Dharmika Jivana Vidhana (धार्मिकजीवनविधानम्)

Dharmika jivana vidhana (Samskrit : धार्मिकजीवनविधानम् । Dharmika life style) comprises of different jivana vidhanas or lifestyle approaches to lead a holistic life as prescribed by ancient texts of Sanatana Dharma. Our present society is witness to immense changes in upbringing our newer generations with distorted moral and ethical values, disharmony in relationships within and outside communities, insensitivity towards others needs, national strife and international conflicts apart from the many other 'diseases of the society'. Mahopanishad, one of the minor upanishad, drives home the concept of unity by the establishment of harmonious relations between all the Jivatmas.

अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् । उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ ७१॥

ayaṁ bandhurayaṁ nēti gaṇanā laghucētasām । udāracaritānāṁ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam ॥ 71॥

While our rishis promulgated शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ Shanti Shanti Shanti for the वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ vasudaiva kutumbakam, at present our global society is व्याधिग्रस्थ वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ vyadhigrastha vasudaiva kutumbakam, meaning a 'diseased global family'. All the troubles which make us unhappy, the wars, poverty, starvation, suppression of the weak, competition for survival, property, corruption and the countless evils that surround us, are all the diseases of this Humanity. Individually the diseased state stems from the Mind or Manas, which can be corrected by re-sensitizing the peoples of the world to the dharmika paths given by our seers for leading a peaceful life leading ultimately Moksha.

परिचयः || Introduction

Man is a Composite being, a Jivatma enclosed in various sheaths (Pancha Koshas, namely Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya, Anandamaya) is always in connection with one of the visible or invisible worlds and therefore with the inhabitants of these worlds. All yajnas, rites and ceremonies, samskaras etc ordained by the seers are intended to aid the Jivatma in reducing his koshas, to obedience, in purifying them and strengthen them against evil, to shape the man's external conditions or environment for his benefit and support. The conduct of man has reference to his surroundings as well as himself. Dharma lays down these codes of conduct of a man, as a directive to how he should act for the welfare of beings around him.

The object of morality, ethics is to bring establish a harmonious relationship and environment between all Jivatmas that belong to any special area. Ethic is 'the principles of harmonious relations' built on the recognition of Unity of the Self amid the Diversity of the Not-self.

Daivi and Asuri Sampada

The simplified version of moral tendencies of Jiva were given by Sri Krishna, in Shrimad Bhagavadgita (षोडशोऽध्याय: दैवासुरसंपद्विभागयोग) under the two headings

• Daivi Sampada or Divine qualities

अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः । दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् ॥१६- १॥

अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् । दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् ॥१६- २॥

तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता । भवन्ति संपदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत ॥१६- ३॥ (Bhag. Gita. 16.1-3)

1. Fearlessness (अभयं)
2. Sattvic purity (सत्त्वसंशुद्धिः)
3. Steadfast pursuit of wisdom (ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः)
4. Charity (दानम्)
5. Control of sense organs (दमः)
6. Svadhyaya (स्वाध्यायः । study of vedic texts)
7. tapas (तपः । austerity), uprightness (आर्जवम्), Ahimsa (अहिंसा । harmlessness), truthfulness (सत्यम्), absence of anger (अक्रोधम्), renunciation (त्यागः), peace of mind (शान्तिः), avoidance of calumny (अपैशुनम्), compassion for all beings(दया भूतेषु), absence of greed (अलोलुप्त्वम्), gentleness (मार्दवं), modesty (ह्रीः), absence of restlessness (अचापलम्)

• Asuri Sampada or Infernal qualities

दैवी संपद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता । मा शुचः संपदं दैवीमभिजातोऽसि पाण्डव ॥१६- ५॥

Dharmika Jeevana Dristhi

Some elements of the dharmik perspective of life that are based on a dharmic paradigm

• Satya (Truth) : The famous words of Taittiriya Upanishad may be recollected where at the end of the student's education the teacher places Truth in the forefront of his exhotation and dharma next.

  वेदमनूच्याचार्योऽन्तेवासिनमनुशास्ति । सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर ।

  Satya has 13 aspects and shloka 21 says that non-injury to all beings in thought, word and deed, good will and charity are the eternal dharma of the good.

  अद्रोहः सर्वभूतेषु कर्मणा मनसा गिरा। अनुग्रहश्च दानं च सतां धर्मः सनातनः॥ (Maha. Sant. 12.162.21)

• आत्मा ॥ Soul : The Gautama Dharmasutras (8.24-26) expound the eight qualities of the Soul.

  अथाष्टाव् आत्मगुणाः ॥ दया सर्वभूतेषु क्षान्तिर् अनसूया शौचम् अनायासोमङ्गलम् अकार्पण्यम् अस्पृहेति ॥ (Gaut. Grhy. Sutr. 8.23)

  dayā (दया ) kṣānti (क्षान्ति) anasūyā (अनसूया) śaucam (शौचम्) anāyāsaḥ (अनायासः) maṅgalam (मङ्गलम्) akārpaṇyam (अकार्पण्यम्) aspr̥heti (अस्पृहेति)

• Sarvavyapakatva : Consciousness is all pervading. Thus life is unlimited in space.
• Punarjanma : Rebirth as a means to fulfill the missed opportunity of self-fulfillment, in earlier lives, with no achievement made at any stage lost. It is an assurance that life shall not fail. It is not aimless or endless transmigration of life as pessimists understand or fatalists believe. It is positive way of life-fulfillment. In line with this eternity, creation and destruction are cyclic and mutually complementary. [example of seed that grows into tree, gives rise to more seed that fall to the ground again and each seed, in its destruction gives rise to more trees]
• Moksha

Code of conduct (Dharmik vyavahar sutra)

Some elements of the dharmik codes of conduct that (dharmik vyavahar sutra) that are aligned with such a dharmik perspective of life.

1. Sarve bhavantu sukhinaha [Somebody may think this is impractical. Swami Vivekananda however said. It is unfortunate when man tries to idealize reality instead of realizing ideals]
2. Vasudaiva Kutumbakam
3. Aatmavat sarva bhuteshu [Chanakya niti: matravat para daresu, para dravyesu lostravat]
4. Ahimsa: Non-violence to any aspect of the law of life, and not merely avoidance of blood-shed or cruder forms of violence in terms of war, racial conquests, human suppression or infringement of human dignity. [ahimsa paramo dharmo, himsa dharma tathaiva ca]
5. Shraddha: Not merely faith in the wisdom and comfort of cosmic forces that lead to this evolution, but development of human personality in terms of the stuff suitable for the mind and speech in such a way as suits the path of perfection. It is implicit faith in something sublime. Man and his essential ‘stuff’ are identical from this angle. Body, mind and intelligence are ‘made’ and we can so feed them with food, thought and expression, appropriately in gradual steps to achieve this purpose. Conviction, courage, wisdom, right choices, the desire for self-improvement, love, cooperation, harmony and right vision – are all products shraddha. Trust in God’s elevating Grace, and the faith that good will triumph over Evil, also form this shraddha.

Lifestyle based on Purushartha

1. Krunvanto vishvam Aaryam
2. Pancha yajna: Brahma yajna, pitru yajna, deva yajna, bhuta yajna, atithi yajna
3. Runavimuktih: deva runa, pitru runa, rushi and guru runa, samaaj runa, bhuta runa

Elements of dharmik vyavastha (dharmik structures)

Some elements of the dharmik structures (dharmik vyavastha) that are meant to support and facilitate the dharmik codes of conduct.

1. Varna and Ashrama: The grouping of life-sustaining professions, giving them a place, a meaning and divine ordainment, as steps appropriate for the law of evolution. It is not caste in its corrupt form and grasp: This is ‘varna’ – a minimum description of units in society and its dignified vocations such as discovery of knowledge, dissemination and preservation. It also include protection of social and national integrity, smooth functioning of vocations, preservation from internal or external aggressions or grabbings and confusions, vocation of circulation of essential commodities, their production, preservation and distribution; and the varieties of labor involved in all this inter-related smooth running of society. ‘Ashram’ is the concept of human evolution from bachelorship, devoted earning of knowledge or proficient in vocation through householdership, asceticism and renunciation in gradually evolving steps.
2. Yajna: The law or principle of self-offering, self-causation, the law of life’s self-preservation, the law of self-continuity, and the law of Becoming leading to Beinghood or Immortality
3. Tapas: Hard efforts to integrate faculties of bodily potencies with those of mind and speech and yoking them to achieve unity of personality. Tapas can be dharmik or adharmik. When engaged favourably (such as Bhagavad Gita yada samharate chayam …Kurma), such integrated effort can help one can visualize God, achieve immortality and eternal service to cosmos, subjectively as well as objectively. It is complete tuning of body, mind and speech to the total evolution of the spirit to its fullness. Self-control comes as a first step in an eight-fold path called yoga.
4. परित्यागः Sannyasa: Renunciation of all that is not conducive to this evolution, and not merely ‘asceticism’, for its own sake; or abandonment of unavoidable duties appropriate to contexts, professions, and personalities upholding society manifoldly; it is not a negation of life or unhealthy withdrawal from life which tantamounts to escapism. Positively it means giving more to the society than taking. And depositing one’s all in God, and worshipping as His agent, refraining from selfishness or attachment to fruits of appointed duties. It is an attitude of life for all and throughout life.
5. Three-fold Yoga: Man can attain God by a Yoga in three steps of Action, Knowledge and Devotion, while in this life, and practice his vocation in his own field of action and stage of spiritual evolution. Yoga is not an abnormal activity away from outside its legitimate scheme or sphere. The three-fold yoga consists of
   1. Activity (profession) supported by knowledge and inspired by Devotion (Karmayoga)
   2. Knowledge of the self, sustained by life and activity, and filled with Devotion (Jnanayoga)
   3. Devotion sustained on activity and inspired by this knowledge and of the relation between self and God (Bhaktiyoga)

In the table below, we contrast some basic differences in the paradigms, perspective of life and the world between the dharmik and the adharmik paradigms.