CHAPTER 15

Understanding the Nuances of Dharma

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Understand that Dharma needs to be understood better by giving it serious thought.
2. Understand that Dharma has four important components of which rule of law is also important.
3. Understand that Dharma is a tool to apply the highest known wisdom to practical life.

The Study of Dharma Needs the Attention it Deserves

Having known the value of Yogyathwa and its importance to individuals. The next step is to understand how to help an entire community or organization prioritize on this; one must also know how to facilitate Yogyathwa in the members of a community. And for this the notion of ‘Dharma is invaluable’.

At the outset, it is important once again to negate the meaning of the term ‘Dharma’ as manifested in common usage at the turn of the 21st century—that of Dharma being equated to religion; this is a gross misrepresentation. Dharma and religion are not equivalent terms—not in the way religion is defined in contemporary literature. Dharma is one of the four impellers that make men to act; we have already seen this aspect in the last chapter. We shall now explore its various facets in detail.

Dharma encompasses some of the highest principles of living and it presents the same in such a manner that all those principles are transferred directly into practical life. Or in other words, dharma is a manifestation of wisdom in practical life. And one is advised to take refuge in wisdom if his path be directed towards peace and prosperity.

 

Now, before we dive into exploring dharma any further, it would do us good to consider certain things that pertain to the importance that has been accorded to it. Dharma has been central to the ethos of the Indian civilization. The greatest of the ancient texts Mahabharata and the Ramayana are treatises on dharma. The most widely revered of the heroes (Godheads) from the Indian pantheon is lord Krishna; his only job in this world was the ‘establishment of dharma’. Lord Rama is known today as (and enjoys the status of) ‘maryadapurushottam’ (respect worthy-man-highest) because he was the upholder of ‘dharma’. The Buddhists also use ‘dhammam’ that is very similar in content to ‘dharma’. Further, when any Indian spiritual master guides his ward, the primary discourse on the ‘application’ side of spirituality is on the ‘observance of one’s dharma’ … the Bhagavad Gita is the foremost example of this. Adi Shankara one of the highly regarded saints of India, who lived in the tenth century ad, considers dharma to be the ‘greatest benefactor’.

 

That the Indian civilization dates back into the Bronze Age is quite certain. Some evidence, that the Ramayana dates back to 7000 bc and there-abouts has also been recently brought to light (using astronomical data relating to events that has happened). This means that intellectuals have, with great deliberation, passed the idea of dharma down over several hundred generations. Now, why was ‘dharma’ or ‘dharmam’, as it is pronounced in the south Indian states, given such importance?

Instead of answering that question right away, let us for the moment merely acknowledge that this indeed could be valuable because it is something which intellectuals across millennia found very important. Therefore, in studying dharma, let it be our prime concern that we will do adequate justice and not jump to conclusions easily. When a greenhorn is inducted in an officer position as suzerain over workers who have spent lifetimes at their profession, a word of sound advice is given to him; ‘listen carefully to what these people of experience have to say, weigh their words and observations carefully and then having satisfied yourself completely take your own decision’. The spirit is just the same; dharma needs very serious consideration.

So What is Dharma? And How is it Relevant to Today’s Suzerain?

With a little help from the Mahabharata we see that the term ‘dharma’ is used in two different ways. When lord Krishna says that his role in this earth is to ‘establish dharma’, the term ‘dharma’ is being used as if to mean ‘system’—which is Lord Krishna’s role was to set up a ‘righteous system’.

Next, when Arjuna is told to ‘do his dharma’ then the term is being used more in the sense of Arjuna having a ‘duty’ in a righteous system; so Arjuna was being asked to do his duty.

 

Then the question arises as to who defines what a person’s (Arjuna’s) duty is … the answer is that it is defined by a ‘true leader’ … one that is connected with the Common Soul… someone who is ‘self-realized’.

Next, the duty roaster in society will definitely vary from time to time depending on the level of technology (for example, we never had pilots in the middle of the 19th century because at that time there were no planes). Dharma, in the sense of it having a duty roaster, will also vary on geographical basis (for example: life in a desert vs. life in a forest—here, the jobs will be different). So dharma is time and place dependent.

All these considerations lead to unravelling four important dimensions or components of dharma. They are indicated in the diagram below.

 

First Component: The Supreme Self

There is an ethereal ‘equality’ at death. Similarly, another thing that nature has given to all humans in equal measure is laughter—whether rich or poor … Going along these lines, there have been outstanding philosophers, thinkers and saints who have claimed that the ‘substantive thing’ in each one of us—the only thing in each of us that is of worth—is the same; and that we are all equal because of it.

Now, can it be explained that there is such a thing that can be described as ‘the only thing of worth’—the thing of substance without which everything else in man is meaningless … ? The following example will throw light.

Consider a billiards queue … imagine that the cue has abilities of imagination and memory … it can remember all the shots played and it can imagine itself to be anything … Now every shot that is played on a billiards table, (if it is played the way it must be played) is hit by the tip of the cue. And therefore, there is at least one perspective from which it will appear as if the cue is the author of each shot—just because it is only the cue that physically hits the cue-ball. And yet, we know that it is the billiards player who is actually making decisions and pulling the shots—we don’t give credit or blame the cue for having completed a game (some people who exhibit bad sportsmanship do of course blame the cue for a loss); blame and praise go to the player. The cue feels that ‘it’ is responsible for everything only because it is unable to ‘see’ that there is someone else who is pulling the shots …

 

Now take the same concept one step higher. How about the man who is using the cue? Is he the one who is truly pulling the shots or is there something else within him that is actually the driver in him … ? Between the cue and the person we see that the person is the one in whom the substance rests; similarly between the body-mind mechanism of the person, and the Common Soul, can it be said that the Common Soul is the thing that must be given credit?

Another way of presenting it is as follows: we generally say ‘my forehead is as warm as the rest of my body’ so the forehead and the body are being considered as different from ‘me’. Similarly, when someone says ‘the thought arose in my own mind’, it means that the mind too is being perceived of as different from ‘me’.

What is this Therefore Which is Referred to as ‘Me’?

This is the puzzle which students of spirituality (those pursuing Gyan yoga—path of knowledge) are expected to crack … And the finding of the ‘wise’ is that the body is indeed a mere instrument and it is another thing of substance—Purusha—that animates the (inanimate) bodies; and makes the bodies alive (as we have reckoned in the theory of the Universal Brahman) in Chapter 7 (page 53).

Of this Purusha it is said …

1. It is beyond the senses. It is the source of peace and happiness. He who gets into harmony with it emanates these attributes, his personal merits improve drastically and excellence becomes his way of life.
2. A person who lives in harmony with this force within him is supposed to actually know what the rest of the people want too. He is able to say exactly those things that reverberate/resonate with the hearts of individuals around him … his goals, ambitions and delights become impersonal. And his claims are: ‘I know me, so I know everyone’, ‘I know what I want and what I want is what everyone else’s heart truly wants’.

The characteristics that accrue to a person of this kind—who has discovered his true self—are known to be immense. And it is said that leaders radiate many, if not most, of these characteristics. The discovery of the true self is supposed to lead to the flowering of the individual’s highest potential, creativity and charisma. For such as all these humans are equitable because they see themselves in everyone and find that the inequalities are insubstantial. In other words such people are in no doubt that it is the ‘Common Soul’ who they truly are … that their bodies and minds are merely a covering … .

 

But how is all this related to ‘dharma’? It is said that when a person achieves this distinction, or in other words when he knows who he truly is (and others truly are) and also entertains no doubt about it, he starts setting up systems and procedures in society that are good for everyone—he acts on behalf of ‘everyone’ … .

To summarize, we can say that the transition process to the supreme self is as follows: At the start the thought is ‘I am the body’; therefore I think that I am limited and localized. Eventually, on discovery that I am impersonal I lose special attachment for the body. The shared oneness with all others is discovered. And this ‘new self’ knows itself to be ‘unlimited’! With this, the person surrenders to the ‘highest self’ or the ‘supreme self’ and the ‘highest ideal known to man’ becomes manifest in him. Following this the actions indulged in by that person begin to reflect the qualities and aspirations of the ‘supreme self’ … .

In conclusion, since the ‘self-realized’ speak on behalf of all, their words and work leads to the establishment of dharma. The first component of ‘dharma’ is therefore the will (desire) and concern of this ‘supreme self’ (Incidentally, the will of the ‘supreme self’ has a poor cousin in the ‘collective wisdom of humans’ or the ‘common human will’—as expressed in an ‘ideal’ democracy).

Second Component: Rule of Law

In ancient India, the type of government that flourished was monarchy. But it was not designed to be absolute. To understand this let us consider the ceremonies that happened when the king was coroneted. One particular ritual in the ceremonies consisted of the chief priest of the kingdom chasing the king-designate around the throne with a staff in his hand—as if to beat him. And they would run three circles of the throne in this manner.

Why Should a Priest Chase a King as If to Beat Him?

The answer is that king-designate was supposed to remember that the staff of ‘dharma’ will always be chasing him when he sits on the throne. He is not to act arbitrarily; he must act according to what is ordained by ‘dharma’—this of course does not mean abdicating his responsibilities to the whims of the chief priest. He must act according to divine will.

In other words, rule-of-law was paramount, not the whim of the king or anyone else. Note, therefore that the Indian king was not a dictator. The king was supposed to realize that he was merely playing a part in the rule-of-law and he had to behave accordingly. That is, he must derive his authority from the togetherness of all his citizens. ‘Dharma’ would be the sustainer of his kingdom instead, not human beings not even the king himself. The king had to realize that power flowed ‘through’ his individuality and not ‘from’ his individuality …

But why chase him around the throne … ? He could have been merely told that this is so; it could have been groomed into him when he was in the process of learning … why make a visible spectacle of it?

The answer lies in the question … It was important to make a visible spectacle of it because the message was also for all the others as it was for the king himself. Rule of law would prevail in the land; if it applied to the king it applied to all power wielders in the kingdom … including petty chiefs, principals, husbands, ministers, owners, mothers, caste leaders and all kinds of people who were given designated powers in formalized institutions within that kingdom.

 

Similarly, when seen from the point of view of an executive in a present day company, it is important that he looks at his designation and role as a part of the processes that sustains the entire organization. Obedience by his juniors is not to him, it is to the system. He must facilitate; he must teach his juniors to respect the system and inspire them to play to its rules—rather than he perceive it as if it is being driven by himself—even if he were the owner.

Note that when shifting from ‘humans-are-drivers’ perspective to a ‘humans-are-participants-in-rule-of-law’ perspective, the tasks that people will be expected to take on in an organization are likely to remain the same. However, it can lead to detachment from one’s role; in this there is a powerful shift towards excellence and that in turn can help in better shouldering of the responsibilities.

Therefore, the second principle in ‘dharma’ pertains to the establishment of the “the rule-of-law—as desired by the ‘supreme self’ … ”

Third Component: A Sense of Duty That is Not

The system is up and running. It has been designed by the ‘supreme self’ and each person has a role in it. When each one plays his part, the system is sustained and it may be said that all those playing a part in the system are upholding it. Also, when the system is running as designated by the supreme self, the interests of ‘all humans’ are automatically protected—for that is the basic premise of the ‘supreme self’, that it is the ‘Common Soul’—cutting across all categories of humans, it takes care of everyone.

The wise, therefore encourage people to do their ‘duties’ in ‘dharma’—for after all it is going to be the system and the rule-of-law that will deliver its goods to all humans. But when they encourage people, the wise also tell their wards to do their duty without expectations, keeping only the welfare and the aspirations of the ‘supreme self’ in their minds … What important consequence does this lead to?

We do a duty only when it is what ‘someone else’ desires and we feel compelled to do it. We may be doing the job which the manager of a factory may have given, but the motive could be that we are doing that job to satisfy some other requirement of ours—I get my salary at the end of the month—so that I can buy things to satisfy my needs …

But what happens when I am doing what, in my deepest desire, must happen … ? Is there a duty in it?

If it is a certain teacher’s desire that students must learn their manners and the teacher is also teaching them manners, then the teacher is doing his ‘own’ thing, where is the question of the teacher doing a duty?

Take another example: When the founder of a school started it, he was concerned with the education of the students in that region and that is the main reason why he started the school. When a teacher belonging to the school teaches there, he can either teach in order to do his duty (and earn money at the end of the month), or alternatively, by having a desire that the students in this area need to be taught, he could be doing his ‘own’ thing while teaching … In this latter case, his will and the will of the founder of the organization merge.

 

This is the amazing thing in ‘dharma’ … when one does his part selflessly in a ‘dharma’, his will matches with the will of the “supreme self” which designed the society/dharma in the first place … and here comes the best part … If the ‘supreme self’ is doing its role in the ‘system’, which of course it has designed according to its own wishes, then is it doing a ‘duty’?

The answer is no!!

When a person is doing his work in a dharmic system and does not feel he is doing a duty he achieves mergence with the ‘supreme self’. He is said to have taken to yoga and the characteristics of the supreme-self manifests in him … Peace, contentment, excellence, prosperity, charisma … such people with these characteristics are known to be enjoying their work … .

Therefore, we come to one of the important statements from ancient Indian wisdom …

‘For one that has attained supreme self, there is no duty!’

Such a person is not motivated by inducements, but rather by the opportunity to do his duty, to play his part, in the righteous system … he is tuned to excellence and he also has an induction effect of inspiring excellence in the people around him.

This environment that is created around a person who enjoys his work, who has found mergence with the supreme self, is said to be Dharmic. It is infectious. And in that environment there is excellence.

A leader will therefore help his fellowmen gain a dharmic attitude. In doing so, he will be attempting to shift people from the frame of ‘self-indulgence’ to that of ‘selflessness’. He will be impelling them towards the upkeep of dharma for he knows that an environment of excellence is nurtured amongst people who participate in a system bearing an attitude that their work is not ‘duty’.

So that is the third aspect of dharma; ‘duty’ is about raising work to the level of ‘selflessness’ by which there will be ‘no duty’ and the man who is practicing his dharma in a dharmic system is elevated into the sphere of the supreme self!

Fourth Component: Era Specificity

As time flows, technological advances happen. Then there are geographical variations on the globe and so the needs of the various regions will be different. Different kinds of administrative systems are possible (example: democracy/communist) such variation mandates that there cannot be one fixed pattern of duties that can be rigidly called as ‘dharma’ … From time to time there is a need of those who are tuned to the ‘supreme self’ or the Common Soul to either fine tune pre-existing systems, or re-design them completely so that it facilitates that particular age and location.

 

Today a soldier cannot be told that his dharma is to fight with the sword when the times have changed and technology has produced guns … all the ceremonies that people perform on the banks of the Ganges cannot be performed in Alaska, for instance; someone who tries that could freeze to death!

Today when the world leaders have declared that the role of ‘breadearner’ is ideally shared by the lady of the house it cannot be told to a girl child that her dharma is to attend to all the needs of her husband and children single handedly … And in this same scenario one cannot train a man to revel in a manhood that makes his wife effectively take care of all the house works, be at his exclusive service and the service of his parents and his children and also send her for work to be a bread winner. Wisdom needs to step in and re-tune or rewire the system.

Though the roles of the sexes are a complex matrix varying from culture to culture, caste to caste and civilization to civilization, the fact that women are expected to be ‘equal’ to man according to human rights, must lead to a natural change in roles … The supreme self would want that there is proper balance … This of course includes concerns regarding families, nurturing of excellence in children and care for the elderly.

 

With change in time, with change in setting, if these systems are not tuned for the ‘present’ then they cease to be ‘dharma’ in the true sense of the word. Therefore, the fourth component of Dharma is that it must be attuned to the times … .

When we think of present day organizations at all levels, we must check if the will of the ‘supreme self’ is happening … Justice must be done to all humans. At each time in its history, a nation must ask itself whether the definition of ‘dharma’ as expressed in its systems is truly up-to-date, represents collective wisdom and rule of law. Is it dharmic? For example, there exists a need to redefine ‘dharma’ in India which has seen a shift from kingship to democracy—the politicians don’t seem to know what to do and the people don’t seem to know what to expect—a great opportunity for the intellectuals and artists of this era.

This therefore is the other hind limb of the majestic leadership elephant. It is a twin of the excellence limb because dharma is all about excellence and about how excellence can be brought in the lives of the people and the organization to which they belong. This limb is about the power of now, it is about brilliance, and it is about tapping the highest potentials. Dharma is in fact synonymous with excellence and it is that which powers leadership as the hind limbs of an elephant gives it the power to push forward.

 

Case Studies

1. Preamble of the Indian constitution: How it seeks to establish dharma for the present age. Discuss how the element of ‘Common Soul’ comes into the picture.
2. Pick up cases which indicate ‘dignity of labour’ and discuss the question of equality and inequality in man …
3. Pick up cases showing great joy in poverty and great misery in wealth and discuss the concepts of Common Soul as the prime force.
4. Pick up cases of inspirational lower level workers and the effect they have in society. Discuss how dharma plays a role and their experience of ‘dignity of labour’ (Abe’s father was a cobbler).

Exercises

1. Essay 1500 words: the role of Lord Rama: What were the dharmic compulsions under which he (1) went on Exile (2) sent his wife to a hermitage.
2. Discuss: Jesus Christ, in a conversation with one of the Roman officials, pointed out: ‘you would have no authority if it were not given to you from Heaven’. What is the relevance of this in the context of dharma?
3. Essay 500 words: What has dharma got to do with the Christian concept of ‘Thy will be done’?
4. Discuss: Two distinct cultures exist in the present age. Slog for five days and make merry on two days is one. The other is ‘work is worship’ and for the self-realized there is no duty. Write 700 words by doing a comparative study.
5. Discuss: How does the saying ‘Surrender your ego; succeed with your logo’ relate to a call for Dharmic excellence.