The divine purpose in every one of us
Dharma and Ikigai are Indian and Japanese concepts that revolve around finding purpose, meaning in life, and what you wake up for every day.
Some people innately know their dharma, while others discover it through living. But you can only find your true purpose when you know your true self or embody your true self to the fullest. Let’s look at how from the book, Discover Your Dharma, A Vedic Guide to Finding Your Purpose by Sahara Rose.
Dharma
Dharma emphasizes living in alignment with one’s true nature and fulfilling one’s responsibilities while contributing positively to the world. Dharma is often associated with finding one’s life purpose and walking the path that resonates with one’s intrinsic qualities and values.
Ikigai
Ikigai refers to the reason for being or the source of value in one’s life. It’s a holistic approach to finding a purpose that considers multiple dimensions, including what you love, what you are good at, and what the world needs. The intersection of these dimensions forms the core of your Ikigai.
Ikigai is the convergence of passion, mission, vocation, and profession. It’s about finding the sweet spot where your internal desires align with external contributions, creating a sense of deep satisfaction and fulfillment.
Relationship between Dharma & Ikigai
While dharma and Ikigai arise from different cultural contexts, they share similarities in their emphasis on living a purposeful and meaningful life. Both concepts encourage individuals to explore their inner selves, identify their unique qualities, and engage in activities that resonate with their intrinsic nature. Additionally, Dharma and Ikigai advocate for contributing positively to the world and finding harmony between personal fulfillment and societal well-being.
Dharma often carries a spiritual and moral undertone, focusing on one’s duty and alignment with cosmic principles.
“Your dharma is to raise consciousness.” — Sahara Rose
How to Discover Your Dharma
Remember that discovering your dharma is a journey that evolves. The path can include the following:
- Attention to your intuition and inner voice
- Exploring your strengths and weaknesses
- Embracing new experiences and challenges that resonate with your authentic self
- Engaging in practices to deepen your understanding of who you are and what truly matters to you
- Being open to change and growth
Stage 1: Self-Awareness
How many of us live on autopilot? Doing what we do and maybe even enjoying life that way. But there must come a point where you question: There must be more to it than just this.
And when the true journey begins, the wheels start turning in the right direction. It can come about in numerous forms that lead to a change, a need for transformation.
How I Discovered Self-Awareness: Deep inside, I always knew there had to be more to life than following authority, living by societal conditioning, and being confined by organized religion.
But I only accepted these revelations and saw them for what they were when I invited silence into my life. A trip to Europe for 2 weeks was all it took.
“The more self-aware you become, the more your dharma archetype (personality types) will reveal.”- Sahara Rose
Stage 2: Self-Improvement
Yes, we’re always on a mission to improve ourselves. Be it our health, fitness levels, diet, knowledge, etc. Self-improvement is not only adding things to your life; it’s also removing some.
How I Improved Myself: Covid was the ideal time to self-improve. I took up hiking, reading, writing, and yoga. I read many books, hiked every opportunity to be out in nature, and did just 10 sun salutations daily. It was a means to improve my health and breathing, manage pain, connect with nature, and introduce me to meditation.
“Your dharma is encoded inside of you. Your calling is to recall who you are.” — Sahara Rose
Stage 3: Awakening
Awakening follows self-improvement. Once you’ve improved yourself, you can now awaken the self. It’s when you go deep inward and discover your true self by abandoning limiting beliefs.
My Awakening: My awakening happened when I decided to let go of what others expected of me and fulfil my expectations. It sounds easier than it is because it involves shifting your priorities and putting yourself first.
Yes, this stage will ruffle some feathers and outright compromise relationships. As Jiddu Krishnamurti said: To destroy is to create.
“The obstacles you must overcome to bring that vision to reality are the training you need to embody your dharma and share it with the world.” — Sahara Rose
Stage 4: Higher Consciousness
Consciousness is when you start recognizing your true self where you’re part of a bigger picture, the universe. You’ve come this far, leaving the past in the rearview mirror, completed a lot of the leg work, and have the tools to keep moving forward.
You’re no longer a victim of circumstance or a prisoner of the past. You have no regrets because life is now happening for you, not to you.
How I Became a Conscious Being: I became conscious when I went from a life of doing to a life of being. I detached from the things that didn’t serve me anymore and realigned my needs with spiritual growth. And guess what? People are going to notice.
“All it takes is one shift in consciousness to let the entire path illuminate itself.”- Sahara Rose
Stage 5: Stepping into Your Dharma
Stepping into your dharma starts with baby steps. You keep transforming your life until it starts to unravel your mission.
My Dharma: When you remain open, you attract what you deserve, and things start falling into place. Unlike a puzzle where you have a picture to work with, my dharma reveals my true purpose through synchronicities, manifestation, and trust. I merely stay on track and wait for my dharma to form a picture.
“The universe is always tugging us in the direction of our dharma, through excitement and curiosity.”- Sahara Rose
Vedic Approach to Finding Your Dharma
Ayurveda (health system) and Dosha (energy) can inform you about your dharma. Each individual is born with a combination of all three doshas that aligns with your strengths, interests, and talents.
The doshas based on the five elements include:
- Vata (Air and Space): Visionary, creative, seeks freedom, ever-changing, anxious, overwhelmed.
- Pitta (Fire and Water): Ambitious, goal-getter, productive, perfectionist, burnout, fatigue, agitation.
- Kapha (Earth and Water): Empathic, nurturer, meaningful connections, comfort zone.
Based on the above and the quiz from the book, I’m a Vata.
“The key to fulfilling our dharma is to reclaim the Doshic constitution we were born with. Essentially, your only job is to be you, exactly as you are.: — Sahara Rose
Chakras and Your Purpose
“If dharma is your North Star, the chakras are the map points that guide you there.”- Sahara Rose
Chakras are your body’s energy centers that keep you in balance.
- Crown chakra: Being open to receiving an idea — for me, it started with blogging.
- Third eye chakra: Using your intuition to explore the idea — I continued to write a lot.
- Throat chakra: Putting your idea into words — What else could I do with writing? Earn money, perhaps, or create a career?
- Heart chakra: You love the idea but lack the passion — I love writing, but who am I to call myself a writer?
- Solar plexus chakra: You bring the idea to life — I applied to jobs and got paid to write.
- Sacral chakra: Finding joy in what you do — the more I wrote, the more I loved it, and the more people valued what I said.
- Root chakra: Your vision becomes larger than you — what else can I do with my writing?
Last Thoughts
If you’re still unsure of your dharma even after reading this, know it’s there.
“Your dharma is eternal, but the way that it manifests may change throughout the course of your life. Dharma is not about the destination, but rather the journey of embodying who you truly are at any given moment.” — Sahara Rose