Excerpts From Dharma The teachings begin by telling us "Dharma is often translated as the way or path, sometimes as one's duty or as the law of one's inner being. It comes from the Sanskrit word "dher", meaning "to hold firmly" or "to support." It applies to both the path towards ones higher nature and the actions one commits in the world. In essence, dharma is the guiding principle of our evolutionary quest to become higher, more truthful and moe fully our unique selves."
"Dharma needs to be followed both by individuals and by the collective society as a whole. When an individual is out of alignment with dharma, their life becomes disjointed and they cease to have a harmony with the world around them. They become self-centered and self-absorbed. When a society, a nation, state, social or religious group, is out of alignment with dharma, the society begins to fragment and lose its balance. Prama, the cosmic principle maintaining a stable balance in the universe, is lost..."
“Dharma, the poetry of the soul, is written in the heart of all that is … Moving in harmony, the foot does not crush the ground beneath. Moving in harmony, all nature becomes one flow. Thoughts, words, and deeds express only the unconditional love of the Divine... The lotus growing in the mud brings forth buds to opening to the sun. The rose winding around the trellis climbs upward and blossoms in the sun. Moving in harmony towards the Source, all beings have their place. Sun, moon, and stars have their place in the harmony of all things. There is a balance in this universe, finely maintained, sublimely intricate, yet simple. To be in this balance, to move in this harmony, to breathe with the rhythm of the stars, is the way of dharma."
It goes on to say “Spirituality in the world today cannot be separated from the issues facing the planet… and lies not only in one’s personal development alone, but answering the clarion call to action in human society. Therein lies the path of Dharma … to express your impassioned heart, in care and love of all beings...”
""Prama is very significant in understanding dharma and living harmony. It refers to the basic balance maintained in the interwoven web of life, the harmony that makes the universe work as a whole. All beings obey the rhythm of nature’s flow and, in doing so, are in a smooth and blissful relationship to life. People can live in complete composure, unhindered joy and happiness when life is in balance and prama is present. However, this situation of blissful harmony changes with the emergence of desires such as greed, domination, and power, which create a civilization out of alignment with its surrounding world. It also changes in a person’s life when they lose this delicate balance and prama evades them..."
"Chaos results when dharma has been forsaken and prama is lost. The natural laws that bring harmony to the planet and to all the species of living beings are being violated, and thus the ecological systems and natural order of the world are disrupted. The result is loss of many species, loss of environmental stability and changes in weather patterns. Nature, out of balance, becomes wild, destructive. People have formed societies with the attitude of a conqueror, rather than in harmony with the planet and its natural laws, and those societies are now threatened. The atrocities done to living beings upon the planet in the name of progress have an impact. As the planet moves from order to disorder, from harmony to chaos, the forces unleashed are powerful, and they will reorder the world until harmony is regained and dharma restored..."
"When there is harmony between all beings, and the natural order of the planet restored, calm will return to this world. But until such a time, there is bound to be chaos, because dharma is not being followed. For dharma inherently establishes harmony with the natural order of all that is. Dharma is the law, the law of this universe, not the law of man. It is the law which governs the relationship of all beings and their cosmic source. When followed, that law brings balance. When not followed, it creates grave difficulties, for a world without dharma cannot survive..."
"So, what to do when living beings lose dharma and society loses prama, balance? What to do? First and foremost, remember that you are a part of an interwoven, interconnected tapestry of life. When the threads of this tapestry are being pulled apart, you can be a force to weave those threads together by aligning yourself with dharma in your spiritual life. Connecting with the deeper Source of your being, connecting with Parama Purusha, the highest being, the highest consciousness, allows the harmony that flows from that One to flow into you, into your life and into your actions in the world.
Each and every one of you has the capacity to make change by changing yourself. Internally, in your spiritual life, align yourself with dharma, with the harmony of all existence and the path towards the One eternal being, towards Parama Purusha. By doing this, you bring that consciousness, that force of enlightened being into yourself and closer to the Earth. That force is the source of dharma. It will harmonize and heal and bring society back in order.
This shift that needs to happen, will happen, not by the rise of one ruler or another, but by the efforts of each and every person to follow dharma, to live for dharma, and to bring dharma into the world. Follow dharma wherever it leads, whether it be saving the lives of living beings, saving the seeds and food sources, working with the political system, or simply deep meditation, bringing psychic harmony and love into the world by helping people come to their spiritual source. Whatever good work you do, you can be a force for dharma and light, for the harmonizing and reworking of the tapestry of life on this planet Earth."
Dharma and Social Change
"It is part and parcel of the way of dharma to become active putting your spiritual values into action. Opportunities to make positive changes in the world around you are bound to present themselves over time. Taking advantage of those opportunities to do something noble, something that serves living beings, is an integral part to following dharma. Supporting dharma may include becoming active in community and making social changes. In the call to express your impassioned heart in care and love of all beings in the world, lies the path of dharma today.
When you put your spiritual values and the integrity of your practices into action in the world, you express dharma. Without dharma there can be no right action, for dharma is alignment with the way or laws of universal being. Without dharma you cannot find the path, for dharma is the path. Assisting people to find the way of dharma is a great service..." Three Approaches to Social Change When the world needs to make a significant change, as is the situation today, you may ask, “How can it happen?” How can dharma be restored in the world, so that we are in harmony with the planet on which we live as well as with each other?
There are three ways in which this social change may occur, and each is a revolution in thinking and action. The first is to change the leadership and is called Palatial Revolution. The problem with this approach is that it does not usually lead to substantive change of the institutions or ideology. In other words, you basically have the same situation with different people in charge. The lifestyle remains in place. The fundamental problems continue to exist. Only the person reflecting them has changed. There is an illness in the society and the illness has put the man or woman and the regime in office. It is the result not the cause. So, if you merely remove a given leader from office, will that alone solve the problem? No. It will not, as society out of balance requires deeper solutions that address the causes.
When a visionary leader arises and tries to make substantial changes, it is known as a Pyramidical Revolution. From the top down. However, this also does not solve the problem. An enlightened leader can initiate a wave of transformation in society that inspires the masses. They will want to do the opposite of the current oppressive actions of leadership, but it will not solve the problem, because it still does not change the fundamental condition. It is still from the top down. The foundation of the society remains unchanged. So, what is the third type of social change?
The third type of social change is Nuclear Revolution. Nuclear Revolution is a deep cultural and ideological shift that begins with ordinary people. It has a deep impact on the hearts and minds of people. When people change, then political change happens as a result. It doesn’t start with political change. It causes political change, because the hearts and minds of people begin to want something different. They mobilize this change.
When there is hope and a vision for a way forward, people wanting change will rush to it. We see this in all of the current movements around the world to bring the human spirit awake, save seeds, help animals, help suffering people, work with climate changes. The world is changing, and it is ordinary people changing it. This wave of value change will grow and change everything. This is the revolution.
Because people are hurting and starting to realize the difficulty the planet faces, change will occur. People are looking for solutions. The human spirit wants to expand. It doesn’t want to be stuck in materialism and out of alignment with dharma. One more thing to consume, to eat, to wear will not satisfy the human heart. The human heart wants expansiveness. It wants to feel that moment of transcendence, whether in human relations, in relationship to the natural world or in deep meditation. The human heart wants to expand, wants to feel unconditional love, wants to be in harmony with all things, wants to be in the flow of dharma.
The fundamental spirit of humanity wants expression. When it is dampened, depression becomes the number one illness. The solution is the unfolding of the human spirit in interconnectedness and wholeness. As human beings awaken en masse to their spiritual nature and throw off the bondage of materialism in favor of human connectedness and love, a bright future awaits humanity, awaits the whole planet. This is a great time of transformation. There may be a little struggle here and there, but great and positive things will happen as more and more people awaken to spirit. Human beings will become more in touch with each other, more connected to each other. There is no need to fear anything. Despite difficulties, the future of humanity is bright.