Rita Digilova

I wanted to write a post about our wordy responsibilities, Life Purpose, and so often misunderstood Sanskrit word “Dharma”. But I will begin with the excerpt from my favorite series about God Shiva called “Devon Ke Dev Mahadev” (2011-2014) – translation: “God of Gods Mahadev”. (The series are based on Shiva Puranas)

Mahadev Shiva said: “Forget about the relationship in which a person is currently in.
What is right, is always remains right and it is true for all; and what is wrong will always remain wrong everyone. This is the foundation of proportionality.
All of you must fulfill your obligations and responsibilities without any doubt.
But remember, retribution should be in proportion to what has been done. The respect that a person deserves must be equal to his deeds. And his sins must be in proportion to his misdeeds.
It does not matter who behaves unfairly, or where, or in which the world, or under which circumstances. But silently enduring injustice is the greatest sin.
You must all act according to your Dharma. And keep going this way. Be steadfast in this. ”
From TV series “Devon Ke Dev Mahadev” (2011-2014) – God of Gods Mahadev

BTW: I highly recommend to watch these series, especially to those who are pursuing Yoga as a spiritual tradition.
I know for sure that each of the 820 episodes is now available with English and Russian subtitles. So, all you need to do is search!

Now, I want to write a few words about the meaning of the word “Dharma” and why those who live their lives in according to their Dharma will always get whatever help they require to fulfill their obligations related to their Dharma but also if they need help in other areas of their lives, the help will come as well.
Each of us born into this world with some talents. Some people have the talent to make beautiful paintings, some people have talents to write stories, but talents are not limited to artistic/writing creativity. There are many salespeople out there who have the talent to sell things. They will easily sell you something that you don’t need, and only later, you will realize and ask why the hell you bought that thing that you never needed in the first place. Others have talents to teach. I know some excellent teachers who teach in the US colleges that have very heavy foreign accents, yet their students can easily understand them because these teachers have the capacity not just to accumulate and process the knowledge, but also have the ability to transfer that knowledge to their students.
Also, I want to clear a misconception that many people have and so did I. But the more I study human psyche, the more I discover that most talents are inborn. What I mean is that if the person is not born with the talent to create music, regardless of how hard he tries, he won’t be able to develop that talent to the level where he/she becomes a successful musician. So, in my opinion, if that person who mistakenly thinks that he has a talent of a musician, will instead look and discover a talent that he was born with, his time and energy will be better spent in utilizing and developing this particular talent. As a result, he will become successful in that field while fulfilling his Dharma and making this world a better place for everyone.
Now, when we are all clear about the talents that each of us possesses, let’s talk about the meaning of Dharma.
Dharma is a Sanskrit word that doesn’t have an exact translation in Western languages. Many people and traditions have a different explanation of Dharma. But the way I understand its meaning is that the Dharma is a worldly duty that each person must fulfill during his lifetime by utilizing his inborn talents and abilities. To make the whole subject more understandable I can say that each person is born with certain talents and abilities in order to successfully fulfill his worldly duty and obligations or his Dharma. Some folks say that Dharma is synonymous with the term “Life Purpose”. While the term is inclusive, I think that Dharma is something bigger than just living Life Purpose.
And Dharma also includes other responsibilities: Mother’s Dharma, Wife’s Dharma, Husband’s Dharma, etc.
And if we fulfill our responsibilities and obligations in according to our Dharma, then I can surely say that we are now living a fulfilled life that has a purpose and meaning. I have a lot more than I would like to say about Dharma and living in accordance with it, but it will have to wait until I’ll have time to put these thoughts of mine in a readable format, so everyone who needs this knowledge can read and easily understand it. Therefore, this post is to be continued.
~ by Rita Digilova, September 2017