The Five Dharma Types by Simon Chokoisky

Author:Simon Chokoisky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality/Self-Help
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Company
Published: 2014-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

Element, Season, and Taste

ELEMENT

Chapter 1 introduced the five elements and their corresponding dharma types. Now we shall discuss them in more detail. Element theory is the foundation of Vedic cosmology, samkhya, and permeates practically every facet of the Vedic sciences. The five elements can even be used as stand-alone personality type pro formas, but they work best when understood side by side with their dharma type. Here is a summary of how the elements and dharma types work together.

Earth: Laborer

Summary

First chakra, instincts of survival and self-preservation. Fixed, durable, and reliable, but also slow, heavy, and materialistic—the most dense of the elements, and the most visible manifestation of reality.

Subtle Meaning

Dense objects create the most gravity. Spiritually, gravity correlates to love, the all-attractive force. When its growth is unchecked gravity turns into a black hole, a force beyond time and space, seeding galaxies that in turn bring forth new life. Black holes are the organizing principles around which other stars revolve—in the same way that Laborers are the core of their community. And just as black holes are conduits to realms beyond time and space, spiritually speaking love and loyalty (bhakti yoga) are the Laborer’s portal out of the temporal world of suffering. There is nothing that a Laborer type cannot absorb and transmute through the power of love and devotion. A black hole is termed such because it is difficult to perceive and its immense gravity allows no light to escape. Similarly, Laborers may appear unremarkable on the surface while being resplendent with gravity and light within. Such persons may only show their light by serving others, without need for gratitude or recognition. The densest element has the potential to become the most potent force in the universe, and it is up to Laborer types to transmute the “stuff ” of their petty natures into the power of Nature. In Vedic philosophy Ganesha represents this force of the Earth Element and the root chakra.

We are all nomads without the Laborer type’s skill and ingenuity to harness the earth’s resources and settle us down.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.