धर्म DHARMA

धर्म DHARMA

Preamble

I write these pieces for our next generation and share with my own kith and kin. I always feel that many of our foundational ideas are so progressive but they are never discussed in ways that our youth can relate to. My attempt is to only start a discussion on how relevant some of these ideas are even today, who we are as a civilization, and why we do what we do. I expect this to be read more as a discussion and is not intended to be preachy - although I realize that it can sometimes walk that precarious line and inadvertently cross it sometimes. For those shortcomings, I ask for your forgiveness.

What is Dharma?

Growing up as a Bharatiya (Indian), we all take the word Dharma for granted. It is commonly used to mean one or all of the following: religion, righteousness, duty, being good to others, being truthful, etc. But does it have a clear definition? Our itihasas and puranas are full of stories describing Dharma through riddles, situational Q&As, and art. Yama, Yudhishthira, Vidur, Krishna, are all known to be vidwaans in the doctrine of Dharma. And to make things confusing we have phrases like Swadharma, Rajadharma, Matrudharma, Pitrudharma, Putradharma, Mitradharma, etc. Most Indians are familiar with the term Dharma-sankat - a dilemma that arises when two or more of these ‘sub-dharmas’ are in conflict with each other. Karna faced this in Mahabharata and so did Shashi Kapoor in the movie Deewar. Many of our stories have been written and built around these conflicts. It takes all of 18 Chapters for Krishna to dispel Arjuna’s confusion arising out of the same conflict; we celebrate those chapters as one of our ‘holiest’ books that most Hindus of today have never cared to read - The Bhagavad Gita.

Ahimsa & Dharma

While there are several treatises that define it, Dharma as an idea is perhaps best embodied in this definition from the Mahabharata:

अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः

Ahimsa is the first principle of Dharma 

The cosmos has a ‘way’ to its existence; there is an inherent order of how it exists, unfurls, and sustains itself. This is evident at both the cosmic and microcosmic levels. The Vedas call it ऋतम् (Rtam) and the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu called it “Tao”. Our actions have an impact, small or large, on this Rtam. The simplest example is seen in how we have affected the environment around us - the forests are depleted, global climate change is a serious threat, rivers, ground water, air, are all contaminated. The undeniable fact is that our actions cause himsa (violence) at various levels.

In principle, the act of eating also is an act of himsa. It does not matter what we eat, the fact that we do, impacts the Rtam. That does not mean that we should not eat, but the fact is that it has an impact. And that the scope of that impact is small or large depending on what, when, and how we eat. In Valmiki's Ramayana, Valmiki goes to take a bath in the River and sees a male and a female Cranes (Kraunca) lost in each other in a beautiful love. At that moment a hunter comes and kills one of the Cranes. Valmiki, in a state of shock, sadness and anger curses in the following verses that are considered to be  the first ever poetry (Aadi Kaavyam):

मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमश्शाश्वतीस्समा: ।
यत्क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधी: काममोहितम् ।।

"O' hunter, you will fall permanently from your position since you killed the crane that was in the act of mating"

Inherent in these verses is the subtle definition of Dharma. Just as a Lion is naturally programmed to rely on a deer for its subsistence, a hunter relies on his hunt. This is no Adharma in this. However, since the Hunter killed the Kraunca while it was in an act of love, it becomes Adharma.

This nuanced understanding of Dharma is embedded in the itihasas, puranas and kavyas composed in the Sanskrit language. Without expounding these nuances, the understanding of Dharma and Ahimsa can even result in  dangerous interpretations. We see Mohandas Gandhi as a perfect example whose interpretation of Ahimsa would have resulted in the annihilation of the indigenous people of India. Dharma does not mean unconditional Ahimsa (non-violence). Dharma is the responsibility of a human being to uphold a state of Ahimsa within his sphere of influence & reach. I remember the story of a Brahmana whose spiritual practices were so exalted that he would only eat the fruit that had fallen from the tree. Such were his yamas.  But one day when someone came to cut the tree, it was the same Brahmana who made a bow out of a branch to defend the tree. 

Ahimsa, therefore, is not abstinence from violence! On the contrary, it is indulging in karma to maintain a state of Ahimsa. That defines upholding of Dharma. That potency is Kshatram and the person who uses that potency to act is a Kashtriya.

The above story is not entirely fictional. Magesthenes who was the Greek ambassador in Chandra Gupta Maurya’s court (Circa 265 BCE), in his Pax Indica, talks about such a sect of Brahmins who only eat fruit that has fallen to the ground. In modern parlance, we would call this minizing your footprint. While one may feel that this is rather extreme, this is the reason that the idea of vegetarianism was born in India. Our tradition is not prescriptive but aspirational - aspiring to cause the least himsa. Even our prayers reinforce this idea. They rarely ask anything for the self but ask for the mangalam of the cosmos.

सर्वेशां स्वस्तिर्भवतु

सर्वेशां शान्तिर्भवतु

सर्वेशां पुर्णंभवतु

सर्वेशां मगलंभवतु

Sarveshaam Svastir Bhavatu (Let there be good health everywhere)

Sarveshaam Shantir Bhavatu (Let there be peace everywhere)

Sarveshaam Purnam Bhavatu ((Let there be fulfillment everywhere)

Sarveshaam Mangalam Bhavatu (Let there be well-being and sustenance everywhere)

We consider not just the humans, not just the living beings, but the entire material cosmos as a manifestation of the eternal divine. We consider all of it as sacred, interconnected, interdependent and a temporary material manifestation of the Nirguna, Nirakara, Nirvikalpa Brhman. In our inability to comprehend this vast creation, we invoke the sacred in many ways. When the sun rises, we playfully ask the divine to wake up and ensure that the cosmos is in good health and peace prevails, when we recite:

उत्तिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ गोविन्द उत्तिष्ठ गरुडध्वज । 
उत्तिष्ठ कमलाकान्त त्रैलोक्यं मङ्गलं कुरु

Uthista uthista govinda utishta garudhvaja

Uthista kamalakanta, trailokyam mangalam kuru

(Wake up, O Govinda, one with Garuda on the flag; wake up, O beloved of Kamala; please wake up and ensure the well being of the universe!)

- Sri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam
(sung daily as the first rays of the sun emerge; composed by Sri Anantacharya circa 1430 AD)

The core eternal truths are discussed as Shruti and each individual can aspire to become better than what he or she was yesterday. Those who have the discipline and will to cause least impact, will only eat fruit fallen to the ground. Others such as the highly disciplined Vaishnavites and Jains will not eat roots since it kills the entire plant. Modern Indian vegetarians will eat everything that’s not meat. Most who have grown up in a sampradaya of eating meat also recognize this aspiration and will not eat meat on certain ‘auspicious’ days (most coastal sampradayas eat fish). The modern rationalist has not grown up informed in this tradition and since the whole world seems to be doing just fine eating everything and having a good time, he or she sees no motivation in doing anything different. In short, each one finds their own sweet spot. Here, it is important to point out that one is not better or worse than the other. Each person can be better or worse than what sampradaya he or she was born in. The aspiration is to get one step better than how you have been brought up. One of the most progressive modern societies, California, seems to embody some of our sampradayas. For example, most environmentally conscious people know that chicken’s embodied energy is many times that of a comparable amount of plant based nutrients. Beef is even more. Plant based nutrients from a locally grown source is even less. This has resulted in an explosion of locally sourced, seasonal, organic, vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and some staunch followers all over the state.

It is this narrative of Ahimsa of how we see ourselves in the interconnected, interdependent cosmic web of existence (indrajalam), that makes up the ‘DNA’ of the Bharatiya Culture. It is the core building block narrative of Dharma. While many things may change with time, this foundational aspect of Dharma is eternal (Sanatana). Hence the term Sanatana Dharma. Outsiders have given another name to this which unfortunately, carries a lot of baggage with it - Hinduism.

While food is just one aspect, it conveys the point powerfully. This applies to all consumption and the idea of unsustainable growth itself - GDP measures the sum total of goods and services. We currently indulge in the unsustainable definition of development - the more we consume, the more developed we are. So, next time you are buying that extra pair of shoes that you don’t need, no matter how many visits to the temple you make, you are not doing your dharma.

The world we live in is like a vast calm lake where our actions (Karma) create ripples. The objective of Dharma is to indulge in Karma in such a way that it creates the least amount of ripples.

Since industrial revolution, the ripples have turned into huge ugly cacophonous splashes. Adharma has become the DNA of modernity and is unsustainable in the long run.

Dharma does not apply to overconsumption alone. One can commit himsa through speech as well. All of us do that all the time. When we speak, we exercise our ahamkara (ego). We claim our existence through expressing ourselves and that comes from our ahamkara. Dharma means to speak in a way that does not create poison in others. The great Vishnugupta (Chanakya) also says that अग्निदाहादपि विशिष्टं वाकपारूष्यम्  (the himsa of speech is stronger than the burning of fire). This subhashitam of Bhatrihari captures the thought beautifully:

केयूरा  न  विभूषयन्ति पुरुषं हारा न  चन्द्रोज्ज्वला 

न  स्नानं  न  विलेपनं  न  कुसुमं  नाSलंकृता  मूर्धजा 

वाण्येका  समलंकरोति  पुरुषं  या  संस्कृता धार्यते 

क्षीयन्ते  खलु  भूषणानि  सततं वाग्भूषणं  भूषणं

(Makeup, ornaments, fragrances, and attire do not augment one's personality; speech is the only ornament that truly decorates a person)

Dharma: A 2-way Street

In the Mahabharata, Yudhisthira describes another interesting quality of Dharma:

धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः

Dharma protects those who protect it. 

At one level, one can understand this in the context of the symbiotic relationship we have with the Earth. However, this 2-way nature of Dharma is more than the give & take of Earth's resources. It is an inherent order that is powered by the supreme consciousness that pervades the cosmos. This is evident from the blessings that Kausalya gives to Rama as he leaves to the forest for 14 years through these verses:

यम् पालयसि धर्मम् त्वम् धृत्या च नियमेन च |
सवै राघवशार्दुल! धर्मस्त्वामभिरक्षतु ||

"O' Rama, May Dharma that are upholding through your courage and discipline, protect you"

August 5, 2018

(On LA-Mumbai Flight)