Dharma – Dhamma

Dharma – Dhamma   The principles like non-violence and Truth; qualities like compassion, honesty, charity and humility and attitudes like selflessness, non-attachment and courage have been the part and parcel of Indian ethos since our remotest past which have been reiterated  time and again by great  sages and men.  The Buddha, the first great personality to appear in the World history added His specific flavor to them, gave the Sanatana Dharma a paradigm shift and demonstrated them through His personal life.  The most venerable Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama says “The Hindus and the Buddhists, we are two sons of the same mother”.  The Buddha set out on the great Mission of enquiry, which  resembles  the method followed by Upanishidic  seers  and later by Sri Ramana Maharishi to find out the root cause of worldly existence.  He renounced the worldly life  for a universal cause, as if to prove the Vedic dictum that it is neither the progeny  nor wealth nor ritualistic practice that would ensure one immortality but it is sacrifice alone.  It is His total disengagement with the world “Mahabhinishkramana”  that is the final stage on the path of jnana by Hindu seers.  His path was inclusive of all classes of people. Buddhism is the strongest emotional and spiritual link between the cultures of South and South-East Asia and connected to India  veritably by a  spiritual umbilical chord.  The place where the Buddha attained enlightenment 2500 years ago is a place of pilgrimage for all Buddhist of the world.   The sustaining link is provided by Dharma-Dhamma in all these cultures.  Dharma called “Dharmma”   in Pali, is an extraordinarily perceptive phenomenon  which could  explain the natural order   and also the order of consciousness from the macro to the micro levels. There are common parameters of Dharmma-Dhamma in Hindu Dharma and Buddha Dhamma. The principle or law that orders the Universe. “Dharma upholds both this worldly and other-worldly affairs (Mahabharatha 12.110.11). Individual conduct in conformity with this principle. The essential function or nature of the theory. Buddhist  text refer to Dhamma as  “the eternal reality  or the way the things are really are.  Dhamma is universal ethics, which has been evolved to govern every human endeavor resting in the good of all entities (Bhuhitam).  This is comparable to the “Upanishadic declaration”; “Verily that which is Dharma is Truth.  Therefore they say of a man who speaks the truth, “He speaks Dharma” or of a man who speaks the Dharma, “He speaks the Truth”. Verily both these  things are the same”. (Brhadarnyaka 1.4.14). Rishi Kanada of Vaisesika Philosophy also echoes the same: “Everything in this world is founded on Dharma.  Dharma therefore, is considered supreme.  Dharma is that which exalts and bestows the Supreme good or Absolute Bliss. That which  leads to the   attainment of Abhyudaya (Prosperity) in this world and Nisreya (cessation of pain and attainment of eternal Bliss thereafter) is Dharma (Vaiseshika Sutra 1.11-2). Dharma is all encompassing and resolves all conflicts.  Kerry Brown states “the culture that we know now as Hinduism and that the Indians call the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ – the  Law eternal- precedes this name by thousands of years.  This is more than a religion, more than a  theological direction in which the West understands religion. One can believe in all divinities or in no divinity and remain Hindu”. Hence both Hindu Dharma and Buddhist Dhamma are non-divisive, non-exclusive and non-conclusive .  It is a quest for understanding the Cosmic order of the Universe at cosmic level and consciousness order at a personal level. Proper understanding of this is the surest way to resolve conflicts. It is necessary for Indian Polity  to change its exclusive “Look West” policy and reorient it to “Look East”  also to make constructive use of the traditional emotional and cultural links with the Buddhist civilization of South and South East Asia to re-establish Dharmma-Dhamma Principle. An enduring  metaphor in these countries is the ‘Samudra manthanam” story of the largest temple of Angkorvat in  Kampuchea, as also prominently displayed in the Airport complex of Bangkok, both being Buddhist Countries. The story shows the devas and asuras apparently in conflict  work together to harness the resources of the ocean by churning the ocean together.  This togetherness to achieve ‘artha’ and ‘Kama’ in dharmic co-operative   endeavor, is an example of heterogeneous societies working in harmony pulling together for a common purpose. The Hindu tradition of Dharma refer to the cosmic ordering principle based on Karma.  The Buddhist Dhamma is not only an analysis of empirical reality but delineation  of the psycho-somatic components of the human personality.  It states that an awareness of the interrelation and operation of these components, as well as the ability to manipulate them, is necessary for an individual to attain the exalted state or Arhat or Nirvana.  The Buddhist system of yoga and Dhyana is closely related to the Hindu tradition. The seminar aims to focus on the essential identity between the Dharmma-Dhamma view points.  We find that these thoughts are as relevant today as they have been over Milleniea  of Pilgrims Progress, exemplified by  the abiding continuum of Hindu  and Buddhist Civilizations. We aim through this conference, to facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas and foster harmony between the two ancient Civilizations, so that Dharmma-Dhamma becomes a veritable celebration of freedom, freedom in moving from being to becoming.  It is all the more essential in view of the forces released by Globalisation phenomenon of today, to integrate the South Asian and South East Asian Nations,  referred to as the Indian Ocean States, through the common factor of Dharmma-Dhamma link provided by centuries of cultural interaction.