Why does the Gita emphasize sva-dharma repeatedly from the second chapter (2.31) to the eighteenth chapter (18.47)?

From Manoj P

Transcript

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I have a question from Manoj Prabhu Why does Krishna Emphasize Swadharma so much in the Bhagavad Gita In the second chapter he talks about Swadharma In the third chapter he talks about Shrayan Swadharma Viguna Paradharma Swamishtita And after going through the full Bhagavad Gita at the end In the 18th chapter also in the 47th verse He talks about Shrayan Swadharma Viguna Paradharma Swamishtita Swabhav Nityam Karma Swabhakal Kurvannapnoti Kilvisham So he says that It is better to do your own duty Improperly Than to do somebody else’s duty And if you do your own duty You will not get any Kilvisham So even after he has talked about Bhakti then why does Krishna Emphasize the point of Doing one’s duty so much Answer Firstly The point which Krishna is making in the Bhagavad Gita Is that Renunciation And devotion Don’t have to be diverse From action That is the central teaching of the Gita People think that renunciation And devotion To do that one has to renounce the world and go out of the world No Renunciation and devotion don’t have to be Diverse from action They can be integrated with action So that the action is done In a spirit of renunciation And it is done in a spirit of devotion That is the central teaching of the Gita So if we see The Bhagavad Gita talks at various levels In the second chapter when Krishna Talks about Arjuna do your duty There In 2.31 he says Svadharmam pichaveksha navikam pitu marhasi Dharmyad yuddha shreyo anyad Kshatriyasya na vidyate So in 2.31 32 he is saying that Svadharmam pichaveksha if you consider your Svadharmam then actually there is nothing Better than do your duty for a Kshatriya because Svarga dharmapavrutam in 2.32 This will open the doors of Svarga So there Krishna is simply talking at the Karmakanda level Karmakanda means we do dharma to get Artha and Kama Then in the third chapter When Krishna talks about Svadharmam There he is talking from a different context There the point is This is 3.35 Shreyan Svadharmamiguna Paradharma Svanushthita Svadharmedhanam Shreya Paradharma Bhayavaha So there in the third chapter Krishna is comparing The path of action with the path of renunciation And he is telling Arjuna That A person who is unqualified if the person does that Then that person will be Become a hypocrite and even if a person is qualified It is better that person set an example For the rest of society By doing activity in detachment And there he tells him That if somebody does somebody else’s activity I may think that I am doing it perfectly But internally I may not be Pure enough to do it Even if I am pure enough to do it I may be setting a wrong example for others And therefore it is far better to do One’s duty So the focus is What is the best way to become purified What is the best way to become purified So for Arjuna Who is a Kshatriya Premature renunciation is not a Favorable way to become purified And that’s why Krishna says do your duty So In this world we often judge things By their external results If I do this I will be able to do it better And I will be able to gain so much And if I do this I won’t gain that But Krishna is not talking primarily In terms of worldly gains He is talking in terms of the gain of inner purification And that will come When one does one’s prescribed duties So now Krishna is talking About a situation when the Varanasian system is very much In structure It is there, functionally there And any deviation from it Will cause a disruption Which will be set a bad example And as Krishna has told a few verses earlier In the third chapter itself That Utsideyo rime loka Nakuryat karma chedaham Utsideyo rime loka All the people will get disrupted when they see the leader setting a bad example So that is the social context Now In today’s social context What is our swadharma None of us know that actually There is no varanashram today And even if some of us may be born Within the Vedic culture In the sense that we have a Varana We may be born in a Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya Whatever family we are born in But it is unlikely that we have Necessarily those propensities Or we have a socio-economical, socio-cultural Environment which will help us to act According to those propensities So we will have to find out That dharma which is Uncool to us for our bhakti So over a period of time as we keep Practicing, as we keep living in the world We find out our propensity And the whole point of the Bhagavad Gita Is that everybody should be engaged according to their propensities And varanashram Provided that facility For people to engage according to their propensities Now in the 18th chapter When Krishna talks about in 18.47 Now what does he say Same verses there First part, A and B are same Shreyas, swadharma, viguna Paradharma, swanushtitat But in the C and D part is Or kurvan Now no tikilism By this you will not get contamination So what is the point which Krishna is making Over here, if we see Before this section Krishna has talked about Worshipping him through one’s work So here Krishna is not just talking about karma yoga Krishna is talking about worshipping Him through work That we do work with a Devotional attitude, devotional intentions So karmana tamak bhyarcha Worship that absolute truth That absolute truth is Krishna himself Krishna is referring to himself in the third person over there So Now for us as Devotees what should we do See for Arjuna His His aparadharma And his paradharma in that Situation were congruent You know what he wanted To do or what the lord Wanted him to do and what was His duty as a kshatriya Both were the same So now if Krishna’s Ultimate message is only Do your swadharma If that was the ultimate message of the bhagavad gita Then there is no need for 18.66 where Krishna is saying Sarva dharman parityajya Mami kam saranam vraja Give up all varieties of life Just surrender to me Why does Krishna say that If the message of the bhagavad gita Is to do swadharma only No the message of the bhagavad gita Is to Take shelter of me And give up anything and everything That obstructs us In taking shelter of Krishna Now when Krishna says That doesn’t mean that we become Adharmic It means that we give up those dharmas Which are Pratikul to mami kam saranam vraja And we accept that dharma Which is anukul to mami kam saranam vraja So in the case of Arjuna The Kshatriya dharma Was anukul for him to do Mami kam saranam vraja So each of us have to find out What will be the dharma That is anukul to our Taking shelter of Krishna And accordingly we serve So we see many devotees who practice And want to study bhagavad gita They may become brahmacharis Because brahmachari dharma is anukul For them to practice bhakti Now for others it may be Granth ashram Similarly with respect to varanas This is an individual decision Which everyone of us has to take And that decision is something which is based On The point of how one is Engaged What is one’s psychophysical nature And how can that psychophysical nature Be engaged in Krishna’s For our own purification For the benefit of the world And ultimately for Krishna’s service And returning back to Krishna’s abode So actually speaking the message of the bhagavad gita Is not to do swadharma But in the specific context of Arjuna His swadharma and his paradharma They coincided So the message of the bhagavad gita Is that we should do paradharma But how do we do paradharma We will do paradharma means Pure devotional service But even when we do pure devotional service We can’t wish away our body and mind We have a body and a mind which have a particular nature So the bhagavad gita’s message is that We use our body and mental nature To serve Krishna So The aparadharma that we have The swadharma We have to discover what is our swadharma And then use that swadharma in Krishna’s service So the essential message of the bhagavad gita is To do paradharma According to our swadharma But our swadharma Is not the caste that we are born in Or not the definition of beauty That society has given us Our swadharma is actually our innate Psychophysical nature Which we will have to By our own observation Introspection and experience Learn and engage in Krishna’s service For most people It may take a long time to learn And then in that situation We do whatever profession is best for us We are educated in a particular way Then we get a particular kind of job We are in a particular kind of situation So we try to mould that situation In a way by which we can best serve Krishna And if We learn this is what my nature is Then we try to Find our way within that profession To serve in that appropriate way So the aparadharma Because the Varanasian culture is not there So much today So what particular aparadharma We may engage in That will vary Because we don’t know what our swadharma is And we may not have a Socioeconomic situation where We can engage according to our swadharma So then we have to find out Whatever is the best way we can engage So that we have a Secure and respectable situation in society And we can peacefully And steadily practice devotional service So the message of the Bhagavad Gita is to Do paradharma Focus on paradharma and to harmonize Our swadharma with that paradharma Thank you. Ray of Krishna