The Concept of Dharma and Karma in Bhagavad Gita: Understanding Duty and Righteousness
Bhagavad Gita is one of the fundamental texts of Hinduism but is seen as less religious than a philosophical text, outlining the way of life. It documents the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna as Arjuna prepares to go into battle against the Kauravas for the battle of the kingdom of Hastinapur.
Krishna explains the samsaric cycle of birth and death. There is no true death of the soul. Karma in the human concept is the ‘accumulation of debt ‘ — a debt of actions in the course of a person’s samsaric cycle. The purpose of this cycle is to allow a person to work off their karma, accumulated through lifetimes of action, eventually leading to a dissolution of the soul, the achievement of enlightenment, and vijnana. If they act selfishly, then they keep accumulating debt, putting them further and further into karmic debt.
Krishna presents three main concepts for achieving this dissolution of the soul — renunciation, selfless service, and meditation. All three are elements of achieving ‘yoga’ or skill in action. The true divine human does not renounce all worldly possessions or simply give up actions but rather finds peace in completing actions in the service to God. He who achieves divine union with him in meditation will ultimately find freedom from the endless cycle of rebirth and death. He who truly finds union with God will find him even at the moment of death.
Krishna reveals that love comes from a person’s selfless devotion to the divine, in addition to an understanding that the body is simply ephemeral- a product id prakriti, emerging from purusha, and is subject to endless rebirth. A person must let go of their body’s cravings, temptations, and aversion to find freedom.
Dharma is the Hindu concept of ‘duty’. In each life, we are reborn in accordance with our karma-which is simply the cumulative effects of our actions. We are reborn having to continually live out the debts that come with negative actions, until we end the cycle of birth and death by bearing out our karma. Dharma, then, or ‘duty’, is simply that which we must do in each life in order to restore the rightful balance of karma.
Gita encourages action with awareness, or selfless actions, designed not to please one’s ego or to gain sensual pleasure, but rather in service to a higher power. Actions must be pursued within action which directs a soul towards nirvana.
Krishna says that as long as a person is truly committed to achieving yoga, even if he dies before achieving it, he will be reborn into a situation that will help him complete his journey — even so far as being part of a family that has meditation as its daily practice. If one begins on the path, then the divine will help guide him toward his goal, even if it takes successive lifetimes.
Krishna notes that adherence to the Vedas through ritual and sacrifice is useful, but not nearly enough to gain wisdom. For these rituals and sacrifices are often based on desires — the desire to trade rituals for selfish gains.
Krishna has the divine power to initiate people into the karmic cycle or free people from it. It is a part of his lila, or play, to subject each soul to the natural laws of the universe which require living out one’s karma until it is dissolved. He is the final judge of the wisdom, and no one else, so unless through meditation one finds union with Krishna, one will continue through the cycle of birth and death.
Krishna makes a clear distinction between the body and the soul — with the body known as the ’field’ and the soul a product of the greater Self, which allows people to see the roots of their karmic, cosmic cycle of rebirth and death into physical form. The true wise see that the body is simply a product of a larger, more powerful energy.
Krishna says that the chief characteristic of the demonic is not necessarily agnosticism as much as a lack of belief in a higher sense of order or energy. Without spiritual law, a person becomes an enemy of the world because he believes he is superior to it — it is an outside force that must be tamed, controlled, and dominated.
The Bhagavad Gita addresses the challenge of balancing personal and spiritual life. It acknowledges that individuals have familial, social, and professional responsibilities, but it also emphasizes the importance of spiritual growth. By fulfilling one’s duties with a spiritual mindset, individuals can achieve both worldly success and spiritual evolution.
The concept of Dharma in the Bhagavad Gita is a multifaceted and dynamic principle that encompasses duty, righteousness, morality, and the harmonious integration of personal and spiritual life. It provides a comprehensive guide for individuals seeking a path of ethical and spiritual fulfillment in their journey through life.