29. Irreligiosity (Adharma)

Affirmation:

I stay true to my inner truth and act in harmony with the universal laws.

By living consciously and honestly, I avoid the path of adharma and remain connected to my true purpose.

Mantras:

Om Satya Dharmaya Namah

Om Asato Ma Sad Gamaya Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya

29

Irreligiosity

(adharma)

The player who lands in sudharma discovers his true role in the game and acts out his part without regard to the outcome of his actions. He knows that as long as he listens to the voice of his own inner nature he need fear nothing.

Faith in accordance with the laws of nature is sudharma. Blind faith, which disregards the cosmic principles, leads to adharma. Adharmas are those actions which are contrary to the individual’s dharma. Adharmas lead him away from his true course and back into first chakra delusion, which is the essence of blind faith.

Adharma is working contrary to the laws of existence. At sunrise everything on the planet changes. Winds, atmospheric pressures, and temperatures change. The tempo of life increases. Sleeping at this time is acting contrary to the laws of the planet. Thus it is adharma. Looting the earth for natural resources, which are then employed without concern for their negative effects on the environment and the future needs of the planet, is adharma against the earth. Similarly, there are adharmas related to one’s own physiology. To hold tension and not release it is adharma. But to release it by adopting unfair means is greater adharma.

Adharma does not exist by itself. It is a negation of the law of dharma, an action contrary to the true inner nature. Denying one’s own self is adharma. Self-rejection and self-praise are both adharmas. To understand one’s position in the game is sndharma. All else is adharma.

Adharma is best understood as an imbalance in the gunas, the three primary cosmic forces responsible for all manifestation. When either sattva (conscious energy), tamas (inertia), or rajas (motion) predominates, adharma takes birth. Self-destruction is the greatest adharma. It is a snake that takes one back to delusion, back to the start of the game.

The danger of getting caught by adharma is greatest in the fourth chakra, the fourth row of the game. In the first three chakras energy was devoted to the physical, celestial, and astral planes. Now, in the fourth chakra, the player attains a degree of balance and begins to understand the importance of apt religion. While he seeks his own role in the game it is possible that he might ignore the existing dharmas and attempt to start his own way, ignoring planetary laws and the laws of existence. Here faith is the key.

Faith is the essence of fourth chakra: faith, devotion, bhakti. This faith can lead the player—if he acts in harmony with his true nature, sudharma—to the plane of austerity. But if it is not in tune with his innermost vibrations, it can draw him back to delusion. This is adharma. Acting on faith alone is liable to create irrcligiosity. Faith alone, without a grounding in the laws of existence, is blind faith. And blind faith is the most frequent cause of energy loss in this plane. Faith in accordance with the laws of existence is sudharma, but faith alone is adharma.

Art

The artwork provides a visual interpretation of 'Irreligiosity' (adharma), capturing the essence of actions that are contrary to an individual's true nature and cosmic laws.

Central to the piece is the theme of divergence from sudharma, depicted through visuals such as the exploitation of natural resources and actions against natural rhythms, like sleeping at sunrise. These elements illustrate a departure from living in harmony with the natural world and one's intrinsic nature.

A snake is prominently featured in the artwork, symbolizing self-destruction and a return to delusion. This representation is a metaphor for adharma leading one away from the path of self-realization and back to the starting point of the spiritual journey.

The imbalance in the gunas - sattva (conscious energy), tamas (inertia), and rajas (motion) - is artistically rendered through varied intensities and shades across the artwork. This creates a visual sense of disharmony and imbalance, effectively illustrating the concept of adharma.

The artwork also focuses on the fourth chakra, highlighting the critical point where the danger of adharma becomes most pronounced. It portrays the struggle between following one's true nature (sudharma) and being drawn back into delusion and misalignment.

Using a palette that reflects themes of imbalance, divergence, and tension, the artwork is styled in a blend of photorealism with symbolic elements. It conveys the complex interplay between adherence to one's true nature and the temptation of straying into the realms of adharma, encapsulating the essence of the concept in a visually compelling manner.

Song

Adharma

Sunrise ignored, a planet strained, resources blindly spent,
The earth in pain, its future drained, a consequence not sent.

Self denied, a heart in strife, or filled with empty praise,
Both paths devoid of truthful life, in adharma's darkened maze.

Cosmic laws, a sacred trust, in faith that sees the light,
But shadows thrust, where actions rust, in darkness of the night.

Cosmic laws, a sacred trust, in faith that sees the light,
But shadows thrust, where actions rust, in darkness of the night.