Dharma – Why The Word Is Non-Translatable To English?

The word “dharma” is among the most important term in Hinduism. Understanding it in its entirety requires knowledge of numerous concepts and philosophies. “Dharma” 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.

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 of the subject at hand.

• 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 apsects 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.
• 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”.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Using the word dharma as is in English is a wise choice
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.

You may also Like to Read:

Samanya Dharma – A Beginners Introduction
Apad Dharma – Beginners Intro
Vishishta Dharma Or Vishesha Dharma – Beginners Intro