“What’s that dharma which makes life in itself a moksha?”
“Sadly for man,” said the seer, “the diversity of life won’t lend to encapsulatedharma into a vaunted mantra to grant him moksha. Given the divisiveness of color, creed and culture, how can there ever be one universal dharma? Won’t the able-bodied, the handicapped, the haves, and the have-nots with differing abilities come to live together? Wouldn’t that by itself result in an unequal quality of life on earth? Why, even in heaven there are gods and demigods, going by our puranas that is. And one needs to reckon with the divergent male female psyches and the differing individual natures of men, women as well as children. Besides, the libido of the folks, the embodiment of kama, invariably varies to complicate life further. Won't the unique climatic conditions vary the way of living? More so, how could one ever reconcile the dogmatism of the religions?”
“How true swamiji,” said Gautam with a sense of learning, “God Himself, if there is One, couldn’t envisage one dharma! Won’t the alleged revelations of His to His prophets testify to that?”
“Let’s not digress into the perilous paths the religions had laid for man to his bane,” said the seer. “Why, won't social conditions and political arrangements affect the human condition? Well, the list of human dichotomies leads us to infinity? Thus, even among the people of a race or a nation, life is not a homogeneous proposition amenable for a common dharma. That’s why it’s absurd to suggest that there could be a monolithic moksha-enabling-dharma for the humanity at large.”
“That's true swamiji,” said Gautam, “but how is one to know what is his dharma?”
“Since dharma is a self-evolved moksha-enabling way of life,” said the seer, “it is for the individual to evolve his or her own dharma.”
“Won’t it be like groping in the dark?” asked Gautam. “After all, one needs to know what to aim at for him to get focused on it.”
“Grasping the facets of life governed by kama and artha enables man to come to grips with its delusions,” said the seer. “And that would lead him to visualize his own dharma. As kama is integral to the being, artha is essential for the living. While the impulse of kama is common to all beings, the inducement of artha is peculiar to the humans. Though the bestial pursuit of kama might occasion physical gratification for man and woman alike, it won’t accord them the emotional fulfillment of lovemaking. Likewise, mindless preoccupation with artha might help man accumulate wealth but it would hardly impart richness to his life. Thus, neither is kama nor is artha capable of occasioning that quality of life, which makes it joyous.”