Finding your life purpose comes from knowing your dharma, your true nature. It is a process of self-development that engages thinking, feeling, knowing, and doing.
We can translate the word dharma as any purpose that is harmonious, virtuous, and that supports all beings. The word dharma comes from the root dhar, which means ‘stability and sturdiness’. It means ‘that which is established or firm’ and refers to the laws of nature that uphold the universe.
Indian philosophy defines dharma as actions performed according to one’s nature, called swabhāva in Sanskrit, and which bring harmony. Swa means self, and bhāva means feeling. Therefore, a dharmic action is one that arises from and is in harmony with your authentic self. These are the actions that will support and uphold you, actions that support the right use of everything.
Finding your dharma is a major spiritual achievement. When this occurs, you feel the joy of being your authentic self. You feel confident in your decisions and actions. When your dharma is only a vague idea, you feel disconnected from yourself; you feel conflicted about your identity and direction. You feel lost in the world. Time and energy leak out, and years pass by with little change. You waste your precious life force.
A few lucky souls are born with an innate sense of their dharma from an early age. They act on their purpose as soon as they become autonomous and do not need to search for it—think Mozart. Most people need to engage in a process of self-development under the guidance of teachers if they are to find clarity within the maze of competing thoughts, feelings, impulses, desires, and ideas that arise within their minds and are misaligned with their dharma.
You cannot find your dharma through books that only feed the intellect. Searching through thinking alone leads to confusion because it is empty of feelings. This approach ultimately becomes mechanical and meaningless. To rely on the limited thinking mind is to search for answers in the areas of your life that you already know.
You also cannot find dharma through emotion alone because emotion and passion alone take you away from the realities of life. Likewise, meditation alone, sitting, breathing, and chanting mantras, hoping for blessings or revelations, may keep you waiting for a long time.
To discover your dharma, you may need to search outside your normal ways of seeing and acting to gain a more accurate perspective of who you are and your nature. This requires a multidimensional approach, one that engages thinking, feeling, knowing, and doing.
Much joy and release from anxieties comes from discovering your deeper Self and the unknown aspects of you.
To find your dharma and your life purpose, you need to forge a powerful relationship with your unconscious and with your higher, knowing mind called buddhi in Sanskrit. Activating buddhi sparks your deeper intuition and your connection to your highest self.
When you step outside your comfort zone into the subconscious and unconscious areas of your being, you discover aspects of yourself that you previously could not imagine existed. You tune into dormant desires, hidden strengths, and talents. Beginning as an inkling, fresh insights and energy emerge from the darkness. When this happens, you experience a release from the anxieties of not knowing. Joy comes from discovering the unknown aspects of your deeper Self. And when this happens, your purpose becomes clear.
We have guided hundreds of people towards clarity of their authentic dharma and through our find life purpose course. Some students have made dramatic career changes, others have made major adjustments to their lifestyles and relationships, while others have gained newfound clarity within their purpose.
No matter the external changes, all have reported a heightened awareness of their spiritual path and propelled their evolution.
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