Exactly like the state law, you may have faith or no faith; you must accept it. Otherwise it will be forcibly imposed upon you. So dharma, as it is explained in English dictionary, "a kind of faith," that is not proper meaning. Dharma means that you are obliged to obey the laws given by God. Just like our material condition, birth, death, old age and disease. So one may say that "I do not believe in death. That is false." You may believe or not believe; you have to die. Similarly, one may believe or not believe; he has to take birth. Death means to give up this body and accept another body. That is very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Just like a child. He must accept the body of a boy. The boy, he must accept next the body of a youth, and the youth must accept the old man's body. This is the law of God. You must accept it. And just when this body is no more practically usable, then you have to accept another body and begin a new life. This is the law of nature, or the law of God. Nature is dull, material. Nature cannot work automatically without the incentive or manipulation of God behind nature. Foolish people think that nature is working automatically. That is their ignorance. Nature is working under the direction of the Supreme Lord. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
- mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
- sūyate sa-carācaram
- hetunānena kaunteya
- jagad viparivartate
- (BG 9.10)
Lord says that "Under My superintendence the material nature is working, and therefore so many wonderful changes are going on." So nature is working under the order of the Supreme Lord, and we are under the stringent laws of nature. Therefore we are obliged to carry out the natural sequences.