Dharma

Dharma (Sanskrit धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli) means Natural Law or Reality, and with respect to its significance for spirituality and religion might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths. Dharma forms the basis for philosophies, beliefs and practices originating in India. The four main ones are Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all retain the centrality of Dharma. In these traditions, beings that live in harmony with Dharma proceed more quickly toward Dharma Yukam, Moksha, Nirvana (personal liberation). Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the various founders of the traditions, such as Gautama Buddha in Buddhism and Mahavira in Jainism. As the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and duties of each individual, Dharma can refer generally to religious duty, and also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue.

Meanings and origins of the word Dharma

In the Rigveda, the word appears as an n-stem, dhárman-, with a range of meanings encompassing "something established or firm" (in the literal sense of prods or poles), figuratively "sustainer, supporter" (of deities), and in the abstract, similar to the semantics of Greek ethos, "fixed decree, statute, law",

The word is from a root common Indo-Iranian root dhar "to fasten, to support, to hold", continuing PIE *dher, in the IEW connected with Latin frēnum "rein, horse tack", Germanic words for "hidden, held back" (OHG tarni "latens"), and extended to dher-gh, with OCS drъžǫ, drъžati "to hold, possess". Etymological identity of dharma with Latin firmus (whence English firm) has been suggested, but remains uncertain.

From the Atharvaveda and in Classical Sanskrit, the stem is thematic, dhárma- (धर्म in the Devanagari script), and in Pāli, it takes the form dhamma. Monier-Williams attempts to gesture at the semantic field of the spiritual and religious meanings of the term with "virtue, morality, religion, religious merit". It being used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, the "dharmic faiths" including Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, it is difficult to provide a single concise definition for Dharma. The word has a long and varied history and straddles a complex set of meanings and interpretations. Dharma also is practiced in the Surat Shabda Yoga traditions.

Rene Guenon, father of the 20th century school of perennial philosophy, said:

It [dharma] is, so to speak, the essential nature of a being, comprising the sum of its particular qualities or characteristics, and determining, by virtue of the tendencies or dispositions it implies, the manner in which this being will conduct itself, either in a general way or in relation to each particular circumstance. The same idea may be applied, not only to a single being, but also to an organized collectivity, to a species, to all the beings included in a cosmic cycle or state of existence, or even to the whole order of the Universe; it then, at one level or another, signifies conformity with the essential nature of beings… (from Guenon's "Introduction to the Study of Hindu Doctrines")

David Frawley, an expert on Hindu philosophy and religion, comments on Dharma as follows:

A universal tradition has room for all faiths and all religious and spiritual practices regardless of the time or country of their origin. Yet it places religious and spiritual teachings in their appropriate place relative to the ultimate goal of Self-realization, to which secondary practices are subordinated. Sanatan Dharma also recognizes that the greater portion of human religious aspirations has always been unknown, undefined and outside of any institutionalized belief. Sanatan Dharma thereby gives reverence to individual spiritual experience over any formal religious doctrine. Wherever the Universal Truth is manifest; there is Sanatan Dharma—whether it is in a field of religion, art or science, or in the life of a person or community. Wherever the Universal Truth is not recognized, or is scaled down or limited to a particular group, book or person, even if done so in the name of God, there Sanatan Dharma ceases to function, whatever the activity is called.

According to the Natchintanai Scripture:

By the laws of Dharma that govern body and mind, you must fear sin and act righteously. Wise men by thinking and behaving in this way become worthy to gain bliss both here and hereafter.

Yama, the lord of death, is also known as Dharma, since he works within the laws of karma and morality, regulated by divine principles. More familiar is the embodiment of Dharma in Lord Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. The eldest Pandava, Yudhishthira was referred to as DharmaRaj (Most pious One) owing to his steadfastness to Truth & Dharma.

In ancient Vedic tradition, the Dharma was decided by the holy Kings or Dharma Raja. Dharma rajas include Manu who by tradition saves the Vedas before the flood, Rama, Yudhisthira, and Buddha.

The teachings, doctrines, philosophies and practices associated with furthering Dharma are also referred to as such. Sometimes, specific qualifiers are used - viz. Buddha-Dharma and Jain-Dharma to distinguish them from Hindu Dharma.

For many Buddhists, the Dharma most often means the body of teachings expounded by the Buddha. The word is also used in Buddhist phenomenology as a term roughly equivalent to phenomenon, a basic unit of existence and/or experience.

In scripture translations dharma is often best left untranslated, as it has acquired a lively life of its own in English that is more expressive than any simplistic translation. Common translations and glosses include "right way of living," Divine Law, Path of Righteousness, order, faith, "natural harmony," rule, fundamental teachings, and duty. Dharma may be used to refer to rules of the operation of the mind or universe in a metaphysical system, or to rules of comportment in an ethical system.

Dharma in Hinduism

Within Indian philosophy "dharma" also means "property" and "dharmin" means "property-bearer". In a Sanskrit sentence like "shabdo 'nityaH" , "sound is impermanent", "sound" is the bearer of the property "impermanence". Likewise, in the sentence "iha ghataH", "here, there is a pot", "here" is the bearer of the property "pot-existence" - this just goes to show that the categories property and property-bearer are closer to those of a logical predicate and its subject-term, and not to a grammatical predicate and subject.

Origin and development in Hinduism

A common manner of describing Hinduism among its adherents is as a way of life, as "Dharma." It defies dogma and thus seeks to instead align the human body, mind, and soul in harmony with nature.

Our very limitation is guided under and over a universal understanding, that of Dharma. The Atharva Veda, the last of the four books of the Vedas, utilizes symbolism to describe dharma's role. Thus we are bound by the laws of time, space and causation according to finite reality, which itself is a limitation imposed by the self-projection of the infinite Brahman as the cosmos. Dharma is the foundation of this causal existence, the one step below the infinite. Indeed, dharma is the projection of divine order from Brahman, and as such:

"Prithivim Dharmana Dhritam"

"This world is upheld by Dharma"

-- (Atharva Veda)

Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas

To assess a concept whose explication is bewildering in range, it is useful to trace its nascence and subsequent development in Vedic culture. In the Vedas, which span back to 2000 BCE (and much further in oral tradition), the first concept that is strikingly dharmic is that of rta.

Rta literally means the "course of things." At first, the early Hindus (or followers of the "Sanatan Dharma") were notably inquisitive as to the inscrutable order of nature, how the heavenly bodies, the rushing winds and flowing waters, the consistent cycling of the seasons, were regulated. Thenceforth sprang rta, whose all-purpose role it was to signify this order, the path that was always followed. Through all the metamorphoses and permutations of nature, of life in general, there was one unchangeable fact: rta.

Soon it transcended its passive role as a mere signifier and took on a greater one, that of an active imposition of order. Not only the natural principles, but the gods and goddesses themselves, were obliged to abide by rta. Rta became the father, the law of justice and righteousness, unyielding but eminently fair. It grew, as Radhakrishnan states, from "physical" to "divine" in its purvey.

The world's seeming mess of altercating fortune, the caprice of the divinities, was now intelligible. Indeed, there was a single, unchanging harmony working 'behind the scenes.' A right path existed, ready to be taken by the righteous ones. Rta signifies the way life ought to be, shifting from physical to divine, from natural to moral order. Rta was morality, the equitable law of the universe. The conception of this all-transcending, supramental force that is, practically, the same concept as later understandings of dharma, is captured in this early Vedic prayer, preempting the liturgical strains of classical Hindu mantras involving dharma:

"O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over all evils."

--(Rig Veda Book X, Chapter CXXXIII, Verse 6)

Thus we see the logical progression of an early 'course of things' into an all-encompassing moral order, a path and way of righteousness, an all-encompassing harmony of the universe, in the Vedic idea of Rta. (1)

Developing conceptions

An earlier and insightful demonstration of the continuity of thought from rta to dharma is a brief but "pregnant definition" ((3) of dharma given in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a part of the Veda. Founded upon the Hindu ideas of, as R. H. Hume's "intelligent monism," with Brahman the monad, the Upanishads saw dharma as the universal principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first from Brahman. It acts as the regulatory moral principle of the universe. It is sat, truth, a major tenet of Hinduism. This hearkens back to the conception of the Rig Veda that "Ekam Sat," (Truth Is One), of the idea that Brahman is "Sacchidananda" (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). Dharma has imbibed the highest principles of Truth, and as such is the central guiding principle in the Hindu conception of existence. Dharma is not just law, or harmony, it is pure Reality. In the Brihadaranyaka's own words:

" Verily, that which is Dharma is truth.

Therefore they say of a man who speaks truth, 'He speaks the Dharma,'

or of a man who speaks the Dharma, 'He speaks the Truth.'

Verily, both these things are the same."

(Brh. Upanishad, 1.4.14) (2)

Dharma as a Purushartha

In moving through the four stages of life, viz. Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanprastha , Sanyaasa, a person also seeks to fulfill the four essentials (purushaartha) of Dharma, Artha (worldly gain}, Kama (sensual pleasures), and Moksha (liberation from reincarnation or rebirth). Moksha, although the ultimate goal, is emphasized more in the last two stages of life, while Artha and Kama are primary only during Grihasthaashram. Dharma, however is essential in all four stages.

Kane's view

According to Dr.Pandurang Vaman Kane, the word "Dharma" acquired a sense of "the privileges, duties and obligations of a man, his standard of conduct as a member of the Aryan community, as a member of the caste and as a person in a particular state of life."

The God Dharma

Dharma is also the name of a Deva in charge of Dhrama. He is born from the right breast of Brahma, is married to ten daughters of Daksha and fathers Shama, kama and Harahsa. He is alo the father of the celebrated Rishis Hari, Krishna, Nara and Naryana. In the Epioc Mahbharata Dharma is invoked by Kunti and she begets her eldest son Yudhisthira from him. As such Yudhisthir is know as Dhrmaputra.

Dharma is not to be confused with Yama, the God of the Dead and the God of Death. Yama is a Dhram abididng Deva and is hence called Dharamaraj.

In Buddhism

In East Asia, the character for Dharma is 法, pronounced fǎ in Mandarin and hō in Japanese.

Buddha's teachings

For practicing Buddhists, references to "dharma" or dhamma in the singular, particularly as "the" Dharma, is used to mean the teachings of the Buddha, and is sometimes referred to as the Buddha-Dharma. This latter signification has nothing to do with the personality of the spiritual teacher Siddhartha Gautama but rather signifies the importance of the attitude of mind that enables an adept or practitioner to re-harmonise his personal nature with the underlying principle (Dharma) behind natural phenomena (an attitude known in theistic religion as 'surrendering to the Will of the Lord') leading towards the undoing of all egoistic falsehood and ultimately release in nirvana - the peace of liberation (moksha)

The status of the Dharma is regarded variably by different traditions. Some regard it as an ultimate and transcendent truth which is utterly beyond worldly things, somewhat like the Christian logos. Others, who regard the Buddha as simply an enlightened human being, see the Dharma as the 84,000 different teachings (the Kanjur) that the Buddha gave to various types of people based on their needs.

"Dharma" usually refers inclusively not just to the sayings of the Buddha but to the later traditions of interpretation and addition that the various schools of Buddhism have developed to help explain and expand upon the Buddha's teachings. For others still, they see the dharma as referring to the "truth" or ultimate reality or "the way things are" (Tib. Cho).

The Dharma is one of the Three Jewels of buddhism of which practitioners of Buddhism seek refuge in (what one relies on for his/her lasting happiness). The three jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha (mind's perfection of enlightenment), the Dharma (teachings and methods), and the Sangha (awakened beings who provide guidance and support).

Qualities of Buddha Dharma

The Teaching of the Buddha also has six supreme qualities:

(Svakkhato) The Dhamma is not a speculative philosophy, but is the Universal Law found through enlightenment and is preached precisely. Therefore it is Excellent in the beginning (Sīla ... Moral principles), Excellent in the middle (Samadhi. . . Concentration) and Excellent in the end (Pań ña . . . Wisdom),
(Samditthiko) The Dhamma can be tested by practice and therefore he who follows it will see the result by himself through his own experience.
(Akāliko) The Dhamma is able to bestow timeless and immediate results here and now, for which there is no need to wait until the future or next existence.
(Ehipassiko) The Dhamma welcomes all beings to put it to the test and come see for themselves.
(Opāneyiko) The Dhamma is capable of being entered upon and therefore it is worthy to be followed as a part of one's life.
(Paccattam veditabbo viññūnhi) The Dhamma can be perfectly realized only by the noble disciples (Ariyas) who have matured and enlightened enough in supreme wisdom.

Knowing these attributes, Buddhists believe that they will attain the greatest peace and happiness through the practice of the Dhamma. Each person is therefore fully responsible for himself to put it in the real practice.

Here the Buddha is compared to an experienced and skilful doctor, and the Dhamma to proper medicine. However efficient the doctor or wonderful the medicine may be, the patients cannot be cured unless they take the medicine properly. So the practice of the Dhamma is the only way to attain the final deliverance of Nibbāna.

These teachings ranged from understanding karma (cause and effect) and developing good impressions in one's mind, to how to reach full enlightenment by recognizing the nature of mind.

Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology

Other uses include dharma, normally spelled with a small "d" (to differentiate), which refers to a phenomenon or constituent factor of human experience. This was gradually expanded into a classification of constituents of the entire material and mental world. Rejecting the substantial existence of permanent entities which are qualified by possibly changing qualities, Buddhist Abhidharma philosophy, which enumerated seventy-five dharmas, came to propound that these "constituent factors" are the only type of entity that truly exists. This notion is of particular importance for the analysis of human experience: Rather than assuming that mental states inhere in a cognizing subject, or a soul-substance, Buddhist philosophers largely propose that mental states alone exist as "momentary elements of consciousness", and that a subjective perceiver is assumed.

One of the central tenets of Buddhism, is the denial of a separate permanent "I", and is outlined in the three marks of existence. The three signs: 1. Dukkha - Suffering (Pali: Dukkha), 2. Anitya - Change/Impermanence (Pali: Anicca), 3. Anatman - No-I (Pali: Annatta). At the heart of Buddhism, is the denial of an "I" (and hence the delusion) as a separate self-existing entity.

Later, Buddhist philosophers like Nāgārjuna would question whether the dharmas (momentary elements of consciousness) truly have a separate existence of their own. (ie Do they exist apart from anything else?) Rejecting any inherent reality to the dharmas, he asked (rhetorically):

śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu kim anantaṁ kimantavat
kim anantam antavac ca nānantaṁ nāntavacca kiṁ
kiṁ tad eva kim anyat kiṁ śāśvataṁ kim aśāśvataṁ
aśāśvataṁ śāśvataṁ ca kiṁ vā nobhayam apyataḥ 'tha
sarvopalambhpaśamaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivaḥ
na kva cit kasyacit kaścid dharmo buddhena deśitaḥ|

When all dharmas are empty, what is endless? What has an end?
What is endless and with an end? What is not endless and not with an end?
What is it? What is other? What is permanent? What is impermanent?
What is impermanent and permanent? What is neither?

Auspicious is the pacification of phenomenal metastasis, the pacification of all apprehending;
There is no dharma whatsoever taught by the Buddha to whomever, whenever, wherever. --Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, nirvṇānaparīkṣā, 25:22-24

Dharma as righteousness

According to S. N. Goenka, teacher of Vipassana Meditation, the original meaning of dhamma is “dhareti ti dhamma’, or “that which is contained”. Dharma in the Buddhist scriptures has a variety of meanings, including “phenomenon”, and "nature" or "characteristic". Dharma also means ‘mental contents’, and is paired with citta, which means heart/mind. The pairing is paralleled with the pairing of kaya (body) and vedana (feelings or sensations, that which arise within the body but experienced through the mind), in major sutras such as the Mahasatipatthana sutra. Dharma is also used to refer to the teachings of the Buddha, not in the context of the words of one man, even an enlightened man, but as a reflection of natural law which was re-discovered by this man and shared with the world. A person who lives their life with an understanding of this natural law, is a “dhammic” person, which is often translated as “righteous”.

In Sikhism

For Sikhs, the word "Dharma" means the "path of righteousness". What is the "righteous path"? That is the question that the Sikh scriptures attempt to answer. The main holy scriptures of the Sikhs is called the Guru Granth Sahib or SGGS for short. It is considered to be more than a holy book of the Sikhs. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contains the actual words spoken by the Sikh Gurus and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.

The Guru Granth Sahib lays down the foundation of this "righteous path" and various salient points are found.

. Sikh is bound by Dharma: The followers of this faith are bound by Dharma as advocated in their holy scriptures. The committed Sikh is encouraged to follow this path at all times. The first recitation of the SGGS called the Japji Sahib says the following: "The path of the faithful shall never be blocked. The faithful shall depart with honor and fame. The faithful do not follow empty religious rituals. The faithful are firmly bound to the Dharma. Such is the Name of the Immaculate Lord. Only one who has faith comes to know such a state of mind." (14) (SGGS Japji page 3.) (1)

. Deeds are recorded: The persons thoughts and deeds are said to be recorded and the faithful is warned that these will be read out in the presence of the "Lord of Dharma". Two scribes called "Chitr and Gupt" (2) , the angels of the conscious and the subconscious mind are busy writing ones thought and deeds. On death the soul of the person he brought before "Lord of Dharma" are these account are read out as recoded in this quote: "Day and night are the two nurses, in whose lap all the world is at play. Good deeds and bad deeds - the record is read out in the Presence of the Lord of Dharma. According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven farther away." (SGGS Japji page 8, Salok.) (3)

. Dharma administered by God: The scriptures further outline how the "Judge of Dharma" administers justice depending on the way that one has conducted life on Earth. The soul is either "cleared" or "subject to God's command" depending on the review of the person history. The holy text says: "The Righteous Judge of Dharma, by the Hukam of God's Command, sits and administers True Justice". (SGGS page 38) (4) and those followers who "chant the name of the Lord" are cleared as outlined thus: "Her account is cleared by the Righteous Judge of Dharma, when she chants the Name of the Lord, Har, Har." (SGGS page 78) (5)

In Jainism

Dharma is natural. Jain Acharya Samantabhadra writes: "Vatthu sahavo dhammo" the dharma is the nature of an object. It is the nature of the soul to be free, thus for the soul, the dharma ia paralaukika, beyond worldly. However the nature of the body is to seek self-preservation and be engaged in pleasures.

Thus there are two dharmas.

The two Dharmas

Acharya Haribhadra (approx. 6-7th cent.) discusses dharma in Dharma-Bindu. he writes (Translation by Y. Malaiya):

soayam-anushhThaatRi-bhedat dvi-vidho
gRihastha-dharmo yati-dharmash-cha |

Because of the difference in practice, Dharma is of two kinds, for the householders and for the monks.

tatra gRihastha-dharmoapi dvi-vidhaH
saamanyato visheshhatash-cha |

Of the householder's dharma, there are two kinds,"ordinary" and "special"

tatra saamnayato gRihastha-dharmaH kula-krama-agatam-anindyaM
vibhavady-apekshayaa nyaato.anushhThaanaM |

The ordinary gRihastha-dharma should be carried out according to tradition, such that it is not objectionable, according to ones abilities such as wealth, in accordance with nyaya (everyone treated fairly and according to laws).

Somadeva suri (10th c.) termss the "ordinary" and "special" dharmas laukika and the paralukika dharmas respectively:

dvau hi dharamau gRiahasthANam, laukikaH, paarlaukikaH |
lokaashrayo bhavedaadyah, parah syaad-aagama-AshrayaH ||

A householder follows both laukika and the paralukika dharmas at the same time.

References in pop culture

Dharma is a frequent allusion on ABC's hit show Lost. The DHARMA Initiative is the name of the corporation that controls apparently much of what happens on the island. It is responsible for the food and medicine supplies and the bunkers where some of the survivors have taken shelter (also known as hatches). It allegedly conducted (or is conducting) experiments in many fields. Any clear relation to Dharma and its philosophies are yet to be elucidated. As well, the show's producers have confirmed that DHARMA, in Lost, is an acronym, but will not yet reveal its meaning.

In the Lost Experience, DHARMA stands for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications.

In the Dragon Quest video game series, Dharma Shrine serves as a place for players to change their job classes.

In the 1968 Jethro Tull album, This Was, there is a song called "Dharma for One", which Tull also played two years later at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival

In the video game Suikoden III, The main antagonist's(Luc's) motivations are based on concept of Dharma.

The female lead character in Dharma and Greg is named Dharma. She was raised by hippie parents, is a practitioner of yoga and an adherent of Eastern spiritualities.

References

Radhakrishnan, S. (1923): "Indian Philosophy Vol.1" (2nd Edition). New Delhi: Oxford India Paperbacks (Oxford University Press).
Hume, R.E.: (1921): "The Thirteen Principal Upanishads" (2nd Edition, Revised). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Easwaran, E. (1987): "The Upanishads" (Seventh Printing). Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press.

External links

Dharma: The eternal teachings of religion [definitional essay]
Hongaku Jodo, a major American Dharma movement
Forest Dhamma Books Free English translations of the teachings from the Buddhist Masters of the Thai forest tradition.
Dharma-Karma-Samsara
DharmaWeb Buddhist Wiki and portal
Margaret & Malcolm™ 4.0 Dharmic Communities International Dharma Centres Database
E-Sangha Buddhism Portal
Buddhism & Buddhist Studies Portal
Dharma in Leadership, Management and Business
Dharma - Harvard's Hindu Students Association
Swadharma - Harvard's Hinduism Journal

E-Dharma.com: Buddha-Dharma portal with discussions in Norwegian and English