Philosophy

Abstract

For many of us, Krishna is the epitome of sanatana dharma. His every thought, word, and action embodies the spirit of Hinduism. It is no surprise that his wartime counsel to Arjuna is revered as the greatest summary of Hindu thought. We can never be sure if Krishna spoke the exact words of the Bhagavad-Gita as we know it today, but it seems likely that at least the core message of the text was spoken by Krishna. We have all been in situations where a despondent friend has asked us for advice.

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An exploration into three fundamental but interrelated concepts in Indian philosophy: dharma (principle of sustenance), brahma (or brahman; Supreme spirit that pervades everything) and rasa (the aesthetic experience). While dharma is an efficient tool for managing life, rasa bridges the material and the spiritual, and brahma is the all-encompassing absolute.

Dharma is broadly classified into two groups – general or universal (samanyadharma) and special or particular (visheshadharma). In the category of samanyadharma, all the basic values which generally never change with space and time are included. Here, the divisions of caste, creed, occupation, nationality, gender, race and other distinctions are not decisive. What we would call as human values today – values like truth, non-violence, freedom from greed, purity of thought, word and action, self-control, etc.

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Happiness

Yajna, Dana, and Tapas

It is known that dharma is the only way to live. But how to practice it? The action plan of dharma is given in the pedagogy of yajna, dana, and tapas.

In the Hindu way of life we are guided by four purusharthas (पुरुषार्थ) –

Rta, Rna, and Dharma