“My dear father, I am very respectfully and humbly inquiring. What is this arrangement? Why you are busy in making some sacrificial ceremony, what is the reason, and what is the result? For whose benefit is it and by what means will it be accomplished?” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.24.3)

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कथ्यतां मे पित: कोऽयं सम्भ्रमो व उपागत:
किं फलं कस्य वोद्देश: केन वा साध्यते मख:

kathyatāṁ me pitaḥ ko ’yaṁ
sambhramo va upāgataḥ
kiṁ phalaṁ kasya voddeśaḥ
kena vā sādhyate makhaḥ

“What is the actual meaning to dharma? I am not looking for a textbook definition. Any person can look that up. Throughout the generations there have been different levels of access and facility. A mere several hundred years ago, to have something like a local library available was a huge benefit. Today, it appears that thousands of years’ worth of published literature is available in digital form, to whoever wants to do the research.

“I have always taken dharma to mean the law. It is the law codes from the Almighty. I believe His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada provides a similar definition, particularly in the context of manmade laws. You can only have one dharma precisely because dharma cannot be concocted. You cannot have one set of laws for a certain region of the world and another set for a different population.

“Is that it, then? Is following the law the most important? Is that our purpose to living? We should follow dharma as it has been passed down. Are there not too many rules to follow, though? Are we not automatically violating so many principles simply by waking up in the morning and going to work? Offense by omission, if you know what I mean.

“Which laws of dharma should we follow? Which ones remain important through the passage of time? I understand that we are living through the degraded condition of the age of Kali. Even the supposedly spiritual leaders right now are actually the worst among the human population. It is like the story of the demons stealing the Vedas from Lord Brahma, requiring the assistance of Vishnu to later bring back the stolen material.

“I find there is much misapplication of the law. These demons lift a passage here and a passage there from shastra as their excuse to neglect, to abuse, and to exploit. For instance, rather than protect women and children, they treat them worse than pet animals. They justify their behavior based on supposed laws they have read. They use dharma as their shield from the punishment they richly deserve. How do we square these contradictions?”

It is true that dharma can take different meanings based on the specific context applied. For instance, we say that there are different kinds of dharma based on the period of time. In the age of Kali, the yuga-dharma is the chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Lord: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The dharma for someone like Arjuna, who is a kshatriya by occupation, is to valiantly and fearlessly protect the innocent from injury. Arjuna is like the embodiment of the law on earth; he delivers justice at the appropriate time and place.

Despite the variety to the meanings, dharma is actually one. The aim is always the same. Dharma aligns with the properties of the individual, who is timeless in their existence. For this reason, dharma is also known as timeless. The application of the rules for the living being to reenter their constitutional way of living is known as sanatana-dharma.

Dharma in the case of implementation requires an actor, a playing field, and a set of rules. The secret to understanding the apparently contradicting recommendations is to realize that the lawgiver is always paramount in importance. Dharma is something like following laws for ultimately attaining a practical understanding of the lawgiver.

We can use the historical incident of the first Govardhana Puja to help us understand. Here we have the case of a basic law of nature: assistance from the elements. We think that we can effect outcomes on our own, that we have total control over our local sphere, but we are actually helpless from beginning to end, during each and every day.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

At the most fundamental level, we require rainfall. No matter if we feast on animal flesh or vow to eat only plant-based food, rain is everything. It must fall from the skies in appropriate quantities to nourish the fields. Without rain, we are finished.

It is something like a law within the higher cultures to appreciate the rain. At least give an acknowledgment, whether subtle or visible. In the case of the people of Gokula-Vrindavana, they were accustomed to performing a yajna in honor of Indra, the king of heaven. The justification was simple: Indra provides rain. The people followed agriculture as a way of life; rain was thus vital to their community.

अन्नाद् भवन्ति भूतानि
पर्जन्याद् अन्न-सम्भवः
यज्ञाद् भवति पर्जन्यो
यज्ञः कर्म-समुद्भवः

annād bhavanti bhūtāni
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.14)

One time, however, a young child suggested something different. He had a new idea in mind, but He did not present it directly. Rather, He first asked a series of questions, the foundation of which was, “Kim phalam.” The child saw the people preparing for the Indra-yajna and decided to ask what was going on. What was the fruit, phalam, they were looking to receive? What was the benefit they were expecting to extract?

Nanda Maharaja, who was both the father of the child and the leader of the community, explained the justification. His words would make sense to any honest person. Moreover, there was tradition to support the continuation. These traditions are vital for maintaining continuity in following laws. Dharma withstands the passage of time because of allegiance to laws carried forward from one generation to the next.

The young child, who was the adorable Shri Krishna, suggested something new. Why not worship the nearby Govardhana Hill? There was no time to waste. Everything that had been prepared for Indra would now be shifted to Govardhana. The same fruit would be there. No need to worry about the “kim phalam” issue. The people would be happy in the process. The cows would be most pleased, since Govardhana was already dear to them.

Krishna essentially advised the people to break the law. He was persuasive. He practically insisted upon it. What a great risk to take. The members of the community were not foolish enough to think that the entire affair was make-believe. They inherently understood that there was reciprocation in the process, that Indra was indeed pleased by their past efforts. By Krishna urging them to break the law, they were taking a huge chance. It was a gamble.

That concern later proved to be valid. Indra was indeed paying attention. Like the government hitting the taxpayer with an audit after noticing something amiss with the most recently filed return, Indra decided to strike the area of Govardhana with devastating rain. If the people thought they could break the law in so flagrant a fashion, they would soon suffer the consequences. The pain would be so severe as to leave no doubt on the matter.

We learn from this incident that the lawgiver is more important. It is His material creation, after all. He is the one who puts the devas in their high positions of authority. He is responsible for the elements, both subtle and gross. The people of Vrindavana put their trust in the lawgiver, and Krishna delivered, both immediately by lifting Govardhana to be used as an umbrella and into the future by providing a new tradition to follow, the annual Govardhana Puja, which is solely for the benefit and pleasure of the original lawgiver.

In Closing:

In that Gokula area saw,
Child urging break the law.

For a new tradition to start,
From Indra allegiance to depart.

Like iconoclast with enchanting face,
Attracted vengeance to that place.

Rain from king of heaven severely miffed,
But lawgiver Govardhana to lift.

Categories: kim phalam, questions

Tags: dharma, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion