Study circle December 15, 2012

Aum, Aum, Aum Maintain 30 sec silence before commencing omkar Take a deep breath before omkar Maintain a 10 sec period of silence between omkars Wait till all the members finish their omkar before starting the next omkar

Gayatri (3x) Om bhur-bhuvas-suvah Tat-savitur-varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat We contemplate on the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross subtle and casual; I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and Divine Grace of universal intelligence. We pray for the Divine light to illumine our minds.

Meditation/Breathing exercise

Maintaining Hotline with God Regulate quantity and quality of food Manage Time and use it judiciously Silence Speak lovingly, softly and only as necessary

What is Dharma This word Dharma, which is really bound up with an infinite variety of meanings, is being inadequately described by one word, duty, in the morning age. Duty is something which is connected with an individual, a predicament, or with a particular time or country – context specific. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1973 On the other hand Dharma is eternal, same for everyone, everywhere. It expresses the significance of the inner atma. The birth place of Dharma is the heart. What emanates from the heart as a pure idea, when translated into action will be called Dharma. If this is to be explained in a manner that all can understand, one can say, “ Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.” – that is Dharma. Dharma consists in avoiding actions which will hurt others. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1973

Is this Dharma or Adharma: If a boy commits a mistake and if the mother beats the boy, would you call it cruelty or adharma?

Swami says: If you do something which is connected with untruth, it could be called adharma. But whatever action you do with prema cannot be called adharma. Law is love, and the entire system of law is based on love. - Summers Showers in Brindavan, 1973 Also, Ideas, principles, laws, customs, codes, habits, actions---all are to be judged on the twin points of intention and consequence. Is the intention pure, is it born out of Prema, is it based on Truth? Does it result in Shaanthi? If yes, dharma is enshrined in that action or law, custom or conduct.

The word Dharma is derived from the root, Dhr, meaning 'wear'. Dharma is that which is worn. Desa, the Deha of the Lord, is protected by the Dharma it wears; it also gives it beauty and joy; it is the Pithambara, the Holy Apparel of Bharath. It guards both honour and dignity; protects from chill and lends charm to life. Dharma preserves the self-respect of this land. As clothes maintain the dignity of the person who wears them, so, Dharma is the measure of the dignity of the people. Not only this country, every single thing in the world, has its own special Dharma or uniqueness of duty, and nature. Each has its distinctive clothes! Dharma rules the group and the individual. Take the five elements, the components of Prapancha. Of these, water has movement and cold as its Dharma; combustion and light are the Dharma of fire. Each of the five has its unique Dharma. Humanity for man, animality for animals, these guard them from decline. How can fire be fire, if it has no power of combustion and light? It must manifest the Dharma to be itself. When it loses that, it becomes a lifeless bit of charcoal.

Principles on which Dharma is based 1.That which does not inflict pain on you. and on others---that is right, that is dharma. So act in such a way that you get joy and others too get joy. 2.Make the manas, the vaak and the kaayam (thought, word and deed) agree in harmony. That is to say, act as you speak, speak as you feel; do not play false to your own conscience; do not cover your thoughts in a cloak of falsehood; do not suppress your conscience - That is the dharmic way of life. Frequently doing right makes it easier and easier, habit grows into conscience. If you are once established in right conduct, you will automatically follow the right. What you do depends on what you are; what you are depends on what you do.

3. Dharma trains you to be calm, level-headed, secure in equanimity. You are not elated or deflated. You are serene, unmoved. Anything that helps you to maintain this unruffled stability is dharma. In Essence, sensual life is adharma; the spiritual life is dharma. Dharma is that which sustains, saves and sanctifies. To summarize: 1. That which does not inflict pain on you. and on others- that is Dharma 2. Make the manas, the vaak and the kaayam (thought, word and deed) agree in harmony – Dharmic way of life. 3. Anything that helps you to maintain this unruffled stability is dharma. - Discourse given on Oct 5 th 1962

God and Righteousness The true strength which one can have is the strength which comes from God and righteousness. You should adopt the two wings, namely the aspect of God and Dharma. Our movements in this world should be on a chariot which has two wheels, the wheels of God and of Dharma. We should experience these two, God and Dharma, as ideals in our life. Dharma alone is like the heart of our life. Forgetting this sacred dharma and taking to unjust behavior will be ruining our own lives. We should pick out all the bad habits in us and abandon them. In their place, we should take the good from the characters in the Ramayana and put them into practice. - contd.

The same principle of Dharma was summarized by Lord Buddha as: Welcome good company. Eschew all association with the evil minded. Perform meritorious acts ceaselessly. Always discriminate between the transient and the everlasting. - Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 29

Aum Shanti Shanti Shantihi Maintain 30 sec silence before commencing omkar Take a deep breath before omkar Maintain a 10 sec period of silence between shanti and experience the peace