SHIVOKTI 11

It is dharma that sustains the existences of plants, animals, humans and all living and non-living entities. So if the dharma of some entity is jeopardized, it should be understood that the very existence of that entity is in jeopardy. That is why wise, creative and thoughtful people become seriously concerned when they notice that something has lost its innate property or dharma. In fact, the presiding deity in a living being is dharma. Dhryate dharma ityáhuh sa eva paramaḿ prabhuh [“That which upholds an entity, which is its motivating force, is dharma”]. Scientists first become acquainted with the dharma, or properties, of various substances, and then begin their research to discover newer and newer information about those substances, then they propagate their various theories and formulate new plans of invention.

Trees and plants, wood, bricks and stones, animals and humans – all are great in their respective spheres of dharma. Here dharma does not mean any particular religion; it means the quintessence of one’s very existence. As human beings have come in human form, they will have to live and grow, they will have to establish themselves in human life and die a glorious death, for this is their human dharma. They can not afford simply out of the instincts of self-preservation and reproduction, to degrade themselves to the level of non-human beings.

The very essence of mánava dharma [human dharma], lies in three factors, plus a fourth factor which is the resultant of the first three: (1) vistára, the principle of expansion; (2) rasa, the principle of total surrender to Parama Puruśa; (3) sevá, selfless service to Parama Puruśa and His creation; and (4) tadsthiti, the final ensconcement in Parama Puruśa.

Human beings want expansion, but this is not possible by depriving others of their wealth. It is possible only by drenching one’s human values and existential awareness in a flow of sweetness and expanding them throughout the universe – by infusing the sweetest feelings of the innermost recesses of one’s heart into the heart of each and every entity.

Rasa means to be saturated with ever-blissful awareness – to enliven human existence with sweet freshness. This becomes possible only when one maintains a constant link with the Supreme Entity from whom one’s individual existence has emerged.

This world of ours is a world of give and take. And in the process of give and take, the human mind neither progresses nor regresses. If one thinks only of receiving, the mind degenerates; again, if one thinks only of giving, at a certain stage one may develop indifference to one’s very existence. Thus people will have to transcend this level of give and take: they will have to consider themselves as instruments of the Supreme Entity, and throw themselves unreservedly into the work desired by Him. This is the underlying spirit of sevá.

So vistára, rasa and sevá – these three come within the scope of sádhaná, and the goal of this sádhaná is the fourth factor, the resultant of all these three.

Mánava dharma is the combination of all the four factors. This dharma is the greatest friend of human beings. One can sacrifice anything for the sake of this dharma; for this dharma, no hardship is too great. Therefore, this dharma is called Bhágavata Dharma.⁽¹⁾

Shiva’s observation is, Dharma rakśati rakśitah – “One who protects dharma is protected by dharma.” Dharma saves the dhármika [the upholder of dharma] in the material sphere, in the subtle sphere and in the causal sphere. When dharma saves people in the material sphere, they experience it before their very eyes, they hear it with their ears, they feel it with the tenderness of touch. When dharma helps them in the causal sphere, they experience it by loving Parama Puruśa with all the sweetness of their hearts. This feeling has no external expression. When dharma saves people in the subtle sphere, they experience it through deep reflection.

The dynamicity of dharma functions mainly in the subtle sphere. With the increasing development of the power of reflection, dharmic people realize that dharma is always with them in a very subtle way. They further realize that their dharma and their beloved Parama Puruśa are one and inseparable. So Shiva clearly observed, Dharmasya súkśmá gatih [“The ways of dharma are very subtle”].

SHIVOKTI 12

All people in all circumstances must live according to the dictates of dharma. As I said a little earlier, the dharma of human beings is Bhágavata Dharma, and it is has four stages – vistára, rasa, sevá and tadsthiti. The fourth factor, the final ensconcement in Parama Puruśa, is the last stage of dharma. The first three are the three steps towards that ultimate attainment – that last stage whose movement is eternal – whose beginning, middle and end the intellect cannot fathom. Only to achieve that supreme stage, human beings have come on to this earth. This final stage of dharma may indeed be called the first stage, the last stage and also the middle stage of tadsthiti; for here, the beginning, the middle and the end are all fused into one. As the great mystic of Ráŕh, Pacái Shekh, once observed,

Dayál tomár rakam bojhá bhár.
Sheśer pareo shuru áche ei bujhechi sár.

[O my merciful Lord, it’s impossible to understand your ways; Even after your end, a beginning. This is the essence of all I have learned.]

That is why it has been said that dharma must be followed under all circumstances by everyone, whatever may be one’s class – shúdra, kśatriya, vaeshya or vipra.⁽²⁾ Tasmát dharmah sadá karyah sarvavarńaeh prayatnatáh. Here we notice also that one cannot attain the final state of tadsthiti by bypassing the first three stages. Someone may think that he will be able to do penance in Himalayan caves with his legs upraised and head down, neglecting the distressed people of the society. If Parama Puruśa comes and removes the heavy stone door of his cave and appears before him and asks, “What do you want, my child?” – and if he answers, “I want to be one of the stars of the Great Bear constellation,” his desire will never be fulfilled. His prolonged penance in the caves will all end in nothing. This is not Bhágavata Dharma. A householder, even while faithfully performing his or her mundane duties, must sincerely follow Bhágavata Dharma and also serve suffering creatures. And the sannyásiis,⁽³⁾ while remaining outside family life, must follow Bhágavata Dharma and apply the balm of peace and progress to all the afflictions of humanity. This is the true path of dharma; this is exactly what Parama Puruśa wants.

The penance of sannyásiis or householders in mountain caves may be completely destroyed by the recurrent thoughts and memories of worldly life. While sitting in the Himalayas, they will meditate on Calcutta sweets made from date sugar. Only those sannyásiis whose minds are deeply pained at the gloomy touch of human sorrow – whose minds sparkle like rubies and emeralds with the tears of joy and laughter of all beings – find success in their vow of renunciation and in their spiritual life.

Only after crossing the first three stages can one arrive at the fourth and ultimate stage. So Shiva has said, people should follow dharma Átmamokśarthaḿ jagaddhitáya ca [“For self-realization and for the welfare of the universe”].

Footnotes

(1) “The Dharma to Attain the Supreme.” –Trans.

(2) That is, labourer class, warrior class, capitalist class or intellectual class. –Trans.

(3) Literally, “Those who ensconce themselves in Sat, the Unchangeable Entity”; renunciants. –Trans.