Dharma for this millennium - Four

4. Dharma at the Individual Level - Swadharma

Dharma of the individual level is best described appropriately as SWADHARMA.

Swadharma implies and means managing oneself, imbibing the rules and regulations of dharma that have come into vogue due to the strict practice and application of dharmic swadharma principles to attain satisfying and contented states in life.

Self and Society are inseparable. Self is part of Society. Self is not above Society. Self protects the individual identity to live with, or to be a part of society; and society being part of a community, town, state, country and the world at large. So any positive or negative behavior or actions can impact all other sections calling for guarded actions with awareness to be bounded by the limitations that might disturb other sections of society.

At the individual level, swadharma observation is largely based on the principles of the three monkeys closing of the eyes, ears, and mouth implying not to observe or see the bad; not to hear or giving a deaf ear to the bad; and to observe silence and not to talk bad of others. These basics prevent corrupt vision and visualization; negative thinking and negative thoughts; and negative actions due to corrupt negative talk. All these, when applied purposefully result in positivity and positive actions for the development of a healthy individual with positive and healthy actions to ensure a tension free, peaceful life and satisfied life, to gain a good name in society and societal relationships as well as in friends and family circles too.

These principles guide the individual in all his actions; his own conscience acting as a conscience keeper directing to observe and putting into regular practice the good and bad, the right and wrong in perspective of the individual actions and even collective actions where and when necessary.

These basics ensure confidence, balance in individuals, assure the practices of limiting oneself to be within set boundaries and limits to personal actions with respect to unlimited wild and vague talk, vague borrowing of funds, unsupported factual talk, rumor mongering and constantly making the person a better individual and principled individual to gain the goodness of the society, place of work, family circles, friends and well-wishers, and all such things building to improve the reputation and acceptability of the individual. 

All these provide the basic freedoms of speech and actions at the individual level, while assuring the minimum or least disturbance to others and societal interests of others necessary for peaceful coexistence.

Swadharma is meant for bridging relations between individuals and societal or community interests; and acting against divisive trends or forces and thus meeting and protecting common individual and collective societal interests and ensuring positivity and healthy growth developing and strengthening a form of bonding improving the confidence levels of both sides.

As a SWADHARMIC, the Individual plays an important part in the larger VASUDEVAKUTUMBAM, the larger WORLD FAMILY OF PEOPLE.

Man or woman is a social animal with rights, obligations, responsibilities, and duties of a vice versa nature in societal relations that are basic in all walks to be performed and shared observing dharma.

Sincerity, honesty, truthfulness, are factors of concern to be a dharmic (one observing dharma); concern for the welfare and upcoming of those associated, protection of the rights and duties of individuals and communities coming in the realm of one’s activities; to be productive, communicative, share, propagate for the common good, respecting each other and each other’s points of view or views, non-interference to uphold all these principles as strictly as possible, help protect dharma. 

In the case of individuals one’s conscience acts as a guiding force to discern right and wrong, good and bad, positive or negative, accelerating or decelerating, useful or not useful, improving or impacting to affect, and so on; at the organizational levels of the social fabric of humankind like societies, governing bodies regulating people on a larger scale, governments regulating municipalities, corporations, legislative bodies at state and federal levels of nations, with their own rules and regulations, constitutions and so on, also have such conscience keeping features and facilities at different levels and are expected to be the watch dogs to preserve and practice dharma of a swadharma nature with broad and wide applicability.

Swadharma is extendable and as applicable with the growth of an Individual, or of a Society, of a Welfare Group or Organization, or of a Religious Body, or of any other Citizens Group following elective democratic principles. As such, the extension of Swadharma becomes appropriate and applicable to the functioning of a City Council, or of a State, or of a Country, that follow the Peoples Mandate in decision making and administration for protecting the peoples interests.

As an example one may consider for instance – ‘The Growth of an Individual’; with Swadharma as applicable in the persons childhood, educative period, youth, employment, middle age, married family life with growing kids, dealing with kids at their college levels, pre and post retirement life, as senior citizen, old age and so on. The beauty of swadharma is it is applicable at all these stages of life. So also, swadharma applicability differs from man and woman, the principles differing, as for instance the obligations, responsibilities, duties, family interests, social requirements with respect to children, parents, siblings change with the gender.

In a like manner, the changes and obligations of organized societies, governmental and nongovernmental bodies, social bodies, and so on are bound to change with time and in general improving and gaining experience with time and being able to meet the changing societal requirements. As and when necessary, some of these aspects are likely to find a place by way of examples, or to present better clarity and of relevance to swadharma.

For instance, certain Gurus, Swamijis, Rishis, Sanyasis, Moulanas, Pontiffs, Bishops, and similar class of individuals who devote their lives for Religious practices and propagation are generally expected to lead a simple life without pomp and approachable for consultation and clarification and resolving doubts and assisting giving suggestions for solving issues of concern of a personal or collective nature, and practicing a renounced life and strictly observing celibacy in word and deed, and available for societal improvement following swadharma. However, in this millennium, even such people are drawing media attention in a very big way for amassing wealth through collection of donations on religious grounds and misappropriating such funds, or misusing the funds for wrong causes, and giving up celibacy and running after persons of opposite sex drawing the attention of the Religious Heads and even of The Pope for reasons of giving up dharma and swadharma and the Me Too Reports from different quarters are unfortunately on the rise.

Human values and ethics are down the drain disrespecting and abusing the aged and infirm, women, and children; robbing their privacy and security apart from misguiding them for personal gains and pleasures totally discarding the aspects of legal legitimacy and conveniently overlooking dharma has become the order of the day in this millennium, and even the governmental interventions being ineffective, or unnoticed. To stop such rot education, emphasis on self-respect and personal security and their importance by conducting classes on the moral and morality aspects at the school level, college level and even at the adult level, as immorality has risen to disgusting and intolerable levels. Dharma can be upheld by societal and non-governmental organizations through seminars and webinars to spread the information to larger sections of the public laying greater emphasis on personality development and personal hygiene as very important aspects of one’s character- building and preservation with stress-free life is to live in its fullness and not for passing with little short lived gains and pleasures and forgetting the future. Power and position are corrupting people and they are using for wrong causes to have personal gains and are also misusing for personal favors. These are adharmic acts that need to be arrested by societal intervention.

Copyright YVR, 2020.