28. Apt Region (Sudharma)

Affirmation:

I follow my unique path with integrity and trust, in harmony with my inner truth.

By living my own dharma, I connect with cosmic consciousness and find joy in my spiritual journey.

Mantras:

Om Dharmaya Namah

Om Tat Sat Sri Narayanaya Namah

28

Apt religion

(sudharma)

Sudharma, apt religion, means adoption of the course of action best suited to the player’s own self. Sudharma is living in harmony with the laws of the game. It is the course of action that allows the player to throw his die without care of where he lands.

Sudharma literally means one’s own dharma. What is one’s dharma? What is one supposed to do? If dharma is a code of conduct, then it should be common to everyone. Then nobody would have to do any thinking. Everyone would adopt the same mode of living. But people are people, not machines. They have individual differences, and those differences are the products of numerous factors. Not everyone is born at the same time or of the same parents. Parentage, environment, atmosphere, latitude and longitude, and geographical, anthropological and sociological conditions differ from individual to individual. Everyone is born with a set of qualifications and disqualifications.

Ideal is not real. No one can completely submerge himself in the law of dharma prescribed by a particular religion or individual. Everybody has to understand his role in the game. He has to follow his own path to liberation. The rise and fall in each individual life determines the course of play.

Sudharma means to keep up the spirit that one is ever evolving while never adopting unfair means in the course of action. Sudharma is to believe in liberation, in merging with Cosmic Consciousness. Sudharma is nonattachment to the rise and fall of maya.

If the player is a musician he will find his sudharma in music. A painter will find his through his own art. There are seven psychic centers in which the player vibrates. Wherever he feels comfortable, there he should try to evolve his energies into new patterns. This is the only sudharma. All religious codes of conduct are but external aids in the task of understanding ones true nature, one’s sudharma. Once the player begins to understand his sudharma, religion becomes internal, a way of life. Rituals lose their import. Life itself becomes an act of worship. The player is ready to move on to the plane of austerity.

Until the player lands in the fourth chakra, dharma is a meaningless term. He has to identify with a group or ideology in the third chakra. In the second he identifies with his senses; in the first with his ability to ensure bodily survival.

In the third chakra he understands karma, charity, the dharma aspect called ethics, good and bad company, atonement, the sorrows of life, and selfless service. But an understanding of his own role in the game starts only when he lands in the fourth chakra, in sudharma. Sudharma leads him to the plane of austerity and to hard penance and work on himself. Following the path of sudharma leads him directly to the sixth row of the game, the sixth chakra.

Art

This artwork visually interprets the concept of 'Sudharma', the individual path to harmony and liberation. It features a diverse group of people, each engaged in activities that represent their unique paths and individual differences, such as music for a musician and art for a painter. These elements symbolize the various qualifications and dispositions they are born with.

The image incorporates symbolic references to the seven psychic centers, where each individual feels comfortable and evolves their energies. This representation highlights the journey of self-awareness and personal evolution, emphasizing the idea of nonattachment to the rise and fall of maya.

Central to the artwork is the theme of the fourth chakra, which is crucial in understanding one's role and sudharma. It illustrates the internalization of religion as a way of life, moving beyond rituals to where life itself becomes an act of worship.

The style of the artwork blends photorealism with symbolic elements, using a palette that reflects the journey towards self-awareness, liberation, and the unique game of life each person plays. This depiction resonates with the idea of Sudharma as living in harmony with one's own natural laws and path.

Song

Sudharma

Sudharma, path for every soul,
not dogma, but your own best role.

Unique we tread, with talents sown,
where seeds of purpose can be grown.

Unfairness shunned, with spirit's might,
towards the cosmic, merging light.

Embrace your art, your gift, your way,
let dharma bloom in every day.