by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 7
 January 2001

CHAPTER EIGHT – DHARMACARAN Part Two - WHAT IS RIGHTEOUS LIVING? Continued from previous issue ..

"Based on lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

continued...

     Dharmacaran is not a mechanical process for human beings. The lower animals go by their nature and await intervention of the outward nature itself to lift them gradually from their inferior birth. Where as humans, being endowed with intellect have the power to use this and hasten the process of their development. Otherwise what good it is to have the intellect? Therefore as part of the righteous living the role of Dhi or the discerning intellect plays a major role. Using this discerning power of the intellect we are able to differentiate between shreyas and preyas, i.e. between the beneficial and the pleasurable. Preyas is that which apparently may bring joy and happiness by satisfying the demands of the senses but the happiness is momentary and brings unhappiness and disappointment to follow. Where as Shreyas is that which on the face of it may not be pleasant and interesting, but ultimately brings good. The happiness that follows has long lasting effect. It is Dhi which can differentiate between the two. Shreyas keeps one steady in the path of righteous living, realising the effects of goodness. Where as Preyas drags one down the snowballing path of desire. That path is not the path of Dharma. We need the assistance of Dhi all the time to decide for us what we should go after and what we should discard.

But Dhi needs to be cultivated. We need knowledge to acquire discerning power. Therefore if Dhi is part of our Dharma, acquiring of knowledge or vidya has also to be a part of Dharmacaran.

It is indeed an unique feature of our Sanatana Dharma or universal way of righteous living that acquiring knowledge is also considered a part of Dharma. Here the knowledge is referred to the true knowledge. The knowledge that gives the true insight of the Parambramha who is the source and seat of jnana i.e. knowledge, jneyam or what only is worth knowing, and jnanagamyam or what is the destination of all knowledge. Nothing remains as knowledge beyond Him. Excepting Him everything else is non-knowledge or Ajnyanata. Once the mind is constantly engaged in pursuit of this true knowledge the Dhi or the discerning power will show the true path to development and protect us from going astray.

This Vidya is essentially the knowledge of the Parambramha. What kind of entity The Parambramha is, happens to be the basis of entire Adhyatma or spiritualism. But what is known for certain about Him is that He is the only reality , everything else being unsustainable without Him (Hence termed as unreal). He is Nityanityam, i.e the only Nitya (real), all the rest being anitya ( unreal, illusory and of temporary existence). That is the truth. The pursuit of truth then becomes the goal of everyone. The entire lot of miseries that we suffer in our lives is all because of our association and running after things that are untrue. This is not only at the spiritual level but even in our mundane day to day living. To condition our mind to strive for development all things false and untrue must be shunned. This practice leads to a character that can support all the other nine characteristics of Dharma we have talked before.

The above ten aspects of righteous living are not mere intellectual exercises. Generally all spiritual philosophies and refined knowledge are looked upon by common people as matters belonging to a different world. They seldom solve the mundane world problems.

This in itself is another form of ignorance. Human mind never discovered Spiritualism or Adhyatmikata as an intellectual pastime. It sprang verily from the life itself. When life’s problems, whether physical, mental or psychological, began troubling, man started looking at lasting solutions. The Dharma or code of conduct for righteous living is the prescription for solving life’s problems for common people like you and me.


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