• Author’s personal journey of how by discovering his Svadharma, he was able to clear the mind, accept himself for what he is and do what matched with his nature. This has made him happier. It briefly includes Sri Aurobindo’s views on Dharma. 

Introduction

The notion of dharma-karma as propounded in the Gita fascinates me. My understanding is that even the atman that has realized pure consciousness essentially needs to engage in action for the larger good of humanity. This action or 'karma' need to be performed with no attachment to its fruits (results), totally surrendering the agency of 'doership' to the 'supreme being' or Brahman.

This article was part of a 2012 summer project by author in the Indian Psychology Institute, Pondicherry. A slightly shorter version is shared here. 

Raised in a traditional (but not orthodox) Hindu family, daily pujas, reciting mantras and stotras, fasting on auspicious days and stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata were common phenomenon for me. As a child two stories stood out and later raised deep questions in me.

The first one was of Shravana in the Ramayana and the other was that of Ekalavya from the Mahabharata. The former lost his life while pursuing his dharma as a son while the latter lost his right thumb (the life of an archer) in delivering his dharma as a shishya. The question that arose in me was 'why would people suffer when they stand steadfast in their dharma?' It was not an easy question to answer then. This project is an attempt to get to grips at this paradox.

Personally, it was a constant struggle for me to reconcile the difference between what was expected of me and what I wanted. First half of my current life was spent on being 'good' by submitting my needs to the wishes of others, namely family and friends.

However, when I took up training in transactional analysis in 1994 I found my own inner voice and started experiencing the joy of wanting something of my own and acting based on these inner needs and drives rather than adapting to my surrounding. It was indeed a long journey and the deep psychological understanding I derived from that process helped me grow in leaps and bounds towards 'autonomy'.

Experiencing autonomy (capacity to be aware, spontaneous and intimate, as defined by Eric Berne) was a major milestone for me. When I was fully pursuing the goal of autonomy the world faced the worst economic crisis of over a century.

When the world markets collapsed and the global economy was in a mess, it raised questions in me about personal autonomy as a life goal. Somehow deep down I realized blind and narrow pursuit of autonomy without any concern for the others seem to have been at the bottom of this collapse.

That is when my interest in looking at the Gita grew. I realized how decline of global dharma has led to the mega fiasco at an unprecedented scale. (Elaborated in my attached paper titled 'Time for a New Avatar? Revitalising the Debate on Ethics for a New Global Vision') It stirred in me the thought "how am I contributing to this and what do I need to change within me so that I could create a small ripple towards a macro transformation?"

That is when I came across the notion of 'svadharma'.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna advices Arjuna to abide by his 'svadharma' whenever there is a conflict between svadharma and paradharma. This raised several questions in me:

How to identify what one's dharma is? What factors constitute one's dharma? Is dharma static and deterministic? or is it dynamic and changing? How do I identify the conflict between svadharma and paradharma? Above all…

What is MY svadharma? What role does it play in my realization of the pure consciousness?

This project is an attempt to find answers to these questions. I realized there were so simple answers and that this pursuit was for life.

What is DHARMA?

'Dharma' stems from the root sound dhri, in Sanskrit which means 'to sustain; carry, hold'. At the cosmic level dharma refers to underlying order in nature and human life. At the basic human level it refers to behaviours being in accordance to that order. It also means duty, justice, law, virtue, ethics, religion, goodness and truth.

We cannot find a single alternate word in English for dharma. It cannot be defined but can be explained. When the divine consciousness created the purusha and prakriti it seem to have established dharma along with them to sustain them in their pure nature. Thus, dharma sustains everything in its true nature.

In other words, dharma is the true nature itself of every being, both living and non-living. In the Mahabharata when Yudhistra asked Bhishma to teach him what dharma was, Bhishma from his bed of arrows said thus:

It is most difficult to define Dharma. Dharma is that which helps the upliftment of living beings. Therefore, that which ensures the welfare of living beings is Dharma. The learned rishis have declared that which sustains is Dharma.

Shanthi Parva 109-9-11 - In another place in the Mahabharata dharma is praised as Dharma sustains the society, Dharma maintains the social order, Dharma ensures well-being and progress of Humanity.

Karna Parva 69-58 - Jaimini, the author of the celebrated Purvamimamsa and Uthara Mimamsa, explains 'Dharma' thus: Dharma is that which is indicated by the Vedas as conducive to the highest good.

Jaimini-2 - Bhishma again says: Whatever creates conflict is adharma
Whatever puts an end to conflict and brings about unity and harmony is dharma.

What is SVADHARMA

Dharma embraces every type of righteous conduct covering every aspect of life essential for the sustenance and welfare of the individual and society.

Next question that arises is 'what is right action?' Indian philosophical frameworks give a series of direction for the same as well.

Right action is one that is governed by one's svadharma, kuladhrama, asrama dharma, varna dharma & rashtriya dharma. It also goes beyond the national to the global level pertaining to cosmic period to which we belong, called yuga dharma.

Svadharma is the action determined by one's nature, spiritual temperament and essential character. One's nature is in turn determined by one's physical, pranic and mental constitutions, namely trigunas (sattwa, rajas, tamas) and body constituency (vata, pitta, kapha). More on svadharma a little later.

Kula dharma is political, social, and community-related activities. These are based upon unselfishness, satya (Truth), ahimsã (non-violence), moral and ethical values.

Ashrama dharma depends on the stage of life we are in. The fours ashramas or stages are Brahmacharya, Gruhasta, Vanaprasta and Sannyasa. Each stage in life has its own set of norms and values to uphold in order to sustain one's own identity, family and society. Actually, one can choose in any particular stage for all our lives for e.g. brahmachari. The choice is guided by one's svadharma.

Varna dharma pertains to the personality type one belongs to. Even though the Vanashrama has been distorted and grossly abused, it was actually an efficient social system that prescribed professions to individuals based on their qualities and natural temperaments and traits.

Each varna (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra) has its own nature (dharma). Knowing it to suit one's career is the ancient form of 'personality-job fit'. The story of Satyakama Jabala in the Upanishads stand testimony to this, where Satyakama who was born to jabala, a woman who did not know who his father was, was initiated into Brahmanhood by a rishi because he stood for truth, which was the quality of a Brahmin.

Rashtriya dharma governs the conduct of each one of us as a responsible citizen of our nation.

Yuga dharma is that which sustains the universe at each yuga. Prophetically, Bhishma says in the Mahabharata that in the kali yuga 'dharma will become adharma and adharma dharma'. Subsequently Krishna says in the Gita that whenever such an erosion of dharma happens he will come again and again to reinstate the rightful place of dharma.

Following one's dharma helps us align our body, mind and self with nature and eventually the divine. By establishing a hierarchy of dharmas it is ensured that no one acts arbitrarily but responsibly considering various factors into account.

Excerpts from Sri Aurobindo’s views on Dharma

Sri Aurobindo has written extensively on dharma all through his writings. For the sake of brevity sharing key points. To read in detail click here

According to Sri Aurobindo, "man's caste depended on his dharma, his spiritual, moral and practical duties, and his dharma depended on his swabhava, his temperament and inborn nature. The Mother prescribes 12 psychic qualities that could be the basis for our svadharma i.e. sincerity, humility, gratitude, perseverance, aspiration, receptivity, progress, courage, goodness, generosity, equality and peace.

“Every man has in him something divine, something his own, a chance of strength and perfection in however small a sphere, which God offers him to take or refuse. The task is to find it, develop it, and use it. The chief aim of education should be to help the growing soul to draw out that in itself which is best and make it perfect for a noble use.”

“If India becomes an intellectual province of Europe, she will never attain to her natural greatness or fulfil the possibilities within her. Paradharmo bhayavahah, to accept the dharma of another is perilous; it deprives the man or the nation of its secret of life and vitality and substitutes an unnatural and stunted growth for the free, large and organic development of Nature. Whenever a nation has given up the purpose of its existence, it has been at the cost of its growth. India must remain India if she is to fulfil her destiny.”

The same applies to an individual. We must remain ourselves to fulfil our destiny.

My Personal Journey and Dharma

As I grew up many of the traditional values took deep roots in me, namely respect for learning/education, respect for elders, importance of family, duties towards parents, concern for others, concerns for the environment, innate divinity in all beings – both living and non-living.

The search for knowing me began sometime in my early 20's. This made me learn transactional analysis in 1994. Even though I began the training for my own personal growth, slowly I found its value in my life and started wondering 'why not take it to others!' Using transactional analysis transformed my outlook to life and the way I related to myself, others and life at large. It helped me make decisions that I would have never made and made me accept life as happened.

During the past 18 years, I was guided by my interpretation and learning of concepts, models of transactional analysis. It is a long drawn, continuing process. Along the way, I was exposed to the spiritual dimension of a psychological theory like transactional analysis. I have also witnessed many of my trainers who lived its philosophy of 'All are ok', 'All can think', and 'We make our life what it is and so it can be changed at any point of time'.

I worked through my shortcomings and built on strengths through personal and group psychotherapy and counselling. My biggest struggle since my earlier days was between 'MY needs' and 'OTHERS' expectations from me'. I was able to make major changes in that domain. It was a herculean task; but my friends, family and colleagues stood by me. I slowly realized it was actually my own making and others were much more open and flexible than I thought.

I learned a lot by teaching, since 2001, transactional analysis to a multitude of people and advanced trainees who aspire to be certified transactional analysts.

The frame of reference of transactional analysis was my inspiration professionally as a teacher, trainer, counsellor and coach.

It was the recession of the late 2000's that triggered my thought and study into the dharma/karma paradigm. Somehow I realized it had all along defined/shaped my personal philosophy. I believe strongly that when I do my bit, the universe does its part. I started studying the Gita recently.

One of the earliest concepts that I found appealing was that of daiva. I realized how there are several factors that determine the outcome of our actions which were in turn nothing but the unconscious implications of my own choices and actions.

Personal Breakthrough: Whilst preparing to the Summer School Indian Psychology I was not sure what to expect from it. I was keen to resolve a personal issue.

Keeping aside the details, the key issue there was the will to let go. I was clinging on to it so hard, that I felt as if there was no life if I let it go.

I knew I needed a spiritual intervention, something that could change the whole outlook to life once all over again. I realized how hard it was for me to surrender half way through the SSIP when the sessions on bhakti were going on.

I thought bhakti was not for me and always knew my karma and jnana approach to autonomy (goal of TA) was not sufficient for the issue I had lingering in me. When I came to the SSIP, I told myself I will just meditate on this issue and will not engage in any rational analysis. Days after I left SSIP the issue had just vaporized in thin air. It happened because I just ‘let go’.

What made me change?

I realized it was not in my 'nature' to be distraught and distressed. My true nature to be loving and letting go.

Svadharma is all about living our lives as per our 'nature'. Probably this realization brought in this change in me.

During one of the sessions on Bhakti I found surrender in bhakti was not to anything outside but to the supreme/divine in ourselves. It was then that I realized that such a bhakti was part of my svadharma.

Personal Methodology: The four weeks of project helped me to get a deeper understanding of how I processed experience for e.g. sitting in silence for hours was not my nature.

My main mode of gathering knowledge and gaining insights was by reading, listening, contemplating on topic of interest. For me ‘doing' is meditation. I realized that I get into meditation mode when I perform a task for pleasure and not to meet a requirement. 

Usually I depended on a friend but thanks to the training I learnt to look within.

Action Points

As a result of my swadharma project I made these decisions:

1. Enrol myself for a distance education Sanskrit course.

2. Learn Indian scriptures deeply, namely the Gita, Vedas, Upanishads, Saiva Siddhanta and Thirukkural to find their relevance to modern life.

3. Learn to play flute, online through a Bengaluru teacher.

Professional Application of my Svadharma prokect.

Developing my personal self helped me develop professionally too. As a teacher of business administration, I found three broad areas of applying my insights-

Business Ethics

I would like to focus on the role of Indian psychology in helping the modern world reconcile the tension between growth based and sustainable development. I believe Indian psychology has a major role to play in making the transition on the six ethical paradigms identified by Anne de Graff and Joost Levy, namely reactive vs proactive behaviour, symptoms vs structure and symptoms, short term vs long term, I vs we, parts vs whole, and knowing vs learning.

Leadership Dharma

In my doctoral research, I found there is strong correlation between the OK personality aspects of leaders and their transformational leadership behaviours. I would also like to develop models for value based leadership development with a focus on dharma and karma.

Dharma in Management Education

Inspired by a qualitative research by Gianpiero Petriglieri (INSEAD), Jack Denfeld Wood (IMD) and Jennifer Louise Petriglieri (Harvard University) I wish to offer courses on 'Indian Ethos' and 'Happiness' for MBAs at my institution.

Conclusion

The four weeks at Summer School Indian Psychology gave me much more than meeting experts in the field of Indian Psychology and mainstream psychology, lovely atmosphere and lot of time with myself. The programme gave me some valuable personal insights.

By undertaking a personal project of swadharma I realized bhakti is not that dreadful as I had imagined before. It is very much part of my nature and it could be a path for me in future. 'Evolution' to the psychic being is what I would prefer to focus right now. I see God through my actions and importantly got a huge surprise gift of a personal issue not being an issue anymore.

The project also gave me clear direction on how to use learnings from my personal journey into the profession and organization. This requires focusing on Indianisation of business ethics and leadership development and offering courses on Indian Ethos and Happiness to my MBA students.

Study of dharma and swadharma is an ocean and a lifelong process. This verse from the Holy Gita reasonates with me – 

Karmanye Va Dhika Raste Ma Fhaleshu Kadhachana
Ma Karma Phalahethu Bhuurmathe Sandothsava Karmani.

“You are bound to discharge your duties with devotion. Don't expect the fruits of your deeds. Don't remain idle. Expect nothing in return (for your deeds). He alone gives the results for your deeds. The deeds should go on unmindful of their fruits as anything done for enjoyment enslaves us to desire. Whatever one does with desire binds us to the cycle of birth and death.”

This may be a tall order, but is a goal worth pursuing.

The articles first appeared on Indian Psychology Institute site. eSamskriti has obtained permission from author and site to share. 

Also read

1. How Yoga helps you deal with uncertain times

2. Bhagavad Gita in Management

3. How the Bhagavad GITA helps manage UNCERTAINTY