Dhārma is morality, duty, and rightousness. Dharma is "doing what needs to be done", but doing it like a yogi - harmoniously! Awareness of dhārma (what is right) increases as one matures as a human being, and yet, though it may not be the first goal one pursues in life, it is really the most important one. Once one understands, dhārma should be an underlying factor in each of the other three goals. One continue to pursue security and pleasure, but not to the extent that one's actions are disharmonious. For example, stealing is immoral, and one should not steal money from another, motivated by achieving artha. To be in conflict with dhārma, leads one to a life of misery, and to live in line with what is right is a yogic life. This is beyond the idea of "my dhārma", because there is a golden rule - do unto others as you would have done to you. In your hatha yoga practice, consider the difference between doing it harmoniously... well aligned, consicously, at a natural pace, at the right time, having gotten enough sleep... versus doing your yoga dis-harmoniously - say, having drank alchohol and gone to bed late the night before, or having a belly full of pancakes, or doing it too quickly, or too forcefully, and so on. What's the difference? Does it matter? #4 - Moksha - FreedomMoksha means freedom. This is a goal that we all pursue in some way - seeking to be free from the things that we don't want or that we believe hold us back. True moksha, in the vedic tradition, means freedom from ignorance, freedom from need, freedom from feeling that we lack. One pursues this goal when one realizes that no amount of security or pleasure is lasting. A yogi pursues freedom by seeking to come to know the Truth of being. When this goal is achieved, you are completely free, because you are the self-satisfied self at all times. Even when one feels free, he or she still continues to require support (artha) pleasure (kāma) and moral duty (dhārma), but now, because one feels free, these things are engaged with out of natural instinct, not because of a sense of lack.
In your hatha yoga practice, you can notice if you feel a sense of moksha (freedom) after your yoga.
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AuthorYoga Therapist, Ayurvedic Practitioner & Mama - these articles are to support your yoga practice with knowledge and inspiration. Categories
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