In Hinduism, dharma is one of the four components of the Puruṣārtha, the aims of life, and signifies behaviours that are considered to be in accord with Ṛta, the order that makes life and universe possible. It includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".
In Buddhism, dharma means "cosmic law and order",as expressed by the teachings of the Buddha. In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for "phenomena".
Dharma in Jainism refers to the teachings of Tirthankara (Jina) and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings.
In Sikhism, dharma means the path of righteousness and proper religious practice And one's own moral duties toward God.
The concept of dharma was already in use in the historical Vedic religion, and its meaning and conceptual scope has evolved over several millennia. As with the other components of the Puruṣārtha, the concept of dharma is pan-Indian. The ancient Tamil moral text of Tirukkural is solely based on aṟam, the Tamil term for dharma. The antonym of dharma is adharma.
The word dharma has roots in the Sanskrit dhr-, which means to hold or to support, and is related to Latin firmus (firm, stable). From this, it takes the meaning of "what is established or firm", and hence "law". It is derived from an older Vedic Sanskrit n-stem dharman-, with a literal meaning of "bearer, supporter", in a religious sense conceived as an aspect of Rta.
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, it means "sustainer" and "supporter" (of deities). It is semantically similar to the Greek themis ("fixed decree, statute, law").
In Classical Sanskrit, and in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Atharvaveda, the stem is thematic: dhárma- (Devanāgarī: धर्म). In Prakrit and Pāli, it is rendered dhamma. In some contemporary Indian languages and dialects it alternatively occurs as dharm.
In the 3rd century BCE the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka translated dharma into Greek and Aramaic he used the Greek word eusebeia (εὐσέβεια, piety, spiritual maturity, or godliness) in the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription and the Kandahar Greek Edicts. In the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription he used the Aramaic word קשיטא (qšyṭ’; truth, rectitude)
According
to Pandurang Vaman Kane, author of the authoritative book History
of Dharmasastra, the word dharma appears at
least fifty-six times in the hymns of the Rigveda, as an adjective or noun. According
to Paul Horsch, the word dharma has its origin in the myths of
Vedic Hinduism. The hymns of the Rig Veda claim Brahman created the universe from
chaos, they hold (dhar-) the earth and sun and stars apart, they support
(dhar-) the sky away and distinct from earth, and they stabilise (dhar-) the
quaking mountains and plains. The gods, mainly Indra,
then deliver and hold order from disorder, harmony from chaos, stability from
instability – actions recited in the Veda with the root of word dharma. In
hymns composed after the mythological verses, the word dharma takes expanded
meaning as a cosmic principle
and appears in verses independent of gods. It evolves into a concept, claims
Paul Horsch, that has a dynamic functional sense in Atharvaveda for example, where it
becomes the cosmic law that links cause and effect through a subject. Dharma,
in these ancient texts, also takes a ritual meaning. The ritual is connected to
the cosmic, and "dharmani" is equated to ceremonial devotion to the
principles that gods used to create order from disorder, the world from chaos. Past
the ritual and cosmic sense of dharma that link the current world to mythical
universe, the concept extends to ethical-social sense that links human beings
to each other and to other life forms. It is here that dharma as a concept of law
emerges in Hinduism.
Dharma
and related words are found in the oldest Vedic literature of Hinduism, in
later Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and the Epics; the word dharma also plays a
central role in the literature of other Indian religions founded later, such as
Buddhism and Jainism.According to Brereton, Dharman occurs
63 times in Rig-veda; in addition, words related to
Dharman also appear in Rig-veda, for example once as dharmakrt, 6 times
as satyadharman, and once as dharmavant, 4 times
as dharman and twice as dhariman.
Indo-European parallels
for "dharma" are known, but the only Iranian equivalent is Old
Persian darmān "remedy", the meaning of which is
rather removed from Indo-Aryan dhárman,
suggesting that the word "dharma" did not have a major role in
the Indo-Iranian period,
and was principally developed more recently under the Vedic tradition. However,
it is thought that the Daena of Zoroastrianism, also meaning the
"eternal Law" or "religion", is related to Sanskrit
"dharma"
Ideas
in parts overlapping to Dharma are found in other ancient
cultures: such as Chinese Tao, Egyptian Maat,
Sumerian Me.
Eusebeia and dharma
The Kandahar
Bilingual Rock Inscription is from Indian Emperor Asoka in 258 BC, and found
in Afghanistan. The inscription renders the
word dharma in Sanskrit as eusebeia in Greek,
suggesting dharma in ancient India meant spiritual maturity,
devotion, piety, duty towards and reverence for human community.
In
the mid-20th century, an inscription of the Indian Emperor Asoka from the year 258 BC was
discovered in Afghanistan, the Kandahar
Bilingual Rock Inscription. This rock inscription contains Greek and Aramaic text. According to Paul Hacker,[40] on the rock appears a Greek
rendering for the Sanskrit word dharma: the word eusebeia. Scholars of Hellenistic
Greece explain eusebeia as a complex concept. Eusebia means not only to
venerate gods, but also spiritual maturity, a reverential attitude toward life,
and includes the right conduct toward one's parents, siblings and children, the
right conduct between husband and wife, and the conduct between biologically
unrelated people. This rock inscription, concludes Paul Hacker, suggests dharma
in India, about 2300 years ago, was a central concept and meant not only
religious ideas, but ideas of right, of good, of one's duty toward the human
community.
Rta, maya and dharma
The
evolving literature of Hinduism linked dharma to two other
important concepts: Ṛta and Māyā. Ṛta in Vedas is the truth and cosmic principle
which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within
it. Māyā in Rig-veda and later literature
means illusion, fraud, deception, magic that misleads and creates disorder, thus
is contrary to reality, laws and rules that establish order, predictability and
harmony. Paul Horsch suggests Ṛta and dharma are parallel concepts, the
former being a cosmic principle, the latter being of moral social sphere; while
Māyā and dharma are also correlative concepts, the former being that which
corrupts law and moral life, the later being that which strengthens law and
moral life.
Day
proposes dharma is a manifestation of Ṛta, but suggests Ṛta may have been
subsumed into a more complex concept of dharma, as the idea developed in
ancient India over time in a nonlinear manner. The following verse from
the Rigveda is an example where rta and
dharma are linked:
O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over
all evils...
The word dharma comes from the Sanskrit root word dhri, which means “to hold,” "to maintain," or "to preserve." In the early Vedas and other ancient Hindu texts, dharma referred to the cosmic law that created the ordered universe from chaos. Later, it was applied to other contexts, including human behaviours and ways of living that prevent society, family and nature from descending into chaos. This included the concepts of duty, rights, religion and morally appropriate behavior, and so dharma came to be understood as a means to preserve and maintain righteousness.
On an individual level, dharma can refer to a personal mission or purpose. Traditionally, an individual’s dharma is thought to be pre-determined. Depending on karma, a soul is born into a particular caste or social group, either as a reward or a punishment for actions in their past lives. Their path in life is set by universal laws, and the only way to progress is to live within this path and work toward their destined purpose. According to the Bhagavad Gita, it is better to do your own dharma poorly than to do another's well.
It is said that all beings must accept their dharma for order and harmony to exist in the world. If an individual is following their dharma, they are pursuing their truest calling and serving all other beings in the universe by playing their true role.
To Hindus, all entities have their own dharma: even the sun must shine and the bees must make honey. In Buddhism, dharma additionally means acting in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha and the Four Noble Truths.
The result of living in this “right way” is believed to be self-realization and enlightenment. Above all, when your life is aligned with your dharma, it brings a sense of joy and fulfilment.
to be continued.
