posted November 22, 2007 05:35 PM         

This thread is spawned off SattvicMoon's *partial* quote:

quote:

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I know I won't be able to explain it all here, since it is all too deep and philosophical

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So maybe we can discuss it in it's own thread?

posted November 22, 2007 06:24 PM         

From Subhamoy Das,
Your Guide to Hinduism.

About the Path of Righteousness
Dharma is the path of righteousness and living one's life according to the codes of conduct as described by the Vedas and Upanishads. Dharma means "that which holds" the people of this world and the whole creation. It refers to the religious ethics as propounded by Hindu gurus in ancient Indian scriptures. Tulsidas, author of Ramcharitmanas, has defined the root of dharma as compassion. This principle was taken up by Lord Buddha in his immortal book of great wisdom, Dhammapada.

Hinduism describes dharma as the natural universal laws whose observance enables humans to be contented and happy, and to save himself from degradation and suffering. Dharma is the moral law combined with spiritual discipline that guides one's life. Hindus consider dharma the very foundation of life. The Atharva Veda describes dharma symbolically: Prithivim dharmana dhritam, that is, "this world is upheld by dharma".

Hinduism accepts the concept of reincarnation, and what determines the state of an individual in the next existence is karma which refers to the actions undertaken by the body and the mind. In order to achieve good karma it is important to live life according to dharma, what is right. This involves doing what is right for the individual, the family, the class or caste and also for the universe itself.

Dharma is like a cosmic norm and if one goes against the norm it can result in bad karma. So, dharma affects the future according to the karma accumulated. Therefore one's dharmic path in the next life is the one necessary to bring to fruition all the results of past karma.

The term dharma can best be explained as the "law of being" without which things cannot exist, just as the essential factor in human being is life - the atman without which he cannot exist. Therefore the dharma of human being is atman. And hence any good atmic quality is dharmic. Dharma therefore implies duty - a course of conduct. For example, Hinduism endorses the idea that it is one's dharma to marry, raise a family and provide for that family in whatever way is necessary.

Anything that helps human being to reach god is dharma and anything that hinders human being from reaching god is adharma. For instance, in the epic poem Mahabharata, the Pandavas represent dharma in life and the Kauravas represent adharma.

The essence of dharma lies in possessing a certain ability, power and spiritual strength. Vedic Dharma is always truthful because its basis is the unique combination of spiritual brilliance and physical prowess.

Hindu saints have classified all human aspirations under four broad categories: dharma, kama (desire), artha (money) and moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). The practice of dharma gives an experience of peace, joy, strength and tranquillity within one's self and makes life disciplined. Of these four values the majority of human beings pursue artha and kama, and the more sensitive individual pursue dharma, while very few are conscious if the moksha - ideal spiritual aspiration.

According to the Bhagavat Purana, righteous living or life on a dharmic path has four aspects: austerity (tap), purity (shauch), compassion (daya) and truthfulness (satya); and adharmic or unrighteous life has three vices: pride (ahankar), contact (sangh), and intoxication (madya).

Manusmriti written by the ancient sage Manu, prescribes 10 essential rules for the observance of dharma: Patience (dhriti), forgiveness (kshama), piety or self control (dama), honesty (asteya), sanctity (shauch), control of senses (indraiya-nigrah), reason (dhi), knowledge or learning (vidya), truthfulness (satya) and absence of anger (krodha). Manu further writes, "Non-violence, truth, non-coveting, purity of body and mind, control of senses are the essence of dharma". Therefore dharmic laws govern not only the individual but all in society.

The purpose of dharma is not only to attain a union of the soul with the supreme reality, it also suggests a code of conduct that is intended to secure both worldly joys and supreme happiness. Rishi Kanda has defined dharma in Vaisesika as "that confers worldly joys and leads to supreme happiness". Hinduism is the religion that suggests methods for the attainment of the highest ideal and eternal bliss here and now on earth and not somewhere in heaven.

posted November 23, 2007 09:06 PM         

Spider man has best expressed the presense of dharma by his statement "with great power comes great responsibility".
If you are irresponsible theres a possibility you might lose those very powers.

When Buddha left his small child and wife home, he had already developed a natural detatchment and hence was able to follow his dharma easily. If he didn't thousands of his followers would have still been in the cycle of birth and death i.e. Karma.

posted November 25, 2007 01:05 PM         

Lets say you travel to another country. You have a bank account at your original country isn't it? You can convert that currency to the local one and use it. Same way when you came to this life , you brought with you those spiritual currencies from heaven. So with making the right choices for yourself and for the greater of people, you invariantly add your currencies accumulated in this life to that spiritual account. Many people when they take new bodies, more desires originate in them, and they borrow more currencies and accumulate more debt.
This is why Buddha used to say "don't desire". Till age of 80 he gave various sutras for his followers to follow based on dharma. When he turned 80 , he said his ultimate teachings is in the "lotus sutra". Its the essense of where we are heading towards. It comes as shock to many to why Buddha will do that. Perhaps he understood the people of his time and acted so. Or perhaps he is chiseling his followers to achieve the state he was in.