Hinduism is also called ‘sanātana dharma’, permanent, eternal dharma.

Dharma in the broad sense is equivalent to the divine order of apparent reality. The word comes from the Sanskrit root form dhṛ, to carry, to hold. Thus it means both the carrier īśvara and that which is carried, the manifestation. It is divine because it is a reflection of that which is always good (śiva, śreyas).

The world with all its physical (biological), ethical and psychological laws is the material expression of a perfectly harmonious, radiant order. This order is neutral and beautifully portrayed.

The dharma of fire is to be hot, its burning quality, the dharma of sugar is to be sweet etc. The dharma of matter is to occupy space, or to perform a dance according to strict physical laws. The dharma of a wolf is to hunt other animals. If that were not the case, the cosmos would collapse.

But now the human being. Humanity has a special position in the whole. With the thinking, reflective faculty in the inner instrument, man appears to be able to disturb harmony, or to see through it with knowledge, which leads to complete satisfaction. We can say that collective humanity deviates from the dharma. This results in a disturbed living environment.

It is a special challenge to be human. Capable of the most beautiful, capable of the worst. Of course, animals can also show unbalanced resemblance, think of the trail of destruction that a mad elephant draws. But in general, animals pretty much do what they do. But what is the individual dharma (svadharma) of a human being? This seems complicated.

But vedānta shows that the svadharma of a human being is simply to be free. Why? Because of our existential alienation, we humans are always looking for meaning. Or at least people are trying to get out of feelings of oppression and bondage. And what does man do in his ignorance? Man thinks that exploitation of his environment and thus the earth, yes nowadays even the cosmos, is the solution. While we only have to come out of ignorance. Beings who do not cooperate with the divine laws of the universe act ignorantly, disturb harmony, and develop bad karma (pāpa). Dharma and karma are inextricably linked. This is the human dharmic tension: Connecting with God’s Dharmic order (īśvara-sṛṣṭi) by means of “good life”, and then stepping out of it.

This total dharma (sāmānya dharma or sādhāraṇa, ordinary dharma) is impersonal and applies to everyone. Animals and plants behave from their nature (svabhāva) according to this order. Nature is a wonderful mechanism, in which everything interacts.

Human beings are thinking beings (manuṣya), with self-reflection. They have the challenge of making (dharmic) choices based on a whole complex of knowledge. And a specific form of knowledge is the ignorance to function as if we were an autonomous individually delimited being. This gives a feeling of free will. We think somewhere that we are separate, and that we have to take care of ourselves, and that we have to shape our lives.

In this way, people are able to confirm or disrupt the dharma (think of senseless violence, climate problems). This is how we get people who are morally slipping and people with a pure heart. The great advantage (prayojana) of right action is that it brings us closer to freedom, because a mind without worldly problems, stress, desires and worries is clear to learn to understand reality.

Īśvara has programmed a feeling or experience of doubt and free will into our minds. The doubt to look for truth, and the feeling of freedom of choice to be able to choose it. To choose this is to understand what my true nature is. The doubt to state: The hassle of this life cannot be true (justified doubt). The feeling of free will is present, to step out of the relative order saṁsāra, into absolute being. With one mental step. By understanding. Therefore, this is the direct, immediate way (aparokṣa). Therefore, it is stated that it is the immediate fruit of thought (phala vyāpti, see there) that brings self-knowledge, independent of any image (vṛtti vyāptiḥ, see there) about the (outer) world.

So why is this the only reason for free will? Everyone knows that as individuals we are totally dependent, both in our mind and in our body, for myriad factors outside of our mind and outside of our body about how life goes. Karma yoga is proof of this, the devotee mentally gives everything back where it belongs: One system of mutual dependence. Moreover, brain research confirms that actions are already prompted before the person is aware of them. The cosmos is a gigantic system, the manifestation of one divine dharma, and the individual is a micro-cog in it.

In saṁsāra, in mithyā there is no free will. It is a feeling of free will. It just seems that way. All will is a reflection of the ‘will’ to understand yourself, reality. To get out of that nagging feeling of inadequacy and dissatisfaction. As long as I want objects, free will is a sham, because all objects are dependent on each other in a large cosmic system. No ceiling can be there without walls. A relationship is based on mutual dependence. Self-knowledge can take place independently of objects. This is God’s invitation. Therefore, there is free will to grow through the dharma to freedom through insight.

Dharma and karma go hand in hand with a person. Good karma arises when an action is in line with dharma. Bad karma when dharma is violated. This is how the meaning of dharma as ethics arises. If a little knowledge of īśvara is added, karma changes rapidly, from something that drives someone (sakāma karma) to desires for karma for spiritual growth (niṣkāma karma) without (niṣ) worldly desires (kāma).

The svabhāva (calling, individual karma that works out in this life, here and now) of a person can change considerably in one life if one lives consciously, practices and makes conscious choices towards freedom. From a saṁsārī (one who lives a worldly life), to a karma yogī (one who leads a truly spiritual life), to a jñāna yogi (one who practices self-knowledge). This is the scope in which a person lives. Self-examination comes from one’s svadharma, through the objective sāmānya dharma of īśvara, to understanding one’s true nature (svarūpa), beyond dharma and adharma.

Dharma is thus the playing field to grow, to mature and to qualify, ripe for the truth. Following dharma in line with īśvara’s creation, brings a balanced life in the sense of puṇya, good karma. Then eventually the setting will be created that I hear and realize the truth.

This is called the specific, instantaneous dharma (viśeṣa dharma) of a living being. The jīva is placed in situations, to learn, to prepare for freedom, mokṣa. The situation is then always an invitation to do the right thing. Viśeṣa dharma is therefore situational dharma. What does this situation tell me? What can I learn to understand here?

It is a huge gain when I understand that when I feel bad about something, I don’t think according to dharma. That I realize that I am not dancing to the beat of god’s creation (īśvara sṛṣṭi). That I don’t have my karma yogīc mind in order, because I don’t accept īśvara results. This also requires relative knowledge, such as knowledge of psychological laws, to understand my defense, survival and projection mechanisms. When I see how that works for myself, I can also recognize it in the other person. Then I can face ignorance with empathy and compassion.

Then I relate effortlessly, because I see that the other person can’t help it either because of ignorance. Almost everyone lives, to all degrees, in personal subjective worlds (jīva sṛṣṭī).

But the wise man acts automatically, naturally and spontaneously in the right way. His or her engine is the dharma of īśvara, without her or him having to think about it. The sage is consciousness. And therefore whole and alone. The mind that appears in him is dharmic, and thus a reflection of that which is always good. The sage has a mind that does not experience otherness (ananya manasa), and inwardly embraces everything and everyone in his bliss (ānanda). Then individual dharma (viśeṣa dharma) and total dharma (sāmānya dharma) coincide.

The formal definition of dharma found in the Mahābhārata (śānti parva, chapter 109) and the Manusmṛiti 6.92 reads: dhāraṇāt dharma ityāhuḥ dharmo dhārayati prajāḥ: ‘Dharma is said to be that which sustains and sustains all beings’.