How should one understand what is dharma and what is adharma?
There are two kinds of dharma — parā-dharma and aparā-dharma — transcendental religious principles and mundane religious principles.
There are many considerations of what is good and bad within the realm of aparā dharma.
As per the above-mentioned examples, to obey one’s parents, to be chaste to one’s husband, to be submissive to one’s spiritual master, to be grateful for help or assistance received from a friend, etc. are basic tenets of religious principles not only in our Vedic civilization but anywhere in the world. Even people of lower cultures appreciate such reciprocations.
But when such religious customs are rejected for the service of Kṛṣṇa, that is actual religion.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.45), Kṛṣṇa informs Arjuna that the Vedas, which are replete with religious instructions, have to be transcended.
trai-guṇya-viṣayā vedā
nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna
“The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes.”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66),
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”
We should carefully study this verse. He is asking us to give up all kinds of religious principles (sarva-dharmān parityajya). These refer to aparā-dharma. Exclusive surrender to Kṛṣṇa is the real religious principle (mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja). When Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi, He is not only talking of previously committed sinful activities, but if one thinks that he would commit any sin by giving up all the other aparā religious principles (sarva-dharmān parityajya) in his course of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa assures him that He would protect him from all those sinful reactions.
Obedience to Kṛṣṇa is the original criterion of any moral principle.
As Padma Purāṇa says,
smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur
vismartavyo na jātucit
sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur
etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ
“Lord Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the śāstras should be the servants of these two principles.”
Any moral person in this material world is a thief if he is a not a devotee of God, or Kṛṣṇa, because he does not have the slightest gratitude for the Lord after having taken all the facilities from Him. The basic etiquette of being grateful is missing. Such a person may be considered very moral or religious according to the mundane estimation of the people of this world. But Kṛṣṇa does not recognize him as such, which is why it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.18.12) as follows:
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ
“All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord’s external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?”
Those who understand the value of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa do not have the slightest regard for any religious principles which may be otherwise adored in this world. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī therefore gives up all religious performances based on the confidence received from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He states as follows:
sandhyā-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bhoḥ snāna tubhyaṁ namo
bho devāḥ pitaraś ca tarpaṇa-vidhau nāhaṁ kṣamaḥ kṣamyatām
yatra kvāpi niṣadya yādava-kulottamasya kaṁsa-dviṣaḥ
smāraṁ smāram aghaṁ harāmi tad alaṁ manye kim anyena me
“O my prayers three times a day, all glory to you. O bathing, I offer my obeisances unto you. O demigods! O forefathers! Please excuse me for my inability to offer you my respects. Now wherever I sit, I can remember the great descendant of the Yadu dynasty [Kṛṣṇa], the enemy of Kaṁsa, and thereby I can free myself from all sinful bondage. I think this is sufficient for me.”
Similarly, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes in his Sva-niyama-dvādaśakam (5) as follows:
na dharme nādharme mama ratir ihāste kvacid api
“I have no fondness or respect at all for the so-called piety of religiosity or even for the so-called impiety of sinful life in this world — not even the slightest regard.”
Regarding the expression of gratitude, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.41) recommends:
devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam
“One who has given up all material duties and has taken full shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who offers shelter to all, is not indebted to the demigods, great sages, ordinary living beings, relatives, friends, mankind or even one’s forefathers who have passed away. Since all such classes of living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, one who has surrendered to the Lord’s service has no need to serve such persons separately.”
If we come to think of it, if we have all gratitude for all the above-mentioned personalities but don’t have gratitude for Kṛṣṇa, who is the origin of everyone and who has been supplying our necessities since time immemorial, and who has been tirelessly working for our deliverance, then where is our real gratitude?
A couple of śloka gems 💎💎 found in Padyāvalī, an anthology by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, are as follows:
Śrī Padyāvalī (10) states:
yadi madhu-mathana tvad-aṅghri-sevāṁ
hṛdi vidadhāti jahāti vā vivekī
tad-akhilam api duṣkṛtaṁ tri-loke
kṛtam akṛtaṁ na kṛtaṁ kṛtaṁ ca sarvam
“O Madhusūdana, if a wise person takes to heart the service to Your lotus feet, then any sins he may have committed are nullified. But if a so-called wise person rejects Your service, he must suffer all sinful reactions, though he may have committed no sinful deed.”
Śrī Padyāvalī (9):
anucitam ucitaṁ vā karma ko ‘yaṁ vibhāgo
bhagvati param āstāṁ bhakti-yogo draḍhīyān
kirati viṣam ahīndraḥ sāndra-pīyūṣam indur
dvayam api sa maheśo nirviśeṣaṁ bibharti
“What is the difference between good and bad deeds? Let there be only firm devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Although the king of snakes gives poison and the moon gives sweet nectar, Lord Śiva does not see any difference between them.”
In our Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, many devotees disobeyed their parents to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. And many devotees went to the prison during and after Prabhupāda’s time because their only fault was preaching. So according to the state dharma or kula-dharma (aparā-dharma, or laukika-dharma), they may be considered sinful or criminal but they were situated in actual dharma.
This is another application of the verse in Bhagavad-gītā (9.30):
api cet su-durācāro
bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ
samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
“Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.”
This is confirmed in the oft-quoted verse:
ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro
mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ
avaiṣṇavo gurur na syād
vaiṣṇavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ
“A scholarly brāhmaṇa, expert in all subjects of Vedic knowledge, is unfit to become a spiritual master without being a Vaiṣṇava, or expert in the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But a person born in a family of a lower caste can become a spiritual master if he is a Vaiṣṇava, or Kṛṣṇa conscious.” (Padma Purāṇa)
This is demonstrated in the incident of ‘the Brāhmaṇa and the Cobbler’ ( the Śuci and the Muci).
In fact, this topic can be extended to many nuances of religious principles, even within the realm of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Just to give a couple of examples:
* In BG 3.26, 3.29, and 18.67, it is advised that devotees not preach to the faithless and to those who are busy in material activities. But a devotee mercifully transgresses such rules and takes the risk to reach out to sinful people and tries to impress upon them the importance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
* Sometimes previous ācāryas may give certain instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda particularly avoided, such as the worship of Gaṇeśa in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Not following a predecessor ācārya‘s instruction is usually considered wrong but to save us from degradation into demigod worship, Śrīla Prabhupāda forbade us from worshiping them.
All kinds of piety doesn’t satisfy Kṛṣṇa as much as devotional service.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.20):
na sādhayati māṁ yogo
na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo
yathā bhaktir mamorjitā
“My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Sāṅkhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.”
Wanted to conclude that the real point here is that if we think of piety and sin without reference to the will of Kṛṣṇa, that is the real mistake.
The criterion for Dharma is the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Any calculation apart from this is a misunderstanding.
In the beginning, everyone starts off in devotional life coming from some kind of sinful life.
By contributing to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement either with his life, wealth, intelligence, and words, he begins to become purified. And eventually sheds his sinful life.
Whether he donates $6,000 from a gambling background, or whether he donates $2 from selling meat or liquor, etc. we have to somehow engage them in Kṛṣṇa’s service. And then preach to them to give up their sinful life by educating them.
What to speak of money, one’s own body may be the result of an illicit affair by his parents in many cases, especially in Kali-Yuga. Nevertheless, the body has to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service.
Eventually purification will happen. For example, Śrīla Prabhupāda once said that if an intoxicated person, after hearing that Kṛṣṇa is the taste of water (BG 7.8), considers the taste of liquor to be Kṛṣṇa, he begins his purification. But once established in more serious devotional service, he is not expected to perform such abominable acts. Kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā (BG 9.31) — he quickly becomes righteous. This happens by regular association of devotees.
A few examples where pāpam (adharma) in the service of Kṛṣṇa became dharma:
• The gopīs‘ cheating on their husbands to dance with Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya says, ramyā-kācid-upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā — “There is no better way to serve Kṛṣṇa than that conceived by the gopīs.”
• The story of Kṛṣṇa’s Headache where gopīs were prepared to go to hell by offering their foot-dust to Kṛṣṇa’s forehead.
• Bali Mahārāja’s rejection of his spiritual master to serve Lord Vāmanadeva
• Prahlāda Mahārāja disobeying his father
• Paraśurāma’s killing of his mother
• The yājñika brāhmaṇa’s wives going against their husbands to serve Kṛṣṇa.
• Tirumaṅgai Alwar’s stealing from the rich to build the Śrī Raṅgam temple.
• Arjuna killing his respectable elders in the Kurukṣetra war.
• Vidura offering banana peels to Kṛṣṇa (which is insult to any guest, what to speak of Kṛṣṇa).
• Karṇa being killed when he was unarmed on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra.
• The deception created by Kṛṣṇa to kill Droṇācārya (even though Yudhiṣṭhira didn’t cooperate) and Jaidratha.
Some examples of dharma becoming adharma when Kṛṣṇa was disregarded:
• Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja’s vow of truthfulness even when asked by Kṛṣṇa to lie on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra in the matter of killing Droṇācārya.
• Duryodhana’s royal banquet for Kṛṣṇa which Krsna did not take.
• Bhīṣmadeva’s and Droṇācārya’s vow of solidarity with, and gratefulness to, Duryodhana and thus fighting for him on the battlefield; for which Kṛṣṇa wanted them killed.
