Essence Of Dharma

 

The Human Mind is constantly engaged in the battle between Right and Wrong. One is either trying hard to be Right or judging others for being not so Right. What we need the most is to accept people the way they are and focus on the well being of one and all. What is right for One may not be right for the Other. It’s a matter of perspective and the circumstances that influence peoples behaviour. 

 

Everything in the world belongs to God, everything is a part of him. He who has truly realised God, cannot hate anyone. God gives innumerable chances for people to correct their mistakes but never rejects them. The law of Karma makes people face the consequences of their actions, helping them to work towards betterment of Self, aiding spiritual growth. His unconditional love makes room for the weakest, the cruelest  and the most imperfect. This is Dharma.

 

Dharma is acceptance, empathy, unconditional love, working towards the well being of others. When we stop loving, we embrace Adharma. We judge, condemn, and reject people. Invalidate them in hatred. We stop being generous, become mean minded, petty, clingy, stingy and possessive. We are often clueless and confused, in search of wisdom and direction. We forget the path to the Supreme Being. We entrap ourselves in rigid, narrow mind-sets. 

 

In the pursuit of wealth and power, we fail to empower others. In our lack of wisdom, we lose the golden opportunity to enjoy life, make life enjoyable for others and find joy in giving not just taking.

 

Life is difficult and people are imperfect. In the struggle for survival, to cope up with the vagaries of this world, everyone makes mistakes. True love is the ability to love people, despite their mistakes.

 

Dharma is about the human ability to share and care, about giving, not just taking. It is about realising  the spiritual reality through material reality. It is about questioning the notions of property and identifying the root cause of greed , envy, rage and hate.

 

 It is about realising that in every human being is a frightened beast, seeking survival and significance and knowing that humans can outgrow this beast only through EMPATHY . This process of outgrowing the beast is the process of discovering GOD. 

 

The Bhagwad Gita provides us a true understanding of life, that which prevents false interpretations of circumstances and false expectations from the world. An enlightened heart loses its craving for power and embraces love. Life becomes blissful if we participate in it rather than trying to seek control over it. The ultimate Goal being Spiritual Reality.

ATMA and AHAM

Atma the soul is indestructible. Atma defies all laws of nature- it has no form, it cannot be measured, it cannot be experienced using any of the five senses. It is a self assured entity that does not seek acknowledgement or evidence. One has to believe in it. There is no other way to access it. Atma is the essence and objective reality of all forms of life.

Brahma (the creator) has no faith. He refuses to look beyond the flesh. He ignores Atma, and so catalysed the creation of Aham, the Ego. The ego is a product of imagination. It is how a human being sees himself or herself. It makes humans demand special status in nature and culture.

Brahma is every human being. He is described as emerging from a lotus, a metaphor for a child emerging out of the mothers womb. This is also a metaphor for the gradual unfolding of the imagination.

Every human being is subject to his own imagination of his self and the world around him, thus imagines himself to be special. Every human being is thus Brahma, creator of his own Brahmanda(subjective reality).

Prakriti(Nature) is the objective reality and Brahmanda ( A man’s imagination of himself and the world around him) is the subjective reality. 

Atma witnesses Prakriti whereas Aham constructs Brahmanda.

Human self image is expanded beyond the body and includes possessions. His world is spilt into three parts Me ( mind and body) , Mine ( property, knowledge,family and nature) Not Mine (things that exist in the world over which he has no authority).

The concept of Me and Mine is humankind’s greatest delusion through which humanity seeks to generate meaning and Identity. Tranquility is lost when human yearns for that which does not belong to him, leading to anxiety and restlessness.

Realisation of the true nature of existence helps in destroying the Aham( ego). To attain this one must look inward,work towards a better understanding of Atma the Soul. When human becomes aware of his mortality, he does not seek materialistic gratification. His fears cease to exist and he learns to live in harmony with Nature.


References: Devdutt Patnaik- 7 secrets of Shiva