DHARMA : HOW TO UNDESTAND PART 1


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 .
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  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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