Demystifying and Decoding basics of Sanātana Dharma – Part 2

The definition of Dharma states, that which can hold. Let’s delve deeper into this; we’ve established that human beings, due to their brain structure (I’m consciously avoiding the word intellect, as it has different connotations in the Bhāratīya fold) can hold and therefore, follow Dharma. But this begs the question, human beings, as all life forms, go through a lot of biological transformation on the gross as well as subtle levels. This complicates further as a person can take different roles in their life enforced by society, familial responsibilities, ambition or sometimes by pure accident. In current times, a person’s geography also changes drastically, mainly due to work reasons. How then can one follow or practice Dharma? Does Dharma change over time?

The answer to the first two questions is affirmative. But why are the first two answers affirmative and what does this mean? Let’s take a practical example – a child goes to school to gain an education very likely to make them earn a living, gain information about the world around us and become socially cognisant. Therefore, unless hampered by ill health, bad company or family trauma, that child should maximise his learning skills during this period and gain all the knowledge he can which is required for his overall development. In the Bhāratīya culture, it is referred to as a Vidyārthī (Student) phase, and the process of education is called Vidyāgrahaṇa. Intuitively, it follows that the most and the best a student can become is when they never cease to learn and gain knowledge not only for their progress but for the betterment of society as well. Hence, this becomes the Dharma of the Vidyārthī.

Following the education, the person becomes a professional, earns a livelihood, and starts a family with their partner. Now there are 3 roles this person adorns: a professional, a partner to someone, and a child of someone. A 4th role is if the person has siblings but when someone reaches mid-20s, they will assume these 3 roles at the very least.

Following from the thought process above being a diligent, ethical professional is that person’s Dharma at his workplace. Being a loyal, loving partner becomes his Dharma towards their partner and caring for their parents being their child becomes a Dharma towards their parents. Substitute Dharma with excellent conduct, duties, and responsibilities and yet each of these meanings still can’t fully capture the essence of Dharma. Now you can appreciate the depth of Sanskrit and an example of how English falls short in translation.

A second logical question that could come forth – if this is all so intuitive, why does it need defining and what is the basis of Dharma? The simple answer to this question is for anything to nurture or sustain, it needs an environment. Just like a seed can’t go grow without nutrition, let that seed be of a plant, animal, human or an abstract idea, similarly, any conscious action can’t be without a certain philosophy. Please note I am mentioning conscious action. Eating when you’re hungry is instinctual but providing food to someone who is even hungrier requires a higher moral compass. I could go tumbling down this path but I would cut it short, only because the same existential questions came to someone who was far too superior to most humans our age, one of the invincible warriors Bharat has ever seen – Kuṃtīputra Arjuna. He fumbled and doubted himself, confused about using weapons over his family members and concepts of happiness, and liberation. Luckily for him and for all of us, his mentor, friend, compatriot, Sārathī (not driver, again limitation of English language) and above all Jagadgurū (Guru of the highest order and the whole Jagat i.e. World), Nārāyaṇa himself, Shri Kṛṣṇa.

Shri Kṛṣṇa expounded, argued and explained in the minutest detail, the concept of Dharma, Karma (not the kind which elates you seeing someone suffer who has wronged you), Yoga (not limited to postures, otherwise called Āsana) and ultimately, Mokṣa in the 700 Ślokas of the BhagavadGītā. I don’t consider myself qualified to comment on the Gītā nor do I have the Sanskrit qualification to do a perfect translation of the verses. Moreover, as many as 30 commentaries and an equal number of translations have been done to date, so another one from a nobody won’t make any difference.

However, I would take a deliberate tangent and address the targeted suspicions towards the authenticity of Gītā as well as the reality of Mahābhārataa as Bharat’s Itihāsa. It is quite convenient for the modern world to extract management, conflict resolution and well-being principles from the Gītā but when the issue of accepting it as a part of the Mahābhārataa and eventually Bhārata’s Itihāsa, there are doubts raised with malicious intent. From my interactions with people raising these questions, 99% of them have never read the Mahābhārataa nor the BhagavadGītā. Quite frankly the
tendency to question these without appropriate qualification in the business world would be deemed ludicrous and ridiculous in equal measures. Can one imagine joining an army without going through the physical rigour? Can one imagine becoming a surgeon without intense medical training? Can one imagine becoming a high school teacher without a degree in pedagogy? Would you let anyone handle your accounts who has no clue about accountancy? Then why allow people with malicious intent or general apathy towards Sanātana Dharma to peddle baseless narratives?

Coming back to the original point, Kṛṣṇa narrated the Bhagavad Gītā aeons ago to Arjuna. While understanding and practising even a single Śloka of Gītā can transform your life, a curious question arises, why did this event take place in Bharata? What, for that matter, was Bhārata at the time? What were the boundaries of Bhārata? Is Akhanḍ Bhārata merely propaganda or does it have some factual basis? We will explore these questions in detail in the next post.