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Dharma means your eternal occupation. That is called dharma: which you cannot avoid

Expressions researched:
"Dharma means your eternal occupation. That is called dharma: which you cannot avoid"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Dharma means religion. Actual translation of the word dharma is "religion." But actually, "religion" is not the right translation of the word dharma. Dharma means your eternal occupation. That is called dharma: which you cannot avoid. Just like somebody is Christian; next day he becomes a Hindu. Or somebody is Hindu; next day he becomes Christian. This is not dharma. This change of faith cannot be applied in dharma. Dharma cannot be changed.

Madhudviṣa: Purport: "The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. Nobody can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and the person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam says, dharmaṁ hi sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19)."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Dharma means religion. Actual translation of the word dharma is "religion." But actually, "religion" is not the right translation of the word dharma. Dharma means your eternal occupation. That is called dharma: which you cannot avoid. Just like somebody is Christian; next day he becomes a Hindu. Or somebody is Hindu; next day he becomes Christian. This is not dharma. This change of faith cannot be applied in dharma. Dharma cannot be changed.

Just like this candle. Candle has power, illuminating power. If you change this illuminating power of the candle, if you make it dark, then it is no more candle. And there are many examples. Just like sugar. Sugar is sweet. If you change the taste of the sugar into salty, then it is no more sugar. So dharma is like that. It cannot be changed. So dharmaṁ hi sākṣāt (SB 6.3.19). What is that dharma? It cannot be changed.

Service. Either you become human being or animal or anything—bird, beast or American, Indian or this, that, whatever—if you are living being, then your dharma is service. You may become tomorrow Hindu or Muslim or Christian, but you cannot change your spirit of service. That is your dharma. So dharmaṁ hi sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam. This duty, this eternal occupational duty, is there in every living entity: the service spirit. But the service spirit is now misplaced on account of our conditioned stage. So when it is properly placed, service, that is our dharma.

That dharma is directly from the Supreme Lord, bhagavat-praṇītam. It cannot be manufactured by any man or any demigod or any somebody else. No. It is eternal. And that is taught in Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66):

"My dear Arjuna, the most confidential knowledge I am giving you, that you give up all your occupational duties. Simply surrender unto Me." This surrender process is dharma, is your business, and nothing more. That's all. If you learn how to surrender to God, or Kṛṣṇa, then you, actually, you are religious or you are in dharma. And if you practice so many things without surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, or God, then it is all useless labor. That's all. Dharmaṁ hi sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).

Page Title:Dharma means your eternal occupation. That is called dharma: which you cannot avoid
Compiler:Nabakumar
Created:2022-10-16, 13:36:35
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1