Dharma is not religion, Ishwaraa is not god.
Concept: Puri Peethadhishwar Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati Ji Maharaj
Credits: Sandeep Sahgal Ji
In India, there are so many religions and every religion believes that there is some God.
There are good people who want to do good Karma. Why do we need so many types of Dharma and why isn’t there only one Dharma, when everybody believes there is only one Bhagwan?
Is the word Dharma written in the Bible? Is the word Dharma written in the Quran Sharif? Allah is different. Before Allah, you talked about Dharma. We will deal with the term Ishwaraa as well, but first, we will talk about Dharma. A basic analysis of the word Ishwaraa will be done too.
We all know the name, age, and period of the creators of these religions except Santana Hindu Dharma. These are creations of mind of particular persons and we call their created religion as Dharma only due to our own magnanimity.
If we apply the principles of Dharma, do the other religions qualify as Dharma? This is what we need to contemplate upon. It is due to our nobility. We call these sects, their beliefs, their theories as Dharma. If we apply the actual definition of Dharma as per our scriptures, these do not qualify as Dharma. In English, they would call it ‘Religion’ only.
Jains and Buddhists may not consider themselves as Vedic, but they have taken the word Dharma from the Vedas only, in the sense that has been used in Vedic literature. They have taken ‘OMMkar’ from Vedas only. So, Dharma can’t be translated as religion anyways. If we were to call a drop of water as Ocean or if a spark of fire is fire, there is a lot of difference. That’s why, the way we define Dharma, all these stand nowhere near it.
One of Acharya’s disciples from Vrindavan used to lie a lot. His father was in the Police force. Acharya told his father about the nature of his son, the father agreed and expressed his frustrations about his lies. Acharya told the father to consider a Law degree for his son. The disciple was already a Masters in History and his father said, he used to study Law by himself. He said about his ability to convict people under particular sections of a particular law”. Persons, who know Law through his self-study or passion, cannot be called as LLB or law professional.
In the same way, if a particular stream of the river went somewhere, it cannot become that same river. We should search the origin of that stream. Like this, all the religions are born from the Sanatan Dharma. You must have heard the name of Bharati Krishna Teerthaji Maharaj. He was the 143rd Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth. He has written a book in English called ‘Sanatana Dharma’ and it's Hindi translation is available with Matha Publications. He knew 14 languages and in one year he passed Master's degree in 7 subjects with high distinction. He used to say; if we take out Bhagwat Gita from the Bible, then nothing religious would remain in the Bible.
You must have heard about a person called Mr. Bush. When he was about to become the President for the second time, I read his interview in a newspaper where he said, “I am a born Christian. I do believe in the Bible. But the science about the universe described in the Bible that seems absolutely a myth against modern science. Hence, I don’t believe in the Bible in this part. I wondered why nobody spoke against him. But, if you take the whole Vedic scripture or only 700 Shlokas of Geeta or take only seven Mantras of the 10th Mandala of Rigveda which is the famous ‘Nasadiya Suktam’, you can understand our depth. Nasadiya Suktam has only 7 Mantras and scientists world over are still engrossed into these.
The way nature of the universe is explained in those seven Mantras, no scientists can ever negate this and bound to follow that. So, any stream of Dharma due to which humanity somehow survives, if it reaches somewhere, it doesn’t mean as absolute Dharma. The whole Dharma is Vedic Dharma only which is the oldest.
Now let’s talk about Ishwaraa. Between types of Ishwaraa, the definition and meaning could differ in large points.
Once there was a Mullah Ji. A Bhandara (Feast) was happening in the house of a Brahmana. This mullah dressed as a Hindu and went into the Bhandara. He took a seat in the row. The person serving the food noticed that he hasn’t seen this person before and he was also feeling uneasy. He said to him, “Goodman, please have the food but please give your introduction.”
Muslim replied, “I am Dubey” (Brahmana surname as per birth). Brahmana serving food further inquired, “ which Dubey?” Muslim replied, now something is still inside in Dubey also!” It was easy to figure out his fake identification. Here the point is simple. There is a difference between the two Ishwaraa and there could be depraved Ishwaraa as well. The Ishwaraa created out of the imagination of a human is not an Ishwaraa. There are particular Baba Jis who are also being called Ishwaraa today.
Bhamti Kar Vachaspati Mishra Ji has used a word, ‘Vidur prabhavit kanta sakshatkar’. Vidhur is a person whose wife has died. If he meditates about this wife in his imagination and due to the strength of his feelings, he can have a glimpse; can even be able to touch her. But this is not real. In the same way, there are many kinds of Ishwaraa. If any Ishwaraa is created with the imagination of emotional people, that is not real as it doesn’t have the traits of Ishwaraa.
Similarly, if a person believes in an Ishwaraa only due to his inference, then too that Ishwaraa is not real. Why not? The imaginary Ishwaraa born out of the sentiments of an emotional person cannot become real Ishwaraa. It is like the emotional person who saw his dead wife in his dream world With the power of inference and such logical Ishwaraa cannot be proved to be the truth.
Philosophy as Nyaya and Vaiseshika too have considered the form of Ishwara but that is not complete and absolute. Their Ishwaraa is not existence but exists because of the existence in general, not consciousness, but conscious because of one of the attributes of the consciousness called Gyana, not blissfulness either.
Another small thing which everybody can understand, and knowledgeable, desire-driven, active and conscious person, creates this instrument microphone through metal and plastic, he will have the ability to make the mike but not himself becoming the mike. Matters like plastic and metal which are used for making this mike had the ability to become a mike but not to be the maker of that mike.
Similarly, they tell, Ishwaraa which can create the cosmos but cannot become the cosmos, can be a maker but not the matter. For that, Scriptures ask a rhetorical question. Any mechanic, no matter how good he is, has not complete control over the instrument that he has made. If he does not have full control over that always, how Ishwaraa can. That’s why the Ishwaraa accepted in Vedas needs a proper understanding.
Who is maker as well as matter that only has all the traits of Ishwaraa. That’s why they have makeshift Ishwaraas and in truth. The traits of Ishwaraa are present in Vedas only. The Dharma approved by the Vedas only qualifies to be Dharma. According to Suta Samhita, what I have told about this mechanic example, Swami Karpatri Ji Maharaj wrote a commentary on Ishavasya Upanishad.
Those whose Ishwaraa can create the cosmos but can’t become the cosmos, their Ishwaraa, can’t have full control over the cosmos and when he has no control over the cosmos, it has no traits of Ishwaraa. In reality, their Ishwaraa cannot even make the Universe. One more thing, those Ishwaraa can create the cosmos and can become the cosmos, only can take incarnation. Whose Ishwaraa can create the cosmos but can’t become the cosmos, cannot take incarnation.
The Ishwaraa of Vaishashiks, Nyayikas, and Samkhyavadi, Yogis (four different disciplines of Vedic philosophy) can’t take incarnation. Let me give an example, there is the word ‘Aabhas’ (impression). What would Chitta abhas mean — that which looks like conscious like Chit (consciousness) but not has the traits of consciousness.
DharmAbhas would be — which seems like Dharma but has no traits of Dharma. IshwaraAbhas would be which seems like Ishwaraa but has no traits of Ishwaraa. So there is only one Dharma and Ishwaraa. The Dharma which described in Veda is the only Dharma. Any of its streams went here and there, that is not Dharma. They are right up to that extent which is acceptable to the root of Dharma. We called it Veda.
Narayana !!!
