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satay
16 March 2006, 11:38 AM
Dharma is such a beautiful word. Yet, no meaning in English does justice to this word.

I wonder if we could start collecting all 'definitions' of Dharma.

Also, is there a difference between Dharma and dharma?

satay

Sudarshan
16 March 2006, 11:56 AM
What is your location bhai? mrtuloka?

Or did u mean mrityuloka? Looks like you are settled with Yahweh or Yama and afraid of his tantrums. :)

satay
16 March 2006, 12:44 PM
What is your location bhai? mrtuloka?

Or did u mean mrityuloka? Looks like you are settled with Yahweh or Yama and afraid of his tantrums. :)
:)

mrityuloka - as in this loka where this body shall die. mrituloka is the place where there is some motivation to realize Bhagwan.

satay

sarabhanga
16 March 2006, 06:00 PM
Namaste Satay,

dharma or dharman indicates “that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statute, ordinance, law, usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty, right, justice (often as a synonym of punishment), virtue, morality, religion, religious merit, or good works”.

Dharma is Law or Justice personified ~ as Indra or Yama or Vishnu or Prajapati, or as a Bull or a Dove.

Dharma was born from the right breast of Yama, and Dharma is an attendant of the Sun.

Dharma indicates the “nature, character, peculiar condition or essential quality, property, mark, or peculiarity” ~ and Dharma is Svabhava.

Dharma is “sacrifice, associating with the virtuous, religious abstraction, or devotion”.

Dharma is a Soma-drinker, and Dharma is the Shiva-linga.

Sudarshan
18 March 2006, 08:58 AM
Also, is there a difference between Dharma and dharma?


The sanskrit word for dharma is exactly one, so different English spellings dont introduce any new meanings.

Dharma is used in three broad senses:

One is a way of life, as in Sanatana Dharma, Buddha Dharma etc. This is a broad term.

The other is various duties prescribed for an individual based on his social order, gender, location etc -as in Brahmana Dharma, Sudra Dharma, Apath Dharma, Mleccha Desa Dharma etc.

The third is used in sense of justice.

The total number of meanings to the term Dharma may be very huge and its explanation warrants an entire book.

sarabhanga
22 March 2006, 10:54 PM
The Solar Dharma-cakra has always been the primary vehicle of Sanatana Dharma.

agyat_theunknown
28 March 2006, 08:12 AM
The ability of mind by virtue of which it takes right decision before any action is dharma. It is a self imposed discipline which makes you responsible for both your actions and thoughts. It is the ability to use your conscience independently and be conscious or aware of your actions. Dharma makes you to be righteous in both your actions and thoughts.

Vajradhara
28 March 2006, 05:38 PM
Namaste all,

i hope you are well.

as i am new to the forum, please be gentle :)

this is, if i recall, the thread that Satay wanted me to participate in directly (is that correct, Satay?)

Dharma is a very interesting word in Sanskrit with many nuanced meanings which can only be properly gleaned by an understanding of the overall context in which it is being used.

Dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root dhr meaning to hold up, to carry, to bear, to sustain. The word dharma refers to that which upholds or sustains the universe.

Human society, for example, is sustained and upheld by the dharma performed by its members. For example, parents protecting and maintaining children, children being obedient to parents, the king protecting the citizens, are acts of dharma that uphold and sustain society. In this context dharma has the meaning of duty.

Dharma also employs the meaning of law, religion, virtue, and ethics. These things uphold and sustain the proper functioning of human society.

In philosophy dharma refers to the defining quality of an object. For instance, liquidity is one of the essential dharmas of water; coldness is a dharma of ice. In this case we can think that the existence of an object is sustained or defined by its essential attributes, dharmas.

though it seems silly to suggest it on a Hindu forum, if one is interested in learning Sanskrit, the following URL is quite excellent:

http://www.sanskrit.org/www/index.html

so, with that in mind, it really depends on the context in which the term is used as to what it is meant to be indicative of, in my view.

metta,

~v

Vajradhara
28 March 2006, 05:43 PM
Also, is there a difference between Dharma and dharma?

satay

Namaste Satay,

well... i would say that linguistically, there is no difference in these terms... however, they are used in a different manner to connote different things.

within the context of the Buddha Dharma, for instance, it is being used as a proper noun, in English, to denote the specifc sorts of practice involved in the Buddhist path.

overall, i suspect that, like many terms that have nuanced meanings, there is a predominante view that most beings will have towards this term and, in my estimation, this is the real thrust of the dialog with adharmic folks.

if we can ascertain how they understand this term, it will allow us to more easily open a dialog with them and help them understand our views. they may not accept our views, which is just fine.

but, to not accept them without undestanding what it not being accepted, seems to be rather foolish. of course, no one is contending that humans are not foolish :)

metta,

~v

saidevo
18 August 2006, 10:06 AM
Dharma indicates the “nature, character, peculiar condition or essential quality, property, mark, or peculiarity” ~ and Dharma is Svabhava.




In philosophy dharma refers to the defining quality of an object. For instance, liquidity is one of the essential dharmas of water; coldness is a dharma of ice. In this case we can think that the existence of an object is sustained or defined by its essential attributes, dharmas.


Dharma, it seems to me, is closely related to svabhava. The svabhava of a human being is to realize the Self. Just as coldness is a dharma of ice, godliness is a dharma of a human. The law and the rules that go with the term dharma (righteousness in thought, words and action) are the channels to regulate the human soul to realize its Self.

TruthSeeker
18 August 2006, 12:56 PM
For every entity, svarUpa (essence) and dharma(characteristics) form a pair. svarUpa is a kind of dharma that seeks to uniquely identify the entity from other similar or different entities.

saidevo
19 August 2006, 03:27 AM
For every entity, svarUpa (essence) and dharma(characteristics) form a pair. svarUpa is a kind of dharma that seeks to uniquely identify the entity from other similar or different entities.

So we have the terms svarUpa, dharmA and svadharmA. SvarUpa is the essence of a being, dharmA the general characteristics and svadharmA, the natural characteristic or natural dharma of a living being. For example, the svadharma of a tiger is to be wild and ferocious, of a cow is to be satvik and of man is to try to be his real Self. In the same way, the svadharma of a Varna is the occupation that befits the group.

I also understand that the term svadharmA in the context of meditation, applies to the duty of watching one's own breath and through that process become aware of the indwelling Self.

yajvan
17 September 2006, 05:49 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~


Dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root dhr meaning to hold up, to carry, to bear, to sustain. The word dharma refers to that which upholds or sustains the universe.
metta,

~v

Hello and Namaste Vajradhara,
Yes, this is what I too have been taught... that which upholds. For some reason it evolved to 'duty' which to me is not the best fit of this most important concept. It is my firm belief that when kavaliya unfolds, then this dharma is in full blossom within the sadhu, as s/he works at holding and sustaining this creation as doing His work.


Note the additional ways of considering dharma:
· Varna asrama dharma - ones specific dharm/duty for various stages of life, bramachara, householder, sanyas, etc.
· Sanatana dharma - the eternal dharm of upholding creation
· Apad dharma - dharm prescribed at time of adversity
· Yuga dharma - the dharm fundamental to the 4 yugas, ( sat, treta, dvapa, kali)
· Sadharana dharma - general obligations of the social individual to uphold within society
· There is also the notion as I read, that dharma is a specific quality ( visesa-guna) that belongs to the SELF.
· Others on this post have also talked of dharma as the Dharma chakra pravartana of the wheel of law.

In some cases the selection of action one considers is key - that is, to do what is pleasant vs. what is right. The joy in kavaliya is that both of these are the same Pleasant + right becomes ones actions for the actions are HIS actions , and one serves as HIS dharma. The release of delight ( soma) comes with the 'squeezing' of each action which produces delight.
I use delight as that is something I can attest/experience. Others may use the term 'bliss' that I cannot get my arms around as yet.

It is my humble belief that this dharma all comes together as satyam-ritam-bharat or the Truth the Right and the Vast.

I respectfully ask from others on this forum for correction and/or advancement in my understanding.