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Thread: Discovering One's Duty

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    Discovering One's Duty

    I sometimes feel lost.

    How does One discover their duty?
    "The leprosy of unreality disfigured every human creature in attendance."
    - Charles Dickens

    "Every blade of grass, every insect, ant, and golden bee, all so marvelously know their path, though they have not intelligence, they bear witness to the mystery of God and continually accomplish it themselves."
    - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

  2. #2

    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Namast arjunah

    An excellent question and one to which the answer can be very elusive.
    In many ways to be asking the question and searching is in a large part the answer to the question its self.
    It is great duty and a burden that most choose to avoid.

    Try to be aware of the shift in gunas which trigger this feeling. or any events which trigger this shift, as you become more aware of your state of mind you can find ways to bring your self back to a more positive place. When you have mastery of your own subtitle changes of mind and emotion you will find your next duty.

    When in an elevated or inspired mood look for a simple mantra that will recall for you that condition be aware at that time also of your mood, this is a very powerful way to calm doubt.

    Your first duty is to know your self and be in harmony, it is by feeling lost sometimes that we keep our selves in check. We must be careful not to lose all hope and wonder too far from the path.

    I hope this is of some help to you.

    Om Shanti

    Iain

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    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Quote Originally Posted by arjunah View Post
    How does One discover their duty?
    Don't look for it. It will discover you, and you'll know. That's what I believe.
    śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Quote Originally Posted by arjunah View Post
    I sometimes feel lost.

    How does One discover their duty?
    Vannkkam arjunah: Which duty are you referring to? Is it your personal svadharma, our collective duty to the universe, or something really specific to a situation. I think it might be helpful for me, at least, if not others, if you could explain your question a bit more.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannkkam arjunah: Which duty are you referring to? Is it your personal svadharma, our collective duty to the universe, or something really specific to a situation. I think it might be helpful for me, at least, if not others, if you could explain your question a bit more.

    Aum Namasivaya
    Thank you for the replies.

    I want to be able to work a job I enjoy and support a family. Not sure if that is svadharma.
    "The leprosy of unreality disfigured every human creature in attendance."
    - Charles Dickens

    "Every blade of grass, every insect, ant, and golden bee, all so marvelously know their path, though they have not intelligence, they bear witness to the mystery of God and continually accomplish it themselves."
    - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Namaste Arjunah,

    Wanting to have a good career and be able to raise a family sounds like svadharma to me. What do you mean when you talk about feeling "lost"? Are you asking this question because you are somewhat uncertain about heading down the path of a householder?

    Om namah Shivaya
    "Watch your thoughts, they become words.
    Watch your words, they become actions.
    Watch your actions, they become habits.
    Watch your habits, they become your character.
    Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

    ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
    Om Gam Ganapataye namah

    लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ।
    Lokaah SamastaaH Sukhino Bhavantu

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    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Quote Originally Posted by arjunah View Post
    Thank you for the replies.

    I want to be able to work a job I enjoy and support a family. Not sure if that is svadharma.
    Vannakkam arjunah: I know of very few people who go to work happy EVERY day, so that may be an unrealistic goal. Personally, I'd say I enjoyed work 90 to 95% of the time, which I thought was quite high in this day and age.

    The secret to supporting a family is to have realistic goals. Money is in what you spend, not in what you make. A wise education helps as well. Here in the west we have this problem these days where the university graduates can't find jobs. Taking up trades is too low on the pride scale, so some people miss out on 'just an honest job' which is what I believe you'tr talking about.

    My son holds both a chemical engineering degree, and a chemical engineering technology certificate from a trades school. The second one got him a job, and a higher paying one at that. So your world is full of wonderful opportunities.

    Best wishes with finding something suitable.

    Aum Namasivaya

  8. #8

    Re: Discovering One's Duty

    Quote Originally Posted by arjunah View Post
    I sometimes feel lost.

    How does One discover their duty?
    This has been something I have agonized for a great many months now. What is your duty? What if, in circumstances that are less than ideal, you have to make a moral decision about how to act. It is fitting your name is Arjuna. I myself feel almost as though I were on the plains of Kurukshetra betimes.

    I say you should just outright quit losing yourself in pleasure. Hold yourself to the very adamant desire to actually know what duty is, and not just forego it. That's the best answer I can come up with right now.

    What I mean by pleasure, also, needn't necessarily be mundane pleasures. Rather, I like to think that lust, all lust, is really the privileging of what is potential over actual. We all wish to know the real. But that real is obscured by all these possibilities.

    Possibilities are great. But when there are too many you lose yourself and are like a fish out of its tank. It has infinite space to move around in then, but no medium to do so, because the possibilities lead to self-paralysis.

    Hope that offered at least some insight.
    How can I put this in a sentence? Try next time.

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