39. धर्माधर्मविभागज्ञः Dharmādharma-vibhāga-jñaḥ

One who was versed in the distinction between dharma and adharma

It is well known that the common aspiration of all beings is, “May I have happiness; may I not have sorrow.” The causes of happiness (through pūṇya, merit) and sorrow (through pāpa, sin) have been taught in the Śruti: “Puṇya indeed accrues through good deeds and pāpa through bad ones.”¹⁰³ Good actions in turn are defined as dharma: “Dharma is that by means of which

106 39. Dharmādharma-vibhāga-jñaḥ there is the attainment of prosperity and emancipation.”¹⁰⁴ It has been taught, “The authority of the Veda stems from the fact that it teaches about that dharma,”¹⁰⁵ and the Lord instructs, “Hence the Śāstra shall form the basis for you to determine what is to be done (dharma) and what is not to be done (adharma). It is after knowing these commands of the Śāstras that you should perform actions here.”¹⁰⁶ Therefore, the Veda constitutes the final authority to know what dharma and adharma are, and to avoid sorrow and earn happiness, one must do what the Veda prescribes and avoid what it proscribes. Since everyone may not have access to the Veda’s teachings, Manu says, “The Veda, Smṛti (texts written by sages with the Veda as basis), the conduct of the noble ones and mental satisfaction – these four are the evident marks of dharma.”¹⁰⁷

His Holiness was acquainted only too well with the subtleties of dharma. It is said, “One who explores the Vedas and Dharma-śāstras through ratiocination that is not opposed to the Vedas, he alone, and none other, understands dharma.”¹⁰⁸ His Holiness’s sharpness of intellect, expertise with logic and comprehensive knowledge of the Vedas and Śāstras (described by nāmas 11, 46, 47, 54, 87, 90 and 93) vouchsafed this quality in Him. He was perfectly competent to provide inimitable guidance to all, to take them from sorrows to bliss.

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A clear sense of what ought to be done and what ought not to be done was present in His Holiness even from His pre-saṁnyāsa days.

As mentioned under nāmas 18 and 27, Sri Srinivasa Sastry had His first darśana of the Jagadguru at Narasimhavana after His upanayana. In the course of the conversation that the Jagadguru started with Sri Srinivasa Sastry, He asked the young brahmacārin, “You must have been taught various morals. Tell me one moral which you regard as being rather important.” The elders who were present became tense, for they did not know what answer would be given. They need not have had any fears, for Sri Srinivasa Sastry answered unhesitatingly and with conviction, “Keep good company and eschew evil associations.”

Sri Srinivasa Sastry had thus grasped, at the tender age of twelve, the most critical ingredient to leading a fruitful life, avoiding adharma and befriending dharma.

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The following was narrated by His Holiness to drive home the importance of doing good to others and refraining from harming others, which to Him was the most important dharma.

“Viṣṇu abided in the state of absolute freedom. Once, He sought to know what constitutes the heaviest or most exalted object in the world. So, He took up a balance and placed the state of absolute freedom in which He abided on one pan. On the other pan, He loaded one after the other, the different objects of creation; He placed on it heaven, other worlds, wealth, etc. Yet, no matter what He placed on that pan, the pan with absolute freedom on it continued to remain low. It did not show any signs of rising. The Lord wondered, ‘What! Is there nothing at all to match absolute freedom?’ Finally, He took ‘doing good to others’ and placed it on the balance. The pan that was on the top came down while the pan that was below went up. The Lord decided that ‘doing good to others’ is the truly heavy or the most exalted object. The Lord then thought, ‘So, what should I do? I shall incarnate and do good to people.’¹⁰⁹

“There is much to be learnt about helping others by considering the lives of animals such as the cow. God created milk for the calf. However, people too are able to obtain and drink the milk of a cow. They use cow-dung as a fertilizer in their fields. Even cow’s urine is treated as pure and a little of it is consumed by people for self-purification as pañcagavya, a mixture of cow-dung, cow’s urine, clarified butter, curd and milk. In every way, the cow is beneficial. People use the skins of all sorts of animals. On seeing a belt made of animal skin, they say, ‘First class!’ Thus, even a dead animal is beneficial to others. On the other hand, if a belt were to be made of human skin, none would touch it. People would regard it as disgusting.

“Being useless after death, if a man is to do good to others, he should do it while he is alive. Hence, it has been said, ‘Fie on the life of a man who does no good to others! May animals live long; even after death, they continue, through their skins, to serve others.’¹¹⁰ Such is the important place that has been assigned in the scriptures to doing good to others.”

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