Dharma
Also known as: Right Action, Sacred Duty
Sanskrit: dharma, from the root dhri, meaning to hold, support, or sustain.
Dharma is a foundational concept in Indian philosophy referring to one's right conduct, duty, or natural role, understood both as a universal cosmic order and as the specific responsibilities appropriate to an individual's stage of life and circumstances. It is one of the four traditional aims of human life alongside artha, kama, and moksha.
The Bhagavad Gita, one of the central texts to explore dharma, frames it partly through the concept of svadharma, one's own particular duty given individual circumstances, arguing that it is better to perform one's own dharma imperfectly than to imitate another's perfectly. In Buddhism, the closely related term Dharma, capitalized, refers instead to the teachings of the Buddha and the underlying nature of reality those teachings describe, a related but distinct usage.
The word resists a single English translation: depending on context it can mean cosmic law, one's personal duty or role, righteous conduct, or simply how things are meant to work, which is why Buddhist teaching (the Dharma) and Hindu personal duty (one's own dharma) share a root word for related but distinct ideas. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna's central counsel to Arjuna is to act according to his own dharma rather than someone else's, even if imperfectly, a teaching often summarized as valuing one's own path, however imperfectly walked, over someone else's path walked well.
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Related Terms
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the path of selfless action described in the Bhagavad Gita, teaching that one can attain spiritual liberation by performing one's duties and work without attachment to personal outcomes or reward, offering the fruits of action rather than grasping at them.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge and discernment, one of the four classical yogic paths, using rigorous self-inquiry and philosophical study to distinguish the eternal Self (Atman) from the temporary, changing contents of body and mind. It is often considered the most intellectually demanding of the classical paths.