How do we know what dharma, or the right thing to do in a given situation is?

-




To,
All  Members,

Dharma as a value, like honesty and non-violence, has to be interpreted in a given situation. 

 These values are universal but the interpretation is subjective, depending upon time, place and conditions. 

 We face many conflicting situations where we need to interpret what a given value means in a given situation. 

 It is possible to commit mistakes when we interpret these values, as we are limited in knowledge and wisdom. 

 To decide what is right or wrong in a given situation may require a lot of information and wisdom, which we may or may not have. 
We can only make a judgment based on our best intentions and live by it. 

 We cannot expect to be always right. 

 The result of our actions may not always be in accordance with our intentions. 

 Thus, following dharma is a process of learning. 

 Sometimes our intention may not be to violate dharma, but our judgment of the situation may be wrong. 

 However, we can learn from those mistakes and perhaps be a better judge of the situation the next time. 

 swami Viditatmananda ji .

 Sri Ramakrishna Mission 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 6 : Swami Krishnananda

-
Image
26/11/2018 The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 6. : Swami Krishnananda (Talk given on Janmashtami, Sri Krishna's birthday.) A powerful interest that dominates a man's life polarises his mind, which then acts like a magnet and continually draws out from his stored-up experiences and also from new experiences whatever is relevant and useful to the end in view. Deep interest invigorates the mind, awakens its dormant powers and is the key to super excellence, invention and discovery. Hard work is another condition of superiority. The aspirant must master the knowledge and technique pertaining to his particular job; in fact, he must be a keen and lifelong learner, ready to pick up new ideas and new ways wherever he can find them. He must cultivate the habits of thoroughness, accuracy and reliability; he must take pains to check, revise and polish his work until it acquires as perfect a finish as possible within the limits of time available. Inspirat
Read more

The Aim of Human Existence – Post - 9 : Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
================================================================ Wednesday, 24 Jan 2024.  05:30. Article: Philosophy: The Aim of Human Existence – Part 3/3 (Spoken at a Conference in Delhi on Sept. 21, 1980) Post-9. ================================================================ The Aim of Human Existence – Part 3/3 -1 No success in any field of life can be achieved without tapas. Tapas is the guarantee for success in any walk of life, in any direction of any activity. We have been told that creation originated with the tapas of the Creator. The Nasadiya Sukta of the Veda tells us that the Supreme Creator performed tapas when He willed this vast creation, and the whole of His creation is vibrant with various degrees and manifestations of this supreme tapas. In this sense, we may say that the whole creation is only tapas, and the activities of nature in its generality and of people in its particularity are all engendered by a force which can be best described as tapas. I for one cannot
Read more

Transitioning Consciousness from the Animal Through the Human Stage to the Divine Consummation :

-
Image
We generally characterize the major difference in psychology between animals and human beings as the result of the ability of the human being to utilize the Reason, a higher form of intelligence than the basic sense apparatus and physical mind that clearly is predominant in the animal consciousness. At the same time, we can see elements of the power of Reason in the animal kingdom, and cannot deny that most human beings utilize the sense and physical mind capacities as their primary tool for navigating their way through their lives. Sri Aurobindo points out that “…reason is only a particular and limited utilitarian and instrumental activity that proceeds from something much greater than itself, from a power that dwells in an ether more luminous, wider, illimitable.” There appears to be actually a ladder of consciousness which does not provide clearly defined separate steps between the animal and man, and which has not finished its ascent with the appearance of the reasoning f
Read more