Geethartha Chinthane 22: Supporting wicked is also Adharma

‘Swa vihita vritti’ means a self-chosen occupation or path. Once chosen, it should be performed with devotion, as if it were worship, without wavering.

This concept can be applied to married life in modern times. It is not reasonable to break a marital relationship through divorce after willingly accepting it. There is enough time to think before accepting, so why change it afterward?

According to dharmic principles, our adherence to Dharma should be long-lasting, ideally until moksha. Engaging in a vritti that is improper can be criticized as ‘svaavihita vritya abhaktya bhagavadaradhanameva paramo adharmaha’. Even if an inappropriate vritti is performed with the intention of worshiping the Lord, it is still wrong.

Associating with Adharma is also wrong. This is why, in the Mahabharata, all the wicked had to be destroyed because they supported the forces of Adharma (such as the Kauravas). In this context, ‘Apaddharma’ (the Dharma in times of crisis) is a very subtle matter.

The simple meaning of the word vritti is action. If we dedicate the fruits of our vritti (occupation) to Bhagavan, it is considered ‘Bhagavadarpana buddhi’. Krishna referred to this as ‘karma phala thyaga’. This is, in essence, Bhagavadaradhane (worship of the Lord).

~ Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji of Paryaya Sri Puthige Sri Krishna Matha

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