What Is Dharma?

[Guest guest]

Radhe Krishna To all, Maya: I always wonder about two classes of people: One, the person who cremates corpses in the graveyard standing witness to the burning bodies day in and day out and another, the surgeon who tears open the body during surgery to find that it containsnothing but flesh and bones.In spite of their daily experience It is stunning to see how

the Maya masks the Truth

from them who continue

their life as ever before! Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji----------------------The following is an excerpt from Bhishma Parva of Mahabharata:Sri

Bhishma narrates an incident in the Devaloka where many Gods and Sages

are assembled. One of them puts forth the question, ‘What is Dharma?â€The viewpoints of the other sages and gods on this topic are as follows:Lord Surya said,“On

the new moon day one should not cut trees. One who does so is unwise.

Even forceful shedding of leaves from the tree on new moon day is a

sinful act. The person who perpetrates this act gives the sin to his

future generation.â€Sri Devi said,“Home-which

is dirty, where utensils are strewn randomly, where the seats are

broken, where ladies are put to sorrow, will soon lose the benediction

of Devas and ancestors, it indeed is not a fit place to reside.â€Sage Garga said,â€

Everyday guests should be invited and taken care of, meat should not be

partaken, the names of holy places should be recited everyday. The

habit of sleeping during the day time should be eschewed. The

lamp(deepam) should be always lit at home. â€Rishi Dhaumya said,

“Broken utensils, broken cot, hen, dog, a tree which has grown in the

house itself, all these are harmful. They should never be in the house.

The wise say that broken utensils breed conflict and broken cot

destroys prosperity. The celestial ones(Devas) do not accept the

offerings made in a home where dogs and hen are housed.â€Sage Jamadagni said,“A

person-with an impure mind, would only attain hell, even if he performs

the most elaborate yagas(sacrifices), even if he repeats it many a time

or even if he does intense penance by hanging upside-down. To a Vedic

Scholar who is well versed and is a strict follower of all scriptural

injunctions, if one were to whole heartedly offer even a handful of

flour, that person would find a way to attain the heavens.â€Sage Lomasa said,“The greatest dharma is the non covetousness of another’s wife. A vedic scholar should never covet wealth.â€Arundati said,“After

waking up in the morning, in an empty stomach, take a water jug and

darba grass(Kusa grass) in the hand to the cowshed and sprinkle the

water with darba on to the horn of the cow. Take the water which falls

from the horn on to your head. This gives immense punya(merit).A

lazy person, a person who is egoistic, a person who covets Guru’s wife,

these people are not fit for any conversation, so one should never talk

of dharma to these people. To satisfy a guest is a great dharma. A

person who gives cows in charity for twelve years, a person who

undergoes various austerities(vratas) for a complete month, a person

who gives one lakh cows as charity in the month of ‘Aani’ in the holy

city of Pushkar- the amount of punya these people have earned is the

wmount of punya one earns by completely satisfying the guest.â€Yama said,“A

person who gives water to the thirsty has earned immense punya. The

dharma done in accordance to the status of the recipient never goes

waste. So says Chitragupta.â€Thus Rishis and Devas explained the

various aspects of dharma. Then they looked at Pramadas (ogres that

torment wrong doers) and ask them, “Who are the ones who would be

tormented by you all? What reasons stop you from afflicting humans?â€Pramadas explained thus-“We

trouble people who are the ‘fallen’. People who wear clothes- which

touch the lower part of the body, on to the upper part of the body are

considered ‘fallen’. Meat eaters, people who keep edible stuff on their

head, people who lay their head in place where feet rests (sleeping on

the cot in the reverse direction), people who excrete in ponds, people

who spit sputum on public roads are also considered ‘fallen’. We

torment only these people. We can not afflict homes which have tiger

skin, tiger tooth, vapour of ghee, cats, black or red coloured goats.

We do not afflict people who avoid eating meat.†Category: Mahabharata --------------------Special! Sri Sri Swamiji's lecture video: New -- 'Ajamila Charitra'

Namadwaar

is pleased to bring to you the video of Sri Sri Swamiji's lecture on

'Ajamila Charitra' in connection with Navaratri Celebrations.Click the link below and enjoy & also share this beautiful discourse with your friends and relatives.http://namadwaar.org/videos/internal/navaratri2009.php -------------------Regards & Chant The Maha mantra:Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareSource: http://namadwaar.org/home.php