What is Dharma?

Dharma - 2

Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Shriramnareshacharya ji

Regardless of the era, religion has always had two sides. When Buddhism emerged, it came to eradicate the negativity that had crept into religion; yet, despite its positive nature, it too eventually became mired in negativity. It devolved into a religion centered on indulgence.

Even today, the number of women in Sanatan Dharma is negligible; in our sect, female ascetics do not even constitute one percent. Manu wrote that men are like ghee and women like fire; when the two come close, melting is bound to occur. Consequently, this is discouraged and deemed improper. Without boundaries, rules, restraints, and supervision, even biological siblings cannot be prevented from succumbing to temptation. I am not speaking of recent times; this has been the case all along.

It happened in front of me : one day a woman was scolding her daughter, ‘Why are you lying like that?’ I was leaving my room at that time. I quickly returned to the room, wondering why I should get in between a mother and daughter. Later, I asked the daughter that why mother was scolding, and she told me that she was lying on her stomach in the wrong position. Lying down also changes attitudes and brings about a change in the mind. When I used to sleep with my legs crossed, my guru would say, ‘You're going to be a monk, why do you lie down like this? Should a monk lie down like this?’ I got into that habit then. Now that I'm older, I lie down straight. Sleeping with crossed legs is also prohibited in our culture. Certain taboos are crucial to a good life. 

It started well, but later even the Buddhists went astray. For example, society needed Dayanand Saraswati; he denounced the evils that had crept into the Sanatanis. He did a great job, but he would leave his books before his disciples and people, saying, Use them when you need them again. But his work became a separate sect. Kabir also opposed idol worship and opposed the evils in society, but he too became a sect, which was wrong.

As the opposition has become accustomed to in politics, they criticize and condemn. When Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister and Manmohan Singh became Finance Minister, the policy of economic liberalization was introduced. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, affiliated with the BJP, stood up in opposition. However, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister, the same liberal economic policies continued. I am not an economist, but I can tell you that liberalization increased the inflow of money. There was a lot of development. I cannot understand that if foreign companies come, they will rule over us and we will become slaves. The BJP said this, but when it came to power, it fell silent. Now, opposition has become synonymous with criticism. If the ruling party does something good, we should clap and say, That's good. Bravo! Even if our opponents say something good, we should say, Wow! We should avoid negativity.

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