Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Namaste, >We cling on to our good and bad actions for too long, by thinking >of them ( " I did it " ) for too long. If we learn to cut off doership >in the mind once the action is finished, that is a great starting >point. The next step is to not have the sense of " I am doing it " >even as one is doing it. Can 'Homam' buildup this attitude even without contemplation or conscious efforts? Yours, Utpal , " Narasimha P.V.R. Rao " <pvr wrote: > > Namaste Rajarshi, > > > Also, as Narasimhaji's mail shows correctly, following Dharma is no > > guarantee of anything, least of all Moksha. It just continues the cycle. > > But what is the big deal in continuinng the cycle, it would any way > > continue which ever path one choses, dharma or adharma. > > Without discharging one's dharma, Nature will not allow one to attain moksha. Moksha (liberation) is attained when one is free from desires, attachments, attractions and aversions. As long as there are some karmik debts that need to be settled, Nature will keep some attractions and some aversions alive in the person and keep one away from liberation. Thus, there is a big difference between following dharma and not following dharma. While following one's dharma does not guarantee liberation, not following one's dharma does guarantee not getting liberated and keeps liberation further away. > > The key to making spiritual progress is to follow one's dharma, without identifying with the actions too much. If one fulfils one's dharma but identifies with the actions strongly (i.e. has the sense of " I am doing it " and feels proud), that creates new karmas and new bondage. Any action or thought performed with a sense of " I " involved in it causes new karmas and new bondage. Each such action keeps one further away from liberation. > > Of course, it is difficult to perform actions without a sense of " I am doing it " . So, to start with, atleast remove an action and its doership from your thoughts once the action is finished. Keep the sense of doership while you do it (because it helps you do it better), but remove it from your mind once the action is complete. Normally we cling on to the doership of an action for a long time and that creates a strong self-identification. > > As an example, suppose you build a temple. You may do it with a sense of " *I* am doing some important work " while the building work is going on, because that thought and resultant attachment motivates you overcome problems. But, once the temple is finished, learn to say " krishnaarpanamastu " (surrendered to the Lord) and think no more of it as your work or your " achievement " . If people praise you for the great thing you have done, learn to not dwell on it mentally and not feel proud. There may be no need to demonstrate your humility by lecturing or saying something, but, you can just smile and keep your mind from dwelling on that compliment and feeling proud. > > We cling on to our good and bad actions for too long, by thinking of them ( " I did it " ) for too long. If we learn to cut off doership in the mind once the action is finished, that is a great starting point. The next step is to not have the sense of " I am doing it " even as one is doing it. > > If one engages in actions without attachment and without a sense of ownership/doership, one stops accumulating new karmas (new burden). As that happens, one's conscience becomes stronger and tells one of one's dharma clearer and louder. That enables one to unload the existing karmik burdens (perform correct dharma) without picking up new burdens (no new actions with self-identification). That takes one closer to liberation. > > Thus, I emphasize detached action. Being able to engage in action with very little (or no) attachment and sense of doership is more important and urgent than finding out what one's dharma is and discharging it. > > * * * > > > that is what his " gurus " may have asked him to do > > Not every " guru " will have a perfect idea of what one's dharma is. As I said, " If one's guru is an elevated soul with a clear insight into one's inner core, such a guru can give perfect guidance " . After all, one's dharma depends on what actions one engaged in in the past lives while identifying with the actions, what karmik debts were created and what mental conditioning was created. Those things can be known with certainty only by a guru who is self-realized. > > * * * > > > When a terrorist is doing a suicide attack he may just be doing his dharma. > > That is theoretically possible, but very unlikely. One who kills tens or hundreds or thousands of people with a sense of " I am doing it " , " I am taking revenge " , " I am punishing them " , " I will go to heaven because of it " is doing an action with a strong self-identification. Whether this act is expected from one by Nature as a result of previous karmik debts to the victims or not is unknowable, but what we can know for sure is that this person has created new karma and new debts. Any action performed with self-identification causes new karma, new debts and new bondage. The bondage will pull him in a future life into situations where one will be paid those debts back. > > * * * > > BTW, the article of Robert Svoboda given earlier can also be accessed at the following " tiny " URL (thanks to Kishore for creating it): > > http://tinyurl.com/dblc6a > > Best regards, > Narasimha > > Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam > Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpana > Spirituality: > Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net > Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org > Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org > > - > rajarshi nandy > > Tuesday, April 07, 2009 1:21 AM > Re: Nice article on dharma by Robert Svoboda > > > Namaste > > I read Svoboda's article and I had a few question. Theoritcal but relevant. > > He has given the idea of of terrorists. When a terrorist is doing a suicide attack he may just be doing his dharma. That is what he maybe drawn to as per his perceptions, that is what his " gurus " may have asked him to do, and that is what his ideals/principles/books maybe asked of him to do. So from teh point of view of dharma, how can he be blamed? Therefore, the statement taht " Dharmo rakshati rakshitah.. " , does not make sense. How is his dharma protecting him? What is he getting in return, other than a bag load of strong karmas to fend off at a later date, when he may not even be aware why he has this karmas. > > Can there is conflicting Dharmas for one person? Or more important vs less important dharma? Swadharma should be situational. Sant Tulsidas's broader dharma may have been realizing Rama, but as a husband, his dharma should have been to keep his wife happy. So ideally, I don't think we can ever full perform every dharma that is expected of us. > > I believe the reason this idea of Dharma was existent in ancient times, was mostly because nature has created various kinds of people, each with varying tendencies. This idea of Dharma was sort of approxiamtion, or the best way to tell men that we are all different and yet we are not incorrect in anyway. This is much better than the new ages philosophies which outright deny reality and claim everything and everyone is born equal. It is not so. > > The word religion is a 13 century invention and, etymologically, and inherently competitive in nature. Unlike Dharma. > > Also, as Narasimhaji's mail shows correctly, following Dharma is no gaurantee of anything, least of all Moksha. It just continues the cycle. But what is the big deal in continuinng the cycle, it would any way continue which ever path one choses, dharma or adharma. > > A much better way of conduction life, I feel, is maknig a mental note of Karma. To know teh simple truth that that which goes out will come back to you and that, if you had not been bad at some point, nothing bad will ever come to you. For an otherwise ordinary person, following a life based on and being on the right side of karma, is much easier and profitable than trying to find that elusive dharma which anyway won't help one in the long run. > > Just my feeling on the subject. > > -Regards > Rajarshi > > --- On Tue, 7/4/09, Narasimha P.V.R. Rao <pvr wrote: > > Namaste friends, > > The following nice article on dharma by Robert Svoboda appeared in " Times of India " on April 5. Thanks to Narayan Iyer for telling me about it. > > http://epaper. timesofindia. com/Default/ Scripting/ ArticleWin. asp?From= Search & Source=Find & Key=TOIM/2009/ 04/05/17/ Ar01700.xml & CollName=TOI_ MUMBAI_DAILY_ 2009 & DOCID=9879 & Keyword=(%3Cmany% 3E%3Cstem% 3ESvoboda) & skin=TOINEW & AppName=1 & PageLabel=17% 20 & ViewMode=HTML & GZ=T > > If you wonder, after reading this article, how to figure out one's own dharma, you may find a few words touching upon it in the following mail from a few months back. > > Best regards, > Narasimha > > - > " Narasimha P.V.R. Rao " <pvr (AT) charter (DOT) net> > <> > Saturday, September 27, 2008 2:41 PM > Re: Dharma > > > > Namaste, > > > > As Vimalananda says, dharma is indeed personal. Krishna clearly says in > > Bhagavad Geeta " Follow your own dharma. It is dangerous to follow someone > > else's dharma " . > > > > Following the path of dharma basically means engaging in the right > > action/duty. Right action varies from person to person, from time to time > > and from place to place. It is dependent on what nature expects from you, > > which in turn is based on who you have been in the past, what actions you > > did in the past while identifying with the action, who you affected in the > > past (and how) with the actions that you identified with, what debts you > > created in the process, and what mental tendencies you accumulated until > > now. > > > > If, based on one's mental tendencies and karmic debts, nature wants a person > > to kill evil persons, that becomes one's dharma. If, based on one's mental > > tendencies and karmic debts, nature wants a person to spread the message of > > uniformity of all religions, that becomes one's dharma. If, based on one's > > mental tendencies and karmic debts, nature wants a person to spread the > > ritual of homam in the world, that becomes one's dharma. If, based on one's > > mental tendencies and karmic debts, nature wants a person to make a lot of > > money and construct a temple, that becomes one's dharma. > > > > * * * > > > > The dharma of a being may change from one life to another. > > > > At the time of Mahabharata war, it was Arjuna's dharma to kill his gurus, > > elders and relatives. The time then was such that there was too much weight > > on earth and nature wanted earth to be relieved of some weight. Tremendous > > destruction was to take place and civilization destroyed to a great extent, > > to welcome Kali yuga and set the tone for it. Arjuna being a great warrior, > > it was his dharma to facilitate that. Some people he deeply loved and > > respected were on the other side and it was his dharma to kill them. > > > > When the same Arjuna was born again in the 19th century as one of > > Ramakrishna Paramahamsa' s sishyas (Swami Yogananda had been Arjuna in a > > previous life, according to Ramakrishna) , his dharma was different in this > > new time and place. He was born to renounce material life despite his > > aristocratic upbringing and live the simple life of a monk and inspire > > generations to embrace a simple life of mental detachment and service to > > others. When he is born again (which he has to, as per what Ramakrishna > > said), his dharma based on the time and place may be something else. > > > > * * * > > > > The tricky question is: How does one decide what is one's dharma? > > > > Some people have interpreted Krishna's words saying " follow your own dharma > > and not someone else's dharma " in the light of castism. Though the concept > > of caste (varna) has been there in Hinduism for a long time, the concept of > > caste mobility was very much there. Valmiki was a shudra who lived by > > killing birds. He became a brahmana and a maharshi later. Vishwamitra was a > > kshatrita and a powerful king. He became a brahmana and and a maharshi > > later. Basically varna shows one's aptitude. One starts off with the varna > > of father, because that is what one is exposed to in childhood. As one > > develops in life, one gets one's own varna based on what one does. > > > > Thus, the misinterpretation of Krishna's words which tells you to know your > > dharma from your caste is wrong. Moreover, there are not just 4 dharmas in > > the world. Each person has individual dharma. > > > > Knowing what one's dharma is is very very very difficult. If one is pure > > enough, one will *know* one's dharma. In fact, all of us have a part of our > > mind that tells us what our dharma is, but it is surrounded by a lot of > > noise from other parts of our minds which tell other things. Thus, we get > > confused. > > > > We should make the best judgment combining discrimination and intuition and > > decide what is our dharma and follow it sincerely. We may err, but doing > > the best we can is all that we can do! > > > > More than following dharma, what is of utmost importance is to engage in > > actions without identification. *That* alone ensures that we are not > > accumulating new karmas, i.e. not increasing the load. We should not build > > too much attachment to what we are doing. We should engage in the best > > possible actions (based on our best judgment on what our dharma in the given > > situation is), with as little attachment and self-identification with the > > action as possible. When the action is finished, we should leave the result > > to god. We should not think " I did it " , " what will happen now " , " will it > > work " etc. Such adherence of nishkama karma yoga (unfication through > > unattached action) will simplify our ego and purify our consciousness slowly. > > As we become purer, our mind will work sharper and tell our dharma clearer. > > There is a positive feedback here. This will slowly enable us to see our > > dharma clearly and follow it without incurring new karmas. This is not easy, > > but not as difficult as people think. > > > > The bottomline is: Even if one is not following one's dharma, one's sense of > > " this is my dharma " gets refined with time if one engages in action with > > little attachment. > > > > * * * > > > > In deciding one's dharma, one's intellect and intuition are the inputs. > > Another external input is the words of scriptures and learned men. One can > > derive one's dharma from them. A special place is given to one's spiritual > > master. If one surrenders to a spiritual master, one can take the words of > > the master to determine one's dharma and follow it sincerely. > > > > When Arjuna was confused about what his dharma was and thought killing gurus > > and relatives was not dharma, he had a guru in Krishna who clarified his > > dharma. When Narendranath (Swami Vivekananda) was confused about his dharma > > and wanted to renounce the world and go to a secluded place to do sadhana, > > Ramakrishna Paramahamsa cried and prevailed upon him to stay in the material > > world and do the work of Mother for him. > > > > One who is not in tune with nature and does not know who one is, what one's > > debts are and what nature expects from one can err in the judgment of what > > one's dharma is. If one's guru is an elevated soul with a clear insight into > > one's inner core, such a guru can give perfect guidance. > > > > * * * > > > > Bottomline is that I (or anybody) cannot outline a set of principles and > > declare that as the dharma. No, dharma changes from person to person, from > > time to time and from place to place. Also, there are no thumbrules to find > > out what one's dharma is. But, one can refine one's understanding of one's > > dharma by increasing internal purity. By doing various kinds of spiritual > > sadhana (like homam, japam etc) and engaging in actions without much > > attachment, one can slowly purify oneself and refine one's understanding of > > one's individual dharma. > > > > Best regards, > > Narasimha > > ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- > > Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ homam > > Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ tarpana > > Spirituality: http://groups. / group/vedic- wisdom > > Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro. home.comcast. net > > Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAst rologer.org > > Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagan nath.org > > ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- > > > > - > > " dahiyajiten " <dahiyajiten@ .co. in> > > <> > > Saturday, September 27, 2008 8:02 AM > > Dharma > > > >> Namaste to all > >> > >> i just finished my Aghora series > >> and in it in last part > >> Vimalanda says path of dharma is very personal. > >> Can somebody share views on that and how can we approach > >> towards it > >> Does it has to do something with vedas and upanishads > >> > >> regards > >> jitender > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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