DHARMA :
HOW TO UNDESTAND
DHARMA,THE
WORD IS DEFINED AS THAT
WHICH UPHOLDS ,KEEPS,MAINTAINS AND PRESERVES THE WHOLE WORLD AND
ALL BEINGS; IT IS THE BASE AND FOUNDATION OF ALL THE WORLDS AND
BEINGS.THUS DHARMA IS TO BE ACQUIRED . DHARMA MEANS TO DO WHAT VEDAS[वेद] DIRECT
AND TO OMIT WHAT THEY FORBID ..BHAGVAT
6/1/40.. IT IS
WHICH INCREASES SATTVA GUN[सत्त्व गुण] AND
DECREASES RAJO AND TAMO GUN,[रजोगुण तमोगुण]; WHAT
DOES THE REVERSE OF IT IS ADHARMA. IT CONNOTES RULES TO REGULATE SOCIETY.
TO A HINDU IT MEANS NOT ONLY RELIGION BUT ALSO INCLUDES
MORALITY, ETHICS, GOOD CONDUCT, VARNA-ASHRAM, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SPIRITUAL AND
MORAL VALUES AND ALSO DAILY MUNDANE ACTS. ACCORDING TO VALMIKI,SANATAN DHARM
MEANS BEING GRATEFUL TO ONE WHO HAS DONE GOOD TO YOU;NON-GRATEFULNESS IS NOT
DHARMA.THUS RELIGION IN ENGLISH OR SITTLICHKEIT IN GERMAN CANNOT DEFINE
IT EXHAUSTIVELY.
DHARMA IS SANATAN [सनातन] ie. ETERNAL.
WITHIN DHARMA COME YAGYA,TAP,YAM,NIYAM (यज्ञ तप यम नियम) ,ALL
SANSKARS FROM CONCEPTION([गर्भाधान]) TO
DEATH-RITES ( अंतेष्टि]). IT IS INCLUSIVE WITH LIFE ITSELF:HENCE CANNOT BE DEFINED
EXHAUSTIVELY. ACCORDING TO MANUSMRITI6/9/2 [मनु स्मृति],PADAM
PURAN , 12/44-47[पदम पुराण] IT EMBRACES NON VIOLENCE,TRUTHFULNESS,CELIBACY,NON
ATTACHMENT,MERCY,PEACE OVER MIND AND SENSES,CLEANLINESS ,NON STEALING,CHARITY
ETC. IN SHORT WE CAN SAY DHARMA FOSTERS SPIRITUAL AND PRACTICAL GROWTH ;
ENHANCES PEACE AND HAPPINESS;REGULATES SOCIETY,BRINGING PURITY PEACE AND
FULLNESS. MAIN SOURCES ARE SHRUTI SMRITI , EPICS, PRECEDENTS OF THE
LEARNED AND VIEWS OF THOSE WHO HAVE
RISEN ABOVE WORLDLY DESIRES AND LIVE IN UNION WITH GOD((गुणातीत—GITAGITA14/24-25 .
.
SALIANT FEATURES OF DHARMA ARE LAW OF
KARMA, BELIEF IN REBIRTHS ie.
TRANSMIGRATION OF SOUL, FOUR
GOALS OF LIFE(चतुर्थ -पुरुषार्थ ,धर्म अर्थ काम मोक्ष )THE LAST ONE, SALVATION, BEING MOST IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THE
WHOLE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE IS
LIBERATION FROM THE CYCLE OF
BIRTHS AND REBIRTHS (जंम-मरण चक्र).TO ATTAIN
ALL THE FOUR GOALS, RECOURSE TO DHARMA IS DE RIGOUR . IT
MEANS WITHOUT DHARMA NONE OF THE FOUR IS POSSIBLE . IN MANIFESTED HUMAN
FORM,DHARMA HAS BEEN SEEN BY DURVASA AND DATTATREYA ALONG WITH
DHARMA’S BROTHERS ,SISTERS AND
MOTHER,MERCY, PADAMPURAN PADAMPURAN
12/51-54 (पदम पुराण) . IN
BHAGVAT ,[भागवत]HE IS DEPICTED AS AN OX(बैल ) .
SINCE THERE
IS NO STRAIGHT JACKET FORMULA TO KNOW WHAT IS DHARMA -----IT IS INTRICATE AND
COMPLEX AND IT’S ACTUAL MEANING
CHANGES WITH TIME ,PLACE, PERSON
AND SITUATION----IT BECOMES HARD TO
CHOOSE A PARTICULAR COURSE OF ACTION IN A GIVEN SITUATION,NOT KNOWING
WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG. EVEN
DHARMRAJ ADMITS,’ “IT IS DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND DHARMA,HE WHO DOES SO BECOMES
GOD-LIKE. ONLY A FEW,TWELVE IN NUMBER, HAVE UNDERSTOOD IT NAMELY
BRAHMA,NARAD,SANAT-KUMAR,KAPIL,MANU, PRAHALAD,JANAK,BHISMA,BALI AND
YAMRAJ HIMSELF’’---.BHAGVAT
6/3/20.
SOME EXAMPLES FROM SCRIPTURES WILL
JUSTIFY THIS POINT.
LET US
GO TO KURUSHETRA [कुरुक्षेत्र] WHERE
MAHABHARAT[ महाभारत] IS BEING FOUGHT. ARJUN AND SRI. KRISHNA,AFTER PUTTING BHIM SEN
IN CHARGE, RETURN TO THEIR CAMP TO SEE THE WOUNDED YUDISHTHER,WOUNDED BY KARNA, WHOM
ARJUN WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL. YUDIHSTIR COMING TO KNOW THAT KARNA IS NOT
DEAD, ITERJECTS‘’YOU SHOULD HAND OVER YOUR gandiv bowTO SOMEONE ELSE.’’ARJUN
WAS UNDER A SECRET VOW TO KILL ANYONE WHO SAID SUCH WORDS ABOUT HIS BOW;
IN A RAGE HE BECAME INTENT UPON KILLING HIS ELDER BROTHER. SRI.KRISHNA TOOK
STOCK OF THE SITUATION,PREVENTED THE
IMPENDING TRAGEDY,FOUND A WAY TO HONOUR HIS FRIEND’S VOW WHILE KEEPING THE PANDAV KING ALIVE. HOW?
ANSWER LATER.WE WILL FIRST STUDY WHAT WISDOM, CONCERNING DHARMA, LORD
IMPARTED TO ARJUN. “ LIKE A CHILD YOU
MADE A VOW,LIKE A FOOL YOU WANT TO KILL HIM
WITHOUT KNOWING THE SUBTLE POINTS OF DHARMA.’’ HE CHIDED
ARJUN. “ INTRICACIES OF
DHARMA ARE NOT EASILY COM- PREHENDED .’’ LORD
THEN GIVES AN EXPOSITION ON RIGHTFUL ACTIONS,CITING ILLUSTRATI0NS OF
BALAK,THE HUNTER AND KAUSHIK MUNI .THE HUNTER KILLED ANIMALS TO SUSTAIN
HIS FAMILY ,NOT OUT OF DESIRE. HE WAS TRUTHFUL AND SPOKE ILL OF NO ONE; ONCE HE
KILLED A SEEMINGLY HELPLESS AND BLIND ANIMAL, WHICH IS VIOLENCE AND UNETHICAL. AS SOON AS THE
BRUTE DIED ,FLOWERS WERE SHOWERED ON HIM FROM THE HEAVENS .HE WAS UPLIFTED TO
HEAVEN .WHY? LORD CLARIFIES, “THIS CREATURE HAD OBTAINED A BOON TO BE
ABLE TO SLAY ALL,SO BRAHMA HAD BLINDED HIM WHILE GRANTING HIS BOON .THAT KILLING IS EVIL IS THE GENERAL LAW .
HOWEVER, BY THIS KILLING BALAK DID A SERVICE FOR ALL,THE WORLD GOT RID THIS CREATURE THAT WAS
CAPABLE OF KILLING ALL.. KAUSHIK
MUNI ALWAYS SPOKE TRUTH, WINNING THE
EPITHET ‘SATYAVADI’[सत्यवादी];HE WAS AN AUSTERE,LEARNED BRAHAMIN,HAVING SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE,
TOO. ONCE HE, ON QUERY,REVEALED THE HIDING PLACE TO ROBBERS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE
FEARING DEATH AT THEIR HANDS. ROBBERS MURDERED THEM. MUNI WAS AWARDED
HELL IN SPITE OF TELLING THE TRUTH,FOR HE WAS IGNORANT OF SUBTLETIES OF DHARMA.—MAHABHARAT KARNA PARV 69/39-52 .महाभारत कर्ण पर्व].
ANOTHER
EXAMPLE INVOLVING KRSHN AND ARJUN . THIS TIME FROM BHAGVAT . SHASHTRAS
ORDAIN THAT A TORMENTOR OUGHT TO BE KILLED BUT A BRAHMIN CANNOT BE SLAIN .WHAT
TO DO IF A BRAHMIN TORMENTS YOU?HOW TO FOLLOW BOTH
INJUNCTIONS?ARJUN,TAKING CUE FROM KRSHN, SPARES ASHVTHAMA’S LIFE BUT PLUCKS OUT
GEM (मणि) FROM HIS
HEAD. MAIMING HIM IS SAME AS TAKING THE LIFE OF A TORMENTING BRAHAMIN.. THUS
THE OPPOSITE OPINIONS OF BHIMSEN, WHO WANTED ASHVTHAMA KILLED FOR HE HAD PUT TO DEATH DRAUPDI’S FIVE SONS WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPING
,AND DRAUPADI AND OTHERS ,WHO WANTED HIM SPARED ,WERE RESPECTED ---bhagvat
1/7/41-57.
A TYPE OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS WAS PUT
FORWARD BY FLETCHER IN 1966 THAT LOVE JUSTIFIES MEANS AND IN A GIVEN SITUATION
THE MOST LOVING ACT IS THE CORRECT ACT. IT IS CALLED SITUATION ETHICS.THIS IS
WHAT WE,IN INDIA, HAD EVOLVED LONG AGO
AS WE HAVE SEEN IN THE ABOVE ILLUSTRATIONS AND WILL AGAIN, SEE WHERE
KRSHN AGAIN SOLVES ARJUN’S
DILEMMA…( to be continued)
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