1. Let us try to understand the words ‘Sanatana Dharmam’ in their true meaning; 2. This word of the Sanskrit language and so their true meaning too should be understood as meant in that language; 3. Sanatana Dharmam is eternal (beyond the time); 4. Sanatana Dharma is now called Hindu Dharma. The word Hindu was given by the persians to the people who lived on the banks of the river Sindhu; 5. In any Scriptures of Bharatham, there is no such word Hindu, Hindutva, or Hinduism, these are all were the forighner's interpretations of Bharatham and her people then; 6. “Dharyate anena iti dharmah”. That which supports is dharma. That which supports, maintains, nourishes, harmonises, brings together, and unites the inert and the sentient, the individual and the society, nation and the world is dharma; 7. The very substratum of the entire creations is called dharma. PART-2.

Opinion
    22/06/2018
              1283

Sub :-
1. Let us try to understand the words ‘Sanatana Dharmam’ in their true meaning;

2. This word of the Sanskrit language and so their true meaning too should be understood as meant in that language;

3. Sanatana Dharmam is eternal (beyond the time);

4. Sanatana Dharma is now called Hindu Dharma. The word Hindu was given by the persians to the people who lived on the banks of the river Sindhu;

5. In any Scriptures of Bharatham, there is no such word Hindu, Hindutva, or Hinduism, these are all were the forighner's interpretations of Bharatham and her people then;

6. “Dharyate anena iti dharmah”. That which supports is dharma. That which supports, maintains, nourishes, harmonises, brings together, and unites the inert and the sentient, the individual and the society, nation and the world is dharma;

7. The very substratum of the entire creations is called dharma.

Ref :
1. Dharma and Sampradaya by Swami Chinmayananda

2. Essence of Dharma by Swami Krishnananda

PART-2.

The duty of man depends upon the aim of life. Whatever we are supposed to do in our life is directed by the purpose for which we are existing. Aimless activity is unthinkable. All our efforts, professions and works are somehow or other directed toward the achievement of an end, a goal or a purpose. Unless we are conscious and clear about the aim of our life, it would be difficult for us to determine the nature of our duties in life. In India especially, ethics are based on metaphysics. The conduct of life is rooted in the concept of existence.

* Now, the purpose of life, or the aim of life, is again dependent upon the nature of the universe. How is the universe constituted?

On that depends very much the aim of our existence, of our life, and consequently, the nature of our activities. We must know to what family we belong, what sort of atmosphere we are living in, what the tradition of our society is. On that depends the way in which we have to conduct ourselves in life. Likewise, we may have to find out the nature of the universe as a whole in order that we may know what our function in life is because we are inextricably involved in the structure of the universe.

We are a part of the cosmos, and the laws that operate in the cosmos naturally have a say in the matter of our personal existence. We cannot do something contrary to the law of nature, of the universe, just as we cannot do something contrary to the principles of our own family or our society.

Thus, our little activities in day-to-day existence hang themselves on the vast concept of the cosmos. This is the peculiarity of Indian philosophy. Everything is connected with the cosmos. We cannot breathe unless we know the nature of existence as a whole. Even the smallest of our performances in life, whether religious or secular, is dependent ultimately on the structure or pattern of the universe. All our activities are spiritualised in this manner.

* The culture of Bharatavarsha, India, is spiritual in the sense that everything is connected with the universe.

There is nothing which has no relevance to the cosmic processes of nature. If we install a newly made door, well, there is a prayer offered and a religious ceremony. If we build a house, of course, there is a very large ceremony indeed. If a marriage takes place, if a child is born or if someone dies, there is a religious ceremony. If a wife is pregnant, there is a religious ceremony for it. If new furniture is purchased for the house, we choose an auspicious day and have a prayer offered. There is nothing unconnected with religion in India. We cannot wear a new sari or even a new shirt except on an auspicious day. Religion has gone to such an extent that even a shirt, even a buniyan, is connected with religion.

The idea is that though not all people in India are properly educated in the matter of religion, they are born and bred in a tradition which is so religious and spiritual that God’s presence is taken for granted. Though today, due to the materialist way of thinking, people have begun to question the existence of God, originally it was not like that. It was a God-fearing and God-loving nation, and primarily and fundamentally it is that even today.

The structure of existence, the nature of the universe, was taken for granted as having a very intimate relationship with every activity of one’s life. No activity is irreligious or unspiritual because no activity is outside the universe. The reason why every action is spiritual is precisely because of the fact that no action can be performed outside the purview of universal law. This is an introductory remark concerning our duty in life.

The structure of existence, the nature of the universe, is the determining factor of all activities of human life, so all life is spiritual. There is no such thing as unspiritual life. It does not exist, and it is impossible. Anything that is universally related is spiritual. You may be wondering why I am connecting spirituality with the universe; it is a very pertinent question indeed, to which I will return a little later on.

* "Why should universality be connected with spirituality? Even physical science accepts that everything is connected with the universal whole, but it is not spiritual, so why am I connecting spirituality with the universal nature of things?"  This is a point we shall discuss shortly.

In Indian psychology, philosophy and culture, the universal relations have been taken for granted as relevant to every activity in human life, and the duty of man was called a dharma, an obligatory attitude on the part of every individual in regard to his or her cosmic relations. There is no one in India who has not heard of the word ‘dharma’. They will say, “This is not dharma.” He may not know what dharma is, but he will speak the word dharma. It is not dharma, not logical, not justifiable, not justice. That is what he means by saying this is not dharma. Justice is connected with dharma, dharma is connected with duty, and duty is connected with the universe. See how things are connected, how beautifully they are related! Our activities are connected to the universe; therefore, in order that our activities be tenable, acceptable, justifiable and good, they must bear a relation to the universe. If our action, our conduct, our attitude does not bear a relation to the universe, it cannot be called dharma. If our conduct has a relevance only to our little family of a few members and has no connection with anybody else in the world, it is local dharma, not samanya dharma, and it is not ultimately justifiable.

If we do something to save our family, to protect our family, we are doing the dharma of our family. But suppose in protecting our family we are harming some other family; that will not be ultimately justifiable. We may pay Paul, but we cannot rob Peter for the sake of that. We cannot commit burglary for the sake of helping poor people. Helping poor people is justifiable and necessary, but we should not do it if the funds are collected by burglary. So good on one side should not imply bad on another side. We have, therefore, a concept of samanya dharma and vishesha dharma. Vishesha dharma is the conduct which is justifiable on a specific occasion, but samanya dharma is the conduct which is justifiable on all occasions.

* "How do we know what action is justifiable and what is not?"

There are some people who have laid down a principle. If a particular character, attitude or conduct of ours can be imitated by everybody else in the world with impunity, well, we can regard it as a justifiable action.

* "Suppose you tell a lie." -

Would you like everybody in the world to tell lies? If you yourself would not like it, then it is not justifiable. Suppose everybody in the world is a thief, without exception.

* "Would it be all right?"

We will naturally say it is not all right; therefore, theft is not justifiable. Incontinence universally practised is not justifiable. So anything that is universally applicable with impunity to everyone is often regarded as a test of dharma or justifiable action. The principle, however, ultimately is that it should be universally applicable and the law operating in the cosmos should determine action.

There is also a principle of dharma laid down by certain other moralists that things should be regarded as ends rather than as means because the universe does not contain only means. It contains ends. Every part of our body is an end in itself and not a means to some other; it has a justifiable existence of its own. Therefore, every individual in the universe should be regarded as justifiably existing on his own or her own status. Every person has a status of his own or her own. We do not exist because of somebody else.

Now, the attitude of connecting one person with another person is not samanya dharma, or an ultimately justifiable attitude. I am not an instrument of your pleasure in any manner whatsoever; therefore, you cannot regard yourself as a purpose, and myself as an instrument towards the fulfilment of that purpose. So the moralist’s canon is that an attitude which can be regarded as justifiable, good and moral or ethical regards a thing as an end in itself, and not as a means to something else. It is true that we use things as a means, but towards a higher end. When you use a particular person or a thing as a means to a certain fulfilment, even that is towards the fulfilment of an end which is in view, and not merely for the fulfilment of the character of one’s being the means.

* The third principle of morality is that the urge for doing good is a categorical imperative. A categorical imperative is a philosophical jargon which simply means a ‘must’ or an ‘ought’ that urges itself forward from within ourselves without anyone telling us. We need not be told what is good. Our conscience will tell us what is good. That inward urge towards the rectitude of a particular action, the pricking of the conscience, as they generally say, is a good test of morality and ethical conduct.

All these tests ultimately depend upon the integrality of the cosmos. I began by saying that every action bears a relation to the structure of the universe, and the structural pattern of the universe is, therefore, the determining factor of the conduct of every intelligent being. Now, the universe being an end and not a means, and every part of it being connected with it in such a way that nothing can be regarded as a means, our activities also become ends in themselves when they are spiritualised. As a matter of fact, the karma yoga doctrine of the Bhagavadgita is nothing but regarding action as an end in itself, and not as a means to some other purpose.

When an action brings a result which is different from the structure of the action, then it is unspiritual and undivine. When an action is an end in itself, it need not produce a result. What we do is the purpose in itself. This is a peculiar structure of action which is promulgated in the Bhagavadgita, and which is difficult for the human mind to understand.

* We cannot understand what karma yoga is, however much we may wrack our head. Karma yoga is not simply unselfish action.

* How can we perform unselfish action? When action is unselfish in the true sense of the term, it will produce no result. If it produces no result, why do we do it?

** We generally have a give-and-take attitude. When you perform an action, put a question to yourself: “What will it bring to me? Why should I do it?”

This is a question which always comes up in one’s mind whenever one is asked to do anything. The action must produce a result, which means to say we are always accustomed to perform actions with an ulterior end or motive, and never in the spirit of karma yoga.

* "Karma yoga is action which is an end in itself because it is spirit manifesting itself. The spirit is an end, and not a means."

Now I am slowly coming to the point as to why spirituality is connected with universality. If the universe is the determining factor of every conduct and action of an individual, the individual being a part of the universe, and it being clear at the same time that the fact of the individual’s bearing a relevance to cosmic existence also implies the universal determining action, then the nature of the universe remains to be explained.

What the scientists can understand is that the universe is a single force. What our modern scientists tell us, having understood it thoroughly, is that the universe is a complete continuum of a single uniformly moving force, of which every individual is a part. But what the scientists cannot understand is that the universe is conscious. It is not jada; it is not inert.

* "Now the question comes, “How is the universe conscious?”

I will come to that point slowly again. The scientists’ viewpoint is that the universe is a single undivided continuum of force. Mark the word ‘undivided’, which means to say that there is nothing external to the universe, outside the universe. Even according to our top physicists of modern times, there is nothing external to the universe. The universe is one, and it is one in a very peculiar sense that it is an undivided continuum. A continuum is the nature of that particular pattern of existence wherein divisions cannot be imagined. It is like the flow of the Ganga, the mass of water in the ocean, or whatever you may regard as a suitable comparison for this state of affairs. The universe is a continuity and a pattern of flow of events which cannot be distinguished ultimately one from the other. That means to say, there is nothing outside the universe. I am repeating this again and again so that the point may become clear to your mind. There is nothing external to the universe, according to modern physical science.

* Then, where is consciousness? Does consciousness exist, or does it not exist? If it does exist, is it part of the universal continuum or is it outside the continuum? We cannot say that it does not exist, because who told us the universe is a continuum of forces?

It is the consciousness of the scientist that tells this. The inert physics or the unconscious universe does not speak. The universe does not say, “I am a continuum.” It is the intelligence of the scientist that says the universe is an undivided continuum.

* Does this consciousness or intelligence of the scientist exist? Naturally, the scientist has to say it exists. Does it exist outside the continuum or inside the continuum?

We cannot say that it is outside the continuum, because there is nothing external to it. If it is internal, we create a division in the continuum. It has already been accepted that the continuum is such a state of affairs that we cannot imagine a division in it. There cannot be consciousness seeping into the structure of the cosmos like cloth which has been soaked in water. If we dip cloth in a bucket of water, every fibre of cloth is permeated by water. Yet, water is not cloth, cloth is not water. We cannot say that the cloth is a continuum. It is not. It has divisions within it. But the present day scientists discovered that the universe is an undivided continuum. So consciousness has no place at all in the cosmos, and yet it exists.

Here is the parting point with science. We bid goodbye to science at this point. While up to this time it was a great aid to us, in future it shall not be an aid to us because here is a thick wall or a black curtain in front of the scientist through which he cannot pierce, or which he cannot scale.

The universe contains a peculiar principle called intelligence or consciousness which is responsible for our thinking, and for our saying anything at all. Even to be a materialist, consciousness is essential. We must be a good conscious being in order that we may be a good materialist. It is the consciousness that says, “I am a materialist.” It is consciousness that says that only matter exists.

* Do you understand this mystery? It is consciousness that asserts that consciousness does not exist. Who makes this assertion that consciousness does not exist?

Consciousness. Very interesting it is. Consciousness says that consciousness does not exist, because matter has no intelligence and cannot say this.

Now I am coming to another aspect of this question which is very intimately connected with the earlier one. The universe is a continuum, an undivided being, according to physical discovery. So is consciousness. Consciousness is a continuity. It is an undivided flow, as it were. It should not be called a flow, but for want of a better word I will call it a flow because it is permeating and pervading every bit of existence. But it does not pervade another object like water permeating cloth in a bucket of water.

Inasmuch as consciousness is undivided, there cannot be externality to it. Even a universe cannot exist outside it, but the universe exists. We are seeing it. So we have two continuities, two continuums – the universal continuum and the consciousness continuum. This double continua of consciousness and matter has led some people to imagine that there is an infinite matter and an infinite consciousness.

* This is the Sankhya philosophy of India, which says there is an ubiquitous and eternal matter and also an ubiquitous and eternal consciousness, Purusha.

But what is that which is between the two?

Nobody knows. This is a no-man’s land. As there cannot be a no-man’s land between consciousness and matter, Vedanta comes to the forefront and says, “Sankhya, you are wonderful. You have gone ahead of the scientists in positing the existence of consciousness. You have won a victory over the ignorance of the scientists. But you are also mistaken inasmuch as you have created an unbridgeable gulf between consciousness and matter.

* How does consciousness know that matter exists if there is no connection between the two?” If Sankhya is ultimately right, how does the Purusha know that matter is?

The very fact that consciousness knows the existence of matter shows that consciousness pervades matter. It is not an unbridgeable gulf between the two.

The universe is such a mystery before us. It is a beautiful blend of object and subject – the object being matter, the subject being the spirit. We cannot as human beings understand what this beautiful blend is. Today I am not going into the subject of the nature of this blend of spirit and matter, as my purpose is something else.

* Srimad Bhagavad Gita : Chapter-13, Slokam-12 to 15.

But Vedanta prescribes a solution for this enigma of the duality of spirit and matter, to which a hint is given in the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavadgita, where the Absolute is described. The Absolute is both subject and object.
12.
Jñeyam yat tat pravakshyami yaj jñatvamratam asnute,

anadimat param brahma na sat tan nasad ucyate; -12
13.
sarvatah panipadam tat sarvato’kshisiromukham,

sarvatah srutimal loke sarvam avrtya tishtati; -13.
14.
sarvendriyagunabhasam sarvendriyavivarjitam,

asaktam sarvabhya caiva nirgunam  gunabhoktya ca; -14
15.
bahir antas ca bhutanam acaram caram eva ca,

sukshmatvat tad avijñeyam durastham cantike ca tat -15

* It is both inside and outside. What a wonder it is!

This is the transcendent solution of the mystery between spirit and matter. We cannot understand it because it is subtler than our understanding. It looks very far because it is infinite, but it is very near because it is the Self of the thinker himself.

Avibhaktam ca bhuteshu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam,

bhutabhartru ca taj jñeyam grasishnu prabhavishnu ca (Gita 13.16):

Though things are divided, it is undivided within the divided being.

 Jyotisham api taj jyotis tamasah param ucyate,

jñanam jñeyam jñanagamyam hrudi sarvasya vishhtitam (Gita 13.17):

It is inside our very heart. This supreme solution to the mystery and enigma of the dichotomy between spirit and matter is hidden within our very heart.

* How can we understand it?

We cannot see our own eyes; we cannot see our own back. Such is the tremendous significance of our activities, our conduct.

* "This is the nature of dharmam."

We cannot know what dharma is because we cannot know what the universe is. We cannot know what the universe is because it is a blend of spirit and matter in a transcendent fashion in the Absolute.

Therefore, the advice given to us is to follow the path of the great ones. Do not try to solve the mystery of dharma for ourselves.

TO BE CONTINUED - PART-3.

OPINION :

1. AT PRESENT THE CITIZENS OF BHARATHAM, DO NOT KNOW WHAT WAS BHARATHAM BEFORE INVASIONS AND FOREIGHN RULE OVER BHARATHAM;

2. WE KNOW ONLY WHAT THE FOREIGN RULERS TOLD US AS HISTORY OF INDIA; ALL SAID ARE FALSE, NOT REALITY OF BHARATHAM;

3. AFTER OUR INDEPENDENCE, NEHRU DYNASTY RULE, NONE OF THEM BOTHERED TO REVEAL THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR COUNTRY, NEHRU'S DISCOVERY OF INDIA, IS NOTHING BUT WHAT BRITISH SAID THINGS ONLY;   

4. WE HAD A PERIOD CALLED VEDIC PERIOD, WHEN ENORMOUS LEARNING HAPPENED, MANY RESEARCH DONE BY ANCIENT RISHI-S, AND WERE DECLARATIONS, TRANSFERRED TO GENERATION AFTER GENERATION, BY SRUTI ( BY HEARING )

5. LATER THOSE SRUTIS, WERE WRITTEN AS SCRIPTURES, BUT MANY OF THEM WE LOST, DURING SWAMI ADI SRI SANKARACHRYA PERIOD, SWAMIJI : IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL, BUT AN INSTITUTION, NO SINGLE PERSON COULD HAVE ACHIEVED WHAT HE HAD ACHIEVED IN HIS SHORT SPAN OF LIFE;

6. NO MASTER OR NO PROPHET HAD EVER ACHIEBED SO MUCH, FOR SO MANY, IN SO SHORT TIME, VERY OFTEN THIS TEMPTS US TO CONSIDER THAT SWAMI ADI SANKARACHARYA WAS AN AVATARAM.

7. AFTER CENTURIES OF WANDERING, NO DOUBT RICHER FOR HER VARIOUS EXPERIENCES BUT TIRED AND FATIGUED, BHARATHAM CAME BACK TO HER OWN NATIVE THOUGHTS.

8. SWAMIJI'S WORK, IS NOT FOLLOWED LATER, THE MADAMS ESTABLISHED BY SWAMIJI, FAILED TO TAKE THE TORCH OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE FURTHER.

9. THE PRINCELY STATES, KINGDOMS, DID NOT CARRY FORWARD ANCIENT WORKS TO THE PEOPLE OF BHARATHAM, BRAHMINS AND PRIEST CLASS, DID NOT ALLOW THE PEOPLE TO LEARN, AND KEPT THE PEOPLE OF BHARATHAM IN DARKNESS AND IGNORANCE.

10. THEN FOREIGN INVASIONS, RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS, BY ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES, VERY LONG YEARS, BHARATHAMATHA WAS UNDER CHAINS.

11. AFTER THE INDEPENDENCE, THE STORY WAS NOT DIFFERENT, INSTEAD FOLLOWING OUR CULTURE, NEHRU DYNASTY GOVERNMENT AFTER GOVERNMENTS FOLLOWED BRITISH LEFT OVER THINGS, INSTEAD OF OUR OWN METHODS, AND NEO ENGLISH CULTURE EVERY WHERE, LATER TO HINDI, NEGLECTING OUR DEVINE LANGUAGE SANSKRIT, AND FAILED MISERABLY TO EDUCATE POOR AND BACKWARD CITIZENS, AND BRING THEN MAIN STREAM BY EVERY EFFORTS,

12. THUS THE SANATANA DHARMAM, GRADUALLY BECOME UNKNOWN TO THE PEOPLE OF BHARATHAM, FOLLOWING STUPID SECULARISM, THE NATION STARTED NEGLECTING, FORGETTING,UPANISHADIK CULTURE AND SANATANA DHARMAM; BY THEN, ADHARMAM STARTED TO SHOW THE HEADS BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR CORRUPTED, CRIMINAL POLITICIANS THROUGHOUT THE NATION.

NOTE :-

SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA AND KRISHNANANDA WORKS IN THIS MADE BHARATHAM  A STARTING POINT, BUT NEEDS TO PUSH FORWARD, IT IS OUR DHARMAM TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE THE GREATNESS OF OUR NATION

TO BE CONTINUED WITH PART-3.

JAIHIND

VANDEMATHARAM