Hi Steemers!
The question about the ‚meaning of life‘ and the answer to it is definitely not uniform or standardized for all human beings. There is no answer that is suitable for all of us. It is individual and therefore each of us has his/her own ‚meaning of life‘.
First of all we do have one thing in common. The purpose of life itself, which is to live in the first place. To exist. Without this 'fact' we couldn’t do anything on this planet. That’s actually a big part of the meaning of life, the fact that ‚we are here‘.
If we move on and ask ‚Why am I here?‘ we can’t find a common answer, that’s the individual part.
'My' meaning of life does not necessarily have to be your meaning or of someone else. It definitely isn't. We are on our own way, each one of us. And we’re all on different stages of our path. To say we all have the same meaning (and the same purpose) in this life, right now, would be a foolhardy answer. It isn’t like that.
We all have our own path, our own book, our own chapter, our own purpose. Our individual meaning of life:
Our own dharma.
Dharma. A ‚meaning of life‘ which is always different for each single reincarnation. It’s an individual task which changes for and with every life you live. According to your own development and your own progress.
So the basic ‚meaning‘ of your life / first step would be to discover your own dharma, the current purpose, to accept it and to live according to it, actually to fulfill it.
And you will agree that this purpose can be completely different. For some of us it could be an external purpose, for example to achieve something in the outer world, in public with lots of attention. For some of us it can be completely internal, without being recognized by the world, to continuously work on yourself, to learn more about yourself. The full range is available.
A practical example: Maybe one part of my dharma is to talk about spiritual things: I feel home when I talk to others about it, not solely on this platform, in general. I have done it many times but that’s the first time in english and a huge obstacle to overcome just because it’s not my first language. Duty (the conversation) and progress (the language).
You don’t have to be famous to make ‚good‘ experiences in life – to be able to follow your dharma – we can’t be famous all together.
Each path (of each human being) is unique and it is well-advised to follow your own path and not judge, gossip about or blaspheme the path of someone else.
How to find your dharma?
A possible way is or could be:
Rest for a moment, reflect yourself, listen to your inner self and think for example about the following:
- What do I love to do?
- Where are my strengths?
- Where am I good at?
- What are my talents? (each one of us has a talent)
It does not have to be your profession, that would be ideal, but some of us live under constraints and maybe do something they do not really like. Maybe just because your parents wanted you to do it, or society, there are different options.
It is not easy to ‚know yourself‘ because we are under the influence of the world of sense, we have our own wishes and we all have paragons we admire. The possibilities to get distracted or even misleaded are numerous.
I’ve met a lot of people, young ones and old ones, who suddenly quit their job and start something completely different. At some point they realize that there’s something they want to do, something different, that there’s ‚something more in life’ than what they have done until then. Something that obviously fulfills them (more than before) and makes them happy.
I think that’s an indication for dharma.
The limits of ones duties are set through the individual and specific circumstances at birth. And under the direction of your karma you have your own sphere of activity and the ‚proper ground to build something’, a place to learn.
Everyone has the very best conditions to start from - to fulfill your dharma. Each one of us has to fulfill his/her own dharma or should. And better follow your dharma or try to fulfill it – even if its not completed – instead of trying to fulfill the dharma of someone else. e.g. you shouldn’t force wealth and money, you shoudln’t force or try to force to be famous if it’s not your dharma.
Both terms karma and dharma complement each other and are mutually dependent as well. They are closely linked. They relate to each other like fruit and seed, karma is the seed, dharma the fruit. Your current dharma is the result of your past karma. Dharma is the creating principle which creates the karma of the future. (we heard about karma in a previous post)
The karma determines your fate according to your actions in your previous stages of existence. But the dharma is the law, according to which you should live, based on your acquired qualities and abilities. Each ones dharma is determined by each ones karma. You’ll have great success if you stay and live within your abilities and adhere to your duties imposed by your situation in life.
( Note: Even the stars have an effect at birth and play an important role. Zodiac signs have their impact on life, on your character, on everything but that's a topic on its own.)
It is not advised to cling to actions and duties regardless your situation of life, just because they are attractive or seem to be precious. That’s maybe someones elses task. The situation you were born into provides you everything you need and is the most effective educational tool for you. We are just here to learn.
Wish you all the best to find your dharma.
Thank you for your attention.