Following Bliss...

Sloka 3.35 of 'The Living Gita' :

"It's better to do your own dharma (calling) imperfectly, than someone else's dharma perfectly. Even better to die in your dharma than in another's, which brings great fear."

Sri Swami Satchidananda wirtes in commentary on this verse; “....No two snowflakes are exactly the same. As such, you are also unique, you have been created unique with certain abilities that no other person can do. That's your svadharma, your individual duty.....Find out what your svadharma is. Ask yourself; “How do I feel when doing certain thing? Does it come easily? Is it natural for or am i trying to imitate somebody?” First take stock of your natural inclination and your capability which is your taste, temperament and capacity.......Svadharma is something righteous. It's something completely natural to you that you could do to benefit others..... But very often people think some other person's work would be better. That's the tendency of the mind. The others grass is always greener. Turn the tide of that mentality. Know that you are wanted. You have been sent here and given special skills. You might think; “I don't seem to have any special skill.” But you eat and you sleep, don't you? Even these are special skills. Don't belittle yourself. Don't degrade yourself, thinking, I'm a burden to people” People go crazy thinking like that. You aren't a burden to anybody. Of that supreme intelligence thinks that you are a burden to somebody, it won't be wasting the breath on you.... God is no fool to keep you as a burden here and still keep you and but breath in you.”

Practice and shadow work

We can experience much distraction that can lead us away from living our Svadharma. Not only from the outside world trough the overwhelm of input on so many levels, but distraction can take roots in the mind with limiting thoughts, believes and convictions that are often developed in early childhood. Sometimes we have difficulty feeling what comes naturally to us. The mind is clouded and disturbed. Yoga practice can help us maintaining a steady and calm mind. Not only trough asana - postures but trough pranayama - breath controle, chanting of mantra, reading scriptures and allowing our natural meditative state.

The second sloka 1.02 of the Patajali sutras says;

"Yoga chitta vritti nirodhaha" meaning; when we still the fluctuations of the mind (chitta vrittis) we experience Yoga, union. This states that meditation is our natural state, our birth right. We need not do anything or try anything. It is an un- doing, an unfolding of our natural meditative state. Restraining the clouds of thoughts, witnessing them instead of getting caught in the minds stories. Like a charioteer on a chariot restraining the horses.

In Jungian psychology or symbolic psychology we work with techniques such as projection mechanism to learn about what deep wisdom, talents, challenges and vices dwell within. Learning about this can help us gain insight in our shadow and in that what gives us true meaning and fulfillment in life. Integrating our shadow or unconscious is how we can live our full potential. 

Dra Karen Hamaker says about the projection mechanism;

"Whiteness your emotions. When your emotions get triggered, for instance when you get angry about something, ask yourself: What is it in me, that I get so angry?"

Often we will find that the things that trigger us, can teach us something about our own subconscious. About our own hidden gems, waiting to be discovered.

We find C. G. Jung describing the psychological phenomenon 'Synchronicity'. This phenomenon can help us reveil our true direction in the same way as the projection mechanism described above. Karen Hamaker- Zondag writes in an article about this in a Dutch professional 'De Optimist' :

“A synchronistic event has two aspects:

• objective: simply the events themselves. You can describe the event, you can name the time of it, et cetera. For Jung, psychological processes such as dreams were also events: after all, they take place in a certain period and you can describe them.

• subjective: the immediate experience of meaningfulness of the coincidence of an inner and outer event. You feel an emotion, so that without thinking there is an immediate inner certainty that that event is meaningful; it almost feels like a signal from above. The subjective aspect is all about that immediate emotion. So there is no room for seams-know about it, quite the contrary. It's a flash. If you don't experience it, it isn't synchronicity.”

And C.G. Jung writes about synchronicity in his eponymous book;

“.....an unexpected content that relates directly or indirectly to an objective external event coincides with the ordinary psychic state....

I call this phenomenon synchronicity....... For the soul is then so eager for the cause it wants to accomplish that it seizes by itself the more meaningful and better star hour, which also rules over the things that are better suited to the cause.” (p61/65) 

A deep inner knowing we are all born with..

Practicing yoga can help us calm the mind and allow us to see and feel more vividly what it is that we need to do in this lifetime. For some of us this comes more natural when others might need more time. The quote above teaches us that even tho it might seem appealing to walk away for our own svadharma/ or path of individuation at times because we might feel or think that our lives don't matter, life grants us the experiences and lessons according to our own ability and talents. Especially in the west we are inclined to have an opinion about ourselves and others. We are taught from a young age that we need to achieve in order to matter in this world. In the eastern philosophy we learn that we are all one, we all matter and we are part of a bigger whole. We are all equal and Life's expression.

In Sloka 18.47 of 'The Living Gita' we can read about the behavioral patterns/ samskaras (worth another full book report!!) in relation to our Svadharma;

It is better to do your own dharma imperfectly than to excel at another's dharma. If you accept the duties of your own nature, you are free from sin. 

It's all determined according to your previous actions and the samskaras, or mental impressions, that you acquired earlier. The cosmic law decides, “Okay, you have received all the necessary lessons from the previous class (life experience). For further promotion, go and study in that classroom.”....

Traditionally, the enlightened person just performs the duty allotted by his or her birth without choosing, rejecting or even accepting intellectually. It's not even an intellectual acceptance. The enlightened person just goes to it like a duck goes to water...... But if you are transformed into something different without even knowing, then that's part of nature.......... Sometimes you might try to avoid your nature and do something else temporarily. But if it is your dharma to do something, eventually you will be drawn back to that because the inborn trait is there..... Something inside tells you, “I can do it. It needs to be done. I should do it.”.... Learn to grow from where you are. Don't simply drop your old life and begin something new. The world needs every action, every function. One is not superior to the other." 

Sloka 18.48 of "the living Gita we can read:

If you perform the duties of your own nature imperfectly, that is no reason to abandon those duties and begin something else. For all your undertakings, at outset, are enveloped by evil, as smoke surrounds fire.

Sri Swami Satchidananda comments; “ He says that whatever you undertake is enveloped by evil. Why? Because it's you personal undertaking. You chose to do it instead of letting it come along naturally........ Your conscious rejection isn't necessary, because there is a cosmic intelligence that will direct you to your svadharma, your best service. This cosmic intelligence takes care of everything. It puts you in certain places; and, when yo finish there, puts you somewhere else.”

In other words life takes care of us. Life will direct us to our svadharma and path of individuation because it is our birth right.

Carl Gustav Jung writes about this in his 'Memories, Dreams, Reflections' ;

“....But if you go the road of individuation, if you live life, you have to take mistakes into the bargain, otherwise life would not be complete...... Because only then is there an "I" present that does not fall short when something incomprehensible happens. An "I" that endures, that endures the truth and that is able to withstand the world and fate. Then you have also achieved a victory with a defeat. Nothing is disturbed - inside or outside, for one's own continuity has persisted in the flow of life and of time. But that's only possible if you don't knowingly get involved in the plans of fate.”(p256-257)

So let us be gentle with ourselves. In these times of global chaos there is a liminal space trough which we are freed of the old and the new has not yet come. We are freed and while the old is dying we see space and time arise to feel into what we truly need to do in this life. There is time to play even tho it might feel we are waiting, or stagnant. It is this point of chaos, of un- knowing from which we can find a new.

When ever do we grant ourselves this space to practice without attachment to result, to focus on what gives us joy and bliss? A great historian Joseph Campbell says in one of his interviews on Myths* that the world is in need of a new Myth. A Myth of our present time. He says that it is up to us to follow our bliss. And as we will read below it is life that carries us within this.

Free will

In sloka 18.49 of 'The Living Gita' we read :

"When the discerning mind (buddhi) is no longer attached to the fruits and the egoistic self (jivatma) no longer predominates because personal desire is gone, by this renunciation you rise to a supreme state of perfection which is freedom from (the effects of) all actions."

Satchidananda comments;

“..... Intelligence and free will are fine, but that free will isn't totally free. It's free within limitations. Beyond that limitation, it is subject to that higher will, a cosmic intelligence. Your so-called free will is part of that cosmic will. It's like the ocean and the wave. You can jump up high as a wave and say, “I'm a big wave.” But where are you really? You are still within the ocean. You might really jump and roll. But afterward, you go down into the sea again....” 

In this, one can recognize the craft of western psychological astrology. Karen Hamaker- Zondag writes is her book 'Handboek voorspellende astrologie' the following lines as part of the introduction;

“..... If, by actively working with astrology, you gain insight into the incredible order of the cosmos, and see how experiences you gain and needs that arise in you parallel the developments in you birth chart, then you soon get a feeling perhaps best described as a deep awe at that great cosmic clock that connects you to the world....” (p9)

When Sri Swami Satchidananda writes, “Your conscious rejection isn't necessary, because there is a cosmic intelligence that will direct you to your svadharma., your best service.” in sloka 18.48, in my understanding this turning of tide, which can feel unpredictable at the times, even so can feel like a signal from above. That one without intellectually understanding why, when or how, is just drawn into their purpose, their individuation, their Svadharma. As if life synchronizes it Self.

Thank you for reading my blog. I know this all can be a lot. I feel humbled to study this profound knowledge. Follow your bliss!

*Sources:

- The Living Gita, Sri Swami Satchidanada ISBN 9780932040275

- The yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sri Swami Satchidananda ISBN 9781938477072

- Trueman Show #67 by Jorn Luka with Dra Karen Hamaker- Zondag

- Synchronicity, C. G. Jung ISBN 9780691150505

- The Optimist, Synchronicity May-June 2018 Dra Hamaker- Zondag

- Memories, Dreams, Reflections, C. G. Jung ISBN 9780006540274

- Handboek voorspellende Astrologie, Dra Karen Hamaker- Zondag ISBN 9789074899253

- Image; free stock mijndomein.nl