Dharma: Our Highest Duty
Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra
It is a small word "Dharma", but it occupied a prominent place in the Indian mind for many millennia. The great Indian epics have focused extensively on this concept of 'Duty' all throughout their profuse writings. The duty idea has much relevance today too. We are unable to generate a sufficiently deep urge to relate ourselves to our environment. There is an increasing alienation from people and things happening around us. There is as if a loss of our bearing the very base on which we stand. Humanistic values, ethical virtues morality etc. have very little meaning left as we are unable to find our own place in this world of ours.
Today man acts on the basis of selfish interests, and hardly thinks of others or the community or the larger environment around him. He perpetrates violence on nature or humans or animals, because he has no point of reference to consult except his own narrow gains. When a large-scale massacre occurred in a neighbouring country, a witness spoke of how people had lost faith in God and Higher laws. "Such a heinous crime would not have occurred if we believed in a large order of things", he moaned.
Yoga enjoins cultivating the quality of faith to create such a point of reference. "You are as great as your faith is." The one holding on to the highest belief in "Absolute consciousness" acts God-like in his interaction with others in society. The lower kind of faith in personal strength, money etc. motivate us to lesser ends. Even carrying on one's duties sincerely is also commended but the effort in Yoga is to rise step by step to higher levels of duties and beliefs. It is thus said that "This is our highest duty to realise our true nature - of absolute consciousness." From that height there is no selfishness, no narrowness, no personalism, no impulsiveness. Only morality, goodness and duty consciousness flows from that height called "Dharmamegha" in Yoga.
Dharma: Our Highest Duty
Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra
It is a small word "Dharma", but it occupied a prominent place in the Indian mind for many millennia. The great Indian epics have focused extensively on this concept of 'Duty' all throughout their profuse writings. The duty idea has much relevance today too. We are unable to generate a sufficiently deep urge to relate ourselves to our environment. There is an increasing alienation from people and things happening around us. There is as if a loss of our bearing the very base on which we stand. Humanistic values, ethical virtues morality etc. have very little meaning left as we are unable to find our own place in this world of ours.
Today man acts on the basis of selfish interests, and hardly thinks of others or the community or the larger environment around him. He perpetrates violence on nature or humans or animals, because he has no point of reference to consult except his own narrow gains. When a large-scale massacre occurred in a neighbouring country, a witness spoke of how people had lost faith in God and Higher laws. "Such a heinous crime would not have occurred if we believed in a large order of things", he moaned.
Yoga enjoins cultivating the quality of faith to create such a point of reference. "You are as great as your faith is." The one holding on to the highest belief in "Absolute consciousness" acts God-like in his interaction with others in society. The lower kind of faith in personal strength, money etc. motivate us to lesser ends. Even carrying on one's duties sincerely is also commended but the effort in Yoga is to rise step by step to higher levels of duties and beliefs. It is thus said that "This is our highest duty to realise our true nature - of absolute consciousness." From that height there is no selfishness, no narrowness, no personalism, no impulsiveness. Only morality, goodness and duty consciousness flows from that height called "Dharmamegha" in Yoga.