Sva-karma or sva-dharma, the same thing. The word dharma, as it is explained in the English dictionary, "a kind of faith," actually dharma does not mean that. Dharma means your occupational duty, the characteristic. Everything has got characteristic. Just like this microphone. The characteristic of microphone is to vibrate the sound loudly. This is dharma. If simply the microphone is there and it does not act to produce the sound loudly, then it is out of his dharma or out of order. Try to understand what is dharma.
There are many other examples. Just like water. Water is liquid, everyone knows. But sometimes water becomes solid, ice, under certain circumstances. That is not his dharma. To remain liquid-its dharma. Therefore, sometimes water, even it is transformed into solid ice, it melts, again wants to become water. This is dharma. So what is our dharma, we human being. There is no question of any sect, any nation or any party, no, as human being. As human being or living being, what is our dharma? Dharma is to render service. Every one of us is rendering service. As a family man, he is rendering service, as a society man, as a national—everyone is, whatever... Or occupation. As a medical man, you are also offering your service. As engineer, you are offering your service, or any other, businessman, you are also. Sometimes businessmen, they hang the signboard, "Our first business is to offer you service." So everyone is engaged in giving service to somebody else. This is called dharma, basic principle of dharma. So what is our dharma, living entity? Our dharma is to render service. But we are rendering service? But no. We are rendering service not rightly, but wrongly. Therefore you are no satisfied. There are many examples.
Just like in our country, Mahatma Gandhi, he also, he was here. He gave so much service. He gave service in India. But what was the return? The return was he was killed by his countrymen. This is the return, practical. The return was that he wanted to establish nonviolence, and his countrymen proved that nonviolence cannot go on—"You must die by violence." This is material world, that however you may render service to your family, to your country, to your friend, to anyone, you will never be satisfied. Rather, when he is dissatisfied he will kill you. This is material world. So my occupational duty is to render service to somebody, but I cannot satisfy that somebody. This is material world. You go on giving service, but you will never be able to satisfy to the person to whom you are giving service. This is material world.
So what is the defect? The defect is that my business is to render service to the Supreme Lord which is misplaced in so many ways. In so many ways I am giving service to my society, to my friend, to my community, to my nation, and so on, so on. That is misplaced. Your duty is to render service to Kṛṣṇa, or God, but that is being misplaced. Therefore you are not satisfied, neither the person to whom you are giving service, they are also not satisfied. This is the material world. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). Dharmasya again. What is that dharma? To render service. When there is discrepancy to render service, then Kṛṣṇa comes to teach you how you should render service. So we have created so many platform of service. They are not giving us satisfaction, neither to the person nor to me. So Kṛṣṇa comes to rectify it. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati. This is glāniḥ. The service is misplaced.
Then what is to be done? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is service. This is wanted. All other service... I have given you already the example. Who can give better service than Mahatma Gandhi? Who can become such honest man, ideal man. He was addressed as mahātmā. Still, his service was not recognized. He was killed. So that is the result of material service. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that, "This kind of service rendering will never satisfy you, neither the party will be satisfied. You give up all this wrong engagement; you give service to Me." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "Then I will give up so many duties I have got?" "Yes, you can give up." "No, I will be involved in sinful activities because I am giving all, others service." "Yes." Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: "I shall give you protection. Don't bother. Don't worry." This is the sum and substance of the instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, and you have to learn it. Then our life will be successful.
In every respect we can render service. In all positions we can render service to Kṛṣṇa. And that is being taught here: sve sve karmaṇi, sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ. You are a medical man. You are giving service. You can also be engaged in giving service to Kṛṣṇa. Sve sve karmaṇi. Or you are a businessman or you are engineer, whatever you may be. Sve sve karmaṇi. Everyone has got a particular type of duty, engagement. That is dharma. So sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ. He can become perfect. Saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ. Svakarma-nirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tac chṛṇu: "I will explain to you," Kṛṣṇa says. Now the svakarmaṇa, svakarma...
Of course, now we are engaged in so many different types of duties, but the Vedic civilization, there are four divisions of society and four division of spiritual enlightenment. It is called varṇa and āśrama. Four varṇas means brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. This is social arrangement. And spiritual arrangement-brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So we are known, advertised, as Hindu. Actually there is no such word in the whole Vedic literature, Hindu. It is a name given by the Mohammedans on account of the river Sindu. They pronounced sa as ha. So the Sindu was mispronounced as Hindu and the side, or this side of Indus River, who resided, they are called by the Mohammedans as Hindus. The Hindu name is given by the Mohammedans. Actually, our dharma is varṇāśrama-dharma, four varṇas and four āśramas. That is the real name, varṇāśrama-dharma. The whole Vedic culture is dependent on varṇāśrama. It is meant for everyone, not that it is meant for Indians only, no. Four varṇas and four āśramas.