Namaskar! The word dharma is frequently used but what does it mean? What does it mean to follow dharma? Dharma is the directional flow of a life towards the infinite eternal Self. To be in the flow of dharma is to move towards that eternal Self. That is Bhagavad dharma, the great current of human life. So the natural current of human life is to evolve, to grow, to flourish, to move towards light, joy, bliss, love, wholeness, truth, ananda. This is the natural flow of human life and there is a restlessness in the mind of every human being that wants to be fulfilled and if the life is dedicated to dharma, it will move in such ways, this restlessness will get directed towards that supreme divinity, Parama Purusha and be fulfilled by that divine flow.
So that movement towards the divine, that is Bhagavad dharma. That is human dharma. There are other forms of dharma. There is your individual dharma, your pranidharma, that is your purpose of your own life. And each and every person comes into this life with a unique purpose to fulfill, a unique offering to give to this world. That is your pranidharma, your unique offering and if you are following your dharma, you will be expressing your uniqueness, your potentiality in this world. That is to follow your pranidharma.
So, when thinking of your life, think are you following, are you expressing your true potential in this world? Are you expressing your totality of self? Human beings come into this world not only to eat, drink, procreate, sleep but they come to express something and everyone’s expression is unique. So finding your purpose in life and fulfilling it, that is your unique dharma, your individual dharma. But that dharma is in the context of Bhagavad dharma, of human dharma, in the context of this introversial flow towards the one eternal Self, towards divine love unconditioned. Each and every one has their unique contribution to give in this path towards the eternal. So you share a collective dharma and each has their own unique aspect to dharma. When one lives a life established in dharma, one not only seeks one’s own enlightenment but one seeks to serve all living beings, realizing that all are a part of one integrated whole.
So, in fulfilling dharma, one will have to look to the welfare of all living beings, not only human beings but animals and plants and even the rocks and the earth and the space, Look to the welfare of all existence. Look to the welfare of the earth itself for to fulfill your pranidharma and your Bhagavad dharma means to recognize your interwoven relationship with all life and to serve all living beings in your own unique and beautiful way. Every person is like a completely unique flower in a vast garden of lovely expressions of divinity. You have much to give in this world and when aligning with dharma, a flow of selfless love surrounds you, when aligning with dharma, the precepts of yama and niyama come into play and one becomes self-actualizing, meaning that you find something greater than yourself, something noble that you dedicate yourself to. Your life is not merely lived for your own pleasure or even your own sense of accomplishment. It is lived for a greater purpose, a larger welfare.
This is what the path of dharma brings you to. And as you begin to dedicate yourself to causes larger than your own personal welfare, to the welfare of others you begin to see that you are but a part of a whole. Your little individuality becomes less significant and the whole of things becomes greater and thus you become connected to the infinite Entity through these perceptions, through living dharma in the world.
So dharma leads to karma yoga, leads to right understanding (jinana) and it leads to devotion to your supreme goal (bhakti).