Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/54

 regarding the existence of God or the life after death is ! I still and must be a follower of dharma. Though the theologians believed that a life led according to the principles of dharma will lead to the eternal bliss, they regarded it only as a probable result. Dharma according to the advisers on the question is to be followed for its own sake, and irrespective of any reward. They also advised that as men need some motive for action, the adhesion to dharma should be done with the belief that the adhesion will do good some time.

Dharma is distinct from "the path” advised by a person, inasmuch as the path came into existence at a definite period, while dharma is eternal. The "path" (märga) and the "doctrine" (mata), combined together, are often expressed by one word, "sampradāya," which literally means "that which is given," that is, an established doctrine transmitted from a teacher to disciples. This "sampradāya" nearly corresponds with the Western conception of a "religion."

Dharma itself is a great field of knowledge. It is subdivided in various ways. No systematic treatment of all subdivisions has yet been made. The various ways in which the various subdivisions are made by Sanskrit and Prakrit writers are as follows:—

First method divides dharma into (1) dharma for individual (Purusha-dharma, or Vyakti-dharma), (2) dharma respecting family (Kula-dharma), and (3) dharma respecting the tribe or caste (Jāti-dharma), and (4) dharma respecting the nation or the country (Desha-dharma, or Rāshtradharma). When these various dharmas conflict with each other, that is, when the duties towards one group conflict with the