Dharma Meaning In English – Why Its Not Easy To Translate?

The word “dharma” is among the most important terms in Hinduism.  However, the dictionary meanings that come up on the search engine results give a very inadequate translation of such an important word.  Someone who is not having first hand exposure to Hinduism is likely to get a wrong understanding from such imperfect translations.

What is meaning of dharma in English?
Understanding dharma in its entirety requires knowledge of numerous concepts and philosophies. Dharma meaning encompasses aspects like individual duties, guidelines for ethical behavior, religious rites, and justice, to cite a few. Therefore, it is simply not possible to bring out a simple definition of dharma in a few words in the English language. What is dharma and especially dharma meaning in English needs some effort to know it correctly.

There is another important reason that prevents a proper translation of the Sanskrit word “dharma”. Hinduism is completely different from the Abrahamic religions, in the sense that its scope is much more vast. At this juncture, it won’t be inappropriate to succinctly focus on a few salient points on what is Dharma.

• Dharma is not religion: Many English writers have conveniently translated “dharma” into “religion”, ignoring the key aspect that is an improper translation. Abrahamic religions are many times defined as faith or unquestionable beliefs – on many key aspects these religions also have opposite viewpoints. These viewpoints cannot be questioned – as they are unquestionable beliefs. Dharma at its essence is based on nature’s law or rhythm. Religion is quite a narrow viewpoint compared to the Sanathana concept of dharma. So the attempts of such writers to call “dharma” a religion only give a wrong view.
• Dharma is very comprehensive to explain in few words: Dharma meaning is not something that can be done as sentence or two. As per Hinduism, “dharma” is further divided into many categories like samanya dharma, vishesha dharma, apad dharma, and svadharma, among many others. Thus, it is simply unimaginable that a short description in English shall be able to aptly convey everything that falls under “dharma”.
• Dharma cannot be understood from non-Hindu framework: As it’s easy to translate the content present in scriptures of Abrahamic religions, it does not mean that the same can be applied to Hinduism. Hinduism is a huge collection of several scriptures, and writings of many seers and sages spread over thousands of years. On the other hand, the scope of Abrahamic religions is rather limited where every follower mandatorily needs to obey a fixed set of injunctions. Things like inquiry and sadhana are not permitted in Abrahamic faiths. Likewise, the Sanatana Hindu Dharma emphasizes the law of karma and its relation to rebirth. But, faiths such as Judaism, Islam, and, Christianity hold that there is only one earthly life.
• Hindu framework is unique, need to understand it for getting right meaning of dharma: Abrahamic religions, all of which came into existence in the desert zones of the Middle East, have a rigid concept of God. They proclaim that God belongs to the male gender and he severely punishes any human who does not acknowledge him. In Hinduism, there are goddesses too who are equally important and have a very prominent position.
• Unique concepts like aatmikta make dharma complex to understand: Sanathana Hindu Dharma respects an individual’s limitations and choices and gives a wide variety of choices for atmik development. Atmik is another term that though translated as spirituality is again a weak translation. This once again throws light on two things. One is the flexibility of the Hindu faith. Secondly, the translation of ‘dharma’ into a few words of English gives a sub-optimal meaning of its true sense.
• Short translations of dharma without context of Hindu philosophy can distort understanding: There are many other areas where Hinduism differs from these other religions in a big way. Hence, it’s obvious that translation into English is a thing that is not right for numerous precepts and terms of Hinduism. That can do nothing more than distort the actual meaning and projects a wrong picture of Sanathana Hindus Dharma – a living tradition that predates Abrahamic religions’ by thousands of years.

Dharma meaning In English or What is dharma is not easy to explain
Full translation of dharma meaning in English is not easy. There are now quite a few writers in the English language who maintain that the non-translatable terms of Hinduism must be retained as they are. They argue that these terms should directly be added to the English vocabulary, as has been the case with several Latin, Greek, and French terms. It’s only then that the sanctity of this ancient, all-encompassing religion of the world can be protected. So using the word dharma as is in English is a wise choice!

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Samanya Dharma – A Beginners Introduction
Apad Dharma – Beginners Intro
Vishishta Dharma Or Vishesha Dharma – Beginners Intro
Dharma meaning in English