svadharma and duty

[Guest guest]

Apologies for lack of involvement over the past month or two - I'm trying to

get my book to the agents within the next month. One of my reviewers posed a

query that I would like to put to the list concerning svadharma. I'll put

the question in the terms in which I have attempted to answer it in the

book.

 

"Now it does happen, and not infrequently, that someone is forced into a

role for which they are not suited. Mozart exhibited an extraordinary talent

for music at a very early age. Whether you choose to believe that this was

because he was a musician in a previous reincarnation or not is beside the

point. It was obvious that his svadharma was to be a musician. If his father

had forced him to be a carpenter, that would have been going against this

essential nature and making him perform the dharma of another. It would then

have been Mozart's duty not to do the job of carpenter as best he could but

to endeavour to change profession as soon as he could escape the influence

of his father."

 

Is this correct? The example of Mozart is with the benefit of hindsight. If

we were not talking about Mozart but about Fred Bloggs in the present, how

could we know this? On the face of it, if he is now a qualified carpenter,

he has an ongoing duty to complete his orders for customers and follow the

wishes of his father etc. Might it not seem a mere egotistical whim to want

to pack all of this in and start writing symphonies? Who is the arbiter of

what is or is not dharma and svadharma? Can I just say that, in stillness,

buddhi simply 'knows' the truth?

 

Dennis

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Dennis Waite" <dwaite@d...> wrote:

> On the face of it, if he is now a qualified carpenter,

> he has an ongoing duty to complete his orders for customers and

follow the

> wishes of his father etc. Might it not seem a mere egotistical whim

to want

> to pack all of this in and start writing symphonies? Who is the

arbiter of

> what is or is not dharma and svadharma? Can I just say that, in

stillness,

> buddhi simply 'knows' the truth?

>

> Dennis

 

Namaste Dennis.

These are some tough questions, tough atleast for me. Here is what I

think:

If the pull of svadharma is very high, a person would automaticaaly

be drawn into it and will pursue it. Consider the example of Einstein

who was a clerk before, I think.

The uncomfortable friction between what one considers svadharma

(symphonies for example) and what is duty(carpentry for example) has

its advantages too. It produces deeper spiritual understanding as to

what is svadharma and what is duty.

Sometimes, it seems it is a deliberate attempt by

providence/fate/karma to disturb balance in the above way (symphonies

vs carpentry) so as to let the being evolve spiritually.

 

I could be wrong on some of the above.

 

I like the statement buddhi simply 'knows' the truth and I agree too.

 

Kind regards,

Raghava

[Guest guest]

Dennis - the question you have raised needs to be looked at from all

perspectives. Here is the way I explain:

 

First, every envioronment that is provided to one is the result of ones own

actions in the past. That is what prarabda means. It was his praradda to

have a father who can push him to an environment that is conducive to ones

exaution of ones own vasana-s. Remember father is pushing him to carpentry

and not to pottory or archary. To have such kind of father and to be pushed

to such an environment - that is the reflection of his own vasana-s.

Nothing in the universe is indiscriminately or randomly given - that is

illogical.

 

Second: One may like music more than carpentry and that will slowly manifest

to the degree that he will ultimately leaves carpentary or compliments

carpentary to take up the music - that environment will be provided by his

own actions - and desires. That is the law of nature. If that desire is

powerful enough, then nothing will stop him in that direction. Opportunities

will be provided and he has to act to take advantage of the opportunities

that are provided by his own past vasana-s. That is when the moment he can

make his own decisions and follow on that - indepedent enough to stand on

his own decisions.

 

What you have is prarabda and what you do with what you have is

purushaartha.

 

The swadharma as a child is to follow the directions of the parents since he

still depends on them. If he can convince the parents that is well and good.

If he cannot convince them and if it is not immoral or unethical - then it

is better to follow his parental directives. But if it is immoral and

unethical, and if the child knows that then he has to seek the help of

others to stop that or help of the Lord as Prahallada did against his own

father - and had the guts to follow what he thought was right and was ready

to face the consequencies. Hence swadharma has to be correctly understood in

correct perspective.

 

Buddha must have gone through tremendous mental pressure to leave his young

wife and small child - to go after higher pursuits in life. One will be

propelled to do that when the vasana-s mature enough to push one beyond any

other pulls and pushes. The value system is to follow that swadharma which

is most supreme. In that way one will enounter less regrets and less

agitations in the mind.

 

Hari OM!

Sadananda

>"Dennis Waite" advaitin Subject:

> svadharma and duty Sat, 8 Sep 2001 13:07:22 +0100

>

>Apologies for lack of involvement over the past month or two - I'm trying

>to get my book to the agents within the next month. One of my reviewers

>posed a query that I would like to put to the list concerning svadharma.

>I'll put the question in the terms in which I have attempted to answer it

>in the book.

>

>"Now it does happen, and not infrequently, that someone is forced into a

>role for which they are not suited. Mozart exhibited an extraordinary

>talent for music at a very early age. Whether you choose to believe that

>this was because he was a musician in a previous reincarnation or not is

>beside the point. It was obvious that his svadharma was to be a musician.

>If his father had forced him to be a carpenter, that would have been going

>against this essential nature and making him perform the dharma of another.

>It would then have been Mozart's duty not to do the job of carpenter as

>best he could but to endeavour to change profession as soon as he could

>escape the influence of his father."

>

 

_______________

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