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Dharma has been loosely translated as the law/rule etc. What is the true meaning of the Sanskrit word "Dharma?"
Here it is:
Varadarajan
Dharma
The term Dharma is one of the most intractable terms in Hindu theology. Derived from the root dhar (Dhri) to uphold, sustain or support, the term Dharma denotes that which holds together the different aspects and qualities of an object into a whole. Ordinarily, the term Dharma has been translated as a religious code as righteousness, as a system of morality, as duty, as charity etc., but the original Sanskrit term has an individual personality of its own, which is not captured by any one of its renderings. The best rendering of this term Dharma that I have met so far, is ‘the Law of being’ meaning ‘that which makes a thing or being what it is.’ For example, it is the Dharma of the fire to burn, of the sun to shine, etc. Dharma means, therefore, not merely righteousness or goodness but it indicates the essential nature of anything without which it cannot retain its independent existence. For example, a cold dark sun is impossible, as heat and light are the Dharmas of the sun. Similarly, if we are to live as truly dynamic men in the world, we can only do so by being faithful to our true nature, and the Gita explains to me ‘My Dharma’. In using thus the first person possessive pronoun, this scripture perhaps indicates that the Song Divine, sung through the eighteen chapters, is to be subjectively transcribed and lived by each student and personally experienced in his own life.
Here it is:
Varadarajan
Dharma
The term Dharma is one of the most intractable terms in Hindu theology. Derived from the root dhar (Dhri) to uphold, sustain or support, the term Dharma denotes that which holds together the different aspects and qualities of an object into a whole. Ordinarily, the term Dharma has been translated as a religious code as righteousness, as a system of morality, as duty, as charity etc., but the original Sanskrit term has an individual personality of its own, which is not captured by any one of its renderings. The best rendering of this term Dharma that I have met so far, is ‘the Law of being’ meaning ‘that which makes a thing or being what it is.’ For example, it is the Dharma of the fire to burn, of the sun to shine, etc. Dharma means, therefore, not merely righteousness or goodness but it indicates the essential nature of anything without which it cannot retain its independent existence. For example, a cold dark sun is impossible, as heat and light are the Dharmas of the sun. Similarly, if we are to live as truly dynamic men in the world, we can only do so by being faithful to our true nature, and the Gita explains to me ‘My Dharma’. In using thus the first person possessive pronoun, this scripture perhaps indicates that the Song Divine, sung through the eighteen chapters, is to be subjectively transcribed and lived by each student and personally experienced in his own life.