Are we too struggling with our choices? Do we know the Purpose of our existence or what could give us Happiness/Peace? Sita’s dilemma explores the concepts of ‘Holistic Dharma’ and “New Age Maslow’ to explore a possible path for discovering the self.
“Greed isn’t good as it only fulfills but never satisfies” ~ K Srini
Sita’s dilemma often leads to a feeling of emptiness or a sense of being lost or a feeling of vacuum or unfulfilled and there are many shades/moods to the same.
The most common shade of this dilemma is the False Temptation i.e., to have a positive bias towards a few of the Dharmas. It arises because of lack of holistic approach and by not focusing on all Dharmas thereby creating a vacuum in ourselves.
The other mood/shade of Sita’s dilemma is getting distracted by the thought that my dharma is to focus on ‘Consumption’ and not ‘Contribution’.
The Wrong Prioritization is often a result of not knowing what drivers excite you as an individual and which do not thus spending precious energies and time in an unproductive fashion.
The Blind Follower is trying to emulate some of our Role Models without understanding what we stand for and what drives us.
Next mood is ‘In the Next Zone’, where an individual typically believes that he/she will dedicate this current phase/time of their life for a particular ‘What’ & ‘How” and focus on others as they get older/ later in time. ‘Greed is Good’ is believing monetizing any of these dharmas will achieve the goal – for example simply donating money to charity rather than offering some service/seva.
The Answer
The answer is not simple or straightforward; we must embark on a journey to reflect ‘what is the purpose’ and ‘how it drives me’ and align both.
As a first step, we need to focus on the ‘WHAT’ Left Circle, identify which of the Dharma takes precedence for us at a given point of time, and ensure that the process we do does not dilute the focus on the other Dharmas. Assuming it is a pie, we need to ensure that we are prioritizing at least 10% on each of the Dharma on a weekly basis, if not daily basis.
Post that, we need to move on to the ‘HOW’ Right Circle which will reveal our Drivers, the drivers are typically 3 / 4, which will occupy 80% of the pie.
Once we have both the pies ready, we need to start working on aligning them and ensure we have near perfect harmony between both. For example, if Transcendence / Self-Actualization is the driver then the priority in Dharma would be Universal or Community. But if belongings / esteem is a priority then the Dharma can be Community and Relationships but if the priority is deficiency like Basic and Safety, then the focus Dharma can be Self and Vocational. Once we have the Priority Dharma in place, we need to ensure that we do not miss focusing on the other 5 Dharmas too.
By creating a near perfect harmony between both the dharmas and the drivers we can not only define and understand the purpose to our life but are able to efficiently maneuver through our life and in end achieve the transcendence
By K. Srini.
