Thought

Refining my understanding of ‘dharma’

Posted in Thought by sundarb on May 15, 2008

In the previous post, I mentioned the following about Maryadha Purushottama Rama.

/* Rama’s unflinching adherence to what is right is astounding. He is portrayed a mortal. Just like you or me. But still he is always capable of sensing what is right.*/

I wish to clarify on this note. There is no such thing as right or wrong. ‘Dharma’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Dhar’ meaning to uphold/sustain/support. That is to say, an object without its dharma loses its very essence. Dharma is therefore that property of the object which defines it. It can be said that the dharma of Surya is to provide light and the dharma of Agni is to burn. In a similar fashion, for a human it is a way-of-living or ‘being’. Rama’s way-of-living exemplified the true nature of man.

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