This question is frequently asked in Hindu culture. What is dharma?
And unfortunately, when Western thinkers, Western philosophers, or Western seekers, they translated dharma as religion.
And that is unfortunate. Dharma means not religion. Religion is a way of life and religions are hundreds of religions.
They all teach their own way. And I have already told you that religion doesn't have very good impact on you because it can make you good person, or possibility it can brainwash you.
You can be very violent as a religious person. So I never suggest you to be religious. Yes, I suggest you be spiritual.
But dharma as a religion, it is very unfortunately a very wrong translation.
Dharma cannot be separate from your soul.
Dharma is your soul. But in Sanskrit, dharma means also duty. What is your duty towards your husband, towards your wife.
Or a mother's duty to her children. Or sister's duty to the brother or sisters.
Or brother's duty to the sister or mother or father.
This is all called dharma. Dharma means also duty.
That are you fulfilling your duty in the society? That is called dharma.
More or less, dharma is the same concept as religion.
I never suggest you to follow the dharma. Because it is is mistranslated already.
So you will not understand the real dharma if I will try to explain.
But dharma simply means duty.
And if you fulfill your duty in the society, society will consider you very good person.
If you want to look like a good person in people's eyes, fulfill your duty.
Fulfill your dharma.
And the person who fulfill his or her own duty is called dharmaraja.
Dharmaraja Yudhisthira, he has all the bad qualities, but unfortunately he won over the Pandavas in the Mahabharata.
And all of his shortcomings is hidden because he was the winner.
He was the worst gambler. He was the worst person, worst king. He couldn't handle anything.
But they call him Dharmaraja. Dharmaraja is the best person on the earth. And he has that bad habit to gamble.
He even lost in gambling not only his kingdom, he lost his wife also.
In the gambling. And Hindu culture, Hindu religion, they call him Dharmaraja, the best person, best person on the earth.
Because he was the winner. The history twists everything.
I will not say Dharmaraja was the Dharmaraja. Dharmaraja is who is fulfilling his or her own duty.
If you fulfill your duty, whom you belong to, you are Dharmaraja.
If you don't fulfill your duty, you are not following dharma.
But it has nothing to do with religion or with spirituality.
So I will suggest you, deep down I can make one more definition of dharma.
Dharma is not separate from you if you really understand this concept.
Dharma is like your blood. Dharma is is like your pores. Dharma is like you.
Everything you is dharma, because you don't do any mistake if you are following dharma.
So dharma is not religion. But dharma can be very good concept in the society. It is good for the society.
But religion is not. Dharma is good. But spirituality is the best.