Hare Krishna to all the devotees!
PAMHO!
I feel that my question is a common one but yet it is sometimes quite confusing too. How does a devotee or an individual on the path of spirituality find one’s own Svadharma? How does he/she discover what Varna they are in ? Krishna in the Gita gives a lot of stress on this
“It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another's duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for to follow another's path is dangerous” (BG 3.35).
From the scriptures we understand that the Para Dharma of all beings is to serve the Lord. But how do we find our Svadharma? Like Arjuna was a skilled Archer Kshatriya householder in Mahabharat.
I have heard from other devotees that we all are shudras in Kali Yuga, but I also believe that each being has a potential to become more then a shudra in his/her lifetime and become a Vaishnav. The Pandavas were all Vaishnav’s but by their psycho physical nature, they were Kshatriyas.
I will be very thankful and blessed if I can receive any practical guidance on the above.
P.S : Just as an info on my background , I am a householder and have family responsibilities. I have an engineering education but I feel that it’s not for me.
Replies
How does a devotee or an individual on the path of spirituality find one’s own Svadharma? How does he/she discover what Varna they are in ?
The svadharma mentioned by Lord Sri Krsna in Srimad Bhagavad Gita refers to dharma within the varnashrama system. Currently we do not have a varnashrama system. People with poor fund of knowledge over many centuries have thought varnashrama system the same as caste system and have come to despise it, owing to modern "education" system that was started by British.
But as Lord Sri Krsna says the daivi-varnashrama system was created by the lord himself. It is the best spiritual-socio-economic system. The daivi-varnashrama system gives a chance to every member of society to make spiritual progress with minimal sins while at same time giving guidance on how to fulfill material desires.
The material dharma of the individual is determined by tendency or inclinations of the individual which is awarded by the material nature.
The tendency of a particular man toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Purport BG 4.13
The duty of ascertaining the dharma of an individual is done by someone who is in superior position. It could be guru, father, teacher, brahmana etc. Some people think it is purely by birth. But it is not so. birth is only one of the factors. Most important factors are guna and karma.
In current society it is not possible to determine the svadharma because we do not follow varnashrama system. As Arjuna describes in 1st Chapter of BG, most of it is destroyed. Unless we restructure the society there is no easy solution to this.
Hare Krsna
As a householder, supporting our family financially is a high priority. If we can align our income generation with something we are inspired by that is connected to Krishna consciousness that is ideal.
Isn't it much better to earn in a way that supports or Krishna consciousness rather than having to work for money then doing Krishna consciousness separately?
How to achieve this?
Think of what you love to do. What would you do even if you did not get paid for it.
Have a look at your Youtube history. Look at what you spend money on... This will give you clues to what inspires you.
Next think of problems that people would pay to solve.
Ideally see if you can relate this to Krishna consciousness.
What problems can you solve that would help bring people closer to Krishna consciousness?
What problems could you solve that would help devotees?
As devotees we have a lot of wisdom that can help people so I think coaching or online courses are great career options to consider.
As said by Radha mata ji in olden days Varna ashrama dharma was there... Even now ashrama dharma is still there..
You being a Grishatha its ur duty to maintain the family and be a provider it is first and foremost responsibility which you should do whole heartedly giving ur 100% to it.
If you were a student you should do that job of studying giving ur 100% involvement.
Any ashrama for that matter where ever you are whichever position you hold on to you must do ur duty giving ur 100% commitment.
Let us say you are a doctor.... and u had to see a rich politician with heart condition.. and at the same time you had to treat in the next room another patient who is poor with the same medical condition as the rich guy. Will the doctor change his prescription? Will he show difference in his treatments ..?? for both the cases the treatment is same....maybe the room of the rich guy has AC and poor guy is non AC but the treatment is not differing RIGHT??
This is called doing ur dharma correctly!!! with full commitment not seeing even if the poor guy couldn't pay you sufficient fee also... you are doing ur prescribed duty of a doctor.
See... another example is a teacher..
For a teacher also.... all the students are the same.. A student who is belonging to a filmstar or the student from a middle class family also should be equal in the eyes of the teacher...
See.. It is better that whatever job are holding u must do with full committment and not according to the income you get.
look some big bridges are collapsing now a days .. due to not using correct prescribed materials.. They are not doing their jobs properly... You know right..?
If each person does his duty correctly... from the low end worker to the high class workers then there is no problem at all.
In a big construction company.. the low end workers labors who work are not working properly then the whole company gets a bad name...
Even in case of Cricket also.. did you notice how match fixing was done... by some players and it resulted in a loss for the nation as a whole.
It is better we do our prescribed duty with utmost committment...Not look for personal gain.. and looking on a broader outlook..
personal gain is important for ur personal life but it is of not much use after ur needs are satisfied we must strive to give our 100% best of us when we do any work.
It goes same with even small labors even cleaners also in a big organisation.
Even to run a big Organization like ISKCON also even a small cleaner of the temple is providing his or her full support for the growth of the organisation.. If the cleaner only thinks why I must do this job i am paid only this much i will do as much as they pay then there will be chaos only. Right?
Swadharma is whatever work u are doing ...be it in family affairs or job or education or anything....you should be doing without personal self interest giving your best.
How do decide your Swadharma?????
What job is right for you..???
You are a better judge and one more thing is....swadharma and swabhava are two things to be understood.
A KC person thinks he is part and parcel of Krishna right? So what is the Swabhava of the soul??????
Sat, Chit, ananda is the soul's Swabhava.
The work that gives bliss to the soul that which pleases the Lord is only your Swadharma.
Hare Krishna.
PAMHO.
You are right, this Q comes to most minds on this path. I also grappled with it for a long time before I arrived at the answer.
Whatever state we are in when we come to devotion, we are in that varnashram at that time. Of course, it can change with time and our age. For instance, you are a householder, therefore you are a grihasta. That means your ashram is decided. By the time you reach 50, you can decide whether to proceed to vanaprasta.
Regarding varna, you are a qualified engineer. That means you will be either in employment or having your own business. Accordingly, you will be either sudra or Vaishya.
The idea is - whatever we do in our life, there will always be some fault in all activities - one should not give up ones duty because of the fault. One must continue to do one's duty.
Like you said, Arjuna was a Kshatriya and a Grihasta before the Gita paath and remained one after the knowledge was given. At no point in time, Krsna tells him - give up your duty. Neither He tells Arjuna - go and sleep for 20 days, the war is already decided by My will, since you are My friend, I will ensure the results for you. No. He said Do your duty. And Arjuna decides to fight the war, not because he wanted the kingdom, but because that was the will of the lord - Karisye Vacanam Tava. So what changed was the consciousness - external activity remained the same. That is what Krsna means when He says better to do one's duty with faults than another's duty perfectly. After getting into spirituality, if one thinks my job is full of faults, better I sit in one corner and chant Hare Krsna. It is Krsna's job to provide for me, it is not right. One has to do one's duty and lead a Krsna Conscious life.
I hope I have been able to explain.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD