Survey of Hinduism - A Great Recollection

HINDU DHARMA 31
THE MEANING OF DHARMA
Dharma, etymologically from the root dhṛ-, “to sustain” or “to uphold,” has been
given diverse meanings in various Indian schools of thought. At one end of the
spectrum we have the grammatical or logical use of the term dharma as merely
an element of a word or of a sentence. 2 At the other end is the ontocosmological
interpretation of dharma as that “which gives sustenance to the universe or
the universal principle of all things.” 3 Generally, however, it is used with reference
to “religion” in the specific sense of socioethical laws and obligations. P. V.
Kane thinks that dharma is “one of these Sanskrit words that defy all attempts
at an exact rendering in English or any other tongue”. 4 He eventually circumscribes
the term by saying that it comprises “the privileges, duties and obligations
of a man, his standard of conduct as a member of the Aryan community,
as a member of one of the castes, as a person in a particular stage of life.”
Manusmṛti, the Laws of Manu, the most important authority on the subject,
identifies the sources of dharma as “the Veda in its entirety, the traditions
(smṛtis) fixed by men conversant with the Vedas, the customs of righteous people
and one’s own conscience (ātmanastuṣṭi).” 5 The promise is held out to the man
who follows all the rules laid down in Manu’s Law that “he will obtain fame
here on earth and supreme bliss beyond.” 6 The same book also condemns as
nāstikas those who place their own reasoning above the authority of tradition. 7
Nāstika is normally translated as “atheist,” though it does not quite correspond
to its English equivalent. 8 In India followers of atheistic systems like that of the
Sāṁkhya are āstikas or orthodox, because they do not explicitly question or
reject the Vedas; whereas Buddhists and Jains or the followers of any non-Vedic
religions are nāstikas, including also the solidly materialistic and hedonistic
Lokāyatas. The dharma of the Manusmṛti is also geographically defined:
The land between the two sacred rivers Sarasvatī and Dṛṣadvatī, this land
created by divine powers is the Brahmavārta. The customs prevailing in this
country, passed on from generation to generation that is called the ‘right
behavior’ (sādācara). From a brahmin born and raised in this country, all
men should learn their ways. The country where the black antelope naturally
moves about is the one that is fit for sacrifice—beyond is that of the mlecchas
(the barbarians, the unclean!). A twice-born (viz. a Brahmin, a Kṣatriya, a
Vaiśya) should resort to this country and dwell in it; a Śūdra, however, may,
for the sake of gaining his livelihood, live anywhere. 9
From the point of view of content, this dharma comprises social classification
and the division of society into four varṇas, each with its particular functions
and rights; the whole complex of sacrifices and rituals; the saṃskāras, performed
at the critical periods of life; marriage laws, right of succession, the
regulation of the relationship between men and women, parents and children,
teachers and pupils; the definition of sin and atonement, pilgrimages and vows,