Gaichuk 1

Ivan Gaichuk
Dr. W. Y. Bandara
RELS 2300
2 November 2015
What is Dharma?

The worlds population is about 7.3 billion people on 2015 statistics data, and 1.2 billion

of them live in India.1 Most of the people in India follow religious practices like Hinduism,

Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Those religions have differences but all of them embrace a

philosophical conception called dharma that sets them apart from any western religion. The word

dharma cannot easily be translated into English because there is no single word to define its

meaning. The book Living Religions, by Mary Pat Fisher explains that dharma refers to a broad

complex of meanings, encompassing duty, natural laws, social welfare, ethics, health, wealth,

power, fulfillment of desire, and transcendental realization (Fisher 71).2 In this essay I will

describe dharma and its different components.

According to dharma the cosmos is a unified whole in which absolute reality and the

relative manifestation are profoundly connected. This absolute reality is referred to as Brahman.

It unifies everything that is diverse in the universe, and it cannot be known. Brahman also exists

within all people as atman which means the subtle self or soul (Fisher 77). The atman can be

reincarnated after death infinite times into an array of different living things. After reincarnation

the self remains the same even though the physical body may change. If a soul is fortunate

enough to be reincarnated as a human, it has a precious chance to advance toward its ultimate

goal of liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth to merge with the absolute reality.

Although the soul can reincarnate as a different being, a persons karma determines the souls

next reincarnation sequence. 3 Karma is a concept which explains that every act a person makes,

every thought or desire a person has will influence the persons future experience (Fisher 77).
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The type of karma a person builds during life, good, or bad, will affect the souls next

reincarnation. In order to build good karma, one must do good deeds and live by the principles of

dharma, only then can the soul break away from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, or samsara

and achieve moksha and join with the absolute reality.4

To live by the principles of dharma a person has to build good karma throughout life in

order to achieve liberation. Everyone has a duty in life; everyone needs to fulfill their duty if they

want to live by the principles of dharma. In India the caste system is a big part of life. A persons

duty depends on what type of caste that person belongs to. The caste system divides people and

fixes their jobs and place in society. Every caste has a place in society and without one the others

cannot function properly. A person does not choose which caste they belong to, instead it is

passed down by the family tree though generations. Marriage between different castes is frowned

upon and results in punishment.

There are four different castes in India. The Brahmins who are the priests are at the top of

the caste system. A Brahmins job is to study the Vedic texts and to perform various rituals.

Kshatriya are the warrior caste, their job was to make everyday decisions and to run the

government. The Vaishyas are skilled farmers and merchants. The Sudras are the unskilled

workers. The Untouchables are the lowest class and were given the most unfavorable jobs such

as working with cattle and feces.

According to dharma everyones life is divided into four parts. For example, a Brahmins

life is divided into four different parts, each approximately 25 years. For the first 25 years of life

a Brahmin is required to be a student. The next part of life is the householder stage. During this

stage he is expected to marry, raise a family, and contribute productively to society. After this
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part of life he is expected to detach himself from worldly pursuits, to meditate and practice

spiritual study. When he is an old man he is expected to cut himself off from his wife and family,

to renounce from society and all worldly possessions and live life as a sannyasin. Some

sannyasin go to live in comfortable temples, others choose to wonder the streets with little to no

clothes, a water jug and walking staff, and a food bowl. A person who has reached the renouncer

part of life has only one job. It is to concentrate on practices that will finally release him from

samsara so that his soul can be joined with the absolute reality (Fisher 101).

The word dharma refers to how most people live their lives in India. There are many

different components to dharma. To live by dharma one has to do good deeds and do his duty in

life. If a person does good deeds and performs his duty, they will accumulate good karma. The

Karma a person has accumulated in life will determine how the soul will be reincarnated in the

next life. Many life times of good karma are required to reach the ultimate goal of dharma, to

escape the endless cycle of samsara and achieve moksha.

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Notes

1. This statistic is based on the study done in 2015 by United Nations Department of

Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

2. The Author of the book, Mary Pat Fisher defines Dharma as encompassing duty,

natural laws, social welfare, ethics, health, wealth, power, fulfillment of desire, and

transcendental realization.

3. The Author of the book, Mary Pat Fisher defines Karma as action and consequence

of an action.

4. The Author of the book, Mary Pat Fisher defines Samsara as the endless cycle of

birth, death, and rebirth.

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Works Cited

Fisher, Mary. Living Religions. London: Lauren King Publishing Ltd, 2014. Print.