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Articles: Devotion | Dharma
- Prof. venkata ramanamurty mallajosyula
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Dharma - The Divine Cycle
Dharma, Duty with Reasoning
Action is at the very heart of the Universe. The Universe itself came into existence because of action and it cannot be sustained without this action chain. But what is Reaction? There is no word that can convey the depth, amplitude and vibrancy contained in the word “Dharma’, Swami explains the concept of Right action from the root words of Dharma’ dharini and dhru’- as the vesture that binds the while world. He explains the concept of Dharma, shorn of all that is esoteric and erudite, through a simple fable.
When Dasaratha was running after Rama’s chariot, which bore him to the forest, he was crying out 9in anguish-“Stop, Stop! I command you to stop. ”The charioteer Sumanthra did not know what to do? Rama told him ”Don’t stop. If Dasaratha chides you later, tell him you did not hear.” Sumantra was in a fix.How could he tell a lie? Rama explained to him: “The order to stop the chariot came from Dasaratha, the grief stricken father. The order to take me, to the forest come from Dasaradha, the king. You have no Dharma to listen to the ravings of a man grieving for his son. But you have an absolute obligation to listen to the command of your king.” Sumantra therefore had an obligation to use reason in determining his Paradharma.
Swami explains: ”The word Dharma does not even mean duty, in duty there is no freedom. In reason there is no freedom. Dharma is an obligation that imposes both duty and reason.”For Swami, Dharma is not mere adherence to rules, but an extension of his oft-repeated concept of unity of thought, word and deed – Trikarana Suddhi.
He says, it is good to be born in a church, but it is not good to die in it. Grow and rescue yourself from limits and regulations, the doctrines that prevent your freedom of thought, the ceremonial rules that restrict. Reach the stage where churches do not matter, where all roads end, from where all roads begin.”
The Bhagawat Gita is a gospel whose message is timeless. In words that belong to Eternity, incarnate God speaks to man: His friend. In Gita Vahini, the Eternal charioteer speaks again on Dharma. Sai Himself interprets in Kalyuga, what He uttered in Dwaparayuga. For has Swami Himself not declared, “I am Vasudeva!”
Swami makes two profound modifications to generally accepted interpretations of Gita. Firstly He says that when Krishna was speaking about Swadharma (individual duty), He was basically referring to Atmadharma (duty of the self).
“Again looking at your own duty as well ( Swadharma ), you should not waver; for there is nothing more welcome to a Kshatriya ( member of a warrior clan ) than a righteous war. “(Gita 2.31)
Right Action and Right Conduct in Individual Dharma
Every creature is bound by its own respective individual Dharma. And what is right action for one may not be right action for another. The story of King Sibi brings out this point dramatically:
A pigeon chased by an eagle seeks refuge with King Sibi, an ancestor of Rama. When warned not to harm the pigeon, the eagle says “The pigeon is my prey. To hunt and kill it is my Dharma. It may be your Dharma to protect those who seek refuge in you. But in that process, why are you interfering with my Dharma ?”
And the story goes that Sibi offered an equivalent weight of the flesh of his own body to adjudicate the matter.”Bhagavan’s Prescription for Moral Dilemmas:Swami points out
that while following Paradharma, one should not violate Atmadharma nor do anything which is against the nature of Atma. And He gives simple prescriptions for the daily conduct of Dharma.
“What is Dharma? Lt me summarize it. First, treat your parents with love, reverence and fortitude. Secondly, act as you speak, speak as you feel and do not play false to your conscience. Third, be calm and levelheaded and maintain equipoise. And finally listen to the voice within!”
In another departure, Swami refuses the point that working for reward is immoral.But Swami offers an improved recipe.
‘Perform action as an offering to God without hankering for reward and without any sense of individual doer ship.’
This was another reaffirmation of Krishna , who said:
“Therefore surrendering action to Me, thy thoughts concentrated on Me. the absolute and the self of all, freed from selfishness and without anticipation of any reward , with your mind in a perfectly calm mood, begins thou to fight..” (Gita 3.30)
And how far is this yoga of action practicable? And what happens when there is a moral dilemma. Sai Krishna provides the answer.
“Fix your mind on Me. Be devoted to Me. Sacrifice to Me Prostrate before Me. So shall you come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for you are dear to Me.”(Gita 18.65)
Transform Work into Worship When we see Divinity installed everywhere, as the indweller in every being, Karmayoga becomes Bhaktiyoga, work becomes worship. Swami says that the emphasis of such an offering should be Love. As Suphi poet Khalil Gibran said, “Work is Love made visible. And if you cannot work with Love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple, and take alms from those who work with joy.
As part of this pavithrakarma, Swami brings in the concept of Service ”Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.” In fact, He echoes the words of the bard of Shanthi Nikethan (Sri Rabindranath Tagore), who wrote over six decade ago, in language of unsurpassed beauty:
“Leave this chanting, singing and rolling of beads,
Whom dost thou worship in the lonely dark corner of the temple with its doors all shut, Come out of thy meditation and leave aside the flowers and incense, Your God is out there in the tattered clothes of her, Who toils by the sweet of his brow.” (Tagore)
Action, Sacrifice, Surrender and Love- How well this cycle works! Announcing His Divinity , Swami wrote to His brother in May 1947:
“No one can comprehend My glory, where ever he is and what ever his method of enquiry and however long his attempt!” Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this, in flesh and blood, ever walked on this earth. And it is indeed our privilege that we are contemporaries of this Avatar. The only tribute we can offer is to lay down our lives as flowers at His lotus Feet.
Prof: Venkata Ramanamurty Mallajosyula
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