Far too often, we reduce Dharma to a lifeless code of behaviors. Nothing could be further from the truth! Dharma is the mind of God operating within creation as a loving and organizing energy. Therefore, living a moral life is not about mechanically following a set of dry rules and regulations. Rather, it is a living dance between ourselves and the dynamic wisdom of God. Moral goodness is literally a loving force that gives us the necessary energy, strength, and courage to keep our hearts open and pure. Dharma is the foundation upon which our most soulful and heartfelt aspirations are built. Still further, dharma is the only foundation for a civilization’s capacity to thrive.
Dharma is neither opinion, nor culturally conditioned ideology, nor the oppressive rules of a patriarchal era. Dharma embodies the very thoughts of God within time and space. When dharma is followed by those in authority, their words and actions hold legitimacy. Rightly applied, dharma gives authority to those who have been oppressed. We could burn all of the world’s scriptures, and the light of dharma would still shine because it is written into the very fabric of our being as conscience. Dharma is the greatest inexhaustible resource for saints and sinners, for the rich and the poor, and for individuals and nations. It is the rock upon which we build lives rich in truth, beauty, and goodness.
All the world’s scriptures
Can pass away,
But dharma remains
Written into our hearts.
