In the Giitá it says:

Shreyán svadharmo viguńah paradharmát svanuśt́hitát;
Svadharme nidhanaḿ shreyah paradharmo bhayávahah.

[It is better to follow one’s own human dharma, even if it lacks in some qualities, than to follow the dharmas of other beings. It is better to die as a human being than to live as an animal.]

What exactly is meant by svadharma? Since the Giitá speaks of it, it must have a special meaning. The term is highly significant because it has been said regarding the Giitá, Yá Bhagavatá giitá sá Giitá – that is, “Whatever has been sung or said by Bhagaván Shrii Krśńa Himself is considered as the Giitá.”

Svadharma means “one’s own dharma”. But what exactly does the term dharma mean? Dharma is derived from the root verb dhr plus man. It means “that which provides support to the inner qualities, the intrinsic traits”. In other words, that which provides support to the essential qualities and the specific traits of an entity is dharma. Every object in this manifest world has its own dharma. For instance, water has its own dharma; fire has its own dharma; oxygen and nitrogen also have their own respective dharmas. And it is by virtue of their dharmas that different objects can be distinguished from one another.

If an object loses its capacity to burn, it can no longer be called fire. Similarly, if the thirst-quenching property is absent in an object, it is not water. Each elemental object carries its own identity through its dharma. We can recognize and identify an object with the help of its qualities and external traits. Thus svadharma means one’s essential nature, own traits.

It has been said in connection with the explanation of dharma: Dhriyate dharma ityáhuh sa devah Paramah Prabhuh – “Whatever maintains its hold over other entities and sustains the existential structure of those entities is called dharma. This dharma is the highest goal of all living beings.” So under no circumstances should one’s own dharma be discarded. Wherever the question of dharma is concerned, no compromise should be made with anything that goes against dharma. To move ahead with undaunted spirit to the final destination, the Supreme Goal, is human dharma.

As stated earlier, each and every being of the universe has its own dharma. Even trees and creepers have their own dharmas. The dharma of trees and creepers is to seek certain goals, that is, to collect nourishment, to develop physically, to multiply through seeds and saplings, and then to get lost in the abyss of darkness so as to be born again. The life of animals is similar; the only difference is that animals are a little more developed than trees and creepers. They have one additional quality or trait, and that additional quality is the ability to move from one place to another. Plants cannot make such movements. So plants and animals have some common qualities, but animals have an extra quality, that they can move. That is why animals are said to be movable, while trees and plants are immovable.

What is meant by the dharma of human beings? One dharma of humans is jaeva dharma [the dharma of living beings], which plants, animals and humans, all three, all have in common. As animals, humans also have another quality, namely their movement from one place to another. This quality is also one of their traits. It is a dharma that they share with [animals]; but the dharma that human beings have in addition to this is their Bhágavata dharma. The life of animals and plants is wholly given to their senses. They have nothing beyond their physical needs and comforts. But some human beings are conscious of having one more dharma – Bhágavata dharma. The basic idea or controlling idea of human beings’ Bhágavata dharma is that they will move ceaselessly and uncompromisingly towards the highest ideal, towards Parama Puruśa.

Humans’ future is always bright. Never is it clouded with darkness. Because human beings’ guide is the most radiant and most brilliant Entity in the universe, and the final goal of their life’s journey.

The Supreme Being, the most effulgent Entity, is always present before you. Hence the future of anyone, whether sinful or virtuous, is always bright. One’s future can never be bleak. Hence people should continue to move without pause towards Parama Puruśa, maintaining a little adjustment with the jaeva dharma or animal dharma in them – this is human dharma. People have a physical life and also a mental life, but their speciality is their tireless movement towards Parama Puruśa. That is exactly what the Giitá wants to convey by saying that Bhágavata dharma is the svadharma of human beings.

In the Giitá it has been said, Shreyán svadharmo viguńah, meaning that “one’s own dharma [is right] even if it is lacking in some guńas [qualities].” The word guńa means a binding rope. In fact the individual qualities or attributes that all beings possess are their binding characteristics. Every entity, animate or inanimate, possesses certain characteristic qualities. Parama Puruśa is the original source of all these qualities. But He Himself is guńatiita [beyond all qualities]. There is no power that can bind Him in the bondages of guńas.

Prabhumiishamaniishamasheśaguńaḿ guńahiinamaheshagańábharańam – “O Lord, You are the Supreme Lord of all beings, the final controller of all manifestations and creations. But there is no being that can control your movement or course of action. Your capabilities are infinite, but if anyone tries to count those infinite qualities, they will never finish counting. You are greater than the great, higher than the high, and still more powerful than the most powerful. No one can plumb the depth of Your being. Your personality is boundless and unfathomable. Your countless qualities defy all measurement.” That is why He is said to possess infinite qualities. “So there is no other alternative but to call You quality-less.”

The poet Padmadanta, when asked to write a eulogy on Parama Puruśa, wrote:

Asitagirisamaḿ syát kajjalaḿ sindhupátre surataruvarashákhá lekhanii patramurvii;

Likhati yadi grhiitvá Sáradá sarvakálaḿ tathápi tava guńánámiisha páraḿ na yáti.

In order to write anything, paper, pen and ink are essential. Moreover, a competent writer is also needed. These days, many people use fountain pens, but in just the recent past, ink tablets were available in the market. These tablets were dissolved in water to produce ink. “To enumerate the qualities of Parama Puruśa, an ink tablet the size of the Himalayas will be needed. No tablet smaller than the Himalayas will do. Not only that. For writing you need an ink-pot to contain the liquid ink. Now, even if the vast ocean be the ink-pot, it will never be possible to enumerate the infinite qualities of Parama Puruśa. The next thing you need is a pen…” Surataruvarashákhá lekhanii – that is, “only the trunk of the Párijáta tree in the Nandan Kánan of Indra, the king of the gods, will serve as a pen.” “And lastly, only the entire lithosphere of the earth can serve as paper.” But who will write, after all? Who will do the job of writing? Likhati yadi Sáradá svarvakálaḿ – “if the mythological goddess of learning, Sarasvatii, starts writing and goes on ceaselessly” – tathápi tava guńánámiisha páraḿ na yáti – “even if all these things are done, the qualities of Parama Puruśa can never be fully described.”

Bhágavata dharma is the dharma of human beings – the human svadharma. I would not call either Hindu Dharma or Islamic Dharma or Christian Dharma real dharma, but only reflections of dharma. Dharma is one for all human beings, and that dharma is mánava dharma.

Bhágavata Dharma

The word bhaga plus the suffix matup gives us bhagavata; and the first person singular form of bhagavata is bhagaván. What does the word bhaga mean?

Aeshvaryaiṋca samagraiṋca viiryaiṋca yashasah shriyah;
Jiṋána vaerágyayoshca tu śańńáḿ bhaga iti smrtam.

[Bhaga is a collection of six attributes: aeshvarya, viirya, yasha, shrii, jiṋána and vaerágya.]

The word bhaga implies six divine powers or abilities, or a collection of six kinds of Tantric powers or manifestations.

The first one is aeshvarya. This aeshvarya in turn includes eight occult powers – animá, laghimá, mahimá, prápti, prákámya, iishitva, vashitva and antaryámitva. Thus aeshvarya is an occult power acquired through sádhaná. Through regular practice of sádhaná, these eight powers can be attained. The being who possesses these eight powers is called Iishvara. In other words, Iishvara means the lord of these eight sádhaná-acquired powers.

Together with aeshvarya comes commanding authority, viirya. An impressive personality is necessary in order to perform benevolent deeds. This is the second bhaga.

Then comes yashah (fame) which is of two types, positive and negative, yasha and apayasha. The virtuous people sided with Krśńa, while the evil ones joined hands with Kansa. That is, society became polarized at that time. Some people ardently sang His praises, while others became His fierce antagonists.

Next comes shrii. The real meaning of shrii is “charm” or “fascination”. In other words, one will possess irresistible attractive charm. The word shrii, however, has other connotations also. It is a combination of three letters – sha, ra, ii. Sha represents rajoguńa; ra is the acoustic root of energy. A person who possesses this ra, that is, who is vigorously active; and who at the same time is under the dynamic influence of rajoguńa [i.e., possesses sha]; is sha + ra = shra which, when ii is added to it, becomes shrii in feminine form. One of the charms of life is this shrii. That is why since ancient days, the practice of using the word shrii before one’s name has been a custom in India.

Then comes jiṋána. The word jiṋána is derived from the root verb jiṋá plus the suffix anat́. The subjectivization of external objectivity is called jiṋána. The world of objectivity is external only to the microcosmic mind; to the Macrocosmic Mind there is no external world. Because whatever exists, exists within His mind. Hence for Parama Puruśa everything is but His own Self. But for the microcosmic mind, this subjectivo-objectivated mind is transformed into subjectivized mind, and in a subsequent stage the subjectivized mind becomes subjectivity. And in the final stage, this very subjective mind becomes merged in Parama Puruśa and becomes one with Him. This is called jiṋánakriyá [cognitive activity]. Jiṋána is the fifth bhaga.

The sixth is vaerágya. Vi – rańj + ghaiṋ = virága; and vaerágya is derived from virága. The root verb rańj means “to colour” something. When a person is not affected or swayed by the colour of any object whatsoever of the world, that person is said to have attained vaerágya. He or she moves among various colours, yet no colour of any object can spread its influence over the person’s mind. This is vaerágya.

This world, the creation of Parama Puruśa, is full of colourful variegation. But He Himself is a colourless Entity.

Śa eko’varńo bahudháshaktiyogád varńánanekán nihitártho dadháti;
Vi caeti cánte vishvamádao sa Devah sa no buddhyá shubhayá saḿyunaktu.

[The Entity who is one and without a second, and one without any colours; who has created the colourful quinquelemental world for reasons unknown with the help of His many powers; in whom this entire universe dissolves; is no other than Parama Puruśa. Let that Entity guide our intellect along the path of supreme righteousness.]

So vaerágya is the sixth bhaga, The collection of these six attributes is called bhaga; and one who possesses bhaga is bhagaván. The word bhagaván is the first person singular form of bhagavata.

Hence it is evident that Bhágavata dharma is really mánava dharma [human dharma]. For each human being this is his or her svadharma [individual dharma]. Shreyán svadharmo viguńah – “Even if one’s svadharma is viguńah – even if one’s svadharma is without qualities – it is beneficial.” You know that svadharma is in fact quality-less, because Bhágavata dharma is outside the jurisdiction of qualities. Hence svadharma must also necessarily be without qualities.

The word viguńa can be interpreted in two ways: (1) “that which remains after qualities have been removed”, that is, “something that has become quality-less”; or (2) (where viguńa means a special guńa) “any object that possesses a special guńa [quality]”. Another such word is vilakśana, which can mean either “one whose mark of identity is no longer present” or “one having a special mark of identity”.

So far we have been speaking about svadharma. Now comes the question of paradharma, the dharma of other beings. Paradharma means the dharma of trees and plants, of animals – but not at all the dharma of human beings. The shloka [couplet] from the Giitá says that paradharma, however pleasant or comfortable, is not beneficial at all. Rather, svadharme nidhanaḿ shreyah – “even if you meet death following your own dharma, Bhágavata dharma, that will be more beneficial.” Human beings must live like human beings and human beings must die like human beings – not like undeveloped entities such as plants and animals. In no way should people surrender at the altar of animal dharma or plant dharma, but should stick to mánava dharma, to Bhágavata dharma, even if that results in death. This is the essence of the shloka.