Dharma as a Universal Principle of Order

The term Dharma is frequently interpreted as synonymous with religion, morality, or cultural practice. Such interpretations restrict its conceptual scope. This paper proposes an alternative philosophical framework in which Dharma is understood not as a religious system but as a universal principle of order, knowledge, balance, and functional responsibility. By examining natural law, human behavior, education, ritual practices, ethics, and cosmology, Dharma is redefined as the sustaining logic that maintains coherence within complex systems. This reinterpretation seeks to present Dharma as a cross-cultural and analytical concept relevant to contemporary philosophy, science, and social theory.