Talks on the Gita — 39: The Gunas: Developing Them & Going Beyond Them — 3
How to Determine One's Swadharma?
How to determine one's swadharma? If someone asks this question, the only reply is that it is natural. Swadharma comes naturally to everyone. The very idea of going in search of it is strange. Swadharma of a man is born along with him. Swadharma, like one's mother, is not chosen, but pre-determined. It is given to us in advance, before we are born. Service of our parents and our neighbours is our naturally accrued duty. We also have the experience of our inborn natural urges; they are common to all. We feel hunger and thirst; it is therefore our natural dharma to feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty. Serving others, doing good to others, is thus our dharma which we do not have to go in search for.
A man devoted to service does not have to search for the type and form of service; he finds his work laid out before him. But it has to be borne in mind that what appears to have come unsought is not necessarily a righteous duty. Swadharma may appear to be commonplace, imperfect and uninteresting; still that alone is good and beneficial. When a man is drowning in the sea it is the log floating near him, however rough and gnarled, that will save him. There may be a number of beautiful pieces of polished and carved wood in a carpenter's workshop; they are of no use to the man who is struggling for life in the sea. Likewise, the calling that has come to me as swadharma is beneficial to me even if it appears unattractive and commonplace. If I set out to search for another sphere of service, I may end up losing both of them; and also the very urge for service. One must, therefore, be ever-absorbed in the performance of swadharma.
When one is absorbed in swadharma, rajas loses its force because the mind gets concentrated; it then never swerves from swadharma. The river of swadharma can likewise hold all the force and power of man. Energy spent in the performance of swadharma is never too much. Pour all your energy into it and then the restlessness, which is a distinctive characteristic of rajas, will disappear.
Sattva and The Method to Deal With It
What now remains is sattva. One must be very careful in dealing with it. How can one detach the Self from sattva? Rajas and tamas are to be completely rooted out; but the matter is different with sattva. Sattva is not to be killed. After the disappearance of rajas and tamas, pure sattva remains. So long as the body is there, one must be in some mode or the other.
If we want bright light from a lantern, the soot deposit inside its glass cover has to be wiped off; but this is not sufficient. The dust on the outer surface of the glass cover has also to be removed. In the same way, the soot of tamas has to be wiped off and then the dust of rajas should also be removed. Then only the clean glass of pure sattva remains. Conquering sattva means elimination of pride about and attachment to sattva. We should make use of sattva, but that has to be done with care and skill. Sattva should be freed from pride.
How to overcome the pride that 'I have sattva in me'? Sattva should be imbibed through constant practice, so that it becomes our second nature. Continuous performance of sattvik actions withers away the pride about it. Through such actions, sattva becomes an integral part of our being. It should not remain a guest; it should rather become a member of the family.
We feel proud when some good action gets done through our hands. Why? Because it has not happened in the routine course. When there is only one firefly in the thick darkness of night, look how proudly it shows itself off! It does not display its light steadily all the time. A steady light does not attract us. Unbroken continuity makes a thing appear natural. If our actions become sattvik, sattva will become part of our nature. A lion is not proud of its prowess; it is not even conscious of it. Sattvik attitude should thus become so natural that one is no longer conscious of it. Giving light is natural to the sun. It takes no pride in it.
The Concluding Point: Self-Realization and Refuge in Bhakti
Even if you have imbibed sattva, vanquished your ego and given up attachment to the fruit of actions, you shall continue to be vulnerable to the onslaught of rajas and tamas from time to time, so long as you are saddled with the body. You must, therefore, be ever alert. As the sea-waves rush in and make inroads into the land, the waves of rajas and tamas dash against the mind and make inroads into it. Vigilance should not slacken even for a moment.
There is only one way, and that is bhakti with all the earnestness and love. You may conquer rajas and tamas, become steadfast in sattva and make renunciation of the fruit a habit, but still this is not enough to attain Self-knowledge; and there is no redemption without Self-knowledge. The grace of the Lord is essential for this purpose. Through loving devotion, we should make ourselves worthy of it. Arjuna asks the same question at the end of this Chapter and the Lord answers: "Be devoted to Me with mind absolutely one-pointed and without any desire for reward. Serve Me. He who serves Me thus can cross the maya. Otherwise this mysterious maya is hard to cross." This is the easy method of bhakti. This is the only way.
[To be continued]
[Reproduced with kind permission of Paramdham Publication, Pavnar, from Chapter 14 of 'Talks on The Gita' by Sant Vinoba Bhave, 16th edition, January 2005]
Notes: The system of chaturvarnya has been under fire from different quarters for being iniquitous. Vinoba too held that as it has been distorted because of hierarchical stratification, it has become irrelevant. However, he looked to it as a social arrangement which avoids unnecessary competition and is, therefore, conducive to peace and order in the society. He held that all the varnas or occupations should have equal social and spiritual status. He also believed that all should have the good qualities irrespective of their varna or occupation.
"Yadrichha Labha Santushta — He (the wise one) enjoys that 'whatever comes to him unasked'." — Gita 4-22
"Sarva-arambha Parityagi, Gunatitah sa Uchyate — Abandoning all undertakings, he is said to have crossed beyond the gunas." — Gita 14-25
According to Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa — "One can be bound or one can be free, depends on the idea existing in the brain."