{"id":8809,"date":"2017-12-23T20:58:58","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T20:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/guruvani.us\/?p=8809"},"modified":"2018-08-10T14:23:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T14:23:48","slug":"what-is-dharma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/2017\/12\/23\/what-is-dharma\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Dharma?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"3\"<\/p>\n

\u2018Dharma\u2019 in any manner can not be confused with the english word \u2018religion\u2019. \u2018Dharma\u2019 comes from Sanskrit verb root (dhatu) \u2018dhru\u2019 which means to hold, to unite, to assist, to nourish or to support<\/strong>. Thus, \u2018Dharma\u2019 can be defined as that which when adorned (by soul) assists, supports, unites, holds or nourishes the being while he\/she wades through life which is full of the vagaries of nature. In short, Dharma is the \u2018all inclusive approach\u2019 of a person towards family, society, nature and nation. ‘Dharma’ is the manifestation of divine energy, be it the ‘Dharma’ of humanism, family, social, or governance. The goal of all these is the same: to unite, to support, to take everyone in the stride. This is the true meaning. The thoughts, practices which dissociates and divides are not ‘Dharma’. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is one of the core teachings of Baba. He never gave preference to any spiritual practice or worship of a specific deity – be it Lord Vishnu, Siva or Ganesh. You can worship any deity you may like, offer whatever you want. Baba’s endeavor was always to\u00a0ensure the spirit of humanity and humility is alive inside his devotees. Every morning when you chant ‘mantra’s and recite invocations, do you experience the almighty who is present in all living being? Divinity can only be experienced. If we can’t experience the energy inside us, it means we still have lot of frustration inside. It means we are still intolerant and are unable to simplify our life – We are still not directed towards god, and we are still rigid. Hence, we should lead our life by following the ideal of humanism and kindness demonstrated by Baba. Therefore, Dharma can be defined as the best way of living together with all the forces of nature, both (living and nonliving) under all circumstances for the longest period of time on this earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jai Shri Sai !<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source<\/em>: <\/strong>Excerpts from the keynote speech by Dr. C B Satpathy in Guwahati during 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Dharma’ in any manner can not be confused with the english word ‘religion’. ‘Dharma’ comes from Sanskrit verb root (dhatu) ‘dhru’ which means to hold, to unite, to assist, to nourish or to support. Thus, ‘Dharma’ can be defined as that which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gurujis-teachings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7wChg-2i5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9943,"url":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/2026\/01\/25\/guru-bhakti-beyond-ritual-fear-and-logic\/","url_meta":{"origin":8809,"position":0},"title":"Guru-Bhakti Beyond Ritual, Fear, and Logic","author":"GVADMIN3","date":"January 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Chapter 23 of Sri Sai Satcharitra is not a chapter of abstract philosophy\u2014it is a living demonstration of Guru-bhakti in action. Through seemingly ordinary incidents involving food, disease, danger, and moral conflict, Shirdi Sai Baba reveals a deep spiritual truth: liberation does not come through techniques, logic, or outward purity,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Teachings of Dr. Satpathy"","block_context":{"text":"Teachings of Dr. Satpathy","link":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/category\/gurujis-teachings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/guruvani.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ChatGPT-Image-Jan-25-2026-01_14_44-PM-683x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9918,"url":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/why-baba-tests-his-devotees\/","url_meta":{"origin":8809,"position":1},"title":"Why Baba Tests His Devotees","author":"GVADMIN3","date":"December 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In Shri Sai Satcharita, Baba often appears to test His devotees through hardships, delays, misunderstandings, and emotional trials. To many, these tests may seem harsh or puzzling, but Baba repeatedly assures that they are never acts of cruelty. Instead, they are expressions of deep compassion and divine wisdom, meant to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith and Patience"","block_context":{"text":"Faith and Patience","link":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/category\/faith-and-patience\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/guruvani.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/baba-101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/guruvani.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/baba-101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/guruvani.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/baba-101.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/guruvani.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/baba-101.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8809"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8814,"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8809\/revisions\/8814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guruvani.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}