The Essence of Dharma: 1. Swami Krishnananda
==========================================================================================Monday 16, December 2024, 10:35.
Article
Srimad Bhagavad Gita,
The Essence of Dharma: 1.
Swami Krishnananda
(Spoken on February 11th, 1973)
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The duty of man depends upon the aim of life. Whatever we are supposed to do in our life is directed by the purpose for which we are existing. Aimless activity is unthinkable. All our efforts, professions and works are somehow or other directed to the achievement of an end, a goal or a purpose. Unless we are conscious and clear about the aim of our life, it would be difficult for us to determine the nature of our duties in life. In India especially, ethics is based on metaphysics. The conduct of life is rooted in the concept of existence.
Now, the purpose of life, or the aim of life, is again dependent upon the nature of the universe. How is the universe constituted? On that depends very much the aim of our existence, of our life, and consequently, the nature of our activity. We must know to what family we belong, what sort of atmosphere we are living in, what the tradition of our society is. On that depends the way in which we have to conduct ourselves in life. Likewise, we may have to find out the nature of the universe as a whole in order that we may know what our function in life is because we are inextricably involved in the structure of the universe. We are a part of the cosmos, and the laws that operate in the cosmos naturally have a say in the matter of our personal existence. We cannot do something contrary to the law of nature, of the universe, just as we cannot do something contrary to the principles of our own family or our society.
Thus, our little activities in day-to-day existence hang themselves on the vast concept of the cosmos. This is the peculiarity of Indian philosophy. Everything is connected with the cosmos. We cannot breathe unless we know the nature of existence as a whole. Even the smallest of our performances in life, whether religious or secular, is dependent ultimately on the structure or the pattern of the universe. All our activities are spiritualised in this manner.
The culture of Bharatavarsha, India, is spiritual in the sense that everything is connected with the universe. There is nothing which has no relevance to the cosmic processes of nature. If we install a newly made door, well, there is a prayer offered and a religious ceremony. If we build a house, of course, there is a very large ceremony indeed. If a marriage takes place, if a child is born or if someone dies, there is a religious ceremony. If a wife is pregnant, there is a religious ceremony for it. If new furniture is purchased for the house, we choose an auspicious day to sit on it and have a prayer offered. There is nothing unconnected with religion in India. We cannot wear a new sari or even a new shirt except on an auspicious day. Religion has gone to such an extent that even a shirt, even a buniyan, is connected with religion.
The idea is that though not all people in India are properly educated in the matter of religion, they are born and bred in a tradition which is so religious and spiritual that God's presence is taken for granted. Though today, due to the materialist way of thinking, people have begun to question the existence of God, originally it was not like that. It was a God-fearing and God-loving nation, and primarily and fundamentally it is that even today.
The structure of existence, the nature of the universe, was taken for granted as having a very intimate relationship with every activity of one's life. No activity is irreligious or unspiritual because no activity is outside the universe. The reason why every action is spiritual is precisely because of the fact that no action can be performed outside the purview of universal laws. This is an introductory remark concerning our duty in life.
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Continued
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