What dharma means
Dharma is a Sanskrit word for what holds things together: the order of the world, the right way to live within it, and a person's own duty. In Hinduism it covers law, ethics and duty, and in Buddhism the Dharma is the Buddha's teaching itself.
The word
Dharma comes from the Sanskrit root dhri, to hold, to support or to bear. The word names what holds things up: the order that keeps the world steady, and the conduct that keeps a life and a community steady within it. No single English word carries all of that, which is why it is translated as duty, law, righteousness, virtue, teaching or simply the right way, depending on the text.
You do not need any of this to start yoga. In beginner lessons with a private teacher, the closest thing to dharma is learning what your own body needs, rather than copying someone else’s practice. That idea, as you will see, is close to what the Bhagavad Gita says.
Where the idea comes from
In the Rig Veda, the related word dharman refers to what upholds the cosmos and its rituals. Over time dharma became the central idea of Hindu ethics and law. The Dharmashastras, texts of law and conduct, set out duties for each stage of life and each social class, rules that many modern Hindus read critically and that vary greatly in practice.
The Bhagavad Gita opens with the word. Its first line places the scene on dharmakshetra, the field of dharma, the battlefield where Arjuna will face his own family. When he wants to lay down his bow, Krishna’s answer turns on svadharma, one’s own duty. Twice the Gita says, in paraphrase, that it is better to do your own dharma imperfectly than another person’s well. The full setting is on the page about the Gita’s dialogue and what it teaches about yoga.
Dharma in Buddhism
In Buddhism the word (dhamma in Pali) most often means the teaching of the Buddha, the truth that teaching points to, and the path it describes. It is one of the Three Jewels, with the Buddha and the community of practitioners. The Buddha’s first sermon at Sarnath is called the turning of the wheel of dharma, and the eight-spoked dharma wheel became one of Buddhism’s earliest symbols. In Buddhist philosophy the plural, dharmas, can also mean the basic elements of experience, a technical use worth knowing if you read further.
Dharma, karma and yoga
Dharma sits next to two other words. Karma is action and what follows from it, explained on the page on what karma means. Dharma is the right action for you, here. The Gita’s karma yoga joins them: do your dharma, and let the fruits go.
In the Yoga Sutras the word is not central, but the ethical guidelines that open the eight limbs, the yamas and niyamas, cover the same ground in practical form: non-harming, truthfulness, contentment and discipline.
How it shows up in a modern practice
Dharma is one of the yoga words that has travelled far beyond its texts. People speak of finding their dharma as a calling or life purpose. That reading is modern and looser than the original, but it keeps one true thread: the Gita’s insistence that the path has to be your own.
On the mat, the idea is quieter. Practise your own practice. Let the person on the next mat do theirs. Do the version of the pose your body can hold today.
How it can come up in a lesson
In a private lesson there is no one else’s practice to compare with, which makes the Gita’s advice easier to follow. The lesson is shaped around your body, your work and your week, and we change it as those change. If you are curious about the philosophy, we can talk about it before or after the practice. Other words on this page are explained in a plain Sanskrit glossary. My teacher training in Bali was a 200-hour course at House of Om.