Why should svadharma be practiced?

Sanaatana dharma, loosely annotated as “Hinduism” which I prefer not to use, is a great source of human values that were applicable not only to yester years but are also relevant to the coming years. The Mahaabhaarata defines it as –“धारणा द्धर्म मित्याहुःधर्मो धारयति प्रजाः। dhāraṇā ddharma mityāhuḥdharmo dhārayati prajāḥ”/-which means- dharma is like a garment that protects the person who wears it; and a thing that sustains the world by holding the society together. It is duty performed with righteousness, with discipline and moral and spiritual excellence. The Rigvedic verses suggest it as "something established or firm" literally or figuratively, "sustainer and supporter”. Unfortunately, many amongst us are drifting way from our dharma. In other cases increasingly another faith is being adopted. Sensing that this might happen one day, shri KrishNa said in the Bhagavadgita- “श्रेयान् स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।  स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः॥ śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt | svadharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ paradharmo bhayāvahaḥ| ” It is better to follow one’s own duty (svadharma), despite some demerits, than to follow that of another. Even if it means that one meets death in the path of practicing, one should not disown his duty, for that of another is fraught with fear”.  Not practicing one’s dharma is like to- an auto mechanic performing a neurosurgery.

Some may ask the question- what is wrong with adopting another’s dharma? The answer to this comes from a story in the “panchatantra”. In India and in the Middle East donkeys are used for carrying loads. A dhobhi (a person who makes living by laundering other’s clothes in a community) had a dog and a donkey. While the dog guarded his house when he was away laundering at the river, the donkey used to carry loads of clothes to the river and back. The dhobhi used to love his donkey more than the dog, under a false impression that the dog doesn’t do anything but staying at home. He was firm that the donkey was more useful than the dog. Therefore, he used to mistreat the dog- beat him frequently; and feed him rarely. The dog over time became weaker but still stayed with his master out of loyalty. After a day of toiling work, the dhobhi always slept inside his house every day, while the donkey and the dog stayed out in cold. Because the donkey was well fed by the master, he not only developed well physically but also an attitude that he should serve his master by going an extra mile in his duties.  One night, a thief broke into the dhobhi’s house. The dog was weak and was unable to bark. Looking at this, the donkey said, “Why are you not doing your duty?  Bark and wake our master up!” The dog replied, “My friend, I am too weak to bark. The master did not give me food for the past 3 days. He does not appreciate what I do. Why would I bark to alert him, if he doesn’t care about me?”  After exchanging few more arguments with the dog, the donkey decided to take up the duty of warning his mater about the thief. By then, the thief collected all he wanted and ran away. The donkey started braying to wake his master up. The master was very upset at the donkey for disturbing his deep sleep in the middle of night by braying endlessly. He took a cudgel and hit the donkey hard; and went to bed. The donkey died instantly. The dog died out of hunger. By next morning the dhobhi realized that somebody broke into his house and took whatever he had. There was no more donkey to carry the loads. This story tells several points: 1) the donkey should have performed his prescribed duties (svadharma) not those of the dog. Even though the donkey was well meaning in his attempts, it was unusual for him to perform a different type of duty, which costed him his life. 2) The master should have realized that the dog was doing his duty (svadharma) by protecting the house. 3) Dharma is like a dog. It protects if you protect it. 4) Misunderstanding the roles of dog and donkey, and not protecting his dharama the poor dhobhi lost two well serving allies. That is why the Manusmriti celarly states-“धर्म एव हतो हन्ती धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः। तस्मद्धर्मो न हन्तव्यो मानो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत्॥ dharma eva hato hantī dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ| tasmaddharmo na hantavyo māno dharmo hato'vadhīt|”- If one hurts dharma it will hurt back. If one protects, it will return the favor. Therefore, one should not destroy/ abandon dharma.  

Most people always confuse religion for dharma. The English word “religion” means a belief in god. In contrast, dharma is above and beyond it.  The mahAbhArata again defines- यत्स्या द्धारण सम्युक्तः स धर्म इति निश्चयः। yatsyā ddhāraṇa samyuktaḥ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ//- that which provides a code of conduct and keeps the society from falling apart. Thus, dharma is prescribed for everyone irrespective of their belief in god. However, having belief in god adds value to it- like a diamond does to a golden ornament. The Manusmriti-defines characteristics of a person with dharma as following- धृतिः क्षमा दमोऽस्तेयम् शौचमिन्द्रिय निग्रहः। धीर्विद्या सत्यमक्रोधो दशकम् धर्म लक्षणम्॥ dhṛtiḥ kṣamā damo'steyam śaucamindriya nigrahaḥ| dhīrvidyā satyamakrodho daśakam dharma lakṣaṇam|| Bravery, patience, self control, not taking other’s assets, purity, sound intellect, education, and being truthful and peaceful are the characteristics of a dharmavan. These are true aishwaryas (wealth) one must possess. The word aishwarya- is derived from Ishwara (the super power that controls this universe). Since we are part of this universe, we are expected to follow the rules of the universe- to be called good citizens- especially- given the fact every one of us is a visitor on this planet. Those individuals who follow these rules- are mahatmas and are revered like godly persons. These characters cannot come in one day. Like one acquires money over time- they are acquired over time by practice. To achieve peace- develop self control, suppress temptations the sanaatana dharma provided us several tools. For example, prANAyama, yOga, consuming fresh food and water in a regular and appropriate manner, reading great works like the Vedas, upanishats and itihaasas put one into right path. An understanding and implementing the principles laid in them makes one mature. Meditation and prANAyAma (also known as sandhyaavandana), should be practiced daily and at prescribed frequencies for developing self control.

If one analyzes the average span of our lives- for the first 30 years we will be busy leaning; and during the next 30 years we use our “learning” for “earning” (money and fulfilling worldly desires). In the last part of our life we become frail and will not be able to comprehend most of what is going on around. Thus, it is imperative for every one of us to put an effort to live up to the universal principles (i.e. sanatana dharma) starting young. JnanavAshiShTham suggests- युवैव धर्मशीलः स्यात् अनित्यं खलु जीवितम् कोहि जानाति कस्याऽद्य मृत्युकालो भविष्यति||yuvaiva dharmaśīlaḥ syāt anityaṁ khalu jīvitam kohi jānāti kasyā'dya mṛtyukālo bhaviṣyati|| one should begin practicing dharma at a younger age because life is unstable; and, none knows when death will strike.  Like one acquires good grades to graduate with several honors in the school to secure a well paying job in future; like one contributes to a retirement fund so that life after retirement can go on smoothly, one should conduct him/herself to acquire the “real wealth” for one day we all return to where we came from (our universal super power). The mahaabharata says-“नाऽ मुत्र हि सहायार्थम् पिता माता च तिष्ठतः। न पुत्र दारम् न ज्ञातिः धर्मस्तिष्ठति केवलम्॥ nā' mutra hi sahāyārtham pitā mātā ca tiṣṭhataḥ| na putra dāram na jñātiḥ dharmastiṣṭhati kevalam| No father, no mother, no spouse, no children, no relative- will come to your aid once you leave this world. Only dharma will accompany you. It is like a visa that allows life to pass through unknown lands after leaving our current body. This is the reason why aaryadharma suggests- सुखार्थाः सर्वभूतानां मताह् सर्वप्रवृत्तयः। सुखम् च विना धर्मम् तस्मत् धर्मपरो भवेत्॥ sukhārthāḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ matāh sarvapravṛttayaḥ| sukham ca vinā dharmam tasmat dharmaparo bhavet| By their nature all creatures seek comfort. Without dharma there is no comfort. Therefore, practice your dharma always. Living without dharma is like traveling on train that is not tracks, in a boat without a compass and an airplane without a radar.

Our forefathers through their experience gave us a set of useful codes and tools to conduct ourselves on this planet. For example- ईशावास्य मिदम् सर्वम् तेन त्यक्ते न भुंजीत| îsâvāsya midam sarvam tena tyakte na bhuṁjīta| - the almighty is present in every nook and corner of this world, you have been provided with lots of assets, just take a portion of it- leave the rest for others-so they can enjoy too!  What a simpler way to warn us not be greedy and respect the environment in one sentence! The sanaatana dharma is the only dharma in the world- which prays for the welfare of every creature - स्वस्तिः प्रजाभ्यः परिपालयन्ताम् न्यायेन मार्गेण महिम् महीशाः। गोब्राह्मणेयभ्यः शुभमस्तु नित्यम् लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनोभवन्तु॥ svastiḥ prajābhyaḥ paripālayantām nyāyena mārgeṇa mahim mahīśāḥ| gobrāhmaṇeyabhyaḥ śubhamastu nityam lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhinobhavantu|- let good happen to people, administrators, and officials; let everyone stay on moral path;  let the best things happen from cows to the most well educated person; and  let the entire universe (which encompasses living and non-living) be peaceful! We as custodians of these great principles should treasure them and pass them to the next generation(s)! This is what our forefathers did; and advised us carry it forward!  If we shun our practices and do not carry forward, who else will? Anglicization, Islamization, and Christianization have eroded our practices; and, on many occasions the others are confusing newer generations-as though our values are inferior and practices are meaningless. A time has arrived for us to set the records straight! It is our moral duty to guard our dharma and respond appropriately. If on the other hand we do not practice our dharma- we will become like the dhobhi of the panchatantra story. Practicing another dharma will bring us the same fate as that of the donkey. The dog in that story represents dharma. Because the dhobhi did not take care of his dharma- he lost everything in his life.  Preaching values alone is not sufficient! Read the vedic literature, share and discuss their implications with your children, celebrate the occasions (festivals) on the same day it occurs (as in our calendars), do not postpone them for weekends. Let us grow with our dharma. It is not a burden. See it as your permanent friend. Unless parents practice these, children will not! If we follow the values instilled in the sanaatana dharma- we will be respectful to our water bodies, air, land, animals, plants and other living creatures in our neighborhoods. We will not pick wars and generate enemies! He who leads a moral or virtuous life attains freedom, perfection which in the vedantic literature is known as Moksha. In shrI krishNa’s words again- यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्टः तत्तदेव इतरो जनाः। सयत् प्रमाणम् कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते॥ yadyadācarati śreṣṭaḥ tattadeva itaro janāḥ| sayat pramāṇam kurute lokastadanuvartate| whatever is practiced by gentlemen will become a standard for the society; and the rest of the world will follow it. If we believe that we belong to the class of gentlepersons, it is imperative that we practice our values and beliefs. Let us heed to statements our forefathers-कृण्वन्तो विश्वमार्यम्। kṛṇvanto viśvamāryam| Let us make the world a macrocosm of mahatmas! To put my message in the words of Ulysses (by Alfred Lord Tennyson)- “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield!”

||ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः। om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ||
----------Written by Dr. Dhan Kalvakolanu