Dharma Essay, Research Paper

Dharma is the moral law that Hindus follow throughout life. Through the

teachings of Gita, one can find the right way of living and the correct attitude

for every situation. Dharma can be applied to every walk of life; this paper

will discuss the application of the Dharma in a student’s life. According to

Gita, the path of devotion is the easiest path to finding God. With worship and

meditation people can find God. Along with worship action is required. Action is

the way of surviving but it should not bind the person, instead this action must

free the person. Therefore action and work must be treated like worship and must

be done in the most perfect way and to the best of one’s ability. Yet, one must

work and offer the fruits of this work to God. The Gita teaches that we should

live a detached life, whatever we do is only God’s work done through us. This

detachment does not mean we run away from the responsibility, instead it means

that we do our best and be free from our objects of desire. We should reject all

worldly things in order to achieve spirituality. Therefore, our work should not

contain selfish interest, as it should be offered as a service to others and its

fruits to God. This is the main theme of the teachings of Gita that apply to

every aspect of life. According to this view, a student should look for

knowledge and perform the academic tasks not to earn grades or a degree hoping

for a better life or a good salary. A student doing that is acting with selfish

interest for the purpose of a reward. Instead, a student should be detached from

such benefit when performing academic duties. These duties should be performed

with God in mind and to be useful in life through action, also they are

performed to benefit the society and humanity. Following the Dharma of a student

will make that student detached from worldly desires in addition it will

eliminate stress from a student’s life. This attitude will help students

overcome anxiety before tests and eliminate the pressure of academic work. The

general attitude will be that a student does the work because of "wanting

to do it" rather than "having to do it." This will make students

attend classes with enthusiasm and homework will not be a burden anymore. This

should not be interpreted as laziness. A person must still perform the work and

to his/her best ability, only the fruit is rejected but the work itself is

welcomed. We find some of these teachings applied already in classes such as the

group-assignments that promote cooperation and the rejection of selfishness.

Students cooperate and perform the assignment together as they share the

knowledge and help each other. This student dharma will also promote growth of

the group rather than the selfish individual. Envy and tension between peers

will be replaced by cooperation and harmony. The teachings of Gita and the use

of the Dharma in the academic life will enhance the academic experience. In

addition, it will enhance each student’s abilities, as it will give more freedom

to pursue the knowledge instead of worrying about the grades. I think that

students will have a better academic experience if they follow the Dharma and

apply it to their student life.