THE 10 FACETS OF DHARMA
1.Dhrti – Determination with patience.
2.Ksamā – Forgiveness.
3.Dama – Equanimity in unsettling circumstances.
4.Asteya – Abstinence from stealing.
5.Śaucam – Cleanliness.
6.Indriya-nigrahah – Control of the senses.
7.Dhī – Knowledge of śāstra (scripture).
8.Vidyā – Wisdom.
9.Satya – Truthfulness.
10.Akrodha – Absence of anger (cool headed).
(Sri Manu-samhita 6.92)
The Five Streams of Dharma
Before the rise of pure bhakti, four types of impure dharma predominate:
1. Mlechha-dharma or Jaḍānanda-vāda – materialistic philosophy, enjoying dull matter.
Jaḍānanda-vāda is of two types:
1. Svārtha-jaḍānanda-vādī – those who advocate happiness for the self, selfish pleasure seekers.
2. Niḥsvārtha-jaḍānanda-vādī – those who advocate bliss not for the self, selfless acts of morality.
(The goal of selfless morality is still to ultimately give oneself happiness without suffering).
2. Nirākāra–brahmavāda or Jaḍa–nirvāṇa – the philosophy of formless Brahman, extinguishing ones relationship with dull matter, the pursuit of material negation or nirvāṇa, thinking it to be happiness while the body gives an experience of pain.
Jaḍa–nirvāņa is also of two types:
1. Nirvāṇa-vāda (Pessimism) – does not accept rebirth of the jīva.
2. Parinirvāṇa-vāda (Buddhism and Jainism) – does accept rebirth of the jīva.
3. Naitika-īśvaravāda – moral theism.
4. Dharma-miśrā – adulterated dharma mixed attraction to God. (Adulterated devotional service does not directly aim at love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.)
5. Paramānandamayī-bhakti or uttamā/kevalā-bhakti – pure devotion, replete with supreme spiritual bliss, devotion that is devoid of any contamination, adulteration, or attachment to material possessions and that is performed in an exclusive manner as defined in the following verse of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11:
anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
“The cultivation of activities that are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or in other words the uninterrupted flow of service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, performed through all endeavors of the body, mind and speech, and through the expression of various spiritual sentiments (bhāvas), which is not covered by jñāna (knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation) and karma (reward seeking activity), and which is devoid of all desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is called uttama–bhakti, pure devotional service.”
The Three Categories of Dharma
1. Anitya-dharma – is that which denies the existence of Īśvara, the Supreme Controller, refusing to discuss Him, and that does not accept that the soul is eternal is anitya–dharma, false dharma contradictory to eternal dharma.
2. Naimittika-dharma – is that which believes in the eternality of both the Supreme Controller and the jīva souls, but prescribes mundane, transient methods such as karma, jñāna, and yoga for attaining the grace of Īśvara, impermanent religious duties dictated by material contact, appears in many diverse forms under the varying material circumstances and when expounded upon by the less-enlightened men of conflicting opinions.
3. Nitya-dharma – is that which prescribes pure, unmotivated, eternal, devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead on the platform of prema, the eternal religious activity born from the inherent nature of the jīva, is complete and pure in itself—it is constant and flawless, the pure vaiṣṇava–dharma presented in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, servitorship to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, may be given various names, depending on country, race, language, and so on, yet, it is one in essence, excels all mundane preconditions, and is supremely beneficial for the jīva, the best example of nitya–dharma is Vaiṣṇavism, which is widely practiced in India, the purest state of which is the spiritual teachings propagated to the entire world by our beloved Śrī Śacīnandana Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Reference: This compilation is taken from three works of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura: Sukhera Viṣaya, published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī Vol.2, Issue 1. in 1885, Tattva Viveka – Chapter One – (Prathamānubhavaḥ) & Jaiva Dharma – Chapter Two.