Gita does not say that kula profession or traditional understanding of kingship etc. is Dharma- Bheeshma was an example of a person who took his Dharma to be dictated by parampara, his vows, his having eaten salt of Kauravas etc., but he failed to follow the right action inspite of his exalted stature and noble nature.
Swadharma in Gita is based on a person's innate nature - it has nothing to do with caste etc.
"Swadharma in Gita is based on a person's innate nature - it has nothing to do with caste etc." Very well said. I agree with you. Even Swami Chinmayananda agrees with me on this.
"How do I decide which is the most suitable job for me?'
"The job, which will prove best suitable for you, is the job that is most suitable for your temperament. What is temperament? It is your basic inherent qualities. Your temperament is what you are born with. It is, however, different from talents. Your temperament is a part of your persona. It is your nature. If, for instance, you are a creative person by temperament, and you take to poetry-writing, you will be much happier than if you become a manager of a multi-national company. Similarly, if you are calculative by temperament, you will do much better as a C.A. than as a doctor. Thus, you need to determine your own temperament and understand your own bent of mind in order to determine the most suitable job for you. And that which you discover will be your Swadharma. The following are a few pointers to know your Swadharma:
1. One never gets fed-up of one’s Swadharma.
2. One is not worried about results when performing one’s Swadharma. A true artist is not worried whether his art is appreciated or not. To him, painting by itself is the reward.
3. One’s own Swadharma gives maximum satisfaction and joy to oneself.
4. Performance of one’s Swadharma finally leads to making the mind quiet and still. Work, which leads to agitation, is not your Swadharma.
5. In order to clearly determine your Swadharma, you must understand your own mind and nature. For this, give yourself enough time. Practice self-observation 24 x 7. If required, take some personality/aptitude tests. Spend some time analyzing your own interests. Watch yourself through different kinds of work. Remember you can succeed in any job if you love it and are passionate about it!
BE PROUD OF YOUR SWADHARMA, AND PUSRUE IT DILLIGENTLY! "
And for a detailed Krishna-Arjuna Samvad please read Swamiji's Commentary on the Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 18 Verses 40-48 .
As I said earlier, if swadharma has the meaning of what you said , we can have totally different discussion.
While that may be a possible interpretation, some one forgot tell that to Hindus for 3000 years. They beleived it is Kula dharma and practicised it as Kula dharma.
It is just another dishonesty deep roooted in Hindu thinking. We tend to say Gita did not say this even though it says it and even though every one who followed it for 3000 years acted as if they beleived in it.
I have no problem if people today believe swadharma is based on innate nature. That compliments modern scientifc thinking. Unfortunately this admission of swadharma does not go far dismantling the caste system that revolves around that core belief.
It is another one of those Hindu attitudes or tactics, when ever confronted with uncomfortable facts, we just say it is not it in Gita or vedas or not a correct interpretation or it is not followed by people properly or it is christian or islamic propaganda or you don't understand the facts. Then go back to real life do exactly what has been argued all along.
Caste, dowry, lack of community sense, female ill treatment, and multitude of other smaller evils.
This is not much different from islamic apologists defending Jihadi atrocities in some form or other. It is no different than psuedo secularists and communists covering up their opportunistic islamic vote bank politics in India as secularism.
Chinmayanda was a very practical man and all his teachings and explanations are for the people who live life today most of whom would rather work at something they are good at doing and enjoy rather than what their caste necessarily suggest that they should do.
The Gita is also part of the Mahabharat where Arjun had grave doubts about participating in a war against half his family many of whom he would end up killing. The pandavs needed arjun for battle and Krishna had to do something to get arjun back on track. It would have made a crap storyline if he had said to arjun you are a warrior because this is what your personality is best suited for and hence you should fight half your family. Where as the argument that this is what he was born to do and this is your dharma makes a more forceful storyline and a much better epic.
Even in the mahabharat they do not always fo the swadharma according to what their caste dictated. When the pandavs were out in the forest for 17 years they did whatever they needed to do at the time and they chose things that their personalities dictated that they were best at. Perhaps overall it tells us that people should use some common sense in the decision as well.
Dear VP,
First and foremost I would like to state that I have not read Vedas.
I have many questions on your post.
Your topic deals with Swadharma only in the individual context.
Is swadharma being used interchangeably with the job/ one does or his/her occupation?
I am not clear what the text means ? It seem to refer to Swadharma as something being done till the last breath. So
I presume it cannot be just occupation.
However, assuming it also means occupation, I have a question.
One can indulge in Swadharma of his choice. However one also has duties.
These duties change in each phase of life, Brahmacharyam, Grihasthashran, Sanyasi and so on...
I do not know what is the vedic equivalent of the word duties, but I presume vedas tell that a person has to do his/her duties.
However if in a certain phase of life your duty is to provide for family , (atleast a child, considering that in today's world most women contribute to providing for family), the occupation (swadharma) you want to indulge in, may not provide enough.
You need to change the occupation. Once you do that, you want to shine in that so you acquire new skills. Now this may not fit all the criteria given in 1 to 5 of the above thread. So then what happens?
It might take a long time for person to finish his duties towards others and enter Sanyasi phase, where his duties are probably one limited to his spouse and himself and all children and other dependent are on their own.
I think, I should walk you through the meaning of the term Dharma, before you can appreciate the meaning of the word Svadharma and Para Dharma. Who better than Swami Chinmayananda?
"Dharma is understood by some, misunderstood by some more, practiced by many and criticised by many more, ignored by many and realised in its essence by a rare few.
The word religion means a system of faith and worship. The Hindu calls his religion Dharma. The word dharma has a deeper and wider meaning than the word religion as it is used and understood by the Westerner. The word Dharma is from the Sanskrit root 'dhr' which means 'to hold' or 'to support.'
Dharyate anena iti dharmah - that which supports is dharma.
Therefore dharma stands for that which holds up (or supports) the existence of a thing. Everything in this universe has its own dharma because it must rely on something for its existence.
Now, what is it on which the existence of a thing depends? It is the essential nature of a thing without which it cannot exist (Some call it Authenticity). The essential nature of a thing, is therefore called its dharma. (e.g. Water flows - Fluidity is its dharma)
Man also has an essential nature that upholds his existence as distinct from the rest of creation. That is the Dharma of Man. What is this essential nature or dharma of man? The Hindus strongly and emphatically uphold that it is the power of becoming divine that distinguishes man from all other beings. I know you are stunned by this hysterical and blasphemous statement. How can man become divine? How is it possible? My equally startling and more hysterical and blasphemous reply is Because Divinity is already within him. This statement will startle, frighten and disgust many of you. But why should it? It is the Truth".
"Dharma essentially means the 'law of being.' That because of which a thing continues to be the thing, without which the thing cannot continue to be the thing, is its dharma.Heat, because of which fire maintains itself as fire, without which fire can no more be fire, is the dharma of fire. We are yet to come across cold fire. Sweetness is the dharma of sugar; sweet-less sugar is a myth.
Every object in this world has two types of properties-the essential and the non essential. A substance can exist even when its 'non-essential' qualities are absent, but not without its 'essential' property. The colour, length and width of the tongues of the flame are non essential properties of fire, but the essential property is heat. This essential property of a substance is called its dharma.
What is the dharma of man? The colour of the skin, the innumerable endless varieties of emotions and thoughts -in short the nature, the conditions and the capacities of the body, mind and intellect -are the non-essential factors in the human personality when they are compared with the touch of life, the Divine Consciousness, expressed through them all. Without the Atman-the Self, man cannot exist. Consciousness, is the basis of existence. Therefore the dharma of man is the divine spark of existence-the Infinite Lord.
All duties in life are considered as dharma in our Scriptures. From the mere ethical and moral rules of conduct, our duties towards our relatives, friends, the community, nation and the world, obligations to our environment, our affections, reverence, charity and sense of goodwill are dharma. In and through such actions, physical, mental and intellectual, man can bring forth the expression of his true dharma-his divine status as the all-pervading Self.
To live truly as the Atman, and to express Its infinite perfection through all our actions and in all our contacts with the world outside, we will have to rediscover our true dharma.
The Self is realised only when we have withdrawn our false identification with the body, mind and intellect. Due to a clinging attachment to these vehicles, we are today expressing in our existence the dharma of these matter made vehicles. We live as though we are the body or we exist dancing to the tunes that are struck by the emotions in us, by the unpredictable suggestions of our intellect. Though man's essential dharma is to be the finite, divine, all-blissful Atman, he behaves as though he is a mere composite of the physical, psychological and intellectual being. The Geeta, urges us to renounce the non-essential dharma (the ego) and own our essential nature.
That which determines one man's personality as distinctly different from another's, is the texture of the thoughts entertained by him. This texture of his thoughts is in turn determined by the patterns of thinking (vasanas) which his mind has gained from its own past. These predetermined channels-of-thinking (vasanas) created by one's own earlier ways of thinking can also be termed as dharma.
To act according to one's own taste, inborn and natural (svadharma) is the only known method of living in peace and joy, in success and satisfaction. To act against the grain of one's own vasanas, or to act according to another's vasanas would be termed 'para-dharma' and it is well known that this is fraught with danger.
Arjuna of Mahabharatha fame, is born a prince, trained in the art of war and has exibited in his life his insatiable thirst for heroism and adventure. Naturally, his svadharma is that of a prince and that can find fulfilment only in adventurous actions and endles
Arjuna of Mahabharatha fame, is born a prince, trained in the art of war and has exibited in his life his insatiable thirst for heroism and adventure. Naturally, his svadharma is that of a prince and that can find fulfilment only in adventurous actions and endless exertions. For him a life of renunciation and meditation would be para-dharma.
To live according to one's own svadharma and exhaust one's vasanas is the way to reach our Divine Nature. That is our Supreme Duty. (Parama Dharma)"
Excerpted from Dharma published by Central Chinmaya Mission Trust Mumbai. July 2004.
VP:
I couldn't open the other thread about Swadharma, so asking some followup questions here:
- By following the advice you have given (self observation of inherant qualities), it might take years to figure out what I am really meant to do. My guess is that it at least takes a person till his late 20's or early 30's to figure out if the profession he/she has chosen IS the profession for them. Is it OK per scriptures to wait till that later part of life? (remember ordinary people didn't live for longer periods till a few decades back)
- If I find out that I am in a 'calculative' person by temperament, but want to train myself to be a 'creative' person, isn't that possible?
In both cases, am I not still searching for my swadharma late into the game?
"BE PROUD OF YOUR SWADHARMA, AND PUSRUE IT DILLIGENTLY! "
That is the sum and substance of Swami Chinmayananda's Advice. One has to contemplate on it and cogitate. Then only cognition[The psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning] will come. It has taken me years to realise what is my Swadharma. And today, I am all the more happy because I know my limitations and my approach to the outside world is conditioned by those thoughts which I hold very dear to my life. Consequently there are no regrets and I am at peace with the world. Who decides your life span? It has already been decided for you. You may know thew time of your birth, but definitely you will not know the time of your death. Scriptures, Bhagavadgita, and a host of other religious writings are wonderful guidelines, and whether it is Buddha or the Trithankaras of the Jains, or Rama, Krishna or a host of Hindu Gods, the purpose of our lives in this world, is to expiate our sins of the past births, what we call our Poorva Janma Karma Phalans. I am very clear in my mind that I am pursuing my goal, with the least inconveninece to my kith and kin, and to those with whom I come in contact in my daily life. Often times, living my life according to my swadharma may give them pangs of jealousy but it does not affect me. I see to it that I cause the least inconvenience or the barest minimum inconvenience to others while following my swadharma. No amount of reading the Scriptures would give you any greater or better advice than what you perceive in your individual life. To each according to his own.
True..
but another truth is ...such insight comes late in life
and even when it comes ...how many will have the courage to perform their 'swadharma' !
no doubt, those who follow..stay happy throughout their life.
what is the purpose of Gita? what is Krishna trying to achieve through teaching Gita?
How did Arjun come to choose warrior profession?
If Swadharma is the chosen profession of a person, how come it is never practised in India? Show me a single story where a character in any purana chooses his or her profession? How come whole Indian history is run on Kula Dharma?
This 20th century explanation is nothing but an effort to massage the issue.
IF Hindus truly accept that swadhaarma is something related to ones inner nature, then it is never practised in Hindu history.
I dont think Buddha was following a chosen profession; I think you have some kind of misunderstanding. A person is normally born in a Kula due to some nature or karmic affinity- this could be deep enemity, like in many marriages- this is not quite swadharma.
Gita teaches art of karma and non-karma, it teaches highest parts of yoga without wedding it to one yoga asana etc. Gita does not follow ritualistic or traditional approach but it does recognise that rituals have some use and traditions are ok but may not be the best vehicle for heading towards enlightenment.
Gita's message is infinitely more broad and universal.
Gita starts with very practical messy problems encountered by a well intentioned Arjuna. Atonce he encounters greed, jealousy from relatives and lots of resistance from blind followers of tradition ( Dhritrashtra) and other learned individuals who dont identify with supreme atman but with some rigid position like Drona and Bheeshma.
Gita is a drama played out between Supreme atma, human spirit(Arjuna), fking moron traditions (dhritrashtra) problem of evil ( duryodhana) , Noble minded but deluded (bheeshma and Drona) and many other psychological types.
In this mess called life, Gita teaches about what is right action . Right action cannot be undertaken without vairagya towards sukh-dukh,victory-defeat, ...etc.; it can not take place without being awake at level of the jeevatman and it's prakriti, it cannot be undertaken without surrender of ego to Atman or krishna;....
A follower of Gita is disciplined , does his duty , is not concerned about profit or loss but does invest with all the enthusiasm, he plays the game but does not care which team wins - his swadharma is to play his role to perfection - he knows that result of which team wins is in hands of GOD or even predetermined. So God takes care of outcomes but inside evolution is entirely dependent on human karma, attitude and making correct choices, even if this results in loss or redicule in the world.
Many school teachers follow the Gita model and are greatly respected even if they have no money. I know an astrologer who has a bucket lying in the courtyard- he is available for consultation from 12 to 3 but he does not care if people put money in his bucket, he just does his 12 hour meditation 7-9 hours in the morning and 3-4 hours in the evening and picks up his earnings at 6-7 pm. This is called not worrying about profit or loss.
You made lot of statements. But you did not touch my question.
Krishna taught Arjuna to perform his duty through Gita. He tells Arjuna that as a warrior his duty is to fight. Arjuna's duty as a warrior came from his birth as a warrior. Gita specifically uses the word Kula dhrama.
I have no problem if you want to say swadhrama is as described above and should be followed. But do not tell me that Dharma as discussed in Gita is the same as described above. This is a modernized version of gita interpretation.
What is dharma per you that was discussed in Gita? From what I have read, dharma can have a lot of meanings (religion, path, occupation etc.) based on the context.
The dharma I am referring to was the one that Krishna was reminding Arjuna about?
When Arjuna was confused about fighting and killing his own cousings, grandfather, relatives and friends, Krishna reminds him of his dhrma to as a warrior.
In case of Arjuna his (laukika) dharma and his swadharma was identical but due to moha Arjuna was temporarily deluded. he was showing sudden interest in becoming a monk - in reference to that Krishna reminded him that he is , was and will be a warrior due to his core nature.
Gita talks only of primacy of swadharma, and it clearly subjugates other dharmas like dharmas towards elders, towards public, relatives, towards animals, to Swadharma.
if you understand things differently or know krishna's mind - I am very happy for you. we can only operate on the basis of what we understand with utmost clarity.
If you want to follow kula dharma, raj dharma, coalition Dharma, that is your freedom and business, for myself I need to know ONLY that my own path is correct and that I verify it to be correct often enough to validate it. All the best.
Your protest is useless if you don't think of an alternative and better structure for society to follow. Modern India has been working hard in trying to find one. The reserevations system is one such example. People are no longer hired based on caste (at least officially). You either wait and see how this experiment proceeds or find a better way. A discussion of whether a caste system, as is seen in our era, is intended in the Vedas is not a very useful exercise.
-sandilya. posted Re:Swadharma - I was wrong! on 4 mnths ago
I was wrong about caste system not playing a role in hiring! The govt. just ordered the IITs to hire faculty from OBC with immediate effect! The caste system is still alive and fostered by P-sec CONwallahs for votes (at the cost of making IITs just like any other mediocre institution).
nihaan posted Re:Swadharma - I was wrong! on 4 mnths ago
Brand image abused. Tata to Bata. Why dont they change the name to SCIT or STIT instead of IIT. 50% reservation in St Stephens is another joke. Where will the IAS aspirants go? Another wrong to fix a wrong.
Truthbetold3 posted Re:Swadharma - I was wrong! on 4 mnths ago
What is wrong here? A historical error has to be corrected. There are no foolproof solutions here. Politicians are finding a method that is beneficial to them.
In TN and AP BCs have made good progress and some of them getin open catagory. SO things will change.
-sandilya. posted Re:Swadharma - I was wrong! on 4 mnths ago
Delhi IIT asked 28 students (from the reservations category) to withdraw from the program based on their poor academic performance. Political leaders of the affected groups are arguing that academic performance cannot be used to remove students.
Obviously, people like Arjun Singh want to admit students based on caste, hire faculty based on caste and pass students on caste basis - making academic institutions pawns in the hands of politicians. Tenure and academic freedom are essentially ignored (these, incidentally, were ideas that had bases in Indian and Greek cultures) by p-sec politicians. If you think this is right, pl. elaborate. If you think it is wrong, how do you make the reservations system better?
"Swadharma in Gita is based on a person's innate nature - it has nothing to do with caste etc." Very well said. I agree with you. Even Swami Chinmayananda agrees with me on this.
"How do I decide which is the most suitable job for me?'
"The job, which will prove best suitable for you, is the job that is most suitable for your temperament. What is temperament? It is your basic inherent qualities. Your temperament is what you are born with. It is, however, different from talents. Your temperament is a part of your persona. It is your nature. If, for instance, you are a creative person by temperament, and you take to poetry-writing, you will be much happier than if you become a manager of a multi-national company. Similarly, if you are calculative by temperament, you will do much better as a C.A. than as a doctor. Thus, you need to determine your own temperament and understand your own bent of mind in order to determine the most suitable job for you. And that which you discover will be your Swadharma. The following are a few pointers to know your Swadharma:
1. One never gets fed-up of one’s Swadharma.
2. One is not worried about results when performing one’s Swadharma. A true artist is not worried whether his art is appreciated or not. To him, painting by itself is the reward.
3. One’s own Swadharma gives maximum satisfaction and joy to oneself.
4. Performance of one’s Swadharma finally leads to making the mind quiet and still. Work, which leads to agitation, is not your Swadharma.
5. In order to clearly determine your Swadharma, you must understand your own mind and nature. For this, give yourself enough time. Practice self-observation 24 x 7. If required, take some personality/aptitude tests. Spend some time analyzing your own interests. Watch yourself through different kinds of work. Remember you can succeed in any job if you love it and are passionate about it!
BE PROUD OF YOUR SWADHARMA, AND PUSRUE IT DILLIGENTLY! "
And for a detailed Krishna-Arjuna Samvad please read Swamiji's Commentary on the Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 18 Verses 40-48 .
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
As I said earlier, if swadharma has the meaning of what you said , we can have totally different discussion.
While that may be a possible interpretation, some one forgot tell that to Hindus for 3000 years. They beleived it is Kula dharma and practicised it as Kula dharma.
It is just another dishonesty deep roooted in Hindu thinking. We tend to say Gita did not say this even though it says it and even though every one who followed it for 3000 years acted as if they beleived in it.
I have no problem if people today believe swadharma is based on innate nature. That compliments modern scientifc thinking. Unfortunately this admission of swadharma does not go far dismantling the caste system that revolves around that core belief.
It is another one of those Hindu attitudes or tactics, when ever confronted with uncomfortable facts, we just say it is not it in Gita or vedas or not a correct interpretation or it is not followed by people properly or it is christian or islamic propaganda or you don't understand the facts. Then go back to real life do exactly what has been argued all along.
Caste, dowry, lack of community sense, female ill treatment, and multitude of other smaller evils.
This is not much different from islamic apologists defending Jihadi atrocities in some form or other. It is no different than psuedo secularists and communists covering up their opportunistic islamic vote bank politics in India as secularism.
If problem is not accepted, cure cannot start.
The Gita is also part of the Mahabharat where Arjun had grave doubts about participating in a war against half his family many of whom he would end up killing. The pandavs needed arjun for battle and Krishna had to do something to get arjun back on track. It would have made a crap storyline if he had said to arjun you are a warrior because this is what your personality is best suited for and hence you should fight half your family. Where as the argument that this is what he was born to do and this is your dharma makes a more forceful storyline and a much better epic.
Even in the mahabharat they do not always fo the swadharma according to what their caste dictated. When the pandavs were out in the forest for 17 years they did whatever they needed to do at the time and they chose things that their personalities dictated that they were best at. Perhaps overall it tells us that people should use some common sense in the decision as well.
First and foremost I would like to state that I have not read Vedas.
I have many questions on your post.
Your topic deals with Swadharma only in the individual context.
Is swadharma being used interchangeably with the job/ one does or his/her occupation?
I am not clear what the text means ? It seem to refer to Swadharma as something being done till the last breath. So
I presume it cannot be just occupation.
However, assuming it also means occupation, I have a question.
One can indulge in Swadharma of his choice. However one also has duties.
These duties change in each phase of life, Brahmacharyam, Grihasthashran, Sanyasi and so on...
I do not know what is the vedic equivalent of the word duties, but I presume vedas tell that a person has to do his/her duties.
However if in a certain phase of life your duty is to provide for family , (atleast a child, considering that in today's world most women contribute to providing for family), the occupation (swadharma) you want to indulge in, may not provide enough.
You need to change the occupation. Once you do that, you want to shine in that so you acquire new skills. Now this may not fit all the criteria given in 1 to 5 of the above thread. So then what happens?
It might take a long time for person to finish his duties towards others and enter Sanyasi phase, where his duties are probably one limited to his spouse and himself and all children and other dependent are on their own.
Please clarify.
Thanking you in anticipation
rawemotions:
I think, I should walk you through the meaning of the term Dharma, before you can appreciate the meaning of the word Svadharma and Para Dharma. Who better than Swami Chinmayananda?
"Dharma is understood by some, misunderstood by some more, practiced by many and criticised by many more, ignored by many and realised in its essence by a rare few.
The word religion means a system of faith and worship. The Hindu calls his religion Dharma. The word dharma has a deeper and wider meaning than the word religion as it is used and understood by the Westerner. The word Dharma is from the Sanskrit root 'dhr' which means 'to hold' or 'to support.'
Dharyate anena iti dharmah - that which supports is dharma.
Therefore dharma stands for that which holds up (or supports) the existence of a thing. Everything in this universe has its own dharma because it must rely on something for its existence.
Now, what is it on which the existence of a thing depends? It is the essential nature of a thing without which it cannot exist (Some call it Authenticity). The essential nature of a thing, is therefore called its dharma. (e.g. Water flows - Fluidity is its dharma)
Man also has an essential nature that upholds his existence as distinct from the rest of creation. That is the Dharma of Man. What is this essential nature or dharma of man? The Hindus strongly and emphatically uphold that it is the power of becoming divine that distinguishes man from all other beings. I know you are stunned by this hysterical and blasphemous statement. How can man become divine? How is it possible? My equally startling and more hysterical and blasphemous reply is Because Divinity is already within him. This statement will startle, frighten and disgust many of you. But why should it? It is the Truth".
http://rajaputhran.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/08/the-divinity-in-one-s-self.htm
"Dharma essentially means the 'law of being.' That because of which a thing continues to be the thing, without which the thing cannot continue to be the thing, is its dharma. Heat, because of which fire maintains itself as fire, without which fire can no more be fire, is the dharma of fire. We are yet to come across cold fire. Sweetness is the dharma of sugar; sweet-less sugar is a myth.
Every object in this world has two types of properties-the essential and the non essential. A substance can exist even when its 'non-essential' qualities are absent, but not without its 'essential' property. The colour, length and width of the tongues of the flame are non essential properties of fire, but the essential property is heat. This essential property of a substance is called its dharma.
What is the dharma of man? The colour of the skin, the innumerable endless varieties of emotions and thoughts -in short the nature, the conditions and the capacities of the body, mind and intellect -are the non-essential factors in the human personality when they are compared with the touch of life, the Divine Consciousness, expressed through them all. Without the Atman-the Self, man cannot exist. Consciousness, is the basis of existence. Therefore the dharma of man is the divine spark of existence-the Infinite Lord.
All duties in life are considered as dharma in our Scriptures. From the mere ethical and moral rules of conduct, our duties towards our relatives, friends, the community, nation and the world, obligations to our environment, our affections, reverence, charity and sense of goodwill are dharma. In and through such actions, physical, mental and intellectual, man can bring forth the expression of his true dharma-his divine status as the all-pervading Self.
To live truly as the Atman, and to express Its infinite perfection through all our actions and in all our contacts with the world outside, we will have to rediscover our true dharma.
The Self is realised only when we have withdrawn our false identification with the body, mind and intellect. Due to a clinging attachment to these vehicles, we are today expressing in our existence the dharma of these matter made vehicles. We live as though we are the body or we exist dancing to the tunes that are struck by the emotions in us, by the unpredictable suggestions of our intellect. Though man's essential dharma is to be the finite, divine, all-blissful Atman, he behaves as though he is a mere composite of the physical, psychological and intellectual being. The Geeta, urges us to renounce the non-essential dharma (the ego) and own our essential nature.
That which determines one man's personality as distinctly different from another's, is the texture of the thoughts entertained by him. This texture of his thoughts is in turn determined by the patterns of thinking (vasanas) which his mind has gained from its own past. These predetermined channels-of-thinking (vasanas) created by one's own earlier ways of thinking can also be termed as dharma.
To act according to one's own taste, inborn and natural (svadharma) is the only known method of living in peace and joy, in success and satisfaction. To act against the grain of one's own vasanas, or to act according to another's vasanas would be termed 'para-dharma' and it is well known that this is fraught with danger.
Arjuna of Mahabharatha fame, is born a prince, trained in the art of war and has exibited in his life his insatiable thirst for heroism and adventure. Naturally, his svadharma is that of a prince and that can find fulfilment only in adventurous actions and endles
To live according to one's own svadharma and exhaust one's vasanas is the way to reach our Divine Nature. That is our Supreme Duty. (Parama Dharma)"
Excerpted from Dharma published by Central Chinmaya Mission Trust Mumbai. July 2004.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
I couldn't open the other thread about Swadharma, so asking some followup questions here:
- By following the advice you have given (self observation of inherant qualities), it might take years to figure out what I am really meant to do. My guess is that it at least takes a person till his late 20's or early 30's to figure out if the profession he/she has chosen IS the profession for them. Is it OK per scriptures to wait till that later part of life? (remember ordinary people didn't live for longer periods till a few decades back)
- If I find out that I am in a 'calculative' person by temperament, but want to train myself to be a 'creative' person, isn't that possible?
In both cases, am I not still searching for my swadharma late into the game?
"BE PROUD OF YOUR SWADHARMA, AND PUSRUE IT DILLIGENTLY! "
That is the sum and substance of Swami Chinmayananda's Advice. One has to contemplate on it and cogitate. Then only cognition[The psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning] will come. It has taken me years to realise what is my Swadharma. And today, I am all the more happy because I know my limitations and my approach to the outside world is conditioned by those thoughts which I hold very dear to my life. Consequently there are no regrets and I am at peace with the world. Who decides your life span? It has already been decided for you. You may know thew time of your birth, but definitely you will not know the time of your death. Scriptures, Bhagavadgita, and a host of other religious writings are wonderful guidelines, and whether it is Buddha or the Trithankaras of the Jains, or Rama, Krishna or a host of Hindu Gods, the purpose of our lives in this world, is to expiate our sins of the past births, what we call our Poorva Janma Karma Phalans. I am very clear in my mind that I am pursuing my goal, with the least inconveninece to my kith and kin, and to those with whom I come in contact in my daily life. Often times, living my life according to my swadharma may give them pangs of jealousy but it does not affect me. I see to it that I cause the least inconvenience or the barest minimum inconvenience to others while following my swadharma. No amount of reading the Scriptures would give you any greater or better advice than what you perceive in your individual life. To each according to his own.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
This is a wonderful post.
but another truth is ...such insight comes late in life
and even when it comes ...how many will have the courage to perform their 'swadharma' !
no doubt, those who follow..stay happy throughout their life.
what is the purpose of Gita? what is Krishna trying to achieve through teaching Gita?
How did Arjun come to choose warrior profession?
If Swadharma is the chosen profession of a person, how come it is never practised in India? Show me a single story where a character in any purana chooses his or her profession? How come whole Indian history is run on Kula Dharma?
This 20th century explanation is nothing but an effort to massage the issue.
IF Hindus truly accept that swadhaarma is something related to ones inner nature, then it is never practised in Hindu history.
Gita teaches art of karma and non-karma, it teaches highest parts of yoga without wedding it to one yoga asana etc. Gita does not follow ritualistic or traditional approach but it does recognise that rituals have some use and traditions are ok but may not be the best vehicle for heading towards enlightenment.
Gita's message is infinitely more broad and universal.
Gita starts with very practical messy problems encountered by a well intentioned Arjuna. Atonce he encounters greed, jealousy from relatives and lots of resistance from blind followers of tradition ( Dhritrashtra) and other learned individuals who dont identify with supreme atman but with some rigid position like Drona and Bheeshma.
Gita is a drama played out between Supreme atma, human spirit(Arjuna), fking moron traditions (dhritrashtra) problem of evil ( duryodhana) , Noble minded but deluded (bheeshma and Drona) and many other psychological types.
In this mess called life, Gita teaches about what is right action . Right action cannot be undertaken without vairagya towards sukh-dukh,victory-defeat, ...etc.; it can not take place without being awake at level of the jeevatman and it's prakriti, it cannot be undertaken without surrender of ego to Atman or krishna;....
A follower of Gita is disciplined , does his duty , is not concerned about profit or loss but does invest with all the enthusiasm, he plays the game but does not care which team wins - his swadharma is to play his role to perfection - he knows that result of which team wins is in hands of GOD or even predetermined. So God takes care of outcomes but inside evolution is entirely dependent on human karma, attitude and making correct choices, even if this results in loss or redicule in the world.
Many school teachers follow the Gita model and are greatly respected even if they have no money. I know an astrologer who has a bucket lying in the courtyard- he is available for consultation from 12 to 3 but he does not care if people put money in his bucket, he just does his 12 hour meditation 7-9 hours in the morning and 3-4 hours in the evening and picks up his earnings at 6-7 pm. This is called not worrying about profit or loss.
You made lot of statements. But you did not touch my question.
Krishna taught Arjuna to perform his duty through Gita. He tells Arjuna that as a warrior his duty is to fight. Arjuna's duty as a warrior came from his birth as a warrior. Gita specifically uses the word Kula dhrama.
I have no problem if you want to say swadhrama is as described above and should be followed. But do not tell me that Dharma as discussed in Gita is the same as described above. This is a modernized version of gita interpretation.
When Arjuna was confused about fighting and killing his own cousings, grandfather, relatives and friends, Krishna reminds him of his dhrma to as a warrior.
In case of Arjuna his (laukika) dharma and his swadharma was identical but due to moha Arjuna was temporarily deluded. he was showing sudden interest in becoming a monk - in reference to that Krishna reminded him that he is , was and will be a warrior due to his core nature.
Gita talks only of primacy of swadharma, and it clearly subjugates other dharmas like dharmas towards elders, towards public, relatives, towards animals, to Swadharma.
if you understand things differently or know krishna's mind - I am very happy for you. we can only operate on the basis of what we understand with utmost clarity.
If you want to follow kula dharma, raj dharma, coalition Dharma, that is your freedom and business, for myself I need to know ONLY that my own path is correct and that I verify it to be correct often enough to validate it. All the best.
I wish. I think Krishna is the most color ful character in the entire literary world. Absolute best.
yes
I dont have any achievements in Sri Vidya sadhana. I wish I was better but fortunately, mothers have a way of accomodating even worthless children.
Why are you so surprised? isn't harvad and standford hiring Blacks? isn't there an affirmative action in all universities?
In TN and AP BCs have made good progress and some of them getin open catagory. SO things will change.
Obviously, people like Arjun Singh want to admit students based on caste, hire faculty based on caste and pass students on caste basis - making academic institutions pawns in the hands of politicians. Tenure and academic freedom are essentially ignored (these, incidentally, were ideas that had bases in Indian and Greek cultures) by p-sec politicians. If you think this is right, pl. elaborate. If you think it is wrong, how do you make the reservations system better?
The effort is to identify what happened in the past. The known facts do not support the explanation of swadharma presented above.
I agree there is not much utility of using Veda's prescriptions after 3000 or more years. Current society has to create its own model.
The unfortunate fact is even now the above explanation of swadharma is not followed even though caste system is not the culprit but ignorance is.