We explain that what is the difference between Dharma and Karma with table. The difference between Dharma and Karma is that Dharma is based on birth, while Karma is made of human life. Both lead to the path of salvation.
Indian mythology has various beliefs like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. Although each religion and belief advocates a few fundamental principles for human society that will lead to a path to divinity.
According to all beliefs, there is a way to reach the divine. There is a set of duties and responsibilities after which eternity can be achieved.
Spirituality is not limited to Hinduism. Few principles of life are fundamental to all religions and beliefs.
The human life cycle is fundamentally based on two principles: Dharma and Karma.
When a person is born, duties and responsibilities are established that are assigned by society as a fundamental cosmic law that is supposed to be accepted. And as an individual, each person has some actions and agreements.
Comparison table between Dharma and Karma
Dharma Karma comparison parameters
| Sense | It has different definitions in different beliefs. | Universal (one meaning for all) |
| Fruit | Based on the present life | Sometimes based on past lives |
| Rules | There are specific rules | There are no specific rules |
| Division | Based on birth | Based on actions |
| Impacts on | Affects society | Confined to the individual |
What is the Dharma?
The Dharma is seen as a set of duties and responsibilities that create the correct way of living and the proper functioning of life.
Different beliefs have different definitions of dharma, such as: –
Hinduism: acceptance of the natural order for the proper functioning of life.
- J ainism – believes that non-harmful and non-violent principles are an important part of dharma.
- Sikhism being on the path of righteousness is dharma.
- Buddhism- preserving spiritual teachings and liberation is dharma.
The conception of dharma may differ from one religion to another or from one person to another. Sometimes what is dharma for one community or one person can be considered as Adharma for another community or person.
For example, eating meat, for a person or community, it is dharma to eat meat from other animals to maintain balance in the food chain, but it could be considered Adharma for another person or community, since the animals are killed, which is against the humanity.
The highest dharma is achieving spiritual understanding. The Dharma can be understood as a path to the divine.
The Dharma has some limits within which humans are supposed to work, going beyond or against those limits is considered ‘adharma’.
Dharma is considered to be an important functioning as it gives meaning to life.
There are mentions of the dharma and its principles in the Hindu holy books. Lord Krishna is considered to be one of the best dharma preachers as depicted in the Mahabharata epic.
The ultimate goal of dharma is to achieve the divine. Whoever follows the path of dharma considers himself a pure soul.
The Dharma is based simply on humanitarian motives of non-violence, generosity, truthfulness with the essence of spirituality that will make the person an asset to society.
The Dharma is sometimes misunderstood and creates divisions in society, although the path becomes different, but the destination is one, which is to be a good human being and become a pure soul in order to achieve divinity.
In kalyug, dharma seems to be more associated with spirituality than humanitarian values.
What is karma?
Karma is considered the action or the result of the action of any person. karma is limited by both the present and the past life.
Karma has no rules, there is no specific path to follow karma as it counts everything, there is no teacher who teaches karma.
Karma is the real reason for continuing the cycle of birth and death. Until the soul becomes pure and clears all the accounts of good and bad karma, liberation cannot be achieved.
Every pain and pleasure is the result of karma somewhere. Karma is not limited to bad deeds.
Liberation (moksha) can only be achieved when all karmas diminish.
There are no specific principles for karma. It depends solely on the actions of human beings during their lifetime.
The fruits of karma are not punishments but consequences of internal intentions. Karma is not only what you do, but also the intentions behind doing good or bad deeds.
Human behavior is not limited to other human beings, but also to animals and other living things.
Karma is a vicious cycle of human life. Few people achieve liberation soon, otherwise, the cycle of birth and death is continuous for thousands of years.
According to Hindu mythology, a person can ask forgiveness for his karma by attaching himself to God.
Karma has meaning regardless of any religion or belief. Therefore, there is less or no misinterpretation of the concept of karma.
Main differences between Dharma and Karma
- Dharma is entirely based on the present life, while karma also has past life impacts.
- Dharma can divide people between societies, but karma is fair to everyone.
- Dharma is connected with spirituality, but karma is universal and has impacts regardless of any increase.
- Dharma has no specific fruit, whereas karma mentions the “what goes around comes around” theory.
- There are rules in dharma, but karma has no limits.
- Any teacher can preach the Dharma, but karma itself is a life lesson.
- Dharma is often misinterpreted as a concept, but there are no misinterpretations in the concept of karma.
Final Thought
Both dharma and karma are important principles of human life. Without both, no one can achieve salvation. They are intertwined and therefore dependent on each other.
The person is required to do karma while staying within the limits of dharma.
Although there are differences of theory. However, the ultimate goal is to reach the divine.
They both advocate generosity, humanity, truth, and non-violence.
By following the dharma and having a good karma score, the gates of paradise can be opened.
Without dharma and karma, human life is meaningless.
