श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् |
स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् || 47||
śhreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitāt
svabhāva-niyataṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣham
śhreyān—better; swa-dharmaḥ—one’s own prescribed occupational duty; viguṇaḥ—imperfectly done; para-dharmāt—than another’s dharma; su-anuṣhṭhitāt—perfectly done; svabhāva-niyatam—according to one’s innate nature; karma—duty; kurvan—by performing; na āpnoti—does not incur; kilbiṣham—sin
Translation:
Better is one’s own duty though destitute of merits or incomplete than the duty of another well performed; the man who performs action ordained by his own nature does not incur sin.
Commentary:
The Lord declares that one should not give up his prescribed duty though it appears difficult to perform it fully and completely. The duties of another man appear easy and attractive, but the true seeker should stick to his own method and way of life. This is certainly better than abandoning one’s own duty and taking up another’s and doing it even meritoriously. We have to refer this statement to Arjuna’s original plea to abandon fighting and to live the life of a mendicant. Arjuna is a Kshatriya and his duty born of his own nature is to fight. He should not give up this duty. He should perform it in the true spirit of a Karma-Yogi. By doing so, he does not incur sin. The principle holds good to all men engaged in various forms of work each according to his nature.
The verse may be interpreted in another way. ‘Svadharma’ may be taken to mean Atma dharma’. To think of Atma and meditate on that may appear difficult, and living the life of the senses in the objective world may be easy. But the real seeker should continue the ‘Atma-dharma’ in spite of difficulties and failures. In fact, Atma-dharma’ is the real state of man, and life in the senses and the objective world is an alien imposition,- ‘paradharma‘. Though ‘paradharma‘ appears easy and pleasing for the time being, it leads to bondage and sorrow in the end. ‘Atma-dharma’ on the other hand, though appearing to be difficult and troublesome in the beginning, leads to bliss and liberation in the end. So ‘Atma-dharma’ is infinitely better than ‘Paradharma‘. in the end.
One should not condemn any method practised by a person who genuinely believes in his heart of hearts that it will enable him to realize God. The spiritual attitude of no one should be interfered with. For, if one rightly grasps any attitude, through it alone one can realize the divine Lord, who is the embodiment of all attitudes. Stick to your own attitude and continue calling on Him. But never condemn anybody’s attitude nor try to make another’s attitude your own.
— Sri Ramakrishna (Source: Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master)
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The Master (Sri Ramakrishna) established relationships with devotees according to their natures. The Master established a particular spiritual relationship with each devotee based on that person’s inner nature. He used to say, “I see vividly what is inside human beings, as one sees the items in a glass case.” A person can never act contrary to his or her nature, so the devotees were incapable of acting in a way inconsistent with the relationship adopted by the Master. If a man imitated another person, going against his own nature by doing so, the Master would be displeased and would point out that man’s mistake. For example, he used to call Girish “Bhairava” [a form of Shiva]. One day at the Dakshineswar Kali temple when he was in ecstasy, he saw Girish in that form. He put up with Girish’s importunities and harsh words because he could see the wonderful tenderness and complete dependence hidden under the veil of his rough mannerisms. Once another devotee of the Master used that kind of rude language towards him, imitating Girish. The Master was very displeased and later pointed out his error.
The Master guided devotees individually along their respective spiritual paths. Established in bhavamukha, the Master had full knowledge of the innate spiritual mood of each man and woman devotee and established a permanent loving relationship with each of them accordingly. (Source: Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play)
The world is like a vast pharmacy, filled with countless medicines (paths and duties). While every medicine on the shelf is potent and valid in its own right, not every medicine is meant for you.
If you are suffering from a fever, you must take the medicine prescribed for fever. To glance at another patient curing their cold with a different medicine, and then blindly consume that same medicine simply because it worked for them, is not only useless—it is dangerous.
Similarly, in life, we each have a unique nature (Svabhava) and a specific duty born of that nature (Svadharma). To abandon your own natural duty to imitate the path of another—merely because it looks successful or attractive—is spiritual suicide. Just as the wrong medicine poisons the body, the wrong duty disturbs the soul.
- Even if the medicine meant for you tastes bitter (flawed/difficult), it cures you. The sweet syrup meant for someone else (perfectly performed alien duty) will only harm you.
- A doctor prescribes medication based on the patient’s specific constitution. In the same way, your duties are prescribed by your Svabhava (inner nature). Acting according to your nature creates harmony; acting against it creates “disease” (inner conflict and sin).
Related Articles:
- The Goal and Methods of Realisation – Swami Vivekananda
- One’s own duty, ill-performed and without merit, is better than the duty of another well-discharged. Better is death in discharging one’s own duty. Another’s duty is fraught with fear. — Bhagavad Gita 3.35
Question: What ‘Dharma’ is better for man?
Answer: That which is born of his own nature and pertains to his own state is better than the functions of another state.
Question: By what does the man escape from sin?
Answer: By performing one’s own duties in a spirit of surrender to the Lord, man does not incur sin.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18 🔻 (78 Verses)
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 |
| 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
| 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 |
| 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 |
