Sanathana Dharma - Part 4

 The part 3 of this series is found here
http://reconcilecomplexity.blogspot.com/2012/10/sanathana-dharma-part-3.html

My attempt here is not to present anything new. But use my modern ideas and jargon to elaborate on the age old concept of Dharma.

Sanathana Dharma we must understand teaches us not only that life is all about living harmoniously with the living and non living world but also to uplift oneself to discover the true nature of oneself.
So far I have written about living harmoniously with the world. For this there is a way. But no way should be so as to cause confusion and sadness in an individual.

 No way should be something that an individual cannot practice.We could take a step forward and say that ways of righteousness must be so defined as suits the individual and must be based on time and circumstances. Just as we proclaim this, we must realize that laws are laws. If force of gravity is inversely proportional to the distance from the object then it is so. In the same way , nature's laws cannot be twisted to suit us. What can be done is to create those circumstances by which the laws when they act do so favorably to us. It is the circumstance that we place ourselves in, that gets changed and we can beneficially create that circumstance. There is obviously a limitation but there is also a freedom. Thus we must say there is a degree of freedom within that limitation. 

When the requirements of humans was limited the stipulations that an individual had to lead was simpler. As people started being more and more different the positive recommendations so that they can bring about a favorable circumstance in their life became more different and more complex. Thus though the end goal became the same the way of life, the rituals and religions started branching out to suit differential temperament. This is the reason why religions are different not because one religion is completely right and another is completely wrong.

In a sense the parent Sanathana Dharma is the same . The branches have come about to cater to the varying times and varying requirements of people.

To give an example-
A person is happy with a meal and shelter provided to him and a reasonable life span that supports him.
 He can even stay hungry for some days but would not like to kill an animal for that. He can live in a jungle but does not covet another's land .
What kind of recommendations would you provide to that person for further upliftment and contentment?

Now there is a person who cannot be happy even if you provide him a mansion and provide him with hundreds of counsellors.

There is another person who needs to pray to God to be happy. But there is someone else who not only needs prayers but needs music during prayer. There is another person who does not want to pray but wants to meditate.

We can in this manner show that the choice of people is different and no-counselor can make things completely suitable. We need to work at the level of the society's consciousness. The society the man is born in has a certain consciousness and influences individual behavior.What ever we propose must allow an individual maximum freedom to progress but should also be something that is acceptable for everyone around that individual. Reason for that is we cannot divorce ourselves from our family and society unit. In that case there must be a consensus on what should be applicable to all individuals in the planet. Then there should be a consensus on what should be applicable to an individual country , individual society , to a sect and to a family.

That is the concept of Samanya Dharma and Visesha Dharma as is preached in Sanathana Dharma. Thus every religion must within its codes have some special specifications and also a universal specification. This way it is easy to reach a pact and work together for complete progress. The idea of a single set of rules and edicts and a single prescription for way of leading life is applicable only if all humans have the same level of consciousness and same level of requirements!

Sanathana Dharma - Part 3

The previous part of this series was covered in http://reconcilecomplexity.blogspot.com/2012/10/sanathana-dharma-part-2.html

There are some things which all humans must note.
We need to lead ourselves in a way which must give us more wisdom and contentment. Many people can intuitively perceive that we must all live in harmony with nature and other humans. While we set about creating our own rules to live in harmony with others we must understand that there is limitation to self-made rules.

The very concept of self-made rules and concepts created out of consensus with just some people is akin to selfishness inherent in us. It only serves our ego and is opposed to the principle of universal harmony. On the other hand if we consult the views of everyone( regardless of their wisdom and motive) and compose a hotch potch set of regulations for society it is likely to be chaotic .

If we select a panel to set the order for the society the question will arise, who is the personal who will select the members of the panel who set the rules for the entire society. Should it be based on some degree. While a degree might imply some knowledge on a subject, that need not be a pointer to commonsense and wisdom. Even if it is perceived so by society, there is much to question as none of these degree holders have come up with a long lasting stable set of rules for society. In the same way any kind of criteria we use could always be put to question by others opposed to that criteria or that set of people. There may be merits even in the words of an illiterate but there is no easy way to pick and choose the right from the wrong.

The animal kingdom is less governed by self-regulation. They live and eat as they please. They are also at easy disposal. The mighty lion and tiger of the jungle are at the mercy of nature and humans. If they kill indiscriminately they would perish. But nature presents them with a limitation, since they cannot go beyond a particular set of activities and a particular mode of life, once the condition is unsuitable to their life, their population reduces.

Humans on the other hand have the ability to stretch  the limits. If a particular way of life is no longer suitable we can use our intelligence to extend the boundaries. But if we go too far too fast things are no longer under control. Thus there is a definite need for regulation  to live harmoniously with everyone and given our ability to improvise we can live in a system that is more orderly.

We can only seek to identify the patterns of the past and understand the circumstances of the present to create our stable system. For this we need the co-operation of a majority of humans.
This is what Sanathana Dharma is all about.

As we rephrase the same definitions of Sanathana Dharma in different ways, we must understand that Sanathana Dharma is about getting the big picture and not confine to narrow aims which are self serving. If we trust nature to give us wisdom, then we must at an individual level create the environment for others to grasp the significance of this. We must figure out a way for changing the behavior of people. The right direction will automatically be established if every one has the right motivation. This cannot be a one day wonder. It must take thousands of years for order to be established and thousands of years for this established order to change under pressure. So we can figure out that people's adherence to the right way of living also can possibly change with time but there is a difference that can be made at the micro level starting from the individual and extending to his family to his community and to his nation and to the world.

Having said this let us visit some questions which I raised in my previous post and give my take on them
1. Believe that as long as they do not interfere in others life, anything they do is fine - If we accept the concept of Sanathana Dharma that entire world is related to each other in effect and in cause and no one is isolated , we can say that such an attitude is wrong. A society which seeks to establish its goal in such a manner will self-destruct. It will only boost ego and egoistic society will neither live harmoniously within and with others. This kind of society is opposed to Dharma and such a society cannot be!
2. People with an agenda but find life unfulfilled because others do not accept their agenda - Any right set of actions will create positive ripples in the environment. If there is some progress one should not feel disheartened. But when people devise their own agenda with scant respect to history or past experiences or previous knowledge , it is no different from the blind trying to be the leader. Whether or not others follow this leader is immaterial. We know that this kind of leadership will not go too far.
3. People whose ideas are accepted by people but the positive impact of their ideas is short-lived or never
      able to take shape- I have the same thing to say about this as the one previous. There is a limitation to self-devised ideas. One should accept with humility that one is not all knowing. If that were the case the individual would always come up with a solution to every problem. No doctorate in human psychology can enable an individual is able to lead a completely stress free life. One must understand that ideas born out of limited knowledge of history and specific to circumstances and a period of time is bound to be short-lived.
4. People who act on the basis of established beliefs and who believe in some eternal religion like
       hinduism,   Christianity, Islam but yet not able to achieve what their religion says can be established. - To cut things short, we see people who believe in Sanathana Dharma conduct Yagnas for rain and similar such prayers. If man's life is itself contrary to nature and one side they pray and on the side they cause destruction, how fruitful would their prayers. Life is more than just a bunch of rituals . One should correct one's way of life and then hope for effects to take shape. If you pray to Jesus for the victory of America in Iraq, and on the other hand kill an innocent child how do you expect God to help. This is where people do not see the big picture.

Thus Dharma regardless of the religion to which you belong is seeing the big picture and positioning yourself as a part of your society and not as a whole , will enable you to constructively act. This kind of Dharma as one can understand is independent of the sect in which you are born. There are works of nature to which all of us must subscribe. This is what Paramacharya of Kanchi meant when he said that all individuals of all religions by default belong to Sanathana Dharma and are under its purview. Different religions including modern hinduism or christianity are but its branches.

Sanathana Dharma - Part 2

The first part in this series can be referred here
http://reconcilecomplexity.blogspot.com/2012/10/sanathana-dharma.html

The basic concept which I was discussing in part 1 is the existence of an eternal law which operates on all aspects of our life be it physical or be it emotional.

If there be such a  law that governs every aspect of universe then there should be an implication of believing in such a principle.

This is where Scientists are likely to be pessimistic. We described in part 1 that every behavior can possibly be studied as some kind of science based on a known set of laws, Scientists would not necessarily be averse to it. But the moment we start talking of implications of believing in the existence of a universal law that should govern an individual behavior there will be a lot of tension. It is not difficult to see the reason. Science as we know today emerged from the conflicts that arose with religion in the medieval ages in Europe. Religion as was known in those days tried to stifle creativity which is the bed rock of modern scientific progress. It tried to stifle questioning of age old concepts. Such a questioning led to a more rational explanation of the universe and allowed people to establish principles that has helped in material progress.

However if there were a law that governs human behavior and action and the resultant impact of actions and thoughts, there must be sufficient thought given to understand this. The solution does not come from dismissing the existence of such a pattern but understand it rationally. One cannot dismiss something just because we may later find it inconvenient.

So talking about implication, the implication is this- Nothing , not even the freedom to exercise a thought can be viewed in isolation from our surroundings. We are dependent on nature and nature is also known as the sum of its parts which includes us.

So my proposition is that we start there.
1. An Eternal law governs the whole of living and non living world.
2. That the eternal law needs to be understood to have a beneficial impact on oneself and others.
3. That we need to act in a spirit of co-operation with nature as it were which includes us as one of its parts

This is what concept of Sanathana Dharma is all about . It starts there!
How do we live life rightfully for our own sake and for the sake of others. How do we factor in the whole nature in our actions!

Once we understand that it is not insane to believe in such things we should immediately review the kind of life that is being led today.

We commonly see people who
  1. Believe that as long as they do not interfere in others life, anything they do is fine
  2. People with an agenda but find life unfulfilled because others do not accept their agenda
  3. People whose ideas are accepted by people but the positive impact of their ideas is short-lived or never
      able to take shape.
  4. People who act on the basis of established beliefs and who believe in some eternal religion like 
       hinduism,   Christianity, Islam but yet not able to achieve what their religion says can be established.

If we understand what Sanathana Dharma is all about , we can correctly understand the problems with the way people deal with things. This is what I intend to explore in the next post!

Sanathana Dharma

There are countless articles on this subjects.

I hope to share my take on this topic. My thought process on this subject has developed due to the inspiration of Paramacharya of Kanchi, and some other great thinkers and saints.

Sanathana Dharma would mean the "Eternal Dharma".

Dharma is a unique indian word which can be loosely described as the principles that should govern an individual's life.

Should there be one?

Today science is trying to postulate the laws that govern the universe. It seeks to explain the behavior of all matter. Why is it looking for such an answer? The reason is that there is a principle that governs the property of all matter.

Moving from the realm of matter to the realm of thought we are slowly transcending to an area or a domain that is not exactly in the same class of objects as the materials dealt with by science. We are talking about psychology.

Human , animal psychology!

But it is not just that we can say. The behavior response to a circumstance from a plant can also be studied.

What I intend not to discuss is the similarity or difference of thoughts from matter. What I would like to point out is that the subject of psychology should also be governed by certain laws as which governs matter. It is not difficult to see why this seems possible. Every thought, every living being is not unrelated to its circumstance. Any idea holds its dependency on a previous idea or activity in the world. From birth to death, from the time in the womb to beyond, any kind of development in the mental and physical activity of a living being is dictated by the circumstance and by the thoughts and information received by it.

No scientific information or invention is possible without a source of information or without a surrounding circumstance. Thus thoughts by themselves can be shown to be never be independent of their circumstance. If one were to therefore refer back to the linked references one is likely to speculate that it may be possible to construct a particular behavior under a particular circumstance. This is thus something that pertains to a law of psychology.

We can also see that just as in the case of non living matter no part of a living matter is independent of circumstances in the universe. This seems to be a common experience.

Looking at the entire picture, we could suppose that all living and non living matter in this universe is part of the universal law which creates the circumstances for the matter to operate. If we could say that the primeval or elementary laws that governs the atoms must have been consistent since the beginning of universe the same may be said about living matter too. There does not seem to be an evidence to the opposite. Any new kind of rule that emerges in the universe must be as a consequence of these elementary laws that operate.

The idea of Sanathana Dharma must be seen in this way. The eternal law that an individual must be subject to is what Dharma is all about. Such a thing should be eternally in operation subjecting both living and non living matter. While we can speak about laws , can an individual show a behavior contrary to a law. The answer is no but we can show that following and creating certain circumstances around oneself one can help to create a situation that is more beneficial to one's contentment and thought process . Acting in another way, is likely to create an environment around one's mind which is likely to be less satisfactory. To say that the effect of all circumstances and thoughts is the same and has no effect on the individuals' own behavior and character development is nothing short of advocating that there is no such thing as a law of human behavior. It can easily be recognized that every circumstance in the world has a particular behavior syndrome associated with the living beings of the world who are part of that circumstance.

What constitutes this Dharma is a separate discussion!