth.

Dharma has to be focussed on self by man rather than bringing this to others, through kind words, through affection and support and benefit for others. It provides guidelines in all social actions. It is not a creed or religion but a mode of life or a code of conduct that influences the activities of a man as an individual or a member of society and is intended to help him reach the ultimate goal of human existence. “Therefore, Dharma implies those rules according to which a man must behave as a member of society.”–R V Kane.

Mahatma Gandhi felt that Dharma should be understood in more spiritual terms. He interpreted Dharma as a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion.

One might then ask what is the dharma of a living entity. Or what is the meaning of the soul’s existence? What is it that makes a living entity, and what is it that cannot be separated from it? The answer the Vedas give us is service. Service or to serve is the inherent quality that cannot be taken away from the soul.

We can break Dharma into three parts:

1.      Duty

2.      Righteousness

3.      Universal Truth

 Dharma is a difficult term to translate into English, but can roughly be translated as the rightful duty of a person and the purpose for which he was born, for example, a person's dharma is to be a doctor, warrior, priest, parent, etc. Dharma is universal but it is not the same for everyone, different people have different obligations and duties according to their age, gender and social position.

In Hinduism, it is the dharma of the bee to make honey, of the cow to give milk, of the sun to radiate sunshine, of the river to flow. In terms of humanity, dharma is the need for the effect of and essence of service and interconnectedness of all life.

Dharma is the duty that arises from your birth, profession, gender, or caste affiliation. A person’s dharma may be different at different stages of life. What is dharma for a child may not be dharma for adults, or what is dharma for a man may be different for a woman. For example, the dharma of a student is to study, the father has to take care of the family financially and emotionally; the mother has to perform her Dharma as one who has to look after the needs of her children, husband, and elders. Each person has his own his or her Dharma, this is known as SVADHARMA.

This SVADHARMA is very well illustrated in the holy book ‘ Bhagwad Gita’ where before the great battle of Mahabharata. Arjun, the Pandava prince, is depressed and refuses to fight against his relatives, cousins, and gurus (teachers). He asks Krishna, his charioteer, mentor, and guide;

Arjun: “Hey Madhav (another name for Krishna), why should I fight the battle? All those standing opposite to me are my relatives and gurus. Is killing one’s relatives and teachers not wrong?”

Lord Krishna replies: “Dear Parth (another name of Arjun), this particular battle is your Dharma  (righteousness) and you must fight it as your duty( Dharma) as a warrior. Your SVA DHARMA is to fight the battle because you are a warrior, but you must fight with detachment from the results of your actions and within the rules of warrior dharma. Parth, not to act according to one’s dharma is wrong and called ADHARMA.” Adharma or unlawful actions means actions that are performed with selfish intent to enjoy the fruit of such action. 

It is said that while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as ‘Sanatana Dharma’ which is overall abiding principles of dharma and which are not changeable. Sanatana Dharma in Hinduism is a term used to denote the “eternal” or absolute set of duties or religiously ordained practices incumbent upon all Hindus, regardless of class, caste, or sect. Such duties are enshrined in the religion in the form of the Vedas. Hinduism, which is derived from the Vedas, is known as Sanatana Dharma or Eternal Duty.” It is said to be the eternal truth and defines that all souls whether humans, birds, or animals are equal and the same, but they are born to different yonis (forms) because of their past Karmas in the last several births.

At the individual level, some texts of Hinduism outline four ashrams or stages of life as individual's dharma. These are:

 (1) Brahmcharya Ashram: the life of preparation as a student. A boy enters this ashram for education at his teacher’s place(Gurukul). He is taught to balance his development and personality with strict disciplined life. In this way, the life of a Brahmachari is a life of discipline. This ashram is completed by the time a man completes 25 years of age.

(2) Gṛahastha Ashram: This ashram comes after student life is completed. Here he gets married and is called a Grahsthi or the life of the householder with family and other social obligations. Apart from this, he is supposed to offer food to animals, birds, insects, saints and persons belonging to the lower rungs. People belonging to the other 3 ashrams depend upon the Grahasthi. The age at which the person enters the Grahstha Ashram is about 25 years.

(3) Vanaprastha Ashram : Here a person has to leave his family and home too. He is expected to handover all his household responsibilities to his grown-up children and goes to the forest, He must do penance to purify his body and soul and devote himself to meditation. The entry age in this ashram is around 50 years. It is said that if a person dies during Vanprastha ashram, he will attain Moksha.

Although he has to live in a forest and control his senses of enjoyment, his wife is allowed to live with him for the sake of humanity. His obligation of a householder comes to an end.

(4) Sanyasa Ashram: In this last ashram of life, the person enters at 75 years. He breaks all attachments with the world by giving away all property and the world takes on a saffron robe and in some sects go naked with a bowl and stick and devote their entire time on meditation to reorganize the subtle nature of the supreme soul to seek Moksha.

The four stages of life complete the four human strivings in life, according to Hinduism.

So friends we can say the actions of an individual may alter the course of the society, for better or worse . The following words echo this “ धर्मो धारयति प्रजा: meaning dharma is that which holds and provides support to the social construct.”

However, Dharma is universal and eternal. Dharma is not Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, etc. These are all different religions or sects. Although Dharma as a subject is very vast, I have tried to put together a few points for the benefit of my dear readers.

Personal research and With Inputs & Pics from Google

With no disrespect towards any religion

Pls follow me on envigtraveldairy

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