Miscellaneous - Religion   

Code that protects

CHENNAI: In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna states that when standards of Dharma fall, He would incarnate to re-establish its primacy and protect the virtuous and saintly. The primary meaning of the word Dharma covers the basic moral principles that govern the life of man, and hence includes the spiritual law that sustains the welfare of humanity and supports the world. Dharma is hence extolled as capable of protecting those who uphold moral standards at all costs.

Just as Nature ensures supply of mother's milk even before the baby is born, the Vedic references to Dharma signify the existence of these perennial truths that were revealed to the Rishis for the benefit of humanity, said Sri K. V. Seshadrinatha Sastrigal in a lecture.

Dharma also implies following the duties enjoined on human beings at every stage of one's life and the Vedic tenets comprising "the what", "the why" and "the how" of Dharma instruct the individual regarding right and wrong. For ignorance is a disease and needs to be treated with the medicine of Sastras and Puranas where the path of Dharma acts as a beneficial potion.

While the teachings in the scriptures are difficult for the common folk to comprehend, the method of instruction in the Puranas and the Itihasas is easier to grasp wherein the need to follow all the Dharmas and how to uphold them is also illustrated.

The Vedic commands such as "Speak the Truth" or "Follow Dharma" have been brilliantly dramatised in the accounts of the story of Harischandra or the Ramayana to enable one to understand the importance of safeguarding these at all costs despite the enormity of difficulty entailed in the process.

For He who is the subject of the Vedas and is extolled in them as the Supreme Being has incarnated as Lord Rama to establish by His own example the moral fibre that should govern the life of mankind. Every facet of Dharma pertaining to all aspects of kingly reign, family life, life of sages, etc. has been illustrated in the Ramayana.

Merely following the well-conceived prescribed code of Dharma in all sincerity automatically absolves an individual of the three debts — owed to the celestials, Rishis and departed souls — that every one is believed to be born with.

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