DHARMA

 The word " Dharma" is wrongly translated in English as “Religion”.  Dharma  Is a Sanskrit word. It is also used in Bengali language and various other languages ​​of India.  The word “Dharma” is formed by adding the suffix "mana" to the root verb "dhri" . Dharma means the characteristics  or properties that bear the identity of an object or being.  Dharma of water is to wet  and quench thirst. Dharma of fire is  to burn, Dharma of magnet is to attract iron.  A thing which cannot quench thirst can never be called water;  That which cannot burn can never be called fire and that which cannot attract iron cannot be called a magnet.  A magnet's identity consists in its ability or quality to attract iron.  The identity of fire is contained in its ability to burn.  So the properties or characteristics of a thing are its dharma. We know a substance by being acquainted with its properties.  A thing is named based on its properties.  So hearing the name of something, we get an idea about the dharma  of that thing. 

 Now let's see what human  Dharma is.  Any living being has feelings of happiness and sadness.  All living being want to get happiness.  Human beings too want to be happy.  The main difference between human beings and other living beings is that the  other living beings have limited desire for happiness;  where as human beings desire for  limitless happiness   There is no end to human needs.

A person who earns Rs 10,000 per month thinks— I will be happy if could earn 15,000 per month.  If he starts earning 15 thousand rupees per month, he starts thinking— I need 30 thousand rupees per month.  In this way the desire of human beings continues to grow.  Even if he becomes the richest man in the world, his desires are not quenched.  He cannot be truly happy because of unquenched desire.

 A man who is a leader of a district thinks – I will be the leader of the state.  If he becomes the leader of a state  he starts thinking— I will be the leader of a country.  In this way, the desire continues to increase.  Even if he becomes the leader of the whole world, his desire will not be quenched.  Human desires are endless.  That endless desires can never be satisfied by anything finite .  Only the achievement of something infinite can quench all the desires of human mind. Longing for the infinity is the dharma (characteristic ) of human beings. Only god is infinite. All human beings knowingly or unknowingly want to achieve God.

The person who does not accept the existence of God, or who thinks – I don't need to think about whether there is  God or not,  they also  have longing for more and more things. There desires too keep on increasing endlessly .They also have longing for infinity. That is why the dharma of all human beings is same.

 All the waters in the world have same dharma (property) ;  all fires in the world have same dharma (property);   all oxygen in the world have same dharma (property).    So all the people in the world have the same dharma. Man can never decide dharma of any thing .  Dharma is determined by nature.  Man can only mix one thing with another to form a new compound , but cannot change or determine dharma (property) of any thing. 

  Dharma and religion are not the same thing.  Dharma is created by nature;  the creator of a religion is some person.  Although all people's dharma is same but all people's religions  are not  same.  The word "Religion" in English is not synonymous with the word "Dharma"  in Sanskrit. A "religion”  is a set of faiths, rituals, ceremonies and codes of conduct.

Each religious prophet has given his followers a code of conduct, ceremonies, and beliefs. Sometimes what the prophet said is not properly understood by his followers, or his teachings have become distorted with the passage of time, or for some other reason the followers of one      prophet   do not agree  with the opinion of the followers of  other prophet;   there is a wide difference. And it is because of these differences that conflicts, war,  bloodshed   has happened and are still happening. To get rid of this problem one needs to acquire real knowledge about Dharma and also develop rational mentality. And for this purpose a radical change in the education system is required. There is a great need for Dharma education, especially in the field of children's education. If any belief is created in the mind of a child then he cannot get rid of it easily even if he grows up whether that belief is right or wrong. No irrational and anti-humanist theory should be incorporated in education. The child's mind should be developed in such a way that he becomes a rational and humanist person. Efforts to appeal to a particular religion through education need to be stopped.

  It has been said earlier that only by attaining the eternal being can the desire of man be satisfied. Now the question is “Whether it is ever possible for man's desire to be fully satisfied”? Yes, definitely possible. Those who have experienced God   got  all their desires satisfied.  They were able to say - I don't want anything else; I am satisfied; all my wishes have been fulfilled. There are many examples of such people in history. This fulfilment of all desires is a blissful state of mind. To reach this state is the ultimate goal of human life.  Effort to reach this goal is called "Dharma Sadhana" or simply "Sadhana". Everyone who has experienced God in this world has done Sadhana. It is only through sadhana that one can experience God. It is not possible to experience God without Sadhana.

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