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Concept of Dharma

September 10, 2010 09:57 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 09:43 pm IST - CHENNAI

Students learning at the Veda padasala run by Parampara.in Trust in Chennai. To gain spiritual ascendency, it is necessary to seek the help of Dharma that is explicit in the Vedas, pointed out Sri K. V. Seshadrinatha Sastrigal in a lecture. File photo: A. Muralitharan

The Vedas have existed from time immemorial and in them one finds a repertoire of information beneficial to mankind, in worldly terms as well as beyond the worldly plane. For life on earth, material benefits are necessary and to attain these, one's mind, intellect, senses, etc., can be harnessed. But to attain the benefits that lead us beyond the material level, that is, to gain spiritual ascendency, it is necessary to seek the help of Dharma that is explicit in the Vedas, pointed out Sri K. V. Seshadrinatha Sastrigal in a lecture.

All worldly attainments may appear pleasant in the beginning but will ultimately head to sorrow. Lord Krishna says that this world is ephemeral and devoid of any happiness. It is only pursuit of Dharma that can lead one to permanent bliss.

All the Vedas are the source of Dharma just as butter is pervading in milk. Dharma is the unseen support of the entire creation and remains unaffected at all times. When people fail to uphold Dharma, they invite trouble in the form of Adharma and seek God's help.

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The Vedas are believed to be the very breath of the Supreme Brahman and hence carry His direct authority without any man-made touches. They proclaim in one voice the subtle aspects of Dharma that have to be grasped intuitively. These truths that have an eternal value and were revealed to the sages as transcendental experiences. The Smritis and the Puranas reveal this Dharma in many unique ways.

Scriptures state that one must transcend the mind and the intellect to understand the nature of the Supreme Brahman. In the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad, Sage Yagnavalkya adopts the method of negative description — that is, he refers to all that is recognised by the human mind and intellect as insufficient to give a holistic description of the Ultimate Reality. This is called the Neti concept. By denying that Brahman is not all what we know, that is, by negating all our knowledge as incapable of recognising the ultimate reality, Sastras reiterate that the concept of the Supreme Brahman cannot be contained in mere descriptions.

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