Dharma - The two Dharmas

Recently, 65-year-old Kuttu Bai of Madhya Pradesh immolated herself on her husband’s pyre, sending shock waves across the country. There were a few, however, who remained unmoved.

Was sati really a part of Hindu religion, as is claimed by some?

Parvati, Shiva’s consort, is often referred to as ' Sati ’. Once, she went uninvited to attend a yagna her father was conducting. On hearing him speak derogatorily of Shiva, an upset and angry Parvati jumped into the fire. In another story, ' Sati ’ Savitri, a princess whose husband died barely a year after they got married, confronted Yamraj, the God of Death. Because of sheer persistence, Savitri managed to extract from him a boon of longevity for her husband. In return, she offered to follow Yamraj to his abode. However, there is no scriptural evidence of any woman committing sati on her dead husband’s pyre.

(See also: Sati , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sati: Two Kinds of Values: Eternal & Transitory  

There are four Asramas or stages in life, viz., Brahmacharya or the period of studentship, Grihastha or the stage of the householder, Vanaprastha or the stage of the forest-dweller or hermit, and Sannyasa or the life of renunciation or asceticism. Each stage has its own duties. These stages help the evolution of man

The four Asramas or orders of life are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma in Hinduism: The Four Asramas in Hindu Dharma

Dharma (Sanskrit, roughly law or way) is the way of the higher Truths. Beings that live in harmony with Dharma proceed more quickly towards moksha, nirvana, or personal liberation. Dharma forms the basis for philosophies, beliefs and practices originating in India. The oldest of these, widely known as Hinduism, is Sanatana Dharma or Eternal Dharma. Buddhism, Ayyavazhi, Jainism and Sikhism also retain the centrality of Dharma. For the followers of these traditions, Dharma also refers to the teachings ...

Including:

• Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma
• Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism
• Dharma - Origin and development in Hinduism
• Dharma - Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas
• Dharma - Developing conceptions
• Dharma - Dharma as a Purushartha
• Dharma - Kane's view
• Dharma - In Jainism
• Dharma - The two Dharmas
• Dharma - In Buddhism
• Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha
• Dharma - Qualities of Buddha Dharma
• Dharma - Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology
• Dharma - Dharma as righteousness

Read more here: » Dharma: Encyclopedia - Dharma

Hinduism is the religion of the Hindus, a name given to the Universal Religion which hailed supreme in India. It is the oldest of all living religions. This is not founded by any prophet. Buddhism, Christianity and Mohammedanism owe their origin to the prophets. Their dates are fixed. But no such date can be fixed for Hinduism. Hinduism is not born of the teachings of particular prophets. It is not based on a set of dogmas preached by a particular set of teachers. It is free from religious fanaticism.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hinduism: Hindu Religion � All About Hinduism

What is Dharma? Dharma is so called, because it holds; Dharma alone holds the people, etc. The word Dharma is derived from the root Dhr - to hold - and its etymological meaning is - that which holds - this world, or the people of the world, or the whole creation from the microcosm to the macrocosm.

Dharma is generally defined as - righteousness - or - duty. - Dharma is the principle of righteousness. It is the principle of holiness. It is also the principle of unity.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma: Dharma in Hinduism - The Hindu Dharma

dharma: (Sanskrit) "Righteousness." From dhri, "to sustain; carry, hold."

Hence dharma is "that which contains or upholds the cosmos." Dharma, religion, is a complex and all-inclusive term with many meanings, including: divine law, law of being, way of righteousness, religion, ethics, duty, responsibility, virtue, justice, goodness and truth. Essentially, dharma is the orderly fulfillment of an inherent nature or destiny. Relating to the soul, it is the mode of conduct most conducive to spiritual advancement, the right and righteous path.

(See also: Dharma , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

The three marks of conditioned existence

According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena (dharmas) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma Seals: Anatta, Anicca and Dukkha

Read more here: » Buddhism Beliefs: The three marks of conditioned existence

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma: Different Kinds Of Dharma

Buddhism: Basic Buddhist Dictionary

A basic dictionary of Buddhism terms. Please note that all words in grey like " Buddhism " are links to an archive with related articles.

Dharma (Sanskrit, roughly law or way) is the way of the higher Truths. Dharma forms the basis for philosophies, beliefs and practices originating in India. The oldest of these, widely known as Hinduism, is Sanatana Dharma or Eternal Dharma. Buddhism, Ayyavazhi, Jainism and Sikhism also retain the centrality of Dharma. In these traditions, beings that live in harmony with Dharma proceed more quickly towards moksha, nirvana, or personal liberation. Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of t ...

Including:

• Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma
• Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism
• Dharma - Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas
• Dharma - Developing conceptions
• Dharma - Dharma as a Purushartha
• Dharma - Kane's view
• Dharma - In Jainism
• Dharma - The two Dharmas
• Dharma - In Buddhism
• Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha
• Dharma - Qualities of Buddha Dharma
• Dharma - Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology
• Dharma - Dharma as righteousness

Read more here: » Dharma

The mark of Dharma is Achara or good conduct. Achara is the mark of the good. From Achara is Dharma born. Dharma enhances life. Man attains prosperity and fame, here and hereafter, through the practice of Dharma.

Good conduct is the highest Dharma. It is the root of all Tapas or austerities. Righteousness, truth and good works, power and prosperity - all originate from conduct.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Ethics in Hindu Darma

The word Dharma (Sanskrit; "धर्म" in the Devanagari script) or dhamma (Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, the dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Dharma also is practiced in the Surat Shabda Yoga traditions. In its oldest form, dharman, it first appears in the Vedas. It is difficult to provide a single concise definition for Dharma (life fails to convey its connoted complexity). The word has a long and ...

See also:

Dharma, Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma, Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism, Dharma - Origin and development in Hinduism, Dharma - Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas, Dharma - Developing conceptions, Dharma - Dharma as a Purushartha, Dharma - Kane's view, Dharma - In Jainism, Dharma - The two Dharmas, Dharma - In Buddhism, Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha, Dharma - Qualities of Buddha Dharma, Dharma - Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology, Dharma - Dharma as righteousness

Read more here: » Dharma: Encyclopedia II - Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma

Within Indian philosophy "dharma" also means "property" and "dharmin" means "property-bearer". In a Sanskrit sentence like "zabdo 'nityaH" (Sanskrit transliterated according to the Kyoto-Harvard convention), "sound is impermanent", "sound" is the bearer of the property "impermanence". Likewise, in the sentence "iha ghataH", "here, there is a pot", "here" is the bearer of the property "pot-existence" - this just goes to show that the categories property and property-bearer are closer to those of a logical predicate and its subject-term, and not to a grammatical predicate and subject. Dharma ...

See also:

Dharma, Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma, Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism, Dharma - Origin and development in Hinduism, Dharma - Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas, Dharma - Developing conceptions, Dharma - Dharma as a Purushartha, Dharma - Kane's view, Dharma - In Jainism, Dharma - The two Dharmas, Dharma - In Buddhism, Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha, Dharma - Qualities of Buddha Dharma, Dharma - Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology, Dharma - Dharma as righteousness

Read more here: » Dharma: Encyclopedia II - Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism

In East Asia, the word for Dharma is 法, pronounced fǎ in Mandarin and hō in Japanese. Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha. For practicing Buddhists, references to "dharma" or dhamma in the singular, particularly as "the" Dharma, is used to mean the teachings of the Buddha, and is sometimes referred to as the Buddha-Dharma. Dharma is the universal law of nature and to call it Buddha-Dhamma suggests that other kinds of Dharma may exist. But this is not so, there is only one Dharma. The term Buddha-Dharma merely refers to the fact that it was discove ...

See also:

Dharma, Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma, Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism, Dharma - Origin and development in Hinduism, Dharma - Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas, Dharma - Developing conceptions, Dharma - Dharma as a Purushartha, Dharma - Kane's view, Dharma - In Jainism, Dharma - The two Dharmas, Dharma - In Buddhism, Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha, Dharma - Qualities of Buddha Dharma, Dharma - Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology, Dharma - Dharma as righteousness

Read more here: » Dharma: Encyclopedia II - Dharma - In Buddhism

Dharma is natural. Jain Acharya Samantabhadra writes: "Vatthu sahavo dhammo" the dharma is the nature of an object. It is the nature of the soul to be free, thus for the soul, the dharma ia paralaukika, beyond worldly. However the nature of the body is to seek self-preservation and be engaged in pleasures. Thus there are two dharmas. Dharma - The two Dharmas. Acharya Haribhadra (approx. 6-7th cent.) discusses dharma in Dharma-Bindu. he writes (Translation by Y. Malaiya): soayam-anushhThaatRi-bhedat dvi-vidho ...

See also:

Dharma, Dharma - Meanings and origins of the word Dharma, Dharma - Dharma in Hinduism, Dharma - Origin and development in Hinduism, Dharma - Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas, Dharma - Developing conceptions, Dharma - Dharma as a Purushartha, Dharma - Kane's view, Dharma - In Jainism, Dharma - The two Dharmas, Dharma - In Buddhism, Dharma - The teachings of the Buddha, Dharma - Qualities of Buddha Dharma, Dharma - Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology, Dharma - Dharma as righteousness

Read more here: » Dharma: Encyclopedia II - Dharma - In Jainism