Dharmatmas and Mahatmas
These two words are ubiquitous in the Indian culture and Hindu religion. Dharmatma has its root in the word dharma, which means the laws of nature that bring forth the whole existence, support it and then make it disappear. A more technical definition is as follows: the root word of dharma is dhri meaning 'to uphold' or 'to sustain', and ma means the Cosmic or Infinite Mind. The word atma in dharmatma means the self or the soul (individual). In fact, atma is nothing but the presence of the Supreme Self in man. And since the self is homogeneous, it is said that fundamentally, the atma or the individual soul itself is the Supreme Soul. Hence when yogis or meditators attain self-realisation, they proclaim, "Aham Brahmasmi," meaning, "I am God or the Supreme Self."
Atma gyan or self-realisation can only be attained by living in harmony with the laws of the cosmos and after having transcended the lower animalistic traits and human nature. This is not as simple as it is often believed since there is a whole science behind it. A person who practises dharma to that end is called a dharmatma. But today any Tom, Dick and Harry can be called dharmatma. Just show a good face in society, pretend to be religious, do some benevolent actions, give donations, be moralistic and you win the title of dharmatma!
You will probably find it strange that after self-realisation, the person is no longer a dharmatma because the self in its ultimate state is beyond all known laws as it is not matter but pure consciousness. Beware! Knowledge of the scriptures or performance of rites and rituals does not make one a dharmatma. A dharmatma or an individual who practises the spiritual science is a very simple and ordinary individual. He can even be uneducated like Kabir, Jesus, Mohammed or Ramakrishna.
Mahatma means great soul. Here the term soul is used to refer to the individual. Who is great in this world? All and none! All, because we all possess innumerable and tremendous possibilities within us. None, because we are in one sense equal since we are fundamentally one. Relatively speaking, I consider a person who has transcended his animalistic and evil nature to attain his divine nature as great. Only he can be called a mahatma or mahan atma. The others are on the first rung of the ladder of evolution, that is, they live on the material plane. Then whether it is the religious, political or social field, it makes no difference. Such people are mechanical; their goodness is based on morality, fear, culture and fanaticism. Many even wear the mask of goodness.
Mahatmas and dharmatmas are extremely rare in this world. Rajneesh, Ramakrishna, Krishnamurthi, Vivekananda, Pythagoras - these individuals were truly dharmatmas and mahatmas. The world today is filled with pretenders, hypocrites and pseudo-religious people. They are all pap atmas meaning sinful people, not dharmatmas or mahatmas. There are hardly any people living in harmony with nature and working towards self-transformation without blindly following any philosophy, religion or beliefs.
Mahatmas and dharmatmas tread the path of truth. They are straight-forward and frank. They are also ego-breakers, thus they are not loved by the mass. Only genuine disciples, devotees and intelligent people love them. They may not talk beautifully, but their words come directly from their heart, and are based on experience.
So far as language and wealth are concerned, Kabir was very poor, but he was one of the most beautiful mystics India has known. He was enlightened and said things as he felt them. He was a real mahatma or dharmatma. Today instead of using the map he has designed for the inner journey, people mechanically chant his sayings and worship him. Well, this is unfortunately what normally happens after a master passes away.
