Dharma

“Writing is my dharma.”
—Raja Rao




Dharma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the term in Indian religions.
Dharma
Rituals and rites of passage[1]

Yoga, personal behaviors[2]
Ahimsa.svg
Virtues such as Ahimsa (non-violence)[3]

Law and justice[4]
Sannyasa and stages of life[5]

Duties, such as learning from teachers[6]
Dharma has multiple meanings.[7] Above are a few examples.

Dharma ([dʱəɾmə]; Sanskrit: धर्म dharma, About this sound listen (help·info); Pali: धम्म dhamma) is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.[8] There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages.[9]

In Hinduism, dharma signifies behaviours that are considered to be in accord with rta, the order that makes life and universe possible,[10][note 1] and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and ‘‘right way of living’’.[7] In Buddhism dharma means "cosmic law and order",[10] but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha.[10] In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for "phenomena".[11][note 2] Dharma in Jainism refers to the teachings of tirthankara (Jina)[10] and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings. For Sikhs, the word dharm means the path of righteousness and proper religious practice.[12]

The word "dharma" was already in use in the historical Vedic religion, and its meaning and conceptual scope has evolved over several millennia.[13] The antonym of dharma is adharma.