Kulbir Singh Wrote:
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> There is a common quote from some Sikh historical
> text:
>
> ਰਾਜ ਬਿਨਾ ਨਾ ਧਰਮ ਚਲੇ
> ਹੈ।
> ਧਰਮ ਬਿਨਾ ਸਭ ਦਲੇ ਮਲੇ
> ਹੈ।
> (Without Raj (kingdom) Dharma cannot be run and
> without Dharma all is destroyed)
>
> Famous Vedic sage of Mauryan times - Chanakya
> said: Religion is preserved by wealth; knowledge
> by diligent practice; a king by conciliatory
> words; and a home by a dutiful housewife.
>
> What is the Gurmat perspective on this? What holds
> Dharma according to Gurmat? Is Dharma dependant
> upon wealth as Chanakya says or on Raj as the
> historical text above says? This does not seem
> right.
>
> Kulbir Singh
ਰਾਜ ਬਿਨਾ ਨਾ ਧਰਮ ਚਲੇ ਹੈ।
ਧਰਮ ਬਿਨਾ ਸਭ ਦਲੇ ਮਲੇ ਹੈ।
This is an extremely beautiful teaching of Guru Sahib which highlights the fact that the Panth is a Miri Piri nation, and for a Sikh Miri Piri concept gives a complete balance in ones life. People often link Miri Piri with Sri Guru HarGobind Sahib and say this concept was created during the time of the 6th Nanak. But this does not seem right. When Guru Sahib went into the mountains to do veechar with the Siddhas who ran from the troubles of the world Guru Sahib spoke with complete Bir Ras. Its as if Guru Sahib was a general going around the world to assemble an Army to crush the imperial forces.
When a society ( kingdom) does not have common Moral (Dharmic) Laws, and the people do not respect these laws based on Dharam then the end result is chaos. There is no Santokh where there is no Raj. In such a society ( Raj) nobody trust anybody; people will kill their own kin in a Raj with out respect for Dharma ( Moral Laws).Can you imagine how difficult Bhagti is in such a place? A person would not have the leisure time to do simran, study, reflect on WaaheGuru. Instead there time would be mainly engaged in protecting their lives from uncontrollable lawless people. Those societies that base their Raj on Dharma their lives are full of contentment, truth, and contemplation.