DHARMA
ENCOMPASSES FAITH AND RELIGION
By Chitranjan Sawant.
DHARMA
is a Sanskrit word that encompasses all that a
human being should do or not do. A human
being should walk on the path of Righteousness.
He and she should keep all that is EVIL at bay. Just follow the Dharma
and your action or inaction will not go haywire. One does not have to do
a hair splitting between faith and religion.
WHAT IS DHARMA:
Right from the time one opens one's eyes in the morning,
goes through all kinds of activities till the time he or she hits the
sack it is ACTION done by an individual's soul. The soul is responsible
for every action done by it and the reward or punishment will follow.
In the Vedic
philosophy of life, it is called the KARMA and the reward or
punishment that a soul receives is called KARMAPHAL or fruits of action
and/or inaction.
Back to the original
question to find what will guide our thought and action so that we do
good karma? As per Manu Maharaj, ten principles guide our action and
these TEN principles comprise the DHARMA. No rituals, no religion and no
faith in a deity or an image or a prophet. The DHARMA is for all human
beings and no single individual is called a son
of God. All humans are equals in the eye of God. Let us analyze
Manu's Ten Principles that go to define DHARMA.
Patience, Forgiveness,
Sublimation of desires, Not entertaining the thought of Stealing, Purity
of body, mind and soul, Control of human urges, Sharpening of BUDDHI or
intellect, Openness in receiving Spiritual knowledge, Pursuing the
TRUTH, Eliminating ANGER - these are the TEN
COMMANDMENTS that guide a human being's life of righteousness.
Thus we see that the
Vedic way of life is devoid of religion and rituals and there is no
requirement of reposing FAITH in a prophet or a godly man.
The individual human
being, both male and female, have equal access to the Almighty to say
prayers and be listened.
Therefore, I strongly
recommend that all human beings observe the Ten Commandments of DHARMA
and achieve the goal of MOKSHA.
What is MOKSHA ?
It is through the Karma
that a soul is elevated or goes into abyss. If the cumulative effect of
Karma is assessed by the Almighty, an individual soul may earn the
credit of being freed from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. That
soul has thus attained MOKSHA or liberation from the cycle of birth,
death and reincarnation of the soul.
This is the end result
of a soul's action or Karma as per the Dharma.
__________________________________
For a chat please write
to
upvanom@yahoo.com