The key to your mental health: Finding your Dharma

This morning, it was no surprise when turning on the news on New Years Day; the top "resolutions" flashed across the screen. Also, not surprisingly, two years into a global pandemic, "mental health" ranked as the number one category for resolutions in 2022. While this might take many forms depending on the individual's assessed need (i.e., the gym, a therapist or chiropractor), one thing is sure; people are hurting and experiencing conditions of what I consider to be the classic human conflict, war with your dharma. Conversely, finding your dharma is the key to unlocking your mental health.

So what is dharma? Well, no one to date has yet to define WHAT dharma is precisely but according to Rene Guenon, in his classic "Introduction to the Study of Hindu Doctrines," he says that "dharma is the essential nature of a being, comprising the sum of its particular qualities or characteristics, and determining, by tendencies or dispositions it implies, how this being will conduct itself either in a general way or in relation to each particular circumstance." Put simply; your dharma is what makes you, you. In this regard, while many seek the key to their mental health resolutions as something OUTSIDE of themselves, I would argue, the key to your mental health lies with aggressively pursuing your dharma. This quest for dharma isn’t new to the human condition. The theme of a dharmic quest has been woven throughout human literature for millennia.

Contained within the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, lies a classic tale that many are familiar with, The Bhagavad Gita. In this tale, Arjuna faces something of what we would consider being a mental health crisis at a time when one would not want to experience a mental health crisis, in the middle of battle. His charioteer (Krishna in disguise) offers wisdom on overcoming this crisis and fulfilling his spiritual and physical obligations to his present condition. His advice was profound and straightforward, do not FIGHT your dharma but pursue it wholeheartedly and don't look back. So how does this apply to today and how does it apply to your mental health goals?

The key to your mental health is understanding what you need but, more importantly, WHY you need it. Since your dharma hints at your deeper purpose, any action that goes against it will cause friction. What this looks like in real life is adopting habits, traits, and tendencies that go against your deepest desires. These are the people who adopt overly aggressive workout routines (after looking at athletes on Instagram) and try and train as if they were professional athletes. In the gym, these are the people who hurt themselves with too much weight on a bar and become overly critical of their lack of "progress." These people try to live by others' dharma, not their own. While these habits are, on the surface, are "good things," they become a detriment to your mental health simply because "it isn't you." Finding your dharma starts with declaring your dharma…" this is me…conversely, this…is not and never will be me." Another example are people in health care who want to become doctors for every reason other than actually caring for people. You can tell in their patient interactions that these sick and sometimes helpless (even if it is the perception of helplessness) people grade against their souls. It is no wonder why these people feel that this job is taxing! This irritation is your soul's recognition that you might be going against your dharma or trying to live someone else's dharma. In the age where providers' mental health is at an all-time low, I wonder how many are going against their dharma with their jobs. The pursuit of your dharma is as much about saying NO, as it is YES. 

            The key to utilizing dharma to unlock your mental health is first to be ruthlessly honest with yourself. Spend time searching on the inside and seeing what arises in your mind and heart. Answer some questions about what are you passionate about? What feels effortless to you? And what do you think you are being called to do? While none of these in and of themselves is your "dharma," they can certainly point you in a better direction. Once you have a guide, the next step is clear. Pursue it outright.

It should be noted that this pursuit might take you outside the bounds of what many consider to be "the normal life path," but this is OK. The author Stephen Cope in his book "The Great Work of Your Life," looks at the lives of people who have exemplified this dharmic path and the impact they've made on the world. People like Susan B. Anthony, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thorough, and Camille Carrot did not follow the conventional life path and ultimately changed the world with their dharma. 

It is my personal belief that in each of us lies such a potential. This year, take some time to discover your dharma and thus strengthen your mental health by living a life of internal congruence that will change the world.