Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and others. There is no single-word translation for dharma in Western languages. Examples include the use of the mandala in various mythological eras.
Definition
It has multiple meanings in Hindu mythology, Buddhism , and Jainism. It is difficult to provide a single concise definition of dharma, as the word has a long and varied history and spans both sides of a complex set of meanings and interpretations.
History
According to the authoritative book History of Dharmasastra, in the hymns of the Rigveda the word dharma appears at least fifty-six times, as an adjective or noun. According to Paul Horsch, the word dharma has its origin in the myths of Vedic Hinduism. The Brahman (of whom all gods are composed), claims the hymns of the Rig Veda, created the universe out of chaos, keeps (dhar-) the earth and the sun and stars separate, keeps (dhar-) the sky apart and distinct from the earth, and stabilizes (dhar-) the mountains and trembling plains.
The gods, mainly Indra, then liberate and maintain order from disorder, harmony from chaos, stability from instability—actions recited in the Veda with the root word dharma.
In hymns composed after the mythological verses, the word dharma takes on an expanded meaning as a cosmic principle and appears in verses independent of the gods. It evolves into a concept, Paul Horsch asserts, that has a dynamic functional meaning in the Atharvaveda, for example, where it becomes the cosmic law that links cause and effect through a subject. Dharma, in these ancient texts, also has a ritual meaning.
Ritual is connected to the cosmic, and “dharmani” is equated with ceremonial devotion to the principles that the gods used to create order out of disorder, the world out of chaos. Beyond the ritual and cosmic meaning of dharma that links the present world to the mythical universe, the concept extends to the ethical-social meaning that links human beings to each other and to other forms of life. It is here that dharma as a concept of law emerges in Hinduism.
Eusebeia and dharma
The inscription on the bilingual rock of Kandahar is by the Indian emperor Asoka in 258 BC and is located in Afghanistan. The inscription reproduces the word Dharma in Sanskrit as Eusebeia in Greek, suggesting that dharma in ancient India meant spiritual maturity, devotion, piety, duty, and reverence for the human community.
Rta, Maya, and Dharma
The evolutionary literature of Hinduism linked dharma with two other important concepts: Ṛta and MÄyÄ. Ṛta in the Vedas is the truth and cosmic principle that regulates and coordinates the functioning of the universe and everything in it. MÄyÄ in Rig-veda and later literature means illusion, fraud, deception, magic that deceives and creates disorder, therefore it is contrary to reality, the laws and rules that establish order, predictability, and harmony.
Paul Horsch suggests that Ṛta and dharma are parallel concepts, the former being a cosmic principle and the latter belonging to the social and moral sphere; while MÄyÄ and dharma are also correlative concepts, the former corrupting law and moral life, and the latter strengthening law and moral life.
Hinduism
Dharma is an organizing principle of Hinduism that applies to human beings in solitude, in their interaction with other human beings and nature, as well as between inanimate objects, to the entire cosmos and its parts, and refers to the order and customs that make life and the universe possible, including behaviors, rituals, rules that govern society, and ethics.
It is not the act or the result, but the natural laws that guide the act and create the result to prevent chaos in the world. It is an innate characteristic that makes a being what it is. It is, according to Van Buitenen, the search for and fulfillment of one’s own nature and true vocation, thus playing one’s role in the cosmic concert. In Hinduism, it is the dharma of the bee to make honey, of the cow to give milk, of the sun to radiate sunshine, of the river to flow.
In terms of humanity, dharma is the necessity, effect, and essence of service and the interconnectedness of all life. In Hinduism, it includes two aspects: sanÄtana dharma, which is the general, unchanging, and permanent principle of dharma and is not subject to change, and dharma yuga, which is valid for a yuga, an era or age as established by Hindu tradition.
In the Epics
Hindu religion and philosophy, according to Daniel Ingalls, place great emphasis on practical individual morality. In the Sanskrit epics, this concern is omnipresent. In the Second Book of Ramayana, for example, a peasant asks the King to do what dharma morally requires of him. The King agrees and does so even though his compliance with the law of dharma costs him dearly.
Similarly, dharma is at the center of all important events in the lives of Rama, Sita, and Lakshman in the Ramayana, says Daniel Ingalls. Each episode of the Ramayana presents life situations and ethical issues in symbolic terms. The theme is debated by the characters, and ultimately good prevails over evil, good over evil. For this reason, in Hindu epics, the good, morally upright, and law-abiding king is called “dharmaraja.”
Sources
Dharma is an empirical and experiential investigation for every man and woman, according to some Hindu texts. For example, Apastamba Dharmasutra states: Dharma and Adharma do not go around saying, “We are.” Neither the gods, nor the gandharvas, nor the ancestors declare what is Dharma and what is Adharma.
Other texts describe three sources and means for discovering dharma in Hinduism. According to Paul Hacker, these are: First, learning historical knowledge such as the Vedas, Upanishads, the Epics, and other Sanskrit literature with the help of a teacher. Second, observing the behavior and example of good people. The third source applies when neither education nor the example of exemplary behavior is known. In this case, “atmatusti” is the source of dharma in Hinduism, that is, the good person reflects and follows what satisfies their heart, their own inner feeling, that which they feel compelled to do.
Dharma and poverty
Dharma, being necessary for the individual and society, depends on poverty and prosperity in a society, according to Hindu scriptures of dharma. For example, according to Adam Bowles, Shatapatha Brahmana 11.1.6.24 links social prosperity and dharma through water.
Water comes from rain, he says; when there is abundant rain, there is prosperity on earth, and this prosperity allows people to follow Dharma—moral and legal life. In times of distress, drought, and poverty, everything suffers, including relationships between human beings and the human capacity to live according to dharma.
In Rajadharmaparvan 91.34-8, the relationship between poverty and dharma comes full circle. A land with less moral and legal life suffers distress, and as distress increases it causes more immoral and illegal life, which further increases distress. Those in power must follow raja dharma (i.e., the dharma of rulers), because this enables society and the individual to follow dharma and attain prosperity.
Dharma and law
The Dharmashastra is a record of these guidelines and rules. The available evidence suggests that India once had a large collection of literature related to dharma (sutras, shastras); four of the sutras survive and are now known as Dharmasutras.
Buddhism
In East Asia, the translation of dharma is 法, pronounced fǎ in Mandarin, choe ཆོས་ in Tibetan, beop in Korean, hŠin Japanese, and pháp in Vietnamese. However, the term dharma can also be transliterated from its original form.
Chan Buddhism
Dharma is used in Ch’an in a specific context in relation to the transmission of authentic doctrine, understanding, and bodhi; recognized in the transmission of the Dharma.
Jainism
The word Dharma in Jainism is found in all its key texts. It has a contextual meaning and refers to a number of ideas. In the broadest sense, it means the teachings of the Jinas, or teachings of any competing spiritual school, a supreme path, socio-religious duty, and that which is the highest mangala (holy).
The term dharma also has a specificontological and soteriological meaning in Jainism, as part of its theory of six dravya (substance or reality). In the Jain tradition, existence consists of jiva (soul, atman) and ajiva (non-soul), the latter consisting of five categories: inert and non-sentient atomic matter (pudgala), space (akasha), time (kala), the principle of motion (dharma), and the principle of rest (adharma).
The use of the term dharma to mean movement and refer to an ontological subcategory is peculiar to Jainism and is not found in Buddhist metaphysics or in various schools of Hinduism. These are patience, modesty, frankness, purity, truthfulness, moderation, austerity, renunciation, non-attachment, and celibacy. AcÄrya Amá¹›tacandra, author of the Jain text Puruá¹£ÄrthasiddhyupÄya, writes:
A true believer must constantly meditate on the virtues of dharma, such as supreme modesty, to protect the soul from all contrary dispositions. He must also cover up the shortcomings of others.
Sikhism
For Sikhs, the word dharam (Punjabi: ਧਰਮ, translit. dharam) means the path of righteousness and correct religious practice. Guru Granth Sahib in hymn 1353 connotes dharma as duty. The 3HO movement in Western culture, which has incorporated certain Sikh beliefs, defines Sikh dharma in a broad sense as everything that constitutes religion, moral duty, and way of life.
Dharma in symbols
The wheel in the center of the Indian flag symbolizes Dharma. The importance of dharma to Indian sentiment is illustrated by India’s decision in 1947 to include the Ashoka Chakra, a representation of the dharmachakra (“the wheel of dharma”), as the central motif of its flag.
