Since few months, life been tumultuous with lot of travels and with some personal errands. Few months back, I went to Turkey and then to Tokyo for an official business trip, which decelerated me a bit lethargic to update my dairy and other notes. But, I was able to ward off few weeks from summer. Last month, kids were back home after their brief simmering summer stay in their granny’s & aunt’s house. This time, they experienced the real hot summer when they were there in Vizag & Vijayawada (Granny’s & Aunt’s visit). I had a deep commiseration when I was hearing their experiences in handling the heat waves. Bangalore is a good option to stay during the summer. This time kids too realized it soon :)-. A month back, Kids and my better half started going to their school. Since then, daily chores have been rejuvenated much faster for me.
Few weeks back, my elder one, now 9 years old, during her bed time story telling, asked me a different question i.e. nanna (daddy) what is meant by Dharmam or Right Conduct? and how to judge what’s the right conduct? Very interesting question and for which I was able to purported her with few simple answers like, Dear: 1) follow your consciousness 2) do the work which you think it is moral for you and to others. 3) don’t be greedy 4) be contended always 5) be kind to others.
After then, this has been lingering in my thoughts to understand the dharmam or right conduct.Though, I heard this word many times and got imbibed a different picture in my mind while hearing any of the famous epic stories but, never had a deep dive into it.
Here are my thoughts about right conduct which is general to any Human society.
The Dharma:
The word dharma is derived from Sanskrit root ‘dhri’ meaning to hold together or that principle which is capable of preserving the universe. The social implication and meaning of dharma is a principle maintaining the stability of society. Dharma is designed to keep all creation free from any harm. Dharma can be defined as right conduct; it stands for both the satya or truth of things as well as the dharma or the law of evolution. Moral evil is disharmony with the truth which encompasses and controls the world. Our dharma-shastras do not establish dogmas by searching analysis of moral standards, happiness or perfection , but they were concerned with the truth or dharma which excelled above everything else. The principle of dharma also includes the cardinal virtues, self-restraints, daya-compassion or love for all sentient life, and daya-gift or charity. In the 3rd century BC, the emperor Ashoka inscribed on stone in all parts, a list of virtues-compassion, liberty, truth, purity,peace, self-control, which resemble Gautham Buddha’s list and the teachings of the Mahabharat. Our dharma-shastras attached highest importance to moral qualities. They are related to the duties common to all . Their main purpose to be a practical one to guide people to right acts in every day life that each person had to do with reference to his station in society.
Another reason, for cultivating high moral qualities, is found in the doctrine of the goals or ends of human existence. From ancient times, there are four purusharthas, — dharma (right conduct), artha (economic interest), Kama (satisfaction of desires), moksha (liberation). There is a gradation of values. Kama is the lowest and dharma is the highest. Kautilya proclaims that artha is the most important principle of three, as dharma and kama both spring from artha. Also, the dictates of desires is not the law of human existence but dharma is complete rule of life which establishes the harmony of his whole being. The four ends of life point to the different sides of human nature, the instinctive and emotional, the economic and the spiritual. Man becomes completely human when his sensibility to spiritual capacity is awakened.
The entire doctrine of dharma is based upon the philosophic doctrine of “One-Self” being immanent is every individual as said in the words tat-tvam-asi. All existence is viewed from an unitary principle. This is the highest point reached in Indian social-thinking, based on its metaphysics. The eternal is manifested in the temporal and the latter is the pathway of the former. The Upanishads say, “In darkness are they who worship the infinite alone. He who accepts both saves himself from death by the acknowledge of the latter.” So the principle of dharma interlinks the individual with society. The Hindus do not attach great importance to the world for itself, but for its connection with the eternal.
What appeals to the social genius of the modern person is not the detail or the metaphysical concept of Dharma, but the pattern of social thinking and spirit generating this dynamic principle. Dharma provides meaning and purpose to human existence in harmony with society. The four purusharthas are interrelated and mutually balancing. Development of craze or one sided stress, so evident in our days, is not feasible in a life led according to the principle of dharma. Of course, renunciation and dedication is there. We cannot build an integrated human society without any unitary principle. Fragmentary developments of societies create chaos and dis-balance in the world order. The spiritual crisis and socio-politico-economic antagonisms of our times can be minimized by evolving a universal principle of respect for the fundamentals of human life. We have not yet succeeded in finding methods of sharing controls and to evolve an adequate technique of social co-ordination to the demands of Great Society. A principle like the dharma of Hindu social organization, should become the essence of human civilization for the construction of human society on a planned level.
