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I welcome you to today's lecture. It is a short continuation of the topic from last week. Last week was about karma; today it is about dharma. These topics not only sound similar, they are also deeply connected. Let us go for a moment into silence. Just leave everything behind that has made you busy... Sarvadhī sa kṣībhūtaṁ bhavatitaṁ triguṇarahitaṁ satguruṁ tanna māmi naladhi mahāmaṇḍaleśvarānanda. Last week we spoke about karma. For those who were not here, I will give a very short summary to establish the context. Karma means action, and we are acting the whole day. Karma also means the law of action and reaction. Through our actions, we unavoidably create effects which come back to us sooner or later. We create karma because we are human. We have free will, we have a choice, and therefore we have a responsibility. In this sense, animals also act, but they do not actually create karma because they follow their nature. Or we could say they naturally follow their dharma. Humans also have a dharma. But because we have free will, we often do not follow that dharma. This is where the topic becomes interesting. When we do not follow our dharma, we create karma. Then we create suffering for others and for ourselves. The law of karma reminds us always to think of the consequences. There are certain rules which try to protect us from negative karma. These rules, which we have, for example, in the Bible as the Ten Commandments, or very similarly in yoga as the ten principles of Yama and Niyama, are actually Dharma rules. More concretely, when we follow these Dharma rules, we avoid creating at least many of the negative karmas. Therefore, to make decisions about how we act and create karma, it is very important to think about what my dharma is. So, what does dharma actually mean? It is not easy to translate in one word. One can say dharma means duty. But when someone gives you a duty, that is not necessarily your dharma. Dharma is not something which someone can voluntarily just decide: "Okay, I decide this is now your dharma, do that." Dharma is something which is given already. That means we cannot just change the dharma, but we can try to find out about our dharma. Swāmījī gives examples from nature. For example, what is the dharma of the eye? To see. If the eye cannot hear, is it a problem? No, because that is not its dharma. But if the eye cannot see, we say the person is blind. What is the dharma of the ear? Naturally, to hear. The dharma of the eye and the dharma of the ear are different. I cannot just decide, "I want the ear to see." It would be stupid; we cannot expect that from an ear. To understand Dharma, we have to make a kind of research into the nature of a thing. To find out about dharma is a research work. What is the dharma of fire? To give heat, to burn, and to give light. If you put wood in the fire and it burns, can you blame the fire? No, it is correct; it is the nature of fire. If you give a pile of banknotes to the fire, they also burn. Is it right? Yes, it is correct. It is the dharma of the fire to burn whatever comes into it. In the same way, it is good to understand deeply the law of karma to make wise decisions on how to act and to think of the consequences before you act; if you don’t, you will suffer. Similarly, it is important for us to understand the dharma of something. When we understand the dharma of fire, we should act wisely and not put banknotes in the fire. When we understand the law of dharma, it helps us. Here comes a sentence Swāmījī repeats very often: Dharma Rakṣita Rakṣitāha. Who protects the dharma, then the dharma will protect that person. If you understand the importance of your eye, that you can see through it, you will protect the eye. If you have a fire and a storm comes, you try to protect the fire so it is not extinguished. Understand that dharma is also important for us. Another example: what is the dharma of a lion? This would be another translation of dharma—instead of duty, what is its nature? Its nature is hunting, attacking, killing. What is the dharma of a cow? What is its nature? It is gentle and peaceful. This is our human interpretation, a kind of judgment. The lion hunts and kills; the cow eats grass. That is the nature of a cow; it lives in a group, is not aggressive, and feeds from grass. You could say a cow is vegetarian. Here we come to an interesting consequence, similar to what we discussed about karma. A tiger or a lion hunts and kills but does not actually create karma through that. Why not? Because it is its nature. It has no choice to do differently. The animal has a dharma, and it has no choice; it must follow the dharma. It always follows the dharma because it has no free will. It has no choice, and therefore it also has no responsibility. As Swāmījī says, in nature, animals follow their dharma naturally. In one way, they live much more harmoniously, much more naturally. Humans have the chance to decide. Because of this, they have responsibility. Because of this, they create karma and suffer from its consequences. Humans have a choice, but often they make the wrong choice. This is what we see, especially in our present time, the Kali Yuga. It is a time not only of individual wrong choices, but of collective wrong choices. Therefore, we are suffering, and nature is suffering. All that we see as an economic and ecological catastrophe is man-made because we do not follow our dharma. We always come back to the question: what is our dharma? Dharma and karma are very closely connected. Understanding Dharma is especially important when there are Dharma conflicts. Two years ago, the ambassador of India in Hungary gave a lecture in Vip. He spoke about the principles of dharma according to the Manu Smṛti. The Manu Smṛti is a very ancient scripture that laid down basic rules for different social roles in society. It is a first Dharma book, giving rules for the dharma of a householder, a king, and so on. The ambassador mentioned ten basic principles of dharma. They are interesting for us. For example, he mentioned Asteya. From the yoga point of view, where do we know Asteya from? Yes, not stealing. It is one of the first yoga principles according to the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, part of the yamas and niyamas. Asteya means honesty, not to steal from others. Satya is also mentioned here, meaning truthfulness, honesty. The third one is Śauca, meaning purity. Interestingly, three principles we know from the Yamas and Niyamas are also present here as Dharma principles in the Manusmṛti. Another principle we know from Yoga is Śama and Dama. Swāmījī says Śama and Dama. We know from Jñāna Yoga that it means self-control, keeping control over your senses and your mind. These two are very closely connected. Another principle is Dhi, meaning reasoning, to think about the consequences. That is exactly what we said last week: how important it is, before we act, to think about the consequences. When we follow these Dharma principles, we automatically avoid negative karma—unless the mind pushes through and says, "But I want it." Then comes the principle: control your mind. But then the senses say, "But it smells good, I want it." Then comes the Dama principle: control your senses. If we really follow these dharma principles, they can guide us to avoid negative karma. Sometimes we get upset, and in that situation, we often create troubles. Therefore, here are two Dharma principles: Dṛti, meaning patience, and Akrodha. Krodha is anger; Akrodha means no anger. Be patient and don’t be angry. Instead of that, forgive. This is called Kṣamā, another principle here. And as an orientation for the whole, Vidyā: to get the right information and, based on that, to make good decisions. These ten principles can give us an orientation when we have to act (create karma). The ambassador mentioned another very important principle, which we also know from Swāmījī all the time. Who remembers? Yes: Deśa, Kāla, Pātra. In which place, in which time, and in which context are you acting? That means to consider the concrete circumstances. For example, in which country you are, there are different laws, rules, and social behaviors. Or if you are on the beach, at a party, or with an ambassador—these are different situations. Consider these circumstances and then act accordingly. In this understanding, Dharma can give us very concrete guidance on how to act, meaning how to do the right karma at the right moment. Another quotation which Swāmījī very often repeats, from the Rāmāyaṇa of Tulasīdāsa: "Dayā dharam kamal he, pāp kamal abhimān." Mercy, forgiving, is actually the root of Dharma. This is very close to the Dharma principles in the Manusmṛti. Always try to understand, to help, to forgive, and act accordingly. When instead you act from the ego, with pride, then mostly it goes wrong. You hurt someone; as a result, you will be hurt. Especially in our speaking, to control our tongue. One wrong sentence in a certain situation can destroy a lot—a partnership, a career, anything. Still, there is another point where we have the dharma always included: in the context of dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa. These are the four life principles or aims of human life, called the four Puruṣārthas. Puruṣa means man; Artha means aim. The first is interesting: Dharma. To live a life according to the Dharma means according to its principles. We already had examples: in the Bible you could say there are Dharma principles; in Yoga, the principles of the yamas and niyamas; or in the Manusmṛti, the ten principles I just mentioned. They give us guidance to live a life according to the Dharma. In this context, we could translate it as living according to moral or ethical rules, or often as righteousness—that which is right. We see more and more aspects of Dharma. First, dharma means duty. Then, dharma means the nature of something. Then we had moral and ethical rules. And here we can say righteousness or morality in general. These rules are often seen as essentials of a certain spiritual path or religion. From there comes another meaning of dharma. In India, we speak about Hindu dharma, Christian dharma, or Muslim dharma. Here it sounds like religion. But one must see the background: certain principles which guide us according to a certain teaching. We should not understand dharma to mean religion in the sense of "I just believe blindly." Rather, these are the moral or ethical guidelines for how to live life according to different spiritual paths. So we have another rough translation: something like religion or spiritual path. A very interesting point about Dharma is the teaching in the Bhagavad Gītā. You all know the Bhagavad Gītā. It is India’s most respected holy scripture, like an Indian Bible. But what is the story? In every chapter, Kṛṣṇa is explaining something to Arjuna. How did it come to that point? It was about explaining his dharma. What was the conflict? How does the Bhagavad Gītā start? Arjuna did not wish to fight. The Bhagavad Gītā is a part of the Mahābhārata. In a concrete situation, the conflict is there: on one side, the Pāṇḍavas; on the other, the Kauravas. The war is about to start. Arjuna looks at the other side and sees many of his relatives. In that moment, he puts his weapon down and says, "I cannot fight." Now there is a problem, and Kṛṣṇa starts to explain to him about his dharma. What does he tell him? That he is a fighter, a Kṣatriya. The duty of a Kṣatriya is to protect the dharma. He has to fulfill his duty. If he does not fulfill his duty, he creates bad karma and will not be respected. If he fulfills his dharma, he will create good karma. Kṛṣṇa encourages him to go into the war. He first explains to him about what is mortal and what is immortal. All the teaching about karma and Karma Yoga comes in this context. There are 18 chapters, like 18 aspects of yoga. The most important sentence in this context is: If you fulfill your dharma—let’s say, if you try to fulfill your dharma, and you are not good at it, but still you try—that is better than if you would fulfill the dharma of someone else in a perfect way. The emphasis is: What is your dharma? Try to fulfill your dharma and not the dharma of someone else. Trying your own dharma is better than perfectly fulfilling another's. When we think about that, we come a little bit into conflict with another dharma. There is still one sentence, which you all know from Swāmījī, which we have not mentioned about dharma. What is the highest dharma? Ahiṃsā paramo dharma. That is now another principle. What does Ahiṃsā mean? Non-violence. Don’t hurt, don’t kill. Now we see a conflict: Arjuna does not want to kill, and Kṛṣṇa explains it is his Dharma to kill. On the other hand is Ahiṃsā Paramo Dharma. That’s a point where many don’t understand the Bhagavad Gītā and put it aside, saying, "I cannot support a book which actually propagates violence." In that moment, we definitely need a guru to explain the principles, the actual meaning. Because in the end, it is not about a physical fight in a war. Where are the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas? Where is this fight? Where is this Kurukṣetra, the field where they were fighting? Kurukṣetra is here, and the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas are here. This is actually symbolic of our inner fighting. It is about the negative and positive forces. The negative, the āsuric śaktis, are represented through Hiraṇyakaśipu. The divine energies are represented through Prahlāda. It is just another way of expressing it. Instead of Kauravas, you say Hiraṇyakaśipu. Instead of Pāṇḍavas, you say Prahlāda. These are the energies which are fighting in us all the time. It depends on which energies you follow. When you follow the devic energies, you will create different karma than if you follow the asuric energies. When you are confronted with this army of Kauravas—all these negative desires, attachments, and qualities—and you put your weapon down, you get defeated. We have to fight this inner fight. The Dharma principles give us a guideline. The highest principle is Ahiṃsā. On the first step, it means not to kill, not to be cruel, not to be selfish. On a finer level, it means not to hurt. Swāmījī explains: do not even hurt the feelings of someone. In the first step, vegetarianism is a consequence of that. In the second step, it implies a certain lifestyle, respect for others. If we turn it into a positive word instead of Ahiṃsā, what would this first Dharma principle be? We had it already when we spoke about karma. What would be a positive interpretation of Ahiṃsā? Not compassion... love. Simply love. That is actually like the first Dharma principle. Ahiṃsā is the first of the ten principles of Yama and Niyama, the first yoga principle. We could make it very simple: make love your guideline. Make compassion your guideline. This is the karmic guideline for our life. Where there is love and compassion, you will automatically create a certain karma. Imagine if this became a collective karma. How would our world look today? It would be something like paradise. But how far are we from that? We have discussed Dharma in many different contexts already. Is there any question or remark? Is everything clear? We would now come to the point of discussing the different levels of our dharma. Would you like to have a short break before that? No? If only one person, then no. I’ll do it, too. Okay, so we have a five- to ten-minute break.