Dharma and Adharma

Dharma is not just religion. Unfortunately, many Indians and Hindus use the word in that limited sense. They refer to other non-Hindu religions as Christian dharma, Islam dharma and so on. Thus the sanAtana Hindu dharma also is counted as one among the many dharmas. Some people go to the extent that Hinduism is not a religion or Dharma at all. Both are incorrect.

The Manusmrithi mandates - "Vedo akhilo Dharma moolam, Adharmastad viparyayaha". That means Vedas are the root of all Dharma and Adharma is that which is opposed to it. So all other non-Vedic or non-Hindu religions like Christianity and Islam are not Dharma but that which is opposed to it Or Adharma. They could be considered as a mata or view which is limited as opposed to the unlimited Vedic ideal or reality of Dharma.

Dharma is a Sanskrit word and the etymology - "dhAryate iti dharmah" - defines Dharma as "that which sustains". Primarily, it refers to one's own duty performed as a Yagya or sacrifice or service onto the Vedic God manifesting in the form of society/nation/universe. So this cannot be anything other than sanAtana or eternal Hindu religion only. 

What sustains the world is this Eternal or SanAtana Dharma which in simple words is selfless service performed according to one's varna and ashrama - which again translates to one's capability, capacity and constitutional position in the family, society, nation and the universe. 

Many people say that Hindu dharma is not a religion and it is just a way of life. This is absurd as religion gives dos and don'ts which when followed becomes one's way of life. Vedic scripture clearly defines what is Dharma (dos) and a-Dharma (don'ts) and urges all humans to engage in Dharma. In fact every responsible human, whatever may be his or her beliefs or world view, is fundamentally Hindu/Vedic/DhArmic, as long as He or she is engaging in self-service that sustains the world.

The Supreme Vedic Hindu God, Brahman or Sarveshwara is also called Dharma, as He is the very embodiment of Truth and Dharma. The entire universe is Him and through every entity in nature, He is practicing and teaching sanAtana dharma. Every entity in nature like earth, air, water and so on are engaged in discharging their respective duty unconditionally, as a service to others. 

This Vedic God in the form of the universal spirit Self, sacrifices or divides himself mysteriously in order to create/sustain the world and finally appropriates everything into himself. The world of name/form/variety arises, remains and returns back to Him only. As He pervades, sustains and controls everything just like the spirit Self pervades, sustains and controls the body, He is aptly called Dharma. As He is everywhere, obviously He is One without a second. So philosophically Vedic Hindu God alone exists in the form of Dharma. All the many gods/religions coming under the Vedic Hindu umbrella are thus an integral part of the Supreme Vedic God Brahman who is an embodiment of Dharma.

There are many truths / elements in the world on which we depend for our existence and the one absolute Hindu God Brahman/Ishwara indwelling in all of them and so Hindus worship all of them in the form many devatas or gods. All other non-Vedic-Hindu religions obviously are opposed to this Vedic view of many gods or devatas who are integral part of the all pervading supreme Brahman. Could that be one of the reason why non-Hindu Semitic religions are called Abrahamic (or A-BrAhmic) religions? 

Whatever it is, the word Dharma is uniquely Vedic or Hindu and is not found in any other religions. So Vedic Hindu religion alone gets to be called as Dharma as it is eternal, universal and unconditional. Vedic God in the form the universe is Dharma personified as He sustains every being unconditionally. All other religions are simply untrue or ADharma as they are conditional, divisive, limited and whatever good things they have is borrowed from the universal Vedic Sanatana Dharma. 

Namaste

Suresh

Decolonization of India

This has become a hot topic in recent times and many Indians have started to realize the importance and the need for the decolonization of India, Indian mind and re-write the history based on facts.

But to what extend India needs to decolonize? Should we reset or revert back history to pre-British or even go all the way to pre-Muslim times? 

Many people especially from the minority community are of the view that this leads to the hatred for minorities and uprising of the Hindu supremacy and chauvinism which they usually term as the Hindu nationalism or rightwing. 

There are many independent and professional scholars like Late Dr. Prof. K. Narayanacharya, Rajiv Malhotra, J Sai Deepak, Meenakshi Jain, Vikram Sampath and so on who are of the view that decolonization must be coupled with restoration or revival of the cultural or dharmic oneness or identity of India and Indians. Even Indians who have converted and moved out of Hindu fold have to acknowledge the Hindu heritage of their ancestors. 

There are many other scholars like Ali khan mahmudabad who think that India was never a single nation at any point of time and it has always been a pot-pouri of diverse culture. It is only in the recent past the name Hindu has been popularized to create a false unity to alienate and eliminate all minority non-Hindu minorities. As a thought experiment, say if all religious minorities disappear and only Hindus alone remain in India, then the fight between all the many diverse sub-groups within so called Hindu people will begin. This is similar to Pakistan which was originally formed by fanatic Muslims who considered themselves to be "pure" but now they have started fighting and killing each other based on their own internal groups and divisions. This happens because of all such decolonization either had no clear end goal or it would be to revive and restore the "race/religious purity". The problem gets worse when this process of decolonization with the end of reinstating "religious purity" is sponsored by the state. This is like the fence eating the plants. So ideally the end goal should be based on restoring humanity which is safeguarded by the Indian Constitution that is commonly accepted by all, instead of any cultural or Hindu identity.

The point made by Ali Khan is worth noting. The pre-British-Muslim India was ruled by many small kings who were constantly fighting each other. There were many spiritual traditions also engaged in constant debates leading to unrest and intolerance. Adding to this there were caste hierarchies creating artificial division in the Hindu Indian society. We can see all of the above to some degree even today. But what kept India and its diverse culture alive is the tradition of spirituality and Dharma.

How to resolve this apparent issue of Indian disunity?

The only answer is to revive this unity under the ideal of Dharma in it's true sense of sacrifice or selfless-service. It does not matter what God/Religion/faith that Indians follow, but they should start seeing the same divinity in each other and in everything. This comes easily for Hindus as it goes well with their Vedic world view that locates God in all. But others have to at least mimic or adapt to this culture of respecting each other and accepting diversity to ensure basic humanity, resulting in peace and harmony. 

The ideal of unity in diversity is built into the Hindu dharmic culture. Dharma is not just religion. It is the art of cognizing the unity in diversity and to work co-operatively in unison with all the diverse entities with the ideal of One family/society/nation/India/world and the universe.

The Indian greeting Namaste says it all. "Parasparam bhAvayantah shreyah param avApsyatha" (the Highest can be achieved by respecting each other) says Bhagavad Gita. Both the State as well as the people should recognize and restore this culture of Dharma that sustains all. Everybody is a minority in a pluralistic Indian/Hindu society and with mutual respect they can protect each other. 

Namaste

Suresh