- sva-dharmācaraṇaṁ śaktyā
- vidharmāc ca nivartanam
- daivāt labdhena santoṣa
- ātmavic-caraṇārcanam
- (SB 3.28.2)
The first step is given there, that sva-dharmācaraṇam. Sva-dharmācaraṇaṁ śaktyā. As far as possible, be situated in your natural life. Natural life means there are three modes of material nature. So somebody is affected, or infected by some modes of material nature—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So the śāstra has made the path so clear in a way, that in either of these infection, either sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, you can make progress spiritual life. Because we must be in either of these. Just like a train is going on: there is first class, second class, third class. So because the train is going, either you place yourself in the first-class compartment or second class, you will go. You will go. It is not that because you are situated in the third-class compartment the, your train is not going. No, you can go. Similarly, Bhagavad-gītā has taught that one can go back to home, back to Godhead, in any position, provided he knows how to tackle the situation.
Sva-dharma. Sva-dharma will be explained, and it is explained in the Bhagavad. . . Sva-dharma means one may be in goodness, one may be in passion, one may be in darkness, and one may be in mixture. So that is divided into four classes of men: the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. So Bhagavad-gītā teaches us that anyone, if he worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead by sva-dharma, by his occupational duty, he also becomes perfect. For example, just like Arjuna. He was a military man, and his sva-dharma, his occupational duty, was to fight. So that fighting capacity he engaged himself in the service of Kṛṣṇa, and he became a devotee. Kṛṣṇa certified, bhakto 'si. What did he do? He did not chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Of course, he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra constantly because he was thinking of Kṛṣṇa. He had no other business than to think of Kṛṣṇa. But by formality he did not become a Vaiṣṇava or chanting. But he was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he is certified as the foremost yogi. Yoginām api sarveṣām (BG 6.47).
So that is the trick—how we shall always think of Kṛṣṇa even we are engaged in our occupation duty. That will make us perfect. Actually, real sva-dharma is to be attached to Kṛṣṇa. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, but because we have got this material body, we have got this bodily concept of life.