jaiva-dharma

1. term

The word jaiva-dharma refers to the dharma of the jīva, or the constitutional function of the living being. From external appearances, human beings seem to have different religions according to classifications of country, caste, race, and so on. The constitutional natures of human beings, animals, birds, worms, insects, and other living entities also seem to be of different varieties. But inreality, all living beings throughout the universe have only one eternal, immutable dharma. Although in a general sense, jaiva-dharma is the dharma of all living beings, it should be understood as the specific dharma of the human species, because the special qualification for the highest dharma is found only among those jīvas with highly developed awareness. The jīvas have only one dharma, and it is known as vaiṣṇava-dharma. Differences of language, country, or race cannot create differences in dharma. Jaiva-dharma is the constitutional function of the jīva. People may give it different names, but they cannot create a different constitutional function. Jaiva-dharma is the unadulterated spiritual love that the infinitesimal entity hasfor the Infinite Entity. It appears to become distorted into various mundane forms because the jīvas possess different material natures.That is why the name vaiṣṇava-dharma has been given to identify the pure form of jaiva-dharma. The degree of vaiṣṇava-dharma inany religion or dharma is a measure of its purity.

✍ Devotion for Śrī Hari (hari-bhakti) is celebrated by the names śuddha-vaiṣṇava-dharma, nitya-dharma, jaiva-dharma (the constitutional function of the living beings), bhāgavata-dharma (thereligion of worshiping the Supreme Person), paramārtha-dharma (the religion that strives for the ultimate benifit), and para-dharma (the supreme function).

2. title

see Jaiva-dharma