Satyam Vada! Dharmam Chara! (Speak your truth! Walk your purpose!)

Hello all,

Namaste! All of you, my dear blog readers, know about my website-swaroopa.net. I have started my business, Swaroopa store, which can be accessed from Shop tab on my website, for Souls who are interested in a personal reading. There is also the Swaroopa Store link, on my blog's left side. Now to the post.

We have been dealing with a lot of philosophy for a long time. So, thought, why don't we discuss some leadership concepts by virtue of Saturn. Any way, the US is going to go through a momentous election, in another three weeks. So, thought, why don't we discuss some leadership perspectives? To make matters a bit interesting, I thought we would discuss it through the eyes of Saturn.

Who is Saturn? In astrology (always Vedic astrology in this blog), Saturn is the time keeper. He is also the ruler of the material realm. In Hindu mythology, he was the son of Sun, and his mother, Chaya, the shadow of Sun's wife Samjhna. Once, Sun became very bright and she could not tolerate his brightness. Instead, of asking her husband to reduce his light, she asked her shadow Chaya to live with Sun and went to the forest to do penance for sometime. Saturn was born to Sun from Chaya and he was not happy, because Saturn was dark in color and had a limp in his leg. (Even in those days people were judged due to their skin color. The fight continues....😔. Mythology has every example, if we have eyes to see.)

Sun got to know, Chaya was not his true wife, started to show the anger and negligence towards Saturn. This deeply hurt Saturn. Whatever it is, Sun was his dad and every kid expects the father's love and approval. Here, Saturn didn't get it, even being very loyal to his dad. To get his approval from his dad, Saturn went into the forest, did long penance to Shiva and got the designation as Iswara, God himself or Shanaiswara. Later, he came back and Sun knowing the accomplishments of Saturn, accepted him as his son.

Saturn: So, Saturn knows how it feels to be ignored and not cared for. In a country who are the people who are not cared for and totally ignored? Yes, the poor, sick and the old. Who wants to take care of them? Governments many times ignore them, except during elections, when their one vote becomes important. Due to this truth, Shani or Saturn represents poor, sick and old people and those who take care of them, is blessed by Shani.

Until yesterday, I was planning to put the title as (Saturn-The servant leader). Yesterday, I had a dream where the title phrase I have put now, sounded as a background voice with pretty much no other details. In the dream, I also decided to change the title. So, I am changing the title, as I guess, Universe wants me to write this. Shani is a very honest planet who lords the concept of cause/effect, is the judge of Karma, and is more than apt for this title. So, I will write about inner truth and purpose in this blog post, I guess. If the Universe decrees, what else can I do?

Satyam- Truth: The phrase-Satyam Vada, Dharmam Chara, comes in Taittireeya Upanishad, in Hinduism. In Mahabharatha and Ramayana, the epics, the concept of Sathya- truth comes many times. People ask others to do Sathya, to pledge to keep the truth and uphold it. So, the concept of Sathya is there in Hinduism as well as in other religions.

First, let us elaborate on what is Sathya? In India, under the symbol of the three headed lion, it is written Sathyam Eva Jayathe! The truth will always prevail! Sathya is truth. This truth can be individual, personal, societal, truth or of the country. The personal truth or Sathya are the values and truths of the heart of a person. Any time, the person moves away from their inner truth, they are in Asathya-untruths. Let me take the example from my own life.

Until my 45th year, I had zero awareness of my spiritual gifts; so I was pursuing pure biotechnology and science. But around 46th year, I was made aware of my spiritual gifts along with my science. Now, my whole truth comprises of both the science part as well as my spiritual nature. If I ignore, the spiritual part, which is actually much bigger than the rational part, I am being not true to myself. I would be living Asathya.

I think I was being made ready to write this. Only yesterday, I read about a story of a mythological king. What a coincidence, in this story, Saturn also comes! One day a black smith came to the court of the king with a statue of Saturn. The king bought the statue and installed it in his prayer room. But as Saturn was considered as a low God by others, before, one by one other values started to leave the king. First prosperity as Lakshmi left. Then, Dharma (virtue), Dhairya (courage), Kshama (patience) also left. Finally, Sathya (truth) started to go out. Then, the just king objected and said, he was okay with others going, but not Sathya and told about his devotion to Sathya-truth.

Sathya became happy with the king and decided to stay. Then, Dharma who was waiting for Sathya outside, said to others, he cannot stay without truth (virtue without truth) and came back. Like this, one by one the other Gods came back, finally followed by Lakshmi-prosperity. This shows that a person who values Sathya-truth as well as Saturn-justice, discipline and dedication, always finds themselves in the company of other virtues as well. 

Saturn: Now, we can ask, aren't untrue persons very rich and prosperous. Yes, they are. But aren't they always in some kind of mental chaos, trouble, fights, arguments or legal battles. Why? Because the friends who give them company are untruths, vices-of lower nature-Rakshasa. That is why people who are untrue always have to run from law and justice. Who rules law and justice, in material realm? Who else? Saturn. In Vedic astrology, Saturn the graha is exalted (of the highest status) in the sign of Libra- the sign of justice with the symbol of a blind-folded lady having a balance in her hands. Justice! The lady is indeed, Venus. But the balance or the judging nature-Saturn.

So, isn't it our twisted mental nature to think, we can escape the higher justice of Saturn, being untrue and dishonest. In our life, the 7.5 years of Sade-Sathi, Saturn going over the Moon-mind comes almost three times . A mind that is virtuous, honest, upholding Sathya, what does it have to fear? Saturn, the minimalist sage would come and help to remove all the fluffy, useless things that are bogging down the person in their life, so that they can concentrate more on their Sathya-truth and Dharma-purpose.

Those people who have used their life to lead a life away from their Sathya, even if they were virtuous would be brought back to their inner truths. This also happens. This is what happened to me. I was living an untruth of just science alone, while spiritual nature was ignored. In every case, this correction to bring to proper truth is painful and stressful. The being has lived a life of different values, for around 30 years. Sade-Sathi, comes every 30 years. 

People who have led a dishonest, untrue life, far from their or society's truths are brought to task, so that they change to embrace their inner truths. Because only from the place of inner truths, the highest path of Dharma is possible. To be dharmic or virtuous, Sathya, the truth, especially inner truth is much needed. If a person cannot stand up for themselves, among friends, family or society, then how can they uphold what they stand for? Correct?

So, Saturn would either strip people of the ego of the Sun, emotions of the mind and Maya of the Rahu, they have accumulated that doesn't work towards their Dharma. Remember, Saturn is the judge, who upholds the law and the highest of truths. This is a warning also to judges and legal professionals who are doing the job of Saturn in the society. Any judge who is unfair and doesn't uphold the law due to their own perspectives/ mindsets against the people get their share of effect when Saturn comes around. At that time, there is no point in cribbing, crying or whining. Saturn also is for the every day normal person. Want to be in the good books of Saturn, take care of the normal human without looking at money or wealth.

The virtues in life!
Image credits - Pixabay.com

To people who were living a suppressed or oppressed life, it would show their inner light of the Sun, the strength of their mind and the will power to change/ transform their life. In both cases Saturn is trying to turn a Soul towards their Sathya- inner truth by virtue of which they can be an upright and honest citizen of the society. But then, people do what they want with their life (Manmaani in Hindi 😀) and when Saturn comes to Collect tax, they become fearful. So, it is not the Saturn that should be feared, but our mind and mindset.

So, that is why, it is said that-Satyam Vada, Speak your truth. Only when we are upholding truth inside, we can speak about it. If we are dishonest inside, how can we speak about our inner truth? We can't, we don't know it. There, we are living untruths. So, the first phrase is very important. Speak your truth, inner truth and let us uphold it, in our own life.

Dharma: Now, Dharma. Our purpose. We have written about this many times. A person's Dharma is deeply aligned with their inner truth. If they are not living their truth, what Dharma? In the story we already saw that Dharma left and was waiting for Sathya- truth to follow. Also, one's deepest purpose is always aligned with their highest truths.

Here is where we have to discuss the concept of the heart-space where the Soul sits. It is in the metaphorical heart, the wisdom of the Soul resides. This is not accessible through the mind. Mind is just the outer layer, which has around 80% facing inward and the remaining 20% facing outward. If we are just operating from the outer 20%, we pretty much are missing everything. Then, what Dharma and what purpose?

The person holding their deepest Sathya should first go within their emotional, subconscious mind. Clearing any hang ups or hold ups here, they should find their heart using their intuition. From this heart, they need to access the Soul, where their map of Dharma is placed. So, the path of rational mind, subconscious-emotional mind, heart, intuition and Soul should be seamless for the guidance of the heart to come through. Otherwise, somewhere in the transit the guidance gets lost.

Also, without upholding the inner truth, the same mind can act as Rahu-Maya of the material realm, if we are not careful. There are so many things in this material realm to become dazzled by-money, wealth, property, cars, information, electronic toys, drugs, drinks, gambling, cigarettes, vices. You name it-we have it.  Can we take any of this to the next stage in our life after death? No. None of these can be taken.

The virtues, the deepest experiences or more aptly their essences we can take as a Soul. Virtues like value, honesty, integrity, character, ethics, justice, equality, a state of moral excellence. A being who operates from the virtues start to embrace those qualities even in their physical state of existence. People who live from their inner truths are more sure and confident of themselves. They have a moral inner compass. That moral compass of inner truth leads them through the perils and slippery-slope of life. They deflect or escape many moral pitfalls.

That is why people who uphold inner truths and live a dharmic life, don't find themselves mired in chaos, conflicts and confusion. Of course, the nature of the material realm itself is Maya or Rahu like. Conflicts and battles do come. But if one has the inner-truth of Sathya as Vishnu to give them inner guidance, most of the time, they come out of any problem unscathed. So, the point is without Sathya- the truth, there is no Dharma- one's purpose or all the other virtues that come along as it's friends.

This is why in Hinduism, the longest epic poem, Mahabharatha is the battle between Dharma of the Pandavas on oneside and Adharma of the Kauravas on the other side. It was the Sathya or truth on the Pandavas side that stayed as the solid Universl grace, which brought their final victory. But even in that battle there were lot of casualties. People as dharmic as Bhishma and Drona had to align to the side of Kauraus in the name of loyalty. Because of their alignment with Adharma, even they got destroyed.

So, honest people who, if due to loyalty align with Adharma, indeed get destroyed. Because due to the loyalty they are moving far away from their values and principles. Does, it ring a bell, somewhere? A hint- Abraham Lincoln, honest Abe-highly ethical with integrity and character was indeed a Republican. The very first Republican President! Hope, the blog readers understood, what I am pointing towards. This is not a blog about politics, but about truth, authenticity, integrity and Dharma.

Satyam Vada- Dharmam Chara: So, to have a very purposeful, authentic, peaceful life, Sathya- inner truth that leads to Dharma-inner purpose is needed. A person who aligns with their Sathya and Dharma is like an ocean liner in the vast ocean of material existence- Samsara Sagara, with a solid GPS from the Soul. When they align with their Sathya and Dharma, they are never lost in their life, ever again.

The GPS-intuition of the heart, where the Soul resides, guides them to the very end of their days. The days of doubts are over, instead the days of self-trust and inner-faith takes over. This is not reserved for some highly evolved sage of a Soul, but to every ordinary being like you and me. But how many are ready to walk the path of Dharma upholding their inner Sathya. Not many. But Universal energies are always watching. Saturn is very observant-the judge. The saying - What goes around, comes around, is a very apt in everyone's life. Only people need to be aware of it and take charge of their own life with the deepest inner truths and use it towards their purpose.

Finally, leaving with a quote from the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti-

Quote by Jiddu Krishnamoorti
Image credits - AZ Quotes

 
I wish you a good and safe weekend, and I'll see you next Friday!😉

Next week: What is integrity?
Image Credits - Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay