धर्मः तस्माद्धर्मात् परं नास्त्य् अथो अबलीयान् बलीयाँसमाशँसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवम् । यो वै स धर्मः 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