Sharanagati

“Considering your specific duty as a kshatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you then fighting on religious principles. And so there is no need for hesitation.”[1]

One little part from the purports of Shrila Prabhupada: “There are two kinds of sva-dharma (specific duties). As long as one is not liberated, one has to perform the duties of his particular body in accordance with his religious principles in order to achieve liberation. When one is liberated, one’s sva-dharma, specific duties, becomes spiritual and is not in the material bodily concept. In the bodily conceptions of life there are specific duties for the brahmanas and kshatriyas respectively and such duties are unavoidable. Sva-dharma is ordained by the Lord and this will be clarified in the fourth chapter. On the bodily platform sva-dharma is called varnashrama-dharma or man’s stepping stone for spiritual understanding. Human civilization begins from the stage of varnashrama-dharma or specific duties in terms of specific modes of nature of the body obtained. Discharging one’s specific duty in any field of action in accordance with the orders of higher authorities serves to elevate one to a higher status of life.”

Sva-dharma, my duty. We should be very attentive about our own duties. As Shrila Prabhupada says, there are two levels: the conditioned and the liberated platform. And when you are on the conditioned platform and you try to act on the liberated platform, that is a disaster. It is called cheating, it is called hypocrisy – when we are not on liberated platform, still we try to act on the liberated platform. If we are on the liberated platform and we act on the non-liberated platform, that is called help. Then we do not separate ourselves from the human beings too much: “I am the liberated great one, and you are still working in the mud.”

Once we were discussing what is better: to live on the dharma platform and to speak according to the rasa platform, or to live on the rasa platform and to speak according to the dharma platform. It is better to live, to be on the meditative platform of rasa, the divine love platform, and help people on the dharma platform. Rasa is your personal contact, your personal love relationship with Krishna. There you feel great depths of emotions. There you can forget about your bodily conditionings. But in most of the cases people need advice on different levels. As we discussed, first we have to learn how to live from our guru, then how to act – what to avoid, what to do – and finally how to practice devotion and what is rasa. If you get too much information on the rasa platform, then you cannot digest that. And without accomplishing dharma, there is no way to enter rasa. Actually there is an entrance, but this is a special case. Better we try to perform according to our present condition our duties, and then to improve the situation into loving connection. Then progress will be very stable and substantial. Although Krishna’s grace is everywhere – actually this is our environment – we have to purify our vision, we have to purify our heart to perceive that.

So, do not give up your relative dharmas until you are not on the liberated platform. Still, do not give up your absolute dharma, although you are on the relative platform.