The word Dharm comes from the Sanskrit root dhr which means to hold giving rise to similar words like dharan, dharini, dhoori, dhruv etc. Taking from this root, the word Dharm means three things.
The fundamental Truth that holds all existence as its stable basis. To base one’s life on this Truth, truth of creation, truth of oneself, the law of truth as it operates in everything is Dharm.
It also means to deal with oneself and the world not as a standard rigid formula but according to the law of truth in each element of creation as well as stages of one’s own evolution. Thus what is true at one stage and is therefore Dharm, becomes Adharma (not dharma) at another stage. A child has his own dharm, an adult his own. As humanity evolves, one discards old forms that were once helpful but are now no more so, and hence the dharm too changes in consonance of our inner evolution.
Secondly, all our inner movements, thought, action, will, feelings that help us move towards discovering and expressing the truth of our being is dharm. Here too there is a hierarchy. Thus, the dharm of Siddharth the king is to protect his kingdom, of Siddharth the husband is to fulfil his duties towards his wife and child. But the dharm of Siddharth the sadhak moved by the suffering of the world is to abandon family and kingdom in search of the solution for human suffering.
Thirdly, Truth is supreme harmony and delight, consciousness, force, peace and light and love. Therefore all outward actions that flow from and increase harmony, unity, peace, joy of being, consciousness, force, love are dharm whereas all that leads to, originates from disunity, disorder, suffering, division, unconsciousness, disturbance is adharm.
So as you see the word Dharm has nothing to do with Religion, least of all organised Religion or its outer forms and rituals that often trap us in fixed formulas with little bearing on the discovery of Truth.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
