Real meaning of Dharma

Q: How does Dharma differ from societal norms or laws?

Dharma refers to the living entity's eternal engagement.

The essence of a thing is what in Sanskrit is called dharma. In other words, dharma is the innate property of an object that defines that object and makes it what it is.

The dharma of salt, for instance, is to be salt; a stone's dharma is to be hard; water's dharma is to be wet, fire's dharma is heat and light, the dharma of honey is to be sweet, and so on.

One might ask, what then is the dharma of a living entity? What is the inherent quality that makes a living entity what it is? The answer to this question is - service. To serve is the essence of the soul.

The soul is a particle of consciousness which is meant to serve Krishna. In our bodily state, where we exist separately from Krishna, the service is expressed in so many ways according to the body we inhabit, but the serving tendency shines through in all circumstances. We all have to serve someone or something.

As parents we serve our children, we serve society by paying taxes, we serve the boss at work, and we serve our spouses. It can be said that service equals love. Service is an integral aspect of love, because without service there is no love.

A man might declare his love to a woman, but if he never does anything for her, if he never shows her his love by buying her nice things, or looking after her when she is sick, what is the value of his love?

And if a woman loves a man she will be eager to serve him in all kinds of ways by being pleasant and cooking his favorite dishes etc. We serve the ones we love.

Even people who have no loved ones to serve, like some old people who have lost all their relatives, get themselves a canary or a little dog they can lavish their service tendencies on.

They serve the bird by cleaning its cage and feeding it with fresh water and food, or they walk their dog and pick up its droppings in a plastic bag to dispose of later, and sometimes they spend half their pension on veterinary bills.

These are all symptoms of the loving service manifested in the living entity. Also In animals we find the tendency for service manifested.

Even in very selfish people who care for nothing and no one, claiming they feel no responsibility to serve or care for anyone, we find they still have to serve.

They serve the urges of their bodies because they are forced to. They have to eat, they have to sleep, they have to mate, and they have to defend themselves. There is no way they can escape serving their bodies.

Or they will serve their minds' demands for name and distinction. Many people are driven by strong mental urges for recognition, position and power. That means they are serving these urges. Everyone has to serve someone or something.

When the Vedas speak of dharma in connection with human life, the word in English is often translated as religion, because religion is said to be the essence of human existence.

Even an atheist will have some belief system or moral and ethical codes he adheres to. But religion or faith can change. A Christian can change and become an atheist or a Muslim can convert to Hinduism, so religion or the type of faith we adhere to describes only the temporary dharma we follow as human beings. It doesn't describe that service which is eternal.

Another translation of the word dharma is duty. Duty is inextricably connected with human life.

But we don't have the same duties. We have different duties according to the body we inhabit. Thus the Vedas describe different types of dharma or duties in terms of our different bodies and abilities.

There are different dharmas for women, for men, for children, for old people and for all the different sections of people and social orders.

So there are two forms of dharma or duty associated with human life. There is the dharma we have in relation to our body and its culture, and there is the dharma we have as a spirit soul.

One is the duty performed as embodied souls, and the other is our duty as liberated souls. The first is a temporary duty in relation to our specific body type, and the other is our eternal duty as souls in relation to the Supreme.

There is the dharma laid down for us by the holy scriptures like the Vedas, and then the duties we fabricate ourselves, as is evident in the modern culture.

It is clearly stated in Bhagavad Gita that if one neglects to perform the dharma prescribed in the scripture, and in stead acts whimsically according to rules we make up as we go along, one cannot expect happiness in this life or the next.

Krishna says:

“He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.” (Bg. 16.23)

“But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next." (Bg. 4.40)

If one follows the dharma as directed by the Vedas it leads to happiness and welfare in life, and one will be promoted to increasingly advanced forms of life on the higher planetary systems.

One can become a demigod, a siddha, a sage or any of the other sublime life-forms in the universal hierarchy.

But if one neglects to perform his designated duties as a human being, one will create a hellish existence individually and collectively, and if one insists on breaking with the natural balance of life, one will gradually sink down to the most abominable life forms.

Krishna says:

Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life. (Bg. 16. 19)

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kunti, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence. (Bg. 16.20)

To escape a hellish existence we have to abide by Krishna’s rules

"One who acts to serve Krishna with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person, even within this material world." (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.187)

In this age of Kali, the way by to become engaged in such service is by calling out to Krishna for it, and that is done by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra:

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare

hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

"This mantra, consisting of 16 words and 32 syllables, is the only means against evil in this age of Kali. After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime than the chanting of Hare Krishna.”

--- Kali-santarana Upanishad