In the Sanskrit language the word 'Dharma' has profound meaning. In English it is translated as religion but Dharma is not religion. Dharma is not Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism or a combination of these. Dharma is the ‘force and laws’ which hold our cosmos together. This force and these laws give the cosmos, including earth, its shape and form and maintain its dynamic balance. Dharma is the inherent nature of existence both at the micro and macro levels. Dharma nurtures and gives stability to all that exists, from atoms to galaxies, from microscopic cells to plants and trees, animals, humans, earth and nature. Dharma is the inner fabric and essence of everything both living and non living. Dharma is without beginning or end. Even if life on earth disappears and our universe collapses Dharma will continue.
There are many ways to experience Dharma. Religion is one of the ways to have such an experience. The sciences, arts, and a lifestyle of moral and ethical living are also examples of the many ways which move humans towards indirect/direct experience of Dharma. In fact all paths lead to Dharma. Whether it be the way of the theist, the atheist or the agnostic, all paths merge in the all encompassing Dharma. No matter what we think or do in our lives, we relentlessly strive to explore and know the laws of nature, the universe and the cosmos, and to live in harmony, comfort and joy. Such exploration is the movement towards Dharma because Dharma is the force and laws that hold the cosmos together.
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