24. Part 2 - स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रॆयः परधर्मो भयावहः

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It was evident that spirituality and the ultimate questions such as ‘Who Am I’ will be more likely pursued by the people if they are first happy and content with respect to the basic needs of the material world – food, shelter, health and family. If these are not met fully, then time and effort of such people would only be spent on achieving these. So material contentment was noticed to be the essential step before someone would move into spirituality. It was necessary (Preyas) but not sufficient (Refer The Upturned Priorities).

In the early days of the civilization, before the Varna system was clearly defined, several problems were encountered and resolved. For e.g. when surveys were conducted by the administrators, they saw that some of the people, even after having sufficient money, were still greedy for more money. For some reason they were not content and were trying to pile up more and more money. So a question arose – how to make someone feel sufficient with respect to the material needs? After several discussions and surveys, psychiatrists submitted  a detailed report to the administrators. Their report, in brief was as follows:

Some people, for various reasons (such as enforced into father’s profession), had opted to work in a profession which was not the area of their expertise and talent. This had settled as a deep discontentment in their hearts. Although they had forgotten about it and buried it deep in them, without their knowledge it had grown into a big tree of hidden stress. Without knowing the actual reason for their own mental unrest, they were all trying to quench the restlessness with more money and other things. But when they got more money, obviously it wasn’t able to satisfy their hidden desire for job satisfaction. So when money was unable to satisfy them, they grew more restless. And they again tried to quench it with more money. So, more the money they had, the more restless they became. This had grown into a vicious vortex.

As a remedy, it was decided to regulate Varna system very strictly. Swadharma (Profession adopted as per inherent talent alone) was given the utmost importance. A dancer should only become a dancer, a person with sharp mathematical abilities should only become an engineer, a person with excellent fitness, courage and adventurous attitude should only become a soldier etc. No profession, on its own, was considered cheaper than others. It was considered cheap only if somebody was pursuing it out of compulsion of family, money etc. Following Paradharma (Profession adopted not as per inherent talents) was considered very disgraceful. Even Krishna says this in the Gita – it is better to follow Swadharma, even if there are mistakes, rather than following Paradharma meticulously and perfectly. It is better to die performing Swadharma rather than living in fear with Paradharma (Gita 3.35). Saraswati civilization promptly noticed that following Swadharma resolved and dissolved the vicious vortex of greed and all the negativity associated with it. When people did what they were born to do, when they did what they loved from their heart, money didn’t matter anymore. They were very content with whatever money they got. Because now they were more happy in seeing somebody’s need getting fulfilled because of their talent and expertise. They took more delight in seeing themselves filling a crucial place in the jigsaw of the society. That happiness beat all other material happiness.

Gurukulas were given the duty of identifying the potential of a child and helping him or her develop that particular talent. It became apparent to them that the whole world is working as a gigantic system, like a machine. And in a machine, there cannot be unnecessary parts. Each part fulfills a purpose. A small spring is as important as a big lever. The machine will fail even if that tiny spring fails. So, no part is superior to others, all are equally important for the machine to work. There are no optional parts in a machine. Similarly, they understood that each child potentially had something specific to offer to the society. Each person was meant to fulfill a purpose in the machine of the world. They understood the beauty of diversity of the creation. Creation consisted of both the needs of the people and the people who could fulfill those needs. So, the whole society complemented each other and lived as one family. The jigsaw of the society was matching so perfectly, that they wondered at the genius of the creator, if any!

This way, everyone was strictly monitored from childhood and promoted to ensue his or her inherent talents. Following Swadharma worked wonders. As everyone was loving what they were doing, the assigned duty of a person became so effortless to him/her that mind would be mostly free and relaxed even during the activity (in the current age we opt for Paradharma and we cannot relax even after our work!). For e.g. a born singer would not have to put special efforts to sing. Only a little training, a little effort would suffice. After that he only enjoys singing, and hardly suffers fatigue. Perhaps only when the tones are very difficult, he may have to put some effort to sing correctly. This way everyone was enjoying their assigned work which required only a minimum effort on their part. A actor would effortlessly act, a cook would effortlessly cook and so on. This ensured that stress (Aadhi – imbalance in the mental realm) was extricated from the roots. And consequently Vyadhi (imbalance in the physical realm) was also very rare.

When people were thus content materialistically – money, health, family and Swadharma – automatically their minds were drawn towards deeper questions and quests. Since they were rid of all the challenges of the world, their relaxed mind automatically asked “What Am I doing here?”, “What is the purpose of life” etc. The Brahmana sect would then guide them systematically, step by step, towards answering these questions and finding the ultimate reality. This was what Brahmanas were born to do – preach Adhyatma to the spiritually thirsty along with performing Yajnas and boosting positivity in the society. Or rather people who were born to do this were called Brahmanas. Only those who were, by birth, interested in Adhyatma, only those who, by birth, displayed inclination towards Self-Enquiry were called Brahmanas. The Brahmana sect lived on Dana alone. They were not supposed to demand anything nor complain if at all nothing was given. A Brahmana’s son need not be a Brahmana. A Kshatriya’s son need not be a Kshatriya. Same as how today an engineer’s son need not be an engineer. It solely depends on the interest of the child. Although the possibilities that a child will show similar interests as his/her parents is more, that was never the criteria for deciding his Varna and Swadharma.

King Bharata, as per Mahabharata, did not consider any of his sons to be eligible for the throne and he selected a young boy from a Gurukula to succeed him. Indians can be proud that our country is named after such a selfless great King who lived for Swadharma and put it into practice, even if it meant that his own sons were denied Kingship. And we should also be proud of his sons who accepted that it was not their Swadharma to rule a country.

And thus, Varna system and Swadharma were also made a part of the Karma Kanda of the Vedas. So, in summary, Karma Kanda basically had three aspects.

• Scientific rituals to promote harmony between man and nature
• Dana - Sacrifice to promote harmony between man and man
• Varna - Swadharma to promote harmony between man and his own Self

So, an important message of our scriptures is Swadharma. It would probably require a brave step from many of us to shift into our Swadharma, as most of us are caught in the web of money, loan etc. But if it is feasible, it is better to shift to a field of our interest. If not, well, we can keep a target and then shift after few years. We are already seeing this happening in our current generation to a certain extent which is a good sign. But sometimes, even if we are in our Swadharma, we may be overworking so as to get more money with the hope of getting peace with it. Well, with common sense, we can say that, overworked Swadharma for the sake of money, and not for the sake of satisfaction, would also become Paradharma. If it is extra load, our mind will not be set in the work, but will be working only for the sake of money. And that will be as good as an imposed work - which becomes Paradharma.

The second indirect message that we can grasp is that we should learn to see and appreciate the harmony of the system as a whole and treat all professions with equal respect. A small assignment – the next time you go in an Auto Rickshaw, even if the driver tries to cheat you, keep in mind that he is an integral part of the system. The cheating – quarrelling has gone into a vicious vortex. The driver will think “These people earn lakhs every month. Why can’t they give me 20 rupees more?” and you will think “These drivers are all rascals. They are after my money”. In the process both fail to notice the wonderful harmony of the system. Can we imagine a city without the service of the auto drivers available? Can the auto drivers imagine a city where nobody takes their service? Money is only a transaction entity. Why can’t we think “Auto drivers are so hard working and provide such convenient service to the society. They drive the whole day in dust and smoke of the city for people like us. I waste so much money on junk food and dress. Let him take a little extra, so what?”. Can we even imagine driving in the city whole day as a driver? Why can’t we thank a driver with love for helping us reach our home safely and conveniently, rather than cursing him and disturbing ourselves as well? What is more important? 50 Rupees? Or our peace? Instead of succumbing to the vicious vortex, we can try to break it. You just try once saying to the driver "Is it enough? Or do you want more", with affection, just as how you would ask your friend. And then see his reaction. Of course, there may be some really rude drivers, and let us ignore them. I am talking about a general scenario and majority will not be rude. We argue because we think that the saved 30-40 rupees will give us more peace and happiness. In fact, by saving 50 Rupees by shouting and quarrelling, we cause more harm to our mind and body! And then, the same we, will lavishly spend thousands in a mall for some unneeded item which will sometimes be kept unpacked in some corner of our house for years!

You may ask what this has to do with Self-Enquiry. Well, I started noticing that these small things in our daily activities disturb us very frequently, like a constant and unnecessary low voltage in the system. Self-Enquiry will initially happen only if there is peace and contentment in the mind. And when I got rid of such petty distractions, it greatly helped. So, I believe, it is better to lose money and be peaceful, rather than save 20 Rupees and be disturbed!