Swadharma --- Karma How Is It Decided - Printable Version +- Forums (http://india-forum.com) +-- Forum: Archives (http://india-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=7) +--- Forum: Trash Can (http://india-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=20) +--- Thread: Swadharma --- Karma How Is It Decided (/showthread.php?tid=653)

Swadharma --- Karma How Is It Decided - Guest - 10-21-2005 <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> [FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][COLOR=blue] I have been a silent reader on this forum for long , this forum has helped me definetly learn a lot of new things ,compared to the intellectual giants present on this forum my knowledge is limited and consider myself a learner. There is a question that has been haunting me for long , that is the reason for a separate thread. how does man know the path to be taken , in other words in the gita what is swadharma and how is it decided , does it vary at each stage of life . Tilak in his Gita rahasya has devoted quite a lot of discussion to this aspect , have listened to learned scholar's discourses on the gita and some of them hold this to be a tricky question. for example interpolating the principles of the past to a modern man's life . Most of us pass through our formative years going through school , high school , college ,graduate or post graduate degrees . along the way we notice lot of things about society and the country. 1.Should we not have a higher duty towards the country , sometimes life presents situations where you are asked to make a choice either you choose to study hard , graduate and then attempt to give back to society through charities , social service and other mean's or you choose to fight injustice then and there suffering whatever consequences that follow. in this case which is the swadharma , which is the path to be followed . 2.Similarly which of the above actions carries the greater merit , the action of tackling injustice then and there and perishing like a moth , or the indirect path of improving society around you. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> is the act of countering adharma right at the moment more virtuous than retreating for the moment and giving back in a later form. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> if a man decides to counter adharma and put his family in danger would that not constitute a wrong toward's his family. I am not sure if i am making myself clear , but surely hope people on the forum understand the direction i am pointing in . So the burning question is , we are faced with various situations in daily life , Which is the path to be followed , is it the path of the forefathers ??? is it the path my heart tugs towards even though it would mean putting my family in danger , or is it the middle path. if particularly the elder members could respond to this thread would be truly happy as it would point me towards a solution to a long standing doubt. also if the members could point me in the direction of literature that explains the great karma theory and its subtleties would appreciate it . pranaam Swadharma --- Karma How Is It Decided - Guest - 11-03-2005 up! Practice of Karma Yoga Swadharma --- Karma How Is It Decided - Guest - 11-15-2005 <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> K ram ji thank you for responding to the thread and the divine life society link,am familiar with divine life society's literature and take on karma yoga , the issue of swadharma is not addressed by swami sivananda in the above book , am not aware if any other book addresses that. if one of the senior members could respond with a discussion on this would be really happy.