Dharma is a word that every Indian has heard. Everybody has some sense of what it is, but if you ask them to define or explain it, most people would be stumped. In English, dharma is commonly translated as ‘religion’. However, the word ‘religion’ is too narrow to signify everything that dharma stands for.
For example, if a student copies answers from a fellow student, it would be called a violation of his student-dharma by most. Yet, none of those saying so would be able to point out a line in any religious scripture that forbids copying by a student. It is clear that dharma covers the non-religious aspects of our lives too.
This difficulty in pinpointing what dharma is, is not new. People have faced it in the past too. Some people defined dharma in the context of varna-ashrama—the Hindu system of social classification that divides the society into classes and age groups. The dharma of a Brahmin is to study and teach; of a Kshatriya to fight; of a Vaishya to trade; and of a Shudra to serve the other varnas.
The dharma of a householder is different from that of a forest dweller. However, dharma is too vast and complex to be confined to such narrow classifications. It is easy to see that the concepts of dharma and its opposite, adharma, apply universally, even in societies where the varna-ashrama system is not followed.
Going further back, even Yudhishthira, considered the epitome of dharma, was confused about it. He says:
Vidam chaivam na va vidme shakyam va veditum na va |Aniyaan kshurdharaya gariyanapi parvatat || Gandharvanagarakarah prathamam sampradrishyate |Anvikshyamanah kavibhih punargachatyadarshanam ||Whether we know or do not know dharma, whether it is knowable or not, dharma is finer than the finest edge of a sword, and more substantial than a mountain. At first sight, it appears clear and solid like a town; on a closer logical look, it vanishes from sight.
Mahabharata then proceeds to help Yudhishthira, and us, by providing a beautiful definition of dharma.
Manasam sarvabhutanam dharmamahurmanishinah | Tasmat sarveshu bhuteshu manasa shivamachareta ||
Those who have thought deeply are of the view that dharma is what is done for all beings with one’s heart and mind. Therefore, let us do, with our heart and mind what is good for all beings.
Na tat parasya sandadhyat pratikulam yadatmanah | Esh sankshepato dharmah kamadanyah pravartate ||
Whatever is not agreeable to us, that we should not do unto others. This, in brief, is dharma; all else is only selfishness. Dharma is the universal foundation of life and relationships. Let us embrace dharma in all its vastness, to lead a life in harmony with ourselves and others.