Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah: To Uphold To Sustain To Integrate Part 1/3

Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah: To Uphold To Sustain To Integrate Part 1/3

By Pujya Swami Prakashanandaji (Feature address delivered at Varsha Pratipada Sansad, 2025)

Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah: He who protects dharma is protected by dharma. Dharma is that which upholds, sustains and integrates the individual, family, society, nation and the universe.

The word dharma is used variously to refer a number of things and can become confusing at times. Let me just take a few minutes to clarify some of the common usages of the term. In  order to do this, I would sometimes use a fictitious subject – let’s say Lallu-deo. Lallu is a thirty-year-old engineer by profession, is married and has two children. He is the chief engineer in a big company and is striving to be a good Hindu.

ASHRAMA DHARMA

Lallu-deo is in householder ashrama. He has to work well and take care of his family – it is his duty to protect, feed, educate and sanskarize his family – this is his ashrama dharma.

SWADHARMA AND VARNA DHARMA

The three gunas determine his varna and his varna determines this swadharma. Lallu-deo is an engineer. His special combination of sattva, rajas and tamas has fashion him as brahmana and made him fit for a Brahmana profession—engineering. That is his swadharma. Together varna-ashrama are called by Manu as Vishesha Dharma because they are restricted to specific duties for specific persons at specific phases of life.

AAPAT DHARMA

These are rules we follow for emergency situations. Like a doctor operating on you without anesthesia.

DHARMA AS ESSENCE

There is something which makes Lallu-deo Lallu-deo—different and unique. There is something which makes sugar sugar—sweetness. No matter how much a thing will resemble sugar crystals, smell like sugar and be branded as sugar, if it is not sweet it will not be sugar. Sweetness distinguishes the item from all other things in the world. Sweetness is its dharma—essence. Like that all objects have a unique personal essence and one common essence called as Sat or existence.

SAAMAANYA DHARMA

These are all the universally accepted values and virtues for all persons regardless of status, age, gender, place and time, that all civilizations have striven to foster—love, compassion, truthfulness, fairness, asteya—non-stealing, ahimsa—non-violence and the like. In sanskarizing his children, Lallu has to himself imbibe and then impart to his children, what we call as saamaanya dharma. A robust, viable, progressive, harmonious and prosperous society rest on the propagation and promulgation of these eternal values. It must be done by us. We cannot expect government to do it we have to do it. Ye sarkaar se nahi hota hai, sanskaar se hota hai—it is brought about by samskara not by government.

Imbibing, practising and following dharma is the way to protect dharma. One of the guiding principles for the practice of saamaanya dharma is to be found in Bhagavad Geeta chapter 6 verse 32—atmaupamyena sarvatra samam pashyati. Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. No one likes if another person steals from one, no one likes to be lied to, no one likes to be physically hurt by another, no one likes to be treated unfairly. Sanatanis have extended this to even the non-human species—we strive to avoid bringing pain to any creature.

We say saamaanya dharma is that which upholds, sustains and integrate both the individual and the society. Let us take one of them and follow through with it, say satyam—truthfulness. If Lallu-deo values truthfulness, then he would work the eight full hours for which he is being paid. If he is really following dharma, he would be truthful in all departments of his life—as a father, as a husband and as a taxpayer etc. This truthfulness will integrate his own mind first and make him fit for the highest purushartha of human existence called moksha. At the same time contribute to upholding of the eternal values and virtues and certainly would lead to the sustenance and integration of society.

How exactly does this work? Untruth is when there is schism in the personality. There is a gap or gulf created between our conviction and our action. We all inherently know what truthfulness is. The child who steals cookies knows the stealing as well as the lie after the stealing are both wrong. When I know something is wrong, but I still do it, that means there is gap between my conviction and my action. That gap is asatyam—untruthfulness. When there is congruity between my convictions and actions there is the closing of the gap. That is called integration of the personality. It is truth that integrates in this case. That makes the personality fit and ready for the highest purushartha of human beings—moksha.

If Lallu-deo is a truthful husband, then it will sustain and integrate the family and if a truthful citizen he will seek the welfare of his country. Thus, truth integrates and sustains the individual, the family and the nation…to be continued…

 (Pujya Swami Prakashanandaji is a direct disciple of world renowned Swami Chinmayanandaji. He is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana with responsibility for the Chinmaya Mission’s works across the Caribbean and Latin America)