Bharata on breaching Dharma - 2

     Human beings are a product of the society. We have influences on each other and rely upon not only the current generation, but all of the interconnected past. We can still trace many of our socio-cultural, econo-political, biological and spiritual practices to our ancestors from millennia ago. Yet only a very small minority can perceive this subtle inter-connectivity and even smaller fraction is thankful for this wondrous blessing. We stand on the layers of giants of our ancestors, yet our ego makes us feel that it is only us that is responsible for our greatness.

    Sanatana Dharma is the only thought process that emphasizes an idea called “ṛuna”, being indebted. There is also a solution provided for each major category of ṛuna with a corresponding Yagna, a practice to develop gratitude and repay the debt. The primary include:

• Deva ṛuna, the debt we owe to Devas; we repay it by performing yagas, yagnas to propitiate as Deva Yagna.
• Rishi ṛuna, the debt we owe to the Rishis, we can repay through Rishi Yagna, by studying the numerous scriptures and elevating our character to match the ideals.
• Pitru ṛuna, the debt we owe our ancestors. We repay it as Pitru Yagna, by remembering them, doing tarpana, by being grateful for everything we are from our genes to life.
• Manushya ṛuna, the debt we owe to other human beings. There are numerous invisible human beings related to our success and prosperity. We repay it through Manushya yagna, by offering food to athithis, aid to the distressed/oppressed, through acts of charity and philanthrophy.
• Bhuta ṛuna, the debt we owe to the elements of nature and all the other beings. This is repaid by Bhuta yagna, offering food or water to animals, birds or insects, planting trees, taking care of nature.

 

    Dharma is deeply intertwined with the understanding, observance and practice of these subtle runas and their repayment. Bharata’s imprecations give us a certain window into the study of these subtle dynamics.

Analyzing the boundaries of Dharma

       In an effort to prove his innocence to Kausalya, Bharata makes a series of conditional curses ending as यस्य आर्यो अनुमते गतः (yasya aaryaH anumate gataH). We are studying these in smaller sets to gain a deeper understanding into what are the clear boundaries of Dharma. In this set, we are investigating the responsibilities and duties of every individual in the society towards the larger collective.

Gratitude and being Accountable to our debts and duties: As a responsible member of the society, we have to keep an eye on paying our Runas (debts). Though the understanding needed is not subtle, many tend to ignore them. Worse yet is violating the agreed terms of contract. The following two slokas highlight the same.

 

कारयित्वा महत् कर्म भर्ता भृत्यम् अनर्थकम् | अधर्मः यो अस्य सो अस्याः तु यस्य आर्यो अनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-23)

kaarayitvaa mahat karma ityam anarthakam| adharma yo asya saH astu yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, let the sin incur, as to the master who afflicts the heaviest labor on their servants, without any remuneration.

संश्रुत्य च तपस्विभ्यः सत्रे वै यज्ञ दक्षिणाम् | ताम् विप्रलपताम् पापम् यस्य आर्यो अनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-26)

samshurutya cha tapasvibhyaH satre vai yajNa dakshhinaam| taam vipralapataam paapam yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, let him suffer the sin enticing the tapasvis with the promise to initiate yaga/yagnas then breaking that word.

    The employer exploiting the employed and worse abusing after extracting work can easily be set as a very low bar. As also enticing someone with false incentives to perform a great work and then going back on one’s word is not only despicable but also a very uncivilized adharmic standard.

    Runa is a very subtle idea and more so, to perceive the interconnections with other humans and ecosystem is relatively easier when compared to grasping our dependence on Devas, Rishis and Pitris. If a person cannot grasp the dependents whom we have promised ourselves, then it is impossible for such an individual to grasp and honor the subtler Runas.

पायसम् कृसरम् चागम् वृथा सो अश्नातु निर्घृणः | गुरूमः च अपि अवजानातु यस्य आर्यो अनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-30)

paayasam kR^isaram chhaagam vR^ithaa so aashnaatu nirghR^iNaH| guruun cha api avajaanaatucha yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he, the heartless one with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile incur the sin of preparing payasam, krisaram and cooking goat flesh for the sake of offering and then consuming it without offering it to the Devas and also the sin of not showing respect to one’s Gurus.

    It is customary to offer the food we eat, before we consume with either a prayer or as offering. Thus, all what we consume gets sanctified. But in a society where we have gotten deracinated from such practices, we have also become increasingly a thankless society. In this single sloka, Bharata highlights that an ungrateful mind will not be able to honor Deva and Rishi runas. A thankful mind is the bedrock of spiritual progress. This miserly attitude of ingratitude is equated to stealing in Bhagavad Gita 3-13. (यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै । भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ॥ yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt.) The righteous who partake only the offerings of a sacrifice (or those who sanctify what they consume as an offering to Bhagwan) are freed from all their papas (as they develop this attitude of gratitude). But those who cook and eat only for themselves (including avoid Bhuta or manusha yagna) are verily consuming papa.

कपालपाणिः पृथिवीमटताम् चीरसम्वृतः | भिक्समाणो यथोन्मत्तो यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतह् || (VR 2-75-40)

kapaalapaaNiH pR^ithiviim aTataam chiirasamvR^itaH| bhikshhamaaNaH yathaa unmatto yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, wander around the world as a beggar, seeking alms in a wooden bowl and clad in rags.

    It is interesting, when three ashramas – Brahmacharya, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa were dependent on the society and most lived on alms, Bharata has singled out wandering the world as a beggar as a curse. The aforesaid ashramas have their focus exclusively on atmavichara and dharma chintana. But if one were to take to mendicancy as a way of living without any meaningful contribution to the society then, not only is the apathy and lethargy condemned, it also implies a parasitic attitude of merely profiting from the society. Such a low standard is an accursed state and condemned. In light of the above Gita sloka, it is obvious that this selfish attitude leads us to a downward spiral of adharma.

Don’t be aggressive and abusive:

गाश्च स्पृशतु पादेन गुरून् परिवदेत्स्वयम् | मित्रे द्रुह्येत सोऽत्यन्तम् यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-31)

gaaH cha spR^ishatu paadena guruun parivadet svayam| mitre druhyeta saH atyantam yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile incur the sin of kicking cows, personally abusing elders and deceiving friends.

    This is a pitiable state where one displays aggression and abuse by deliberately violating what is easily understood as adharma. These violations of ethics are so simple that they are self explanatory.

पानीयदूषके पापम् तथैव विषदायके | यत्तदेकः स लभताम् यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-55)

paaniiyadushhake paapam tathaiva vishhadaayake| yat udakaH saH labhatam yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, incur the sin of polluting drinking water and akin to the person who administers poison.

    These are two other easy to grasp situations where a person pollutes drinking water or administers poison to others, which is obviously wanton abuse. In this fallen state, when one desires to hurt others by a grand display of their ahamkara, it highlights one’s deep tamasic nature. One can see this in display in the various asura characters of the Itihasapuranas. Ahimsa paramo dharma, says Sanatana Dharma. Here we see the exact opposite in the ones who knowingly want to hurt others, which is crass Adharma.

ब्राह्मणायोद्यताम् पूजाम् विहन्तु कलुषेन्द्रियः | बालवत्साम् च गाम् दोग्दु यस्यर्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-56)

braahmaNaaya udyataam puujaam vihantu kalushhendriaH| baalavatsaam cha gaam dogdhu yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, incur the sin of a person who disturbs the rightful worship of a scholarly person (being done by another) and by stealing the milk of a cow which was to meant to feed a young calf.

    These add another situational context to highlight the same dangerous tamasic behavior. Disturbing a sadhu/sajjana is a very vicious tendency as they are involved in a life aligned with dharma, which benefits all of us. To highlight this vile behavior, there is another analogy given of stealing milk from a newborn calf. While the abundance of milk is for all, but not at the cost of the newborn calf for whose sake the milk was primarily intended.

I, Me, Myself lens: There appears to be two ends of a spectrum – one centered on dharma, which tends to be expansive and leading to moksha and the other seems to be selfish, myopic attitude centered on the individual, based on ahamkara and mamakara, that results in this warped samsara.

पाने प्रसक्तो भवतु स्त्रीष्वक्षेषु च नित्यशः | काम्क्रोधाभिभूतस्तु यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-41)

pane prosaktaH bhavatu srtiishhu akshheshucha| kaamakrodhaabhibhuutaH nityashaH yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, be overwhelmed by lust, infatuation and rage and be constantly lost to the pursuit of women, wine and dice.

    The direction of the Jiva and the position in the spectrum determines where the Jiva is headed and it does through the power and momentum of its own Karma. Desires usually rooted as kamini, kanchani and kirti are most easily expressed as the pursuit of women, wealth and fame. Thus a Jiva deeply immersed in desires that lead to papachintana lead to the three assured gates of naraka. (BG 16-21 त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: । काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्‍त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥ tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet)

Adharmic fruits: As one is rooted in desires, their mind always gravitates towards self gratification, which usually makes dharma as its first casualty. Worse yet, as one turns away from Dharma, there is a greater affinity for adharma. As seen in the Mahabharata, the Pandavas gravitate towards Dharma and are determined to follow it at any cost. Meanwhile, the Kauravas, not only are turned away from Dharma, develop a strong ruchi for adharma. This accelerates their self destruction. Apart from this negative momentum, such adharma also wants to propagate and perpetuate more adharma through even legitimate looking means like Daana. We see these trends even today with evil forces hiding behind philanthropy supporting disturbing negative forces.

यस्य धर्मे मनो भूयादधर्मम् स निषेवताम् | अपात्रवर्षी भवतु यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-42)

yasya dharma mano bhuuyaat adharmam saH nishhevataam| apaatravarshhi bhavatu yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, never be attracted by dharma. May he be ever indulged in adharma and one who promotes adharma through his wrongful dana.

    At one end, being accidentally or through ignorance one can get into adharmic chintana, but the worst is the deliberate cultivation of adharma in one self and promoting it in others.

You are responsible: When one receives numerous benefits from living in the society, it also comes with an unwritten, but explicit expectation of being the support when the time is right. This is more true, when one has the abundance of resources to uphold dharma, but one turns away from their duties due to ignorance, arrogance or apathy.

तृष्णार्तम् सति पानीये विप्रलम्भेन योजयेत् | लभेत तस्य यत्पापम् यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-57)

tR^ishhNaartam sati paaniiye vipralambena yojayet| labhate tasya yatpaapam yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, let the sin of disappointing a thirsty person, even though there is abundance of water.

    In this scenario, sharing water, the very life of beings is the highest duty. Especially if one has the abundance of resources but not the heart, is a very pitiable state. In the same way, we have the knowledge and wisdom of the Rishis, ancestors and elders available, but due to our apathy or ahamkara, we choose not to do our dharma. This is very evident all around us in Kali Yuga, but the focus has to be on introspection.

Being proactive member in a society: There are three stances one can take – one rooted in dharma, one against dharma and one that has similar disastrous consequences like the previous, as in apathy. Many times actions rooted in adharma are due to ignorance and arrogance, which get dented due to the punishment it attracts. Duryodhana, Ravana, Vaali and the like were punished by their own bad karma and it kind of cleansed them.

    But staying neutral when dharma, shanti, sukha of many involved is at play, results in attracting negative consequences due to our non participation. If the neighbor’s house is on fire, if one is apathetic and watching television at home, chances are high that one’s own house may catch fire.

भक्त्या विवदमानेषु मार्गमाश्रित्य पश्यतः | तस्य पापेन युज्येत यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः || (VR 2-75-58)

bhaktyaa vivadamaanyeshu maargam aashritya pashyataH| tasya paapena yajyeta yasya anumate aaryaH gataH||

May he with whose counsel my elder brother has gone to exile, let the sin of being a mere bystander and spectator when two opposing quarreling groups are at each other and to not even attempt to make peace between them.

    When two groups are locked in a quarrel, the peace of the society is at risk and there is every chance of a needless escalation. A mob frenzy becomes a very destabilizing force and can even lead to arajakata, anarchy. As a sensible member of the society, it becomes everyone’s responsibility to attempt to diffuse the situation or be proactive in taking preventive actions. Also, being close to the action zone, one has a better opportunity to ascertain if Dharma is being violated. It is the duty of everyone to not only follow, but uphold and protect Dharma.

To be continued…

ॐ तत् सत