Satya, Dharma and Rta [Rita] - the Hidden Order

Rta

Rta is the cosmic order – consisting of the laws that govern the functioning of the manifested universe.  Rta is the order through which the universal intelligence unfolds in action – whether it be creation, sustenance or destruction. 

In a world where there are no human beings, there is neither Satya nor Dharma – only Rta – the unending symphony of the cosmic order.  Among all created beings on earth, it is only the human being who through his free will power – can realize what Rta is.  The human being has a deep yearning for the highest expression of free will.  And this free will expressed through thought, word and deed. 

Dharma

When the idea of an inherent order is applied to a particular material, then this applied order is called Dharma of that material.  Of course, its reach is wider and it applies to the worlds of human thought, word and deed. 

You may wonder where the necessity is to use a Sanskrit term.  Like karma, Dharma has also become an English word.  And yet the word Dharma continues to carry the potential for a wide and deep interpretation. 

Dharma is a characteristic quality, an attribute, a principle which we come to regard in life as necessary, beneficial and in the common interest of everyone concerned – and it permeates all three layers of our existence – body, mind and spirit.  The body has its own Dharma, the mind its own and the spirit – well, the spirit is free of Dharma!  And yet to reach this state of pure freedom, the body and mind have to be established in their Dharmas.  Thus Dharma can also be interpreted as the true and natural state of a manifested object – un-impacted by individual human ideas and ideologies.  More commonly, Dharma is the term that is used for a shared and common value of life which when upheld enables us to treat all fellow beings involved with a natural and warm degree of love and respect. 

Dharma is not religion as it is often translated as.  The idea of religion is only two millennia old, whereas Dharma is as old as the human being is on this planet.  It is just the human aspect of a sustainable cosmic order.  While all living beings follow largely predictable and natural behavioural patterns, the human being is different.  Over thousands of years, man has forgotten his natural state.  His mind is possessed by the force of collective ideas and other mental structures that are passed on as education or as social and communal conditions.  Some of these ideas may be beneficial and some may be harmful not only to the human being but to the viability of all life on planet earth.  Such negative ideas are unsustainable in the long run.  And yet they take root in the common psyche of man and drive the energies of the human being.

If we can use the term ‘positive’ to mean a field in which all human actions are sustainable, then this field of positivity can be called Dharma.  It is a field which is beneficial to the continuance of the human race on earth and for the co-existence of all life forms on this precious planet.  And yet an understanding of this field is elusive and subtle.

If you are living in the United States of America, you will find that whenever you interact with a representative of the government, the stationery carries the emblem of the United States.  And yet if you go from office to office looking for the United States of America, you cannot find it.  You can find numerous people representing the ideal called the United States.  You will find various laws that are enacted in the name of the nation called the United States.  And if you break a law, a police officer wearing a badge that carries the seal of the government of the United States of America will hand you a ticket.  And by noticing the seal, you can conclude that you are in the United States.  Actually you are standing on a small patch of soil on planet earth.  The earth does not know that we have divided the planet into several countries.  It is completely unaware of the fact that we have each appropriated a portion of its resource and are building and maintaining armies to sustain and defend these boundaries.  And yet when you are in the United States of America, it is prudent to follow the laws of the land.  This is what makes for a civilised society.

Dharma, similar to the concept of nationhood, is an abstract and often elusive concept.  It is the high ideal of a shared value of co-existence and harmony for the mutual well-being between man and nature, between man and man, and between man and the natural resources of planet earth.  The presence of dharma is felt in the laws that govern human behaviour and attitude, through the human attributes that subscribe to the fundamental idea of dharma – of sustainability. 

Within the living universe, the embedded laws that enable a form to be retained are called Dharma.  Because of this form-enabling property, the very word Dharma is built from its essential function - ‘dhaarayati iti dharmah’ – ‘that which sustains is Dharma’.  The essential effect of the embedded law is that it sustains the form.  Thus Dharma is the universal law of form which while being embedded within it, enables a form to be sustained.

Satya

The concept of Satya or truth is more easily understood.  In the world of human actions, Satya refers to the spoken truth and Dharma refers to the lived truth.  Thus the following may be said:

a)     Rta – cosmic order independent of human world.

b)     Dharma – Rta applied to the human field of thought and action.

c)     Satya – truth as applied to the human field of thought and word.

Both words and thoughts can be characterized as Satya based on whether they are in line with Rta.  What is expressed by a human voice or thought is called Satya if it is in line with the cosmic order as far as the manifest universe is concerned; and if it is in line with Dharma as far as the living universe is concerned.  Satya is therefore a statement of truth, of a pure fact.  Satya is unambiguous in its nature.  Satya is clarity of perception which is objective and human in its application. 

Satya, Dharma and Rta

In order to guide the expression of free will, Satya and Dharma form the framework.  When man’s expression of his free will reflects Satya and Dharma, then it can be said to be in line with Rta.  An experience of the cosmic order, Rta, through the highest positioning of free will leads man to his native state of pure and unalloyed happiness. 

When human actions are in line with Rta, such actions form Dharma.  Within the personal body-mind field of a person, Dharma refers to the laws of nature that maintain the harmony between body, mind and spirit and sustain a form.  And within the body-mind field of a human society, it refers to natural laws that sustain the harmony between human beings and human communities. 

When you see something happening in the external world and refrain from reacting, your attention lodges in a deeper witness layer instead of dissipating in the external world of tumultuous happenings.  When it is your turn to act, natural forces will seek your participation.  Training your impulses to refrain from reacting to ordinarily arising situations, enables you to elevate yourself to witness the play of natural forces, and you will know when it is your turn.  Satya and Dharma form the framework for us to speak and to act, to play our part in this human world and to stay focused during our work.

While Satya is looking towards your center from your current position in this vast arena of human life, Dharma is a radial vector pointing to the center, along which you tread.  While we travel towards the center, our actions are dhaarmic.  While we take steps that move us away from our center, then our actions are non-dhaarmic or adhaarmic.

Let us remember that the choices we make are in our hands – to fix our will high or low using the base of knowledge and wisdom within us.  When one stations his will high, two higher levels will become visible.  When one positions his will low, two lower levels will become visible.  The tendency of the egoic mind is to choose the latter.  More often than not, the low choice is easier while the high choice seems difficult and beset with obstacles.

When you choose a lower level at which to fix your will, your freedom loses vigour while your ego gains mass.  Repeated ‘low’ choices lead your egoic mind to accumulate mass and acquire a pseudo personality leading to confusion between your authentic will and the will of this pseudo- personality.  The pseudo-personality having no roots in reality, starts taking decisions lower and lower, leading to addictions and obsessive disorders, and ultimately to the loss of the human form.

Let us strive therefore to be more aware.  Let us refrain from reacting.  May we be aware that we are positioning our will when we act.  May we get the wisdom to constantly look at our deepest center and when we walk, may we receive the wisdom to walk the path of Dharma.  Let us make our choices with wisdom and be an example for those around us.  May we be the divine light from whom others can light their own lamp of wisdom.