It is better to do one’s own dharma, even though imperfectly,
than to do another’s dharma, even though perfectly.
—The Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 18, Verse 47
I have this inner guiding voice of sorts—what the Socratic Greeks might have called a “daemon,” I suppose. It began as gut feelings or intuitions, but somewhere along my journey, I realized I could dialogue with it.
One night, this voice woke me up with an idea, as it has done many times over the years. After I wrote it down, I got the inkling to ask this voice what it was. I closed my eyes and drifted back to the half-conscious state in which the communications began, and the conversation went something like this:
“What are you?”
“I am you, from the future.”
“Then how am I manifesting the signs I ask for in the outer world?”
“You’re not. I AM.” (Capitalized because it came through in the Exodus 3:14 sense—“I AM WHO I AM”—the mysterious description of God’s nature that cannot be declared in words or conceived of by human thought.)
“So I’m God..?”
“You are me—past, present, and future you, all bound by free will.” (The second part seemed oxymoronic, but I didn’t question it, while the first part reminded me of how Atman—a person’s innermost soul—is also Brahman—the transcendent being/reality that pervades the universe—extended across time.)
“What else can you tell me?”
“Follow my will to become what you’re supposed to be.”
“Can I write about this?”
“That’s your purpose, isn’t it? Now go.”
And so I went, and so I wrote.
Take from that what you will, but I imagine everyone has access to this voice if they listen carefully (as we’re all manifestations of the same pervading being/reality). Though, I’d venture to guess many hear what’s essentially a dial tone when they pick up the line or choose to ignore whatever comes through anyway.
Socrates went as far as to follow this voice to his death, though that appeared to be his destiny, and probably what made him immortal in the sense that his name lives on. I’ve been following mine for quite a while, reluctantly at times, but it seems to have led me down a good path so far. So, I suppose trusting that it will guide me toward “what I’m supposed to be” would make it a mistake to do otherwise.
So my advice to you is: listen up, dharma bums.