adharma | अधर्म
Adharma (adharma (Devanagari: अधर्म ISO15919: adharma ) means going against dharma, or irreligion.
Dharma and adharma are not decided by human opinion, culture, or common sense—they are decided only by the Vedas, the eternal words of God. What the Vedas declare as right is truly right, and what they forbid is truly wrong.
According to the Vedas, there are layers to adharma:
- vikarma (forbidden actions) are always adharma.
- Not following one’s duties prescribed in Vedas according to one’s varna (social role) and ashram (stage of life) is also adharma.
Most importantly, the jiva who neglects bhakti—loving devotion to God—remains bound in adharma. Such a soul experiences suffering in narak (hellish realms) as a merciful warning from God, to turn them away from the destructive path and guide them back to the path of bhakti.
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