How many times have we asked ourselves ‘Why do I have to do this? Why am I working so hard? What am I getting out of this?’ Often in life we simply go through the motions without questioning and if this questioning does occur, it happens too late in life. The problem lies in the fact that we do not pursue what we love.
We take up career paths depending on the ‘scope for success’ that it has, in other words the amount of money we can make, rather than following our own calling. But is success merely about money and fame? Or is it something more? Isn’t success about being happy, about being at peace with oneself?
The reason most of us find ourselves unhappy is because we are engaging ourselves in fields of activity that are at loggerheads with what we really want to do. Work must be something that we look forward to. Even to achieve sustainable ‘success’, we need to go about our jobs with passion. The problem is that we don’t have the courage to follow our conviction. We are too worried about how we will ‘live’, another pseudonym for earning money. And in trying to live, we die. We kill our talents by not engaging in fields of activity that require their use. We are too scared about what others might think if we want to become painters, musicians, archaeologists, poets or philosophers.
To really be successful, the first thing we need to do is do some soul-seeking and introspection and find out what our talents and strengths are. Having done this, simply jump into the chosen arena and go about what you love doing. Gandhiji said ‘Find purpose, the means will follow’ and how true it is. Anyone who has put his work before himself and dedicated his talent for some higher purpose has never suffered. In fact, these are the only people who truly ‘live’. Money comes where there is merit and true merit can only be acquired in the field of our talent. The Gita refers to this field of talent as svadharma. In the Gita, Lord Krishna powerfully asserts, ‘Better is svadharma though devoid of merit than paradharma (opposite to one’s own nature and talent) well discharged; better is death in svadharma, paradharma is fraught with fear’. Wayne Dyer says we often know the right thing to do; the hard part is doing it. We often know what our talents are deep down, but we don’t heed their calling. We think success is all about money, name and fame. Ask those who have all of these if they think they are happy and successful. Chances are slim.
The best part of pursuing our svadharma is that it puts us on the spiritual path without even wanting to be there. Only through the field of one’s svadharma can one find what one seeks in life. It’s never too late to switch. For those who think they are too old, make time to pursue svadharmic activity but for those who think they are young enough, go for it, chase your dreams and believe in yourself even if others doubt you. Prove the doubters wrong, create a path for the rest to follow and most importantly, realize that great potential that lies dormant in each one of us. All of us have our talents but we need to uncover and fulfill them. Have the courage, follow your conviction. You will be rewarded, have faith in yourself and God. By doing this, we put ourselves on the Spiritual Highway!
Too much attention is paid to the movement of others rather than ourselves, all we need to do is to find our lane, find our speed and move on!
Source: http://www.vedantavision.com/
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