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| Vagbhatananda Guru (1885 - 1939) |
Dharma
“Acquire all the four Purusharthas”,
would be the advice given to a Jijnasu
(one who is bent on learning) by the shrutis and sastras. Of these, Dharma is first among equals. According to Vagbhatananda, the first and foremost Purushartha is Dharma. The Artha part (money) earned without the backing
of Dharma is anartha (troublesome).
Spending the money earned also needs the sanction of Dharma without which the
entire treasure causes anartha.
The third Purushartha, i.e, Kama too follows this rule. Kama made on the platform of Dharma is Love and that which is done
without the support of Dharma is
lust. The latter causes only downfall. See how Dharma gets the better of it. Coming to the last part, Moksha is nothing but complete and full
Freedom. How to attain it? Only through Dharma.
You ought to have the nerve to stay away from adharma whatever happens. There
would be severe turmoil and even death may seem imminent but one does not
waver. The seeker treads the safe path of Dharma to realise the state of Moksha. You can follow the teachings of Jeevan Muktas (Perfect Masters) and they
are wonderfully similar, their focus is always on Dharma. Interestingly, if you go through the sacred texts for an
elaboration of Dharma, you might get disappointed. There are several contradictions prima facie and one is
bound to get crest-fallen, if not confused. The texts recommend certain
rites such as Agnihotram etc. and
rituals based on religion, caste and geographical location. These yajnas are in plenty in those scriptures
and one gets bewildered at its multiplicity of purpose! However, one must bear in mind that one is
fully entitled to modify or even reject them. Exercise your power of
discrimination. The religious ceremonies do not support Dharma. Virtues like Truth, Compassion, Equality, Freedom, Shanti,
Happiness, Unity and Action do. The Vedas
and Sasthras , the various religions
pay obeisance to these Sanatana Dharma.
All you have to do is hold Sanatana
Dharma aloft always and your yogakshema
(things which make you genuinely happy and its upkeep) will be taken care
of.
Sanatana Dharma absolves your sin too. Truth clears all of them. Compassion earns Punya to your credit. Look! We just have to get ready to respect, follow and imbibe the Sanathana Dharma, no other go. The intricacies can be further explained but there is not much use. The only thing that matters is the practical application. Since practicing of Dharma is not in vogue these days, we have to face its consequences. The is no escape from the misfortune of man ruling man. Nobody has come up with an outline to employ the full potential of human-beings. The current system of ruling people is all wrong. Sitting on a pedestal, nobody has the right to police thoughts, words and deeds of human-beings. It will block and degenerate the forward march of human race. In fact, neither the king nor the subject has the right to rule people. Only Dharma has the exclusive right to do so.
Sanatana Dharma absolves your sin too. Truth clears all of them. Compassion earns Punya to your credit. Look! We just have to get ready to respect, follow and imbibe the Sanathana Dharma, no other go. The intricacies can be further explained but there is not much use. The only thing that matters is the practical application. Since practicing of Dharma is not in vogue these days, we have to face its consequences. The is no escape from the misfortune of man ruling man. Nobody has come up with an outline to employ the full potential of human-beings. The current system of ruling people is all wrong. Sitting on a pedestal, nobody has the right to police thoughts, words and deeds of human-beings. It will block and degenerate the forward march of human race. In fact, neither the king nor the subject has the right to rule people. Only Dharma has the exclusive right to do so.
Some apprehensions are likely to prop up at this juncture. We are more
inclined to ask these questions. Is it not due to Adharma that we get to know the value of Dharma? Like the roles of light and darkness in our lives. Can we
eliminate darkness altogether to keep only light, is it practical? The
inference is that we can’t entirely focus on installing Dharma at the cost of Adharma.
There are several great lives descended on this planet just to put Dharma in place. However, the world is
not a level-playing field, still. The rishis compiled all those prescriptions
for Dharma, Sidhartha became Buddha, Christ
the lord gave sermons from atop a mountain, Muhammad Nabi waged a courageous
battle embedded in Dharma, Srikrishna
stirred entire Bharat, Sri Rama fought against Adharma using special-purpose arrows and what’s the outcome? Adharma not only progresses in leaps and
bounds but turns back and ridicules Dharma
which is far behind! People who are making others’ lives difficult seem to be thriving
on Earth. Summing up, one may easily infer that following Adharma is the better alternative.
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| Sayed Haider Raza - Bindu Naad |
These apprehensions can be driven away if one could get into the swing
of things, i.e., Nature. It might be true that both thejas and tamas are
required for the movement of life. However, we know fully well that we are not
naturally allied with tamas. Take a
small example. Even in our bed-rooms we light a tiny lamp in order to expel
darkness even while we are sleeping. In fact, darkness does not exist, it’s
simply the absence of thejas. Oddly
enough, darkness creates non-existent demons, gandharvas and ghosts. People with weak nerves are tossed up and
down. What’s more, even the brave who can number the abovesaid folks are found
wavering sometimes. So, one should try on his own to get freed from tamas.
Just like darkness, there is one more thing which does not have satta (existence), you’re right, its ajnana (ignorance). Light up the fire of
Vignana and ajnanam just vanishes. It is to be stated ajnana is the singular cause for Maya which can be experienced by each one of us. Kindly see that the
Universe is a byproduct of the breathtaking Mahamaya.
Our lives, based on dwaita (duality) is
intertwined with Jnana as well as Ajnana. However, nobody by default has any fondness
towards ajnana. If you address a
person as fool, he loses his cool in no time. Everybody abhors ajnana.
Veda, Vedanta, Sastra and Purana are the never-ending source of light and people make use of
it in order to drive away the darkness of ajnana.
It's rather easy to do the job because ajnana
does not have a base. At the same time, vignana
does have a satta and hence it
exists. It's just our soul!
The soul comprises not only Ananda
and Jnana but it encompasses all Dharmas too. The energizing rays of Sanatana Dharma emits out
of the soul. Even the thieves and robbers naturally like Dharma. A criminal gets pleased if he is applauded as a good man.
If branded as felonious, he is sure to blow his top. That is the reason why
great men always try to change the bad state of affairs. Adharma is not natural.
Installation of Dharma is no
joke. It's certainly not a waste of time. In essence, it is the development of one’s
own rays of the soul. The question why Adharma
can’t be eradicated from this planet in spite of the best efforts is
incorrect. Great men do not harbor such notion that they can fully wipe out adharma from the face of the Earth. The efforts
for setting up of Dharma vehemently changes the quality of life of the
multitude by making it easy and light. The Masters nudge each one of us to develop
the spiritual awareness as well as human gunas
(qualities) thereby getting rid of ajnana
and adharma. The final destination is
Shanti.
People seem to think that money amassed by hook or crook is quite
justifiable as the usurpers appear to be having a field day. At this juncture,
we may get misguided to follow adharma. We must convince ourselves that we are here not for enjoying worldly pleasures. There is a higher purpose of existence
– to fight against adharma and to raise dharma using one’s viveka.
Source : Collected Works of Vagbhatananda Guru
published by Mathrubhumi Books
(pages 411 - 417)
Originally published in 1929
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