One's own natural make-up and tendency, from which one's qualities and natural work arise; not today's mood or preference.
5 results
Read the glossary entry for स्वभाव →
Article
You copy a louder colleague or a cousin's career, and you end up tired and unsure. The Gita says your own way, done imperfectly, beats another's way done well, and tells you why. One practice for this week.
Level: Simple English 6 min One's Own Duty
Article
What the Gita means by one's own duty: how it follows from one's nature, why liking and disliking must not choose it, why another's way brings fear, and how work becomes worship. Verse by verse, with misreadings, an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 15 min One's Own Duty
Article
A close reading of the two Gita passages on one's own duty: why the same verse stands in chapter 3 and chapter 18, what the four patterns of work describe, how it sits with equal vision and surrender, with objections answered.
Level: Deeper English 19 min One's Own Duty
Quick summary
What svadharma means, why Gita 3.35 and 18.47 say one's own duty done imperfectly is better than another's done well, and why svadharma is not a family trade or caste.
English 9 min One's Own Duty
Hub
Why do we tire ourselves wearing someone else's way? The Gita says one's own duty, done imperfectly, is better than another's done well. Start here for readings at three depths.