Three Kinds of Duty

What is duty?
Duty is something that you feel you are bound to do. Duty is something that, when you do it, you feel satisfied. It is something that others will appreciate when you do it. Duty is something which, when you don’t do, you feel guilty.

Whenever something is happening in front of you, this question comes up — should I get involved or not?
You are walking on the road, and you see a woman being harassed by some miscreants. Should you stop them or just walk away as if you didn’t see anything?
This question comes up, and you make a decision — a decision connected to your duty as a citizen.

Your father is unwell — you take him to the hospital. Duty as a son or daughter.
You are a teacher. You hear a student using a bad word in class — you reprimand him. Duty by your position.

Whenever you encounter a situation, you ask yourself this question — what am I to do? Am I duty-bound to do something?
Then you reach a conclusion — I should, or I need not.
But one thing is for sure:
If you feel something is your duty and do it — you feel satisfied.
If you feel something is your duty and don’t do it — you feel guilty.

These duties are of different kinds:
Duty by birth — duty towards your parents, duty towards your siblings, duty towards your children, family.
Duty by your social position — as a youngster, mostly tasks where physical effort and energy are required; as a senior citizen, to advise and guide others.
Duty by profession — duty as a policeman, duty as a doctor, duty as a soldier, duty as a social worker.

There is another kind of duty — religious duty. The duties prescribed by the religion that you follow.

While the other kinds of duties — duty by birth, duty by social position, and duty by profession — have some kind of uniformity across geographies, cultures, and times, religious duty is a very hazy area.
What is duty in one religion may be forbidden in another. What someone follows religiously may not have any significance for someone else.

Take for example a Hindu who is a strict vegetarian, and that too for religious reasons. He is visiting another country and is a guest in someone’s house. The hosts are non-vegetarians. They prepare the best of dinner for him as per their customs — of course, non-vegetarian.
When it comes to the table, the guest is offended.

Today, having a beard even for religious reasons will attract the attention of security agencies in many western countries.
Wearing a dhoti or saffron robes in an orthodox foreign country will cause many eyebrows to be raised.

Helping a person in need is common all over the world. Humanitarian feelings are common all over the world.
But religious duties vary. Religious observance varies.

We are nobody to be judgmental about the practices in another religion.
This is not at least what Sanatana Dharma teaches us.

While we practice what is taught in our religion, we must also respect what is practised in other religions.
Let us leave comparative religious studies to academicians and universities.
This is not what a practitioner of any religion should do.
We should try to understand our religion better and practice it religiously.

All religions — whether ancient or new, whether natural or founded — they all work towards the welfare of mankind.
There may be practices that cannot be approved at certain points of time. But they all correct themselves over a period of time.

The point is to see Godliness in every man, no matter what religion he follows, or even if he doesn’t follow any religion.
This is what Sanatana Dharma teaches — not to go after the wasteful exercise of establishing our religion as superior.

It is important to know your religion — but not to compare, not to find fault with others.
Sanatana Dharma talks about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — uniting the whole world under one banner as a family, not by aggression — by love and compassion.

There is no scope in Sanatana Dharma for dividing people — on whatever grounds.
There is of course division for functional efficiency — roles assigned, delegation done so that society as a whole can function better for the betterment of everyone.
But this is not static — it keeps on changing as time demands, as situations demand.

In a family, a father has his own role, a mother has her own role, children have their own roles — but they are all part of the family.
The division within Sanatana Dharma is also just like that.

In a family, a child may become a rebel — for some time. Mostly this happens during adolescence.
But you don’t hate him for it. You don’t physically harm him for it.
Everyone has a right to have an opinion of his own or her own. This is all natural.

Who says the thought process is uniform within Sanatana Dharma?
The most prominent six Darshanas themselves challenge each other.
If there is a debate that never ends, it is between these six Darshanas.
But they are not for putting down each other.
They are healthy debates — debates meant for the betterment of the world as a whole.
Not for dividing. Not for establishing the supremacy of someone.
Not to make people kill each other by taking sides.

Appreciating this is the maturity of Sanatana Dharma.
That is why it stays as Sanatana — eternal.

What region you belong to, which God you worship, what language you speak, what dress you wear — these have all got limited relevance, limited significance.
Understanding the essentials of Sanatana Dharma is important. Putting them to practice is important.

And when you do this, then there is no scope for dividing. There is no scope for hatred.
That is how it is meant to be.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi