Dharma And Drishti for Yoga and Dharma-Focused Workplace
As we embark on our journey of self-discovery through Yoga, we often come across profound concepts that go beyond the physical aspects of the practice. Two such concepts that hold immense significance in Yoga are Dharma and Drishti. Every human on this planet is unique; therefore, everyone’s Dharma is different, and Drishti means gazing point, which is where you look while in the asana. This blog will explore these ancient Indian philosophical concepts and understand how they can enhance our yoga practice while promoting inner harmony.
True Definition Of Dharma
Most of us have heard Dharma, but what does it mean? Dharma can have multiple meanings, but roughly translated, it can be; our life purpose, the order of happenings in nature, or our duty in life. Every human is unique; therefore, everyone’s Dharma is different. It is impossible to have the same Dharma as anyone else and copy anyone’s life purpose. Finding and cultivating our Dharma is one of the more challenging aspects of our life journey. For some people, this happens early in life, and you can align yourself early on. For others, we can spend our whole life searching for our life’s purpose. According to our Philosophy teacher, Sunil Sharma, the best way to cultivate Dharma is by internalizing our awareness. This means turning our understanding of the external environment inwards. Becoming more aware and sensitive to our being will lead to greater self-study. The more awareness and self-study one creates, the more their true personality will unfold. You will start to see the beauty in yourself, which is unique, rather than comparing yourself to others and following in someone else’s footsteps.
Drishti
Drishti, meaning gazing point, is where you look in the asana. Translated from Sanskrit as “perception,” Dristi is our specific focus point while practicing Yoga, which directs our mind and energy. When we steady our physical site to a fixed issue, our inner world becomes steady, purified, focused, and concentrated. Dristi brings about oneness during the practice and presence within the postures. The focus and awareness cultivated by Dristi also manifest themselves in our daily lives. There are nine Drishti :
Urdvha Dristi – up to space
Brumadhya Drishti – the third eye
Nasagra Dristi – tip of the nose
Parsva Dristi – right side
Parsva Dristi – left side
Nabhi Drishti – navel
Hastagra Drishti – the tip of the middle finger
Angusta Dristi – tip of the thumb
Padagra Drishti – the tip of the big toe
What You Should Not Do
Following someone else or attempting to be like anyone else is dangerous. You will lose sight of who you are, delay or stop your personal growth, and delay this life process of cultivating Dharma. We must take all our energy, internalize it, and focus on our individuality, strengths, and what we enjoy versus attempting to copy someone else. We must do what we can at this particular stage in our lives and find the beauty in it. Make mistakes, and learn from them. Our Certified Yoga Teachers are very professional and will guide you in everything about Yoga.
How Are We Nowadays
Unfortunately, today we are so poor experientially. We want everything handed to us and do not want to experiment and fail, we want the answers, and that’s it. This will not bring about growth and lasting change. Yoga is an excellent way for us to practice experimentation. Every asana, every breath we take, we are experimenting. Every asana, practiced with full awareness, takes us deeper into the pose, and we continue to learn. This is the process we must go through; each time we experiment in life, we gain more and more experience. Each new understanding and awareness of what we have learned aligns us closer to our Sva Dharma.
What We Should Do In Our Life
Many times in life, we run from negative consequences instead of taking responsibility for our actions. We externalize our problems onto others instead of looking for change within. We see making a mistake as a failure versus a learning experience. We must take accountability for our actions and learn from such experiences. Once we see these challenges as learning experiences, we can increase our awareness and continue personal growth. There is no running from our actions. Once this becomes clear, the journey becomes internal. We can become our friends or our foe. We can learn to love ourselves more or produce more self-hatred. Instead, we must turn our awareness inwards and take responsibility for our actions and reactions. Take all this scattered energy and center it internally. Once this happens, Sva Dharma will flower inside us. The problem and the solution all lie within. We should have to remove our dependency on others. Our expectations and beliefs give us no hope, and we fill ourselves with negativity. So it is always better to believe in ourselves and make things work on our own instead of taking help from others. The more we believe in ourselves, the more inner strength and success we get. Only we can make ourselves and our living better the way it is needed.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to enhance internal growth. We can find our inner path and meet ourselves with the help of Yoga. We should practice Yoga daily to make ourselves away from negativity and learn the way of self-awareness. Tattvaa Yogashala is a place where you can achieve what you desire with the help of Yoga. Here you will learn different aspects of self-improvement and swadharma.