I thought I would write down some reflections on Dharma, not that I think about it that much but I do occasionally, as living a life more in tune with it should bring more fulfilment with less effort and stress and develop you in some way.
It’s of course almost impossible to know exactly what we should be doing but there are a few things that can help:
- Jyotish: I was told several years after starting that my profession in IT that it was suited to someone who has a lot of Shani (Saturn) in the chart. I had an inkling during the last years of school that this is what I ought to do although it took me a few years to get there, so I think that intuition proved correct
- Meditation: I was fortunate to learn towards the end of school and I’m sure this helped me gravitate in the right direction. I would add that I think it’s also one of many good reasons to encourage children to take it up.
How do you know you’re living life in accord with your dharma in a material world? Well, I don’t think you can’t know for sure and it must be harder in Kali Yuga, the current age in the Hindu cycle of time marked by negative traits like conflict, materialism, and spiritual deterioration.
I think though there are some clues that you can look for, perhaps the most obvious one is whether you enjoy and feel motivated in your work and if that stays with you over several years, there must be a good chance that you’ve chosen something that’s at least close to what fits. From my own experience it is also likely to express itself in some low-key ways, in the form of contentment and satisfaction and in things like the absence of obstacles and more positively seeing some degree of nature support. Some of these characteristics can be difficult to untangle from the effects of meditation but I think their presence means you’re probably close to being on the right track.
Another thing that will help is having enough rest and time to do a full programme. I was very fortunate early in my career to have a short journey to work and enable me to do group programme in the evening. The culminative beneficial effect of the elimination of stress and expansion of consciousness ought to put a person in a better position to make decisions in line with one´s dharma.
The end goal of fulfilling one’s dharma is enlightenment. On the highest spiritual path in the Hindu tradition that means a life of service to the master or in the Christian tradition, service to God. Some people were lucky enough to have worked with Maharishi and would have had the benefit of an enlightened man to discern what path a person should be on and guide activity accordingly. While such a life is for very few, the idea of service for the greater good is something most people can incorporate in some way to bring support from nature and help one’s development.
Peter D´Souza