Guest guest Posted March 7, 2004 Report Share Posted March 7, 2004 Namaste to all learned members, - "asridhar19" <asridhar19 > As such, when Swami Vivekananda was questioned about the need for > others to 'convert' to hindusim, he explained that sanatana Dharma is > based on the principles of swadharma ( that because of which a thing > is that thing). It is better to fare poorly following ones swadharma > than do better following another's dharma ( thus it is better for > some one with a warrior temparament to engage in kshatriya dharama > though he be a mediocre fighter than it is for him to say, become a > great Trader or scholar). Proceeding further he would say that > following sanatana dharma means for a hindu to be a good hindu, a > christian to be a good christian, a muslim to be a good muslim and so > on. --- Some notes on Dharma. 'Dharma' is a very complex word. The concept of 'Dharma' is verily the core of our religion. Infact, the right name for our religion is 'SanAthana Dharma' which means 'Eternal Dharma'. The word 'Hinduism' has become a common word in our country now. The real fact is that words like Hinduism, Hindu etc. never appear in any of our ancient scriptures ! So to know our religion, the first step is to know what 'Dharma' means. I will share with you my understanding so far on the subject. I am not saying that I am attempting a fool-proof definition of the term. It is just a small try and my understanding is based on the works I have read so far by Adi SankarAchArya and Swami ChidAnanda Puri. DHARMA 'Dharma' loosely defined will be ' that which we have to wear/follow/practice '. 'Dharma' is not something to be preached. It is something to be followed. It can be defined as the sum total of all the values which we should follow in our lives. The rishi in Taitarreya advises us - "satyam vadA, dharmam charA" (Speak the Truth, Practice Dharma). Now if you want to practice 'Dharma', you should first know what it means. How is it possible to know 'Dharma' ? What is the source of 'Dharma' ? Here, Manu shows us the way, "vEdOkhilO dharma mUlam" (Veda-s are the source of all 'Dharma'). So Veda-s become the final authority of everyone following SanAthana Dharma. If 'Dharma' is just defined as the values to be followed by us, it will lead to too many ambiguities. Thereby comes the need to define the word 'Dharma' in the macroscopic and the microscopic levels. Many achArya-s have given definition for the word 'Dharma'. But the definition which surpasses all of them in terms of lucidity, clarity and profoundness is given by the great SankarAchArya himself. He has given the definition of the word 'Dharma' in his introduction to Gita-BhAshyam. He says, " jagathah sthithikAraNam prANinAm sAkshAt abhyudhaya nisrEyasa hEtu yah sah DHARMO brAhmaNAdhyaih varNibhih Asramibhih cha srEyOrthibhih anushTIyamAnah | " Translated as follows - " 'Dharma' is that which is meant for the stability of the world and also as the direct means to both secular and spiritual welfare of living being. That 'Dharma' which is so, is followed by BrAhmaNa-s and others belonging to the other castes and stages of life, who aspire after the highest. " This definition given by AchArya covers both the macroscopic and microscopic levels of the word. It also covers both the secular and spiritual aspect of 'Dharma'. How can 'Dharma' be understood as ' that which is meant for the stability of the world ' ? This can be understood in two ways. Everything in this world, sentient and insentient, has a swa-dharma. Swa-dharma can be defined as the inherent property of a substance, in the absence of which the substance ceases to be that substance. For example, swa-dharma of fire is to give light and heat; that of water is to flow; that of sugar is sweetness; that of salt is salty. If any of these inherent properties is taken away from the substance, it ceases to be that substance. Will fire ever be cold? Will you ever come across salt which is sweet in taste? So the sum total of all these swa-dharma which is mysteriously balanced so as to keep the world in the state of perfect equilibrium is called 'Dharma' in the macroscopic level. This is one way of understanding the term. There is another way of understanding the macroscopic aspect of 'Dharma'. Every being in this world is after Happiness. Every moment of our life, all our actions are for acquiring happiness, whether we know it or not. Suppose if everyone in this world start doing actions heedless to the world around them, what would become of the world? It would be total chaos.For example, think of a person who is unable to control his virility assaulting a female in broad daylight. It would be a disturbance to the total equilibrium of the system. Or look at the greedy dacoits cutting down the trees and vegetation so as to increase his wealth. It is disturbing the stability of the entire system. So there are some inherent, underlying, dominant values in each one of us which ensures that the stability of the world is taken care of. These values which ensures the stability of the world is called 'Dharma' in the macroscopic level. This is the second way of understanding. Now that the macroscopic aspect has been examined, let us look at the microscopic level. 'Dharma' is that which is the direct means to both secular and spiritual welfare of living being. Many people accuse us saying that our religion talks only of subjective and personal benefits and that the social welfare of the society as a whole is not catered to. They accuse our religion as something which only fuels the ego notion of individuals, a mystic religion parroting words like Atman, Brahman etc. All these are just outright wrong notions propagated by people with dubious intentions. Our 'Dharma' is not just about retiring to the forest or renunciation. It shows us the way to acquire wealth (in the right manner), acquire name and fame (in the right manner) and obviously to attain the highest purushArtha which is Moksha. This is clearly evident in AchArya's words. In order to pin-point this, He uses the word 'abhyudhaya' for secular welfare and 'nisrEyasa' for spiritual welfare. How will 'Dharma' bring about the secular and spiritual welfare of living being? This will naturally happen if the individuals follow the 'Dharma' prescribed for their caste and their stage of life. The caste system (varNa vyavastha) and the stages of life (Asrama vyavastha) as laid down in our religion is very vast. So without going into the details, I will just pen down some quick notes. There are three main guNa-s, viz. satva, rajas and tamas. These three guNa-s are present in every human being in varying degrees. There can be millions of combinations of these 3 guNa-s in varying degrees. However, human nature is broadly categorized into 4 major types based on these guNa-s. They form the 4 castes in our religion. They are brAhmaNa, kshetriya, vaishya and shudra. There are various values to be followed in life by all these castes as laid down in the scriptures. These values are called 'Dharma' for the people falling under that category. For example, the 'Dharma' of a brahmaNa is to study, teach others and to preserve the Vedic culture and religion. If he adheres to these values, he will attain both secular and spiritual benefits. There are also various stages of life prescribed in our religion, viz. brahmAcharyAsrama, grihastAsrama, vAnaprasthAsrama and sanyAsAsrama. The word 'Asrama' has come about by combining the root 'sram' meaning 'Tapas' to the letter 'A' which denotes 'Complete'. So the word 'Asrama' verily means 'Complete Tapas'. These stages of life provides a conducive environment for the people to follow the 'Dharma' as prescribed for their respective caste system. For example, a brAhmaNa in his brahmacharyAsrama studies the scriptures and the vedic culture and religion. After that in the grihastAsrama, he lives the life of a house-holder while engaged in teaching the scriptures and in other actions like 'yagna' prescribed for him. After that in the vAnaprasthAsrama, he hand over the responsibilities to the next generation and lead a life of contemplation and reflection. Finally in the sanyAsArama, he renounces everything and dedicate his life for the Truth. So by following the 'Dharma' in one's own caste and asrama , one will attain secular and spiritual benefits. The entire system has collapsed in our country because the caste system is no longer formulated as per the inherent guNa-s in an individual. It is now a caste system based on the individual's birth. Even now, if an individual objectively examines his nature, he will come to know of his real Dharma. The problem starts when we don't recognize our swa-dharma. When we don't recognize our swa-dharma, we start engaging in para-dharma which will surely lead us to the pit. This is exactly what happened to Arjuna. Arjuna was saved by the Lord himself. We should save ourselves with the help of His teachings. Hari Om Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.