The concept of Dharma is unique to Hinduism. In fact, the actual name of Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma — the ancient “Law of Righteousness”. This is a cosmic law which enfolds everything and keeps everything in its place. It is a triple law known as ritam, (the principle of natural order which coordinates everything in Nature), satyam (truth) and dharma (righteousness). The first two are cosmic laws which when translated into human life is called dharma. Everything in the universe has to uphold this law. The whole of nature upholds this law without any problem since it’s been programmed and therefore has no choice in the matter. Galaxies don’t run around as they like, plants don’t grow upside down, the sun and moon and all the other planets have their own orbits beyond which they cannot transgress. The sun shines, the rain falls, flowers bloom, and fruits appear according to this cosmic dharma which essentially means the law of righteousness, the law which decides what is the best behaviour for each and every thing in the universe. In as much as human laws keep in tune with this cosmic dharma, they can be called just and righteous. The universal laws of ritam and satyam when passed through the medium of the human mind become distorted and that is why we find that it becomes very hard for human beings to remain steadfast to the rules of dharma. The problem with the human being is that he has not been programmed. He has a mind and intellect and a reasoning capacity which enables him to think for himself. In one way this is good but in another way it is very dangerous and a distorted or perverted intellect can cause havoc both on the individual and social platforms.
The Hindu Dharma is called Sanatana for two reasons.
1. It is ancient and eternal. It has always existed because it is related to the cosmic system which has never changed from ancient times.
2. The other reason is that it attempts to make us realise that we are not our body alone. Our body is only a possession like our car or house. The power that animates the body is spiritual not physical. The body is made up of matter and energy but the Hindu dharma makes us realise that the inner consciousness or atman is unborn, undying, eternal and infinite. It takes us from body consciousness to divine consciousness and makes us experience our immortality.
Like all Sanskrit words, the word “dharma” comes from the Vedas which are the foundation on which the mighty edifice of Hinduism has been built. The word does not really have an English equivalent. Even in Sanskrit “dharma” conveys a huge number of meanings. In the previous paragraph I have already said what it means when connected with Nature. When applied to the human being it denotes the attitude which gives strength to the human being in all situations, in fortune and misfortune, prosperity and adversity. From these and from various other shastras (scriptures) we can have some idea of what exactly is meant by Hindu Dharma. Our epics and Puranas deal with the subject of dharma and try to portray its significance to us through the lives of the characters depicted therein.
Goals of Life
According to Hinduism there are four goals of life, known as the “purusharthas”. These are “dharma, artha, kama and moksha”. Hinduism recognises the need of the human being to acquire wealth and possessions and his need for all types of pleasure including sex. Therefore, these four goals represent the obligations, restrains and aspirations, that the human being has, which will fuse his individual life with the society as well as cosmic life which alone will enable him to live a life in harmony and peace with himself, with the society and with God.
1. Dharma
The very first goal of life as given in Hinduism is dharma. Here it stands for that code of honour and righteousness by following which a person can make a living which is in consonance with the laws of Nature.2. Artha
Dharma leads to the second goal which is “artha” or the pursuit of wealth. Wealth which is gained by self-effort, following a strict code of conduct is allowed by the shastras (scriptures).3. Kama
The third goal is “kama”, which is the human aspiration for pleasure which if enjoyed through dharmic or legitimate means is permissible and will lead to the fourth purushartha (goal) of “moksha”.4. Moksha
Moksha means liberation from the egoistic bonds created by the mind and intellect. This liberation according to Hinduism is to be attained here and now. Hinduism is not guilty of offering the bait of a doubtful heaven to its faithful adherents which is to be arrived only after the death of the physical body, as is promised by most religions. Moksha or liberation is something which every human being can achieve here and now, provided he leads a dharmic life. Artha and kama (desire for wealth and desire for pleasure) are bound by dharma or righteousness on one side and moksha or liberation on the other which points to the fact that if both artha and kama are followed using dharmic means, they will automatically lead us to moksha or liberation.
Thus, we see that Hindu Dharma is extremely rational and scientific in its approach to Reality. It does not try to suppress the basic psychological needs of the human being but keeps in view the goal of life, which is enlightenment and helps us to break away from the pressures imposed on our personality by the ego.
Itihasa
A life on earth which is lived according to the laws of dharma will indeed bring fulfilment and liberation both in this world and after the death of the physical body. The great sages of our epics, Valmiki and Vyasa have stressed the different aspects of dharma in their wonderful works known as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
These two epics deal with the greatest of our avataras — Rama and Krishna. Both Valmiki and Vyasa were contemporaries of these great personalities so they wrote about historical facts which unrolled before their very eyes and not about happenings which were told to them by a third party. The British who came to exploit this land were confronted with a culture which they were totally incapable of understanding. However, they realised that the only way to control the masses was to make them disbelieve in the historicity of their greatest avataras — Rama and Krishna. They did their best to make out that the Indians had no concept of history and the stories about Rama and Krishna were myths created by the fertile brains of Valmiki and Vyasa! Unfortunately, the British educated elite of India were an easy prey and fell for this type of nonsense. However, archaeological evidence of the modern age has proved beyond a doubt that these giants amongst men did indeed stride across this holy land of Bharat and that everything written about them in these two epics is a true and faithful picture of the historical presence of these amazing beings. The very fact that almost every festival in Bharat is connected with one or other of these avataras should be enough to convince anyone of their existence, if such proof was necessary. Moreover, if we look at the names of all the places mentioned in the Ramayana, we find that these can easily be identified. The path taken by Rama from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka can be seen even today. The bridge he built from Dhanushkodi to Sri Lanka has been verified by pictures taken by NASA. Both Valmiki and Vyasa were exceptional astronomers as well as astrologers and they have mentioned very specific placements of planets at the birth of Rama and Krishna as well as the date on which Rama set out on his journey to the forest and many other dates. With the help of modern technological software all these facts have been scientifically proved which might make it easier for the modern mind to accept the fact of their historicity.
Both these epics actually deal with the different facets of dharma which has always played such an important part in Hindu life. In fact, the Hindu mind has always tried to price open the casket of dharma and discern its different meanings.
Abstract words like “dharma”, “satyam”, “ritam” etc are all very difficult for the human mind to conceive. It is easier for the mind to conceive of such things if a concrete example is given. Therefore, Valmiki portrayed these words in the Ramayana through the character of the great king called Rama. In the story of Valmiki, it is said that at one time, he had been a cruel hunter and robber called Ratnakar. Once he came across the sage Narada who told him to meditate and gave him the divine mantra of “ra-ma”. Many years later Narada returned to the spot where he had left Ratnakar and found that he was so immersed in his tapas that an ant hill had grown all over him. Narada broke open the ant hill and asked Valmiki to open his eyes and return to the world. Valmiki said he would return to the world only if Narada could tell him of the existence of at least one human being who was the essence of all dharma. Narada immediately mentioned the name of Rama and said that he was indeed the epitome of dharma or righteousness. He urged Valmiki to leave his seclusion and return to normal life and write the story of Rama which would prove to be of great help to all humanity. Valmiki agreed and that is how the Ramayana was written.
In the case of Rama, God had taken on a human form with all its frailties in order to show us how our aspirations for a dharmic life can be fulfilled. For this we have to be prepared to completely subjugate our ego and live only for the good of the world and act in consonance with the rules of the cosmic dharma as seen in the duties and obligations that we owe to the society in which we live in. A king or a ruler has to put the citizens first and himself last. Rama is the true portrait of such an amazing king.
There are many controversial episodes in Rama’s life which are misinterpreted by our modern youth. However, if we look closely at these episodes, we will find that in each of these episodes, he was only acting according to the strictest rule of dharma as he perceived it. In fact, he was the true “dharmatma” — the personification of dharma. In his stoic adherence to dharma, he was forced to sacrifice even the strongest of his attachments. However, we see that despite his agony he never deviated from his ideal even though it meant that he himself had to undergo great tortures of self -sacrifice and self- denial. He did not flinch even when he had to part from his beloved wife and finally from his beloved brother. We, who live in an age of easy morals, where ideals are renounced for the sake of self-interest, may consider Rama a fool, but to the ancient Indian society and to those who strive to uphold dharma, he is indeed a God; for none but a God would have been able to act in such a fashion, with absolute self- abnegation. In Rama we find this blend of the sublime characteristics of God combined with all the frailties of the human being. Every avatara has to have both these sides if he is to give an example to humanity. If he acts in a superhuman way all the time, he would not serve his purpose, which is to lift up the human being despite his frailties, to the divinity in him. Therefore, at times he has to behave in a weak human fashion to encourage us so that we can also lift ourselves to the level of a Rama however weak or helpless we may be.
The Ramayana has inspired and encouraged countless people, not merely in India but all over the world because it is a story based on eternal verities which appeal to the best in human nature. These values which have been portrayed in the character of Rama, have a universal appeal and therefore the Ramayana has risen above the limits of sect, religion, race and country. It has continued to cast its spell through the ages. Situations may change but basic human nature has remained the same from those times to the present moment. Many great souls and preachers and incarnations have come and gone but none of them have been able to change this basic human nature. However, the individual can and must change if society is to progress. The character of Rama has a direct appeal to those individuals who crave to cast off the confining limitations of their ordinary human nature and attain divine heights. The Ramayana is filled with characters that were prepared to sacrifice their own selfish interests for the sake of the greater good, who were prepared to subjugate their egos and live only for the good of the world and act in consonance with the duties and obligations of their particular position in society. Rama is the portrait of a man who became divine by shaking off the limitations of mortality by a strict adherence to satya (truth) and dharma. He had all the qualities of the average man, the attachments, the desires, the anger, the fears, the passion and the serenity. He became divine by shaking off these bonds. He surmounted these obstacles in his character and became super human, one who put his duty to God and country above all personal considerations. He shows us that this type of perfection is available to all of us, weak though we are. Hence, he will always be a perfect example to all human beings whatever be their country or their creed — a glorious and living example of the word “dharma”.
Satyameva jayati
Dharmameva jayati