Thought 164: Dharma protects and Adharma punishes

The Isvara, for whatever reason, has given choice to Man. Because he has given choice, man may choose to follow his Dharma or he may also choose to violate his Dharma. If man follows his Dharma, there would be harmony and ecological balance in the world – which, in turn, ensures proper growth and well being of all life in this world. This world would then be a very happy place indeed for all the living beings, who live in it. If, however, man chooses to violate his Dharma, the growth and the well being of the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom especially, will be in jeopardy.

If the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom were to ever come to harm, the human kind also comes to harm. Unaware of the infallible checks and balances built into the Isvara’s system, which detect and punish violations of Dharma automatically, the irresponsible, greedy and selfish elements from the human kind, try to help themselves at the expense of the other components of the ecological system.

The criminal minds always believe that they are going to escape detection and punishment – but it is never allowed to happen in the Isvara’s system. Violators of Dharma get caught inevitably - and punished. But the matter does not end there. The infringement of Dharma, even if caused by only a few irresponsible and selfish individuals, has ramifications on the entire animal kingdom, on the entire plant kingdom and on the entire human kind as well; all of them also pay the penalty for a crime that they did not commit.

Consider, for instance, the fact that a small number of greedy individuals destroy thousands and thousands of acres of forests for their own selfish gain. Not only is it unrepairable loss to the plant kingdom, but it also reduces the wild forest area that legitimately belongs to the animal kingdom and which, the animals need for their survival and growth. Therefore, the animals also suffer. Mindless destruction of forest trees in this manner also leads to droughts, global climate changes, Tsunami, etc – which are detrimental to the interests of the human kind as well. Hence, the society must be alert and must never allow the criminal elements of the society to violate Dharma. Dharma must be protected at all costs.

In fact, all ethical and moral principles, which are an integral part of Dharma, are primarily intended to protect man from harming himself and others on this planet. They serve the profoundest interests of all life on this planet. This is the reason why Hindu Saastras say that if you protect Dharma, it protects you; “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshatah”.

The next thought is about “You may sometimes forget the bad done to you, but never ever forget the good done to you”