Whats my Life Purpose ?

Excerpt from Before Your Future

“If you have a strong purpose in life, you don’t have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there.

—Roy T. Bennett

One of the reasons people approach astrologers is to ask, “What’s my life purpose?” From the Vedic perspective, it is best to begin this inquiry with two questions: “How can I live a purpose-filled life? How can I be present for my life’s journey?” As a result, the passion, purpose, drive, and action that we all seek are more likely to follow.

To understand what the Vedic horoscope can reveal about our life purpose, we need to first understand how Vedic philosophy defines purpose. The closest word to “purpose” in Sanskrit is dharma. Like all yogic concepts, dharma is a complex and profound term that defies any concise English translation. This little word holds the key to understanding all of the Vedic sciences, including jyotish. The word dharma comes from the Sanskrit root word dhri, which means “to uphold.” It is best translated to mean “that which upholds and sustains the positive order of things.”

In the yogic tradition, dharma is also used interchangeably with duty, integrity, virtue, and doing the “right” thing. Laws and justice—both man-made and divine—are also dharma. Finally, dharma is also the umbrella word for ideology, spirituality, and religion.

Vedic philosophy describes many different kinds of dharma; a few are listed below. A life filled with dharma, or integrity and justice, is called a dharmic life. It offers the greatest potential for a fulfilling life, but also the most constraints.

Sva dharma is the closest translation for “my life purpose.” It can be loosely translated to mean “doing right” (dharma) “by me” (sva) or “upholding and sustaining me.” We must express our unique nature as well as honor and cultivate our distinctive talents, tendencies, personality, desires, and muse. Even nonliving entities have their svadharma; just as the svadharma of fire is to produce heat, the svadharma of water is to cool us down.

To interpret svadharma in the horoscope, Vedic astrologers turn to houses one, five, and nine and their rulers, which are primarily responsible for producing our core beliefs and ultimately our destinies. The first house is our self-image; the fifth, our inspiration; and the ninth, our ideology. Remember the horoscope can also reveal whether any of these forces are afflicted in the horoscope. In other words, our self-image, inspiration, and ideologies can also be misconceived or misplaced and keep us from achieving a purpose-filled life.

Furthermore, it is important to differentiate your svadharma from vocation (tenth house), monetary compensation (second house), and influence and power in the world (eleventh house). When the svadharma houses intersect with these other houses, “doing right by you” can also sustain us and maybe even make us rich and famous, but unfortunately, that is not the case in all horoscopes. This means our svadharma may have to take the back seat to achieve some of the other dharmas of life, such as livelihood, family, social good, or relationships.

Sanatana dharma refers to the eternal and universal natural laws that regulate the forces of nature as well as the body, mind, spiritual evolution, the Earth, and the cosmos. These natural laws are unnegotiable and the foundation of all Vedic sciences, including astrology. For example, the nature of fire is to burn—this law applies to everyone, regardless of svadharma. If we ignore these natural laws, they will lead to disharmony and destruction—not just for ourselves and society, but also for the ecology of the Earth. Even something as simple as burning the candle at both ends to pursue svadharma is ignoring sanatana dharma and will eventually result in suffering.

Samanya dharma refers to universal values such as virtue, integrity, patience, truthfulness, and honesty. These truths have been passed down for thousands of generations in all cultures throughout history. Most myths and stories that endure the test of time and capture our attention feature a hero who possesses most of these qualities and protects them even above his svadharma. In other words, while we must follow our svadharma, we cannot cause harm to others or society in its pursuit. If we do, it is no longer defined as a dharmic action.

Varna dharma is the right action that relates to our unique trade, vocation, or profession. Upholding the highest code of conduct and perfecting ourselves in any work that we have chosen or are required to do is also a type of dharma. There is always a special spark in people who take a great deal of pride in their work, even if it is not that glamorous. Whatever the nature of our work, including being a stay-at-home parent, the dharma of our varna requires us to pursue excellence in that vocation.

Ashram dharma is the right action appropriate for each age group, as what is suitable and sustainable in youth may not be in old age. The Vedas offer the four Purushartha as a general guideline for ashram dharma. Each corresponds to roughly 20-25 years respectively and requires more of our focus in the corresponding age group: dharma (purpose/study), artha (resources/security), kama (fulfillment of desire), and moksha (spirituality/liberation).

Kula dharma refers to our responsibility and obligations to our family and tribe. Some level of compromise of our svadharma may be required to be part of a family, regardless of how altruistic or lofty our life purpose goals. For example, becoming a parent requires that the well-being of our family and children is not compromised to pursue our svadharma.

Purusha dharma and Stri dharma refer to the unique role both sexes play in society and nature. Consider that the sexes metabolize stress, blood sugar, and body fat differently and men generally have higher levels of testosterone than women. However, some do not fall into the category of the sex they were born with. In that sense, this should not be confused with societal gender constraints, but rather how to uphold the best health, wealth, success, and spiritual evolution based on our physiology and orientation to life.

Raja dharma is the burden of being a leader, which is different from those who are followers or subordinates. People in positions of power have a responsibility to those who depend on them for protection, guidance, and security. Leadership curtails our freedom to pursue our svadharma, talents, desires, and inspiration. It is said the hardest life is that of a good and noble king or hero; governing and leadership require much sacrifice of personal wants and needs.

Praja dharma is the responsibility of being a good citizen and part of the electorate. Just as leaders have responsibilities, so do those who follow them. Some examples include participating in voting and civic activities, reaching out to people with opposing views, and working within the political process (including protest when necessary). In other words, it is our duty and dharma to stay engaged if we are part of society. We should not just walk away because we don’t like the leadership, nor should we ride the goodwill of those who are participating to make the social system run smoothly.

Pravritti /Nivritti dharma refer to the responsibilities we have to uphold both worldly life and spiritual life. This dharma emphasizes that both sides are important to living a purpose-filled life. Even while we pursue our worldly success, we should engage in spiritual life through activities like meditation, contemplation, and any practices that uplift the spirit. In reverse, we must also engage in worldly activities even when immersed in the spiritual life, so that we can support our body and mind without needing to rely on others.

Graha dharma is the most important dharma for Vedic astrology, as it refers to the nine graha, or planets, each with their unique teachings and purpose. When the dasha of a planet is active, we must remain open to honor and adapt to the teachings of that planet. Insisting on the exclusive pursuit of one or two planets, houses or signs (especially the previous dasha) and disregarding the current planetary period is going against graha dharma. The dharma of a Vedic astrology counselor is to guide on the best ways to honor our graha dharma, as well as our svadharma.

Apada dharma is exceptional and abnormal situational dharma. A situation may arise for which there is no precedence or teaching to direct the dharmic or righteous way to proceed. Vedic mythology is full of such stories. For example, in the Mahabharata Lord Krishna instructs Bhima to break the stringent dharma, or rules, of mace fighting by hitting his foe on his thigh to defeat him. At that moment, breaking the dharma of mace fighting was “less wrong” than allowing a whole kingdom to suffer under a ruthless ruler if Bhima lost. The temptation to justify wrongful acts can lead to misuse of apada dharma, and so it should only be used under extraordinary circumstances. It is also our dharma to cultivate a high-level discernment and wisdom to be prepared for such situations. In other words, the Vedas leave enough flexibility by allowing this type of dharma to qualify as righteous, so that we are not bogged down by dogma, rules, and rubrics, which sometimes masquerade as dharma in extreme ideologies.

Life is a complex web of dharmas that we have to engage in to uphold and sustain the needs of the body, mind, soul, society, Earth, and cosmos. It is no easy task to balance our worldly, spiritual, and planetary obligations, while at the same time engaging in activities that support our svadharma, or unique abilities, desires, and talents. Simply put, a purpose-filled life is one where we have the equanimity to do right by ourselves and others. Furthermore, it is the clarity to do the right thing at the right time in the right situation, without interference from ego, fear, guilt, or shame—this is dharma. This is yoga.