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Author Topic:   Dharma
sesame
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From: Oz
Registered: Nov 2003

posted November 22, 2007 05:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for sesame     Edit/Delete Message
We have a thread about Karma, but I don't think we've had one about Dharma. What are your interpretations on this? Why is it less wide spread? Is it only subjected to certain religions or interpreted as a "rule book" like Karma's "what goes around comes around"? How do you know what Dharma you have, or how to increase "good" Dharma (if there is such a thnig)?

This thread is spawned off SattvicMoon's *partial* quote:

quote:
I know I won't be able to explain it all here, since it is all too deep and philosophical

So maybe we can discuss it in it's own thread?

Cheers,
Dean.

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Solane Star
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From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2005

posted November 22, 2007 06:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Solane Star     Edit/Delete Message
What is Dharma?

From Subhamoy Das,
Your Guide to Hinduism.

About the Path of Righteousness
Dharma is the path of righteousness and living one's life according to the codes of conduct as described by the Vedas and Upanishads. Dharma means "that which holds" the people of this world and the whole creation. It refers to the religious ethics as propounded by Hindu gurus in ancient Indian scriptures. Tulsidas, author of Ramcharitmanas, has defined the root of dharma as compassion. This principle was taken up by Lord Buddha in his immortal book of great wisdom, Dhammapada.

Hinduism describes dharma as the natural universal laws whose observance enables humans to be contented and happy, and to save himself from degradation and suffering. Dharma is the moral law combined with spiritual discipline that guides one's life. Hindus consider dharma the very foundation of life. The Atharva Veda describes dharma symbolically: Prithivim dharmana dhritam, that is, "this world is upheld by dharma".

Hinduism accepts the concept of reincarnation, and what determines the state of an individual in the next existence is karma which refers to the actions undertaken by the body and the mind. In order to achieve good karma it is important to live life according to dharma, what is right. This involves doing what is right for the individual, the family, the class or caste and also for the universe itself.

Dharma is like a cosmic norm and if one goes against the norm it can result in bad karma. So, dharma affects the future according to the karma accumulated. Therefore one's dharmic path in the next life is the one necessary to bring to fruition all the results of past karma.

The term dharma can best be explained as the "law of being" without which things cannot exist, just as the essential factor in human being is life - the atman without which he cannot exist. Therefore the dharma of human being is atman. And hence any good atmic quality is dharmic. Dharma therefore implies duty - a course of conduct. For example, Hinduism endorses the idea that it is one's dharma to marry, raise a family and provide for that family in whatever way is necessary.

Anything that helps human being to reach god is dharma and anything that hinders human being from reaching god is adharma. For instance, in the epic poem Mahabharata, the Pandavas represent dharma in life and the Kauravas represent adharma.

The essence of dharma lies in possessing a certain ability, power and spiritual strength. Vedic Dharma is always truthful because its basis is the unique combination of spiritual brilliance and physical prowess.

Hindu saints have classified all human aspirations under four broad categories: dharma, kama (desire), artha (money) and moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). The practice of dharma gives an experience of peace, joy, strength and tranquillity within one's self and makes life disciplined. Of these four values the majority of human beings pursue artha and kama, and the more sensitive individual pursue dharma, while very few are conscious if the moksha - ideal spiritual aspiration.

According to the Bhagavat Purana, righteous living or life on a dharmic path has four aspects: austerity (tap), purity (shauch), compassion (daya) and truthfulness (satya); and adharmic or unrighteous life has three vices: pride (ahankar), contact (sangh), and intoxication (madya).

Manusmriti written by the ancient sage Manu, prescribes 10 essential rules for the observance of dharma: Patience (dhriti), forgiveness (kshama), piety or self control (dama), honesty (asteya), sanctity (shauch), control of senses (indraiya-nigrah), reason (dhi), knowledge or learning (vidya), truthfulness (satya) and absence of anger (krodha). Manu further writes, "Non-violence, truth, non-coveting, purity of body and mind, control of senses are the essence of dharma". Therefore dharmic laws govern not only the individual but all in society.

The purpose of dharma is not only to attain a union of the soul with the supreme reality, it also suggests a code of conduct that is intended to secure both worldly joys and supreme happiness. Rishi Kanda has defined dharma in Vaisesika as "that confers worldly joys and leads to supreme happiness". Hinduism is the religion that suggests methods for the attainment of the highest ideal and eternal bliss here and now on earth and not somewhere in heaven.


Suggested Reading
What is Karma?
Basic Tenets of Hinduism
POLL: Does God Exist?

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Mannu
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posted November 23, 2007 09:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mannu     Edit/Delete Message
In movie Beowoulf, the king cuts his own arm to kill the dragon. It was purely what he felt his Dharma was and acted so.

Spider man has best expressed the presense of dharma by his statement "with great power comes great responsibility".
If you are irresponsible theres a possibility you might lose those very powers.

When Buddha left his small child and wife home, he had already developed a natural detatchment and hence was able to follow his dharma easily. If he didn't thousands of his followers would have still been in the cycle of birth and death i.e. Karma.

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sesame
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From: Oz
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posted November 25, 2007 05:32 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for sesame     Edit/Delete Message
So it's a way of transcending Karma through conscious choices made in the light of God? What if the actions had further consequences that were worse than the initial consequences? I keep thinking of Oscar Schindler from "Schindler's List" at the end where he says "This ring, this could have bought me five more lives" and so on, like all of the good he did just wasn't enough, so you could say he didn't follow his Dharma completely? I guess this is the real problem with Karma - you can say, well, this happened, so maybe I should do that, but from a purely Dharmic perspective, how do you know if one path is the best? I read a book by the Dalai Lama on Happiness where he stated that all actions that lead to Happiness create Happiness, so the question is, how do we know what these actions are? I guess there are signs and in-tuition, but really, things could change and unforeseen events transpire that you perhaps couldn't change, so in this case, you would make another choice. I guess what I'm getting at is that if you live in "God's hands" then everything in life is up to her, not you, which sounds like one angle of Dharma?

Cheers,
Dean.

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SattvicMoon
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posted November 25, 2007 10:38 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for SattvicMoon     Edit/Delete Message
Responsibility is a "rough" transalation of this word Dharma, a more appropriate meaning could be "Self-Righteousness".

I believe rational thoughts are what contribute to this kind of righteousness.

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Mannu
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posted November 25, 2007 01:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mannu     Edit/Delete Message
Yeah Dharma is indeed conscious choices made in the light of God. And the decisions will really make him fulfilled in the end. For the initial seeker he must make conscious choices. Later on he will be so spontaneous that instead of he following Dharma, Dharma will follow him. From a state of choosing he will go towards a state of choicelessness. If he err's he will doubt, just like that guy in Shindlers list. And that is the problem with humanity, we carry guilt for many many days. Some throughout their lives. I myself try to go to bed peacefully after reflection every day. Drop guilt. Drop choices arising out of fear and you are enlightened.

Lets say you travel to another country. You have a bank account at your original country isn't it? You can convert that currency to the local one and use it. Same way when you came to this life , you brought with you those spiritual currencies from heaven. So with making the right choices for yourself and for the greater of people, you invariantly add your currencies accumulated in this life to that spiritual account. Many people when they take new bodies, more desires originate in them, and they borrow more currencies and accumulate more debt.
This is why Buddha used to say "don't desire". Till age of 80 he gave various sutras for his followers to follow based on dharma. When he turned 80 , he said his ultimate teachings is in the "lotus sutra". Its the essense of where we are heading towards. It comes as shock to many to why Buddha will do that. Perhaps he understood the people of his time and acted so. Or perhaps he is chiseling his followers to achieve the state he was in.

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venusdeindia
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posted November 26, 2007 02:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for venusdeindia     Edit/Delete Message
DHARMA....
is the way , the truth and the life.
that feeling of pure elevation that accompanies an act done in absolute sense of righteousness, not out of our own selfish needs, societal norms or values conditioned by religion.

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venusdeindia
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From: mumbai,india
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posted November 26, 2007 02:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for venusdeindia     Edit/Delete Message
DHARMA....
is the way , the truth and the life.
that feeling of pure elevation that accompanies an act done in absolute sense of righteousness, not out of our own selfish needs, societal norms or values conditioned by religion.

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