CHAPTER FOUR:

THE FIELD OF DHARMA

EDWARD TARABILDA: I would like to start this chapter by going more deeply into the roots of this knowledge I call The Art of Multi-Dimensional Living.

Osho sometimes said that Jainism is the oldest religion in India. Others may not agree, but I accept Osho's claim, because I find in Jainism a certain flavor of the teaching Rudolph Steiner calls "pre-Vedic" knowledge. It is this pre-Vedic knowledge which is being restored through The Art of Multi-Dimensional Living, but it is being restored in a new way: through conscious, creative human initiative and participation, rather than through the dream-like, ancient clairvoyance of the pre-Vedic seers.

In "The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity" Steiner describes the process followed by these ancient seers:

However, at certain times, these holy teachers proved to be more than merely simple people. At these times they had to gather in groups of seven, because what each could sense individually had to harmonize as if in a seven-tone harmony with what the other six experienced. Each wise man was able to perceive this or that, depending on his particular faculties and development. And out of the harmony of the individual perceptions of these seven individuals, there emerged the primeval wisdom that resounds through ancient times. Its reverberation can be heard even today, if we decipher the occult records correctly. The records I am referring to are not the revelations of the Vedas, though the Vedas are certainly marvelous in their own right. The teachings of these holy men of ancient India precede the writings of the Veda by a long time. The Vedas, those tremendous works, are only a faint echo of these earlier teachings.

The knowledge I am offering is rooted in these ancient teachings, except now the knowledge comes through my conscious spiritual initiative and participation rather than the dream-like state of clairvoyance used by these ancient teachers.

In representing the Mercurial stream of evolution, I emphasize knowledge as an organizing principle for all life. The intellect is capable of synthesizing all knowledge; it gives the ability to define and make commentaries on all the fields of living, including the eight archetypal paths of spiritual development.

Thus a representative like myself of the Mercurial stream of knowledge is best qualified to show the archetypal differences among the major streams of human knowledge, as well as to synthesize them into a coherent whole.

Other teachers give out knowledge from the other seven streams of spiritual evolution, each with his own unique gifts. I am thinking of Dr. Hartak, for example, who wrote "The Keys of Enoch". I am confident that he teaches from the perspective of the Martian path. He claims that this book was not channeled, but was gained through his conscious upliftment into the spiritual worlds, which would put him in harmony with my own, more modern methods of intuitive insight.

HINDU MONK: Hinduism preserves these same paths in great detail. Why do you give the Jains credit for being the oldest religion?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Honoring the sevenfold nature of life goes right to the heart of Jainism; it is only given lip-service by the Hindus and Buddhists. However, I'm not so interested in debating this historic question; I just want to alleviate the illusion and eventual suffering which comes from teachers, whatever their religion, who suggest one way for all. Most Vedic teachers today present the perverted idea that one path is better than all the others, even when they give lip-service to the multiple spiritual paths and the need to honor differences in human nature. No Vedic teacher will dare deny what I say in theory; hardly any put it into effective practice.

HINDU MONK: We honor all the paths!

EDWARD TARABILDA: Only in theory. Go to the typical ashram and see what goes on in the name of spiritual practice. The so-called guru teaches one way for all -- his way! There are exceptions, but ninety-nine percent of the gurus don't honor the old Vedic way. I agree with Osho that only one percent of the gurus are authentic, anyway. The rest are just trying to earn a living. Meeting any of the real gurus is certainly of inestimable value, but such teachers won't teach one way for all, except for a few significant exceptions where some type of group program to create world harmony requires a uniform approach.

TM MEDITATOR: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has done the very thing you speak of. It is my understanding that he does steer people in the direction of their own yoga privately, when he realizes they are mature enough to follow their inner spiritual instincts without interfering with the group programs.

EDWARD TARABILDA: I know of several such cases, but that is off the main point I wanted to make: Many people ask whether I practice Vedic Astrology. Yes and no. No in the sense that other so-called Vedic astrologers use the term. Yes in a deeper sense. This work is a synthesis of pre-Vedic, Vedic and post-Vedic astrology. We say "post-Vedic" because it brings new creative insights and applications to the science of the stars. It is a mistake to assume that this synthesis excludes the archetypes which are the basis of all major astrological systems.

BUDDHIST MONK: Moving on to the chapter heading, how do you define the term "dharma"? The word is used in so many ways that it has lost any one precise meaning.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Dharma can refer to one's spiritual path, but I prefer to use it exclusively for that field of living which relates to our moral and ethical behavior.

When you ask "What is my dharma"?, most often you are asking: "How can I best serve the needs of others through my worldly activity"?

BUDDHIST MONK: Isn't personal and societal evolution best served by each of us trying to become a Buddha?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Certainly we can best help the world by becoming enlightened human beings who naturally serve others, because we are personally -- actually impersonally -- fulfilled. This is the deepest way of meeting our dharmic obligation to society. However, the true science of the stars indicates everyone also has an external duty towards society which they are naturally inclined to fulfill, regardless of their spiritual status. That is why some enlightened beings leave society when they reach enlightenment, others have families and still others embark on some great social or religious project.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: Morality and ethics is such a quagmire of issues and controversies. Do you hope to sort out this whole mess through your astrological paradigm? This I have to watch!

EDWARD TARABILDA: The ancient sages suggested that the universal standard for moral and ethical behavior is whether the person's action selflessly serves and gives to others.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: That is a very vague standard. I can think of many situations where the use of that test would be meaningless.

EDWARD TARABILDA: In saying this the ancient sages were not trying to give a specific standard for each situation. They were suggesting that the best way to ensure that your every action is moral and ethical is to follow your caste nature.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: Caste! What a perverted way of trying to order society. The caste system has made India into a second class country.

EDWARD TARABILDA: India's caste system today is based on birth and heredity. That is indeed a perversion of the true caste system which flows out of natural law. In fact, I argue that India's present caste system is proof that the science of the stars was lost there some three to four thousand years ago. The present caste system of India could never have developed if there were true astrologers capable of helping individuals know their caste nature.

And when I advise clients about their caste nature, they are always gratified to have this knowledge. It not only confirms their experience, it also gives them a great sense of direction and empowerment.

HINDU MONK: We have four great castes in India, and I think the present system is better than having no caste system at all, which is the situation in the West.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: I disagree with you. At least in the West we are free to experiment and thereby find our true caste nature. In India, if you are born into a hereditary caste that is contrary to your inner nature, you are stuck in it. It may take us in the West a while to find our true caste nature, but we eventually do. Is this your experience, Ed, in doing consultations?.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Yes and no. I meet many people who are quite old and who are still confused about their caste nature. I meet others who naturally know their caste nature, and are quite sure of it even before my confirmation of it.

HINDU MONK: There are people who change their caste in India. It is not as rigid and inflexible as you imply.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: This would be a most unusual and extreme case. The peer pressure would be too strong for this to happen very often.

BUDDHIST MONK: I travel to India from time to time. The rigidity of the caste system is breaking down in some parts of the country, but it quite strong in other parts. I find the whole thing abhorrent!

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is abhorrent, and no true sage worth the name will uphold it. However, until one sees how all the Vedic knowledge has fallen into decline, one will tend to "go easy" on this one aspect, since one will not want to tarnish a grand teaching by focusing on one small defect.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: I'm not clear what all these castes represent.

EDWARD TARABILDA: The Art of Multi-Dimensional Living teaches that there are five possibilities in terms of caste nature:

1) One can be a Brahmin. This is a person who primarily gives knowledge to society. He can be a priest, counselor, or educator, or all of the above. He works with the caste institution known as the religious-cultural-educational arm of society. Here the value of freedom should reign supreme.

A member of this caste should focus on knowledge and not material wealth.

2) One can be a Kshatrya. This is the warrior caste. These people either lead society in some executive or administrative role, or engage in some other protective function (firemen, policemen, soldiers, lawyers, doctors, etc.). They work primarily with the legal-political arm of society. Here the value of equality should reign supreme.

A member of this caste should live a dignified life with affluence suitable to their position, but they should also live a life of discipline and watchfulness.

3) One can be a Vaishya. This is the business caste. These people provide the material resources to the other castes. They work primarily in the economic realm, where the value of fraternity should reign supreme.

A member of this caste should focus on acquiring wealth, not for his own pleasure, but to help others.

4) One can be a Shudra. This is the servant caste. "Servant" does not mean servile. Actually these people are very independent and only volunteer for positions which do not involve too much social responsibility, and which allow them to come and go from their jobs as they please. But these people often feel guilty over their more hedonistic approach to life, and therefore can sometimes be talked into forms of service which they would normally prefer not to do. In this sense this caste can become servile.

A member of this caste should focus on forms of volunteer service which allow them to stay free of too much societal duty and involvement. This is how they will be happiest. But they should also offer to take on jobs others find too menial, difficult or tedious, because this is their great skill, as well as their joy, when they do so. Servants aren't proud, and their natural humbleness gives them great dignity.

5) One is an outcast and thereby also part of the mixed caste, because they accept no one caste role. The function of the outcast is to purify society of its outdated and outmoded values, roles and institutions through rebellion and revolution. Robin Hood and the gypsy culture are good examples of this caste nature.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Why aren't there seven or eight archetypal caste natures?

EDWARD TARABILDA: There are, actually, but some of them fall into these five more inclusive divisions. For example, one type of Brahmin is ruled by Jupiter and another by Venus. The Jupiterian Brahmin has a more sattwic caste nature. The Venusian Brahmin has a more rajasic caste nature. This makes the Venusian Brahmin more anxious to take active steps to spread the knowledge, whereas the Jupiterian Brahmin will wait for people to come to him. There are other differences as well, but this might take us into too much detail for present purposes.

One type of warrior is ruled by the Sun and one by Mars. The former will have a tendency to emphasize protecting and promoting spiritual ideas and organizations (sattwic tendency), whereas the person with the Mars emphasis will often be equally interested in protecting and promoting more mundane causes (tamasic tendency).

One business caste-type is ruled by the Moon and the other by Mercury. The lunar-type is more sattwic in the distribution of his wealth. The Mercurial-type is more rajasic.

In making these distinctions I am not giving a more positive or negative connotation to any of the three "gunas", or attributes -- sattwa, rajas or tamas.

To complete our discussion of this issue, I should mention that Saturn governs the servant caste and the North and South Nodes of the Moon govern the outcast and mixed caste, respectively.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: I can see where people can be helped immeasurably by knowing their caste nature.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Absolutely! Women who are outcasts, in particular, often weep with relief when I confirm their nature. They, now, no longer view it as a weakness, or something to be tamed or moderated. They accept this more rebellious side of themselves.

Brahmins are also greatly relieved to understand why they have a tendency to focus on knowledge, often at the expense of practical worldly affairs.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: So Brahmins are supposed to stay focused on knowledge regardless of other practical considerations? I see that there was great wisdom in the church creating monasteries and churches for priests supported by the church members.

EDWARD TARABILDA: That's true. People devoted to knowledge have a difficult time in this world, because the world horoscope indicates that it is the business caste which has the upper-hand at this time in world evolution. "It's just business" becomes the rule of the day, but when Brahmins are forced to promote knowledge through slick marketing strategies, it goes against their grain. Look how difficult it is becoming for people of knowledge to have a voice on television programming these days, and television is one of the major educational tools of our age!

Even the Internet, which we are benefiting from as we engage in these dialogues, will come under increasing pressure to be a slick, high cost marketing device under the thumb of big business.

Members of the warrior caste are also gratified when they learn their caste nature. They see how frustrated they are when they have jobs which involve only business considerations, and where they can't flex their warrior muscles.

Members of the servant caste are happy when their caste nature is confirmed unless they have been programmed to think of this caste as lowly or servile; then they resist it.

For reasons just mentioned, members of the business caste tend to be most well-adjusted in our society -- assuming that their caste nature is strong and without defect. But they also benefit greatly from this confirmation of their nature. They see how the promotion of their altruistic side is the key to their happiness. Members of the business caste who use their wealth to isolate themselves from the less fortunate are to be pitied. It brings a life of misery, despite their material blessings.

YOGANANDA DISCIPLE: So the second most important thing to know after one's spiritual nature is one's caste nature?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Correct.

YOGANANDA DISCIPLE: You mention that the world horoscope indicates that the business caste predominates at this time in world evolution. Which planet governs, Mercury or the Moon?

EDWARD TARABILDA: The Moon, and since it is fairly well-placed in the world horoscope, it does create altruistic tendencies in the society, even though the altruism is conducted in a way which harnesses the benefactor with debt.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: So it has a sixth house influence?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Yes. The United States is a good example of a country with strong altruistic tendencies, but which often extends services it can no longer reasonably afford.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: That is debatable.

EDWARD TARABILDA: How so?

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: I just think it is; I have no specific reasons why.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Everything in this world is debatable. Those who talk in this way are clever souls who doubt everything, because they have no inner sight. The world is filled with such people. What is really bothering you is the fact that I challenge the very nature of your astrological practice.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: That may be true, but I also disagree with you on this specific issue.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: I think we should move on. Why is caste nature so important in the pre-Vedic and Vedic cultures?

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is the most important field of living in deciding marriage and even partnership compatibility.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Why?

EDWARD TARABILDA: All quarrels and struggles among nations tend to be over moral and ethical issues. The same holds true for family life. People of the same caste tend to look at moral and ethical issues in the same way, or at least they can more easily surmount their differences.

I remember doing a consultation with a couple with different caste natures, who were considering breaking-up because the husband had an affair. Their issue was not the infidelity itself, but how to look upon the infidelity. He saw it as something which had happened, but which should now be put under the rug. She saw it as something which should be talked about at great length to understand why he could see the whole issue in such casual terms. Their issue was a dharmic one at that point, and this is almost always the case.

And moral issues have a way of triggering strong emotions. How often we hear someone cry out in anguish, "It just isn't fair!" Strong negative emotions break up marriages if not resolved, and members of the same caste are less likely to create such crises, and have better chances for resolving them when they do occur.

It is also easier for a couple to fulfill their dharmic responsibilities to society when they pull together as a team. If they are of different castes, then the whole is not only not greater than the sum of the parts; it is less.

I did a consultation with a man whose wife had just passed away. He loved her dearly and his friends thought they had an ideal marriage. He was feeling guilty about some of the sore spots within the marriage: her emphasis on knowledge rather than his grand projects for saving the world. When he discovered that she was a priestess and he a warrior, he understood their difficulties, despite the great esteem they held for each other.

Couples with the same dharma can then draw children to them who are of similar dharma. It is always best when children also have parents of the same caste, because then the parents can teach them how to best fulfill that part of their nature. Then the children will even have the natural inclination to take up the career of the mother and father.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Do you allow no exceptions to the caste rule?

EDWARD TARABILDA: If it is an older man and woman, who just want each other's companionship in their later years, then I don't always make the issue of caste crucial, but even in this situation, couples will tend to have a different emphasis on what they consider to be quality time.

HINDU MONK: There are also degrees or levels of caste separation. An Outcast and a Brahmin are furthest apart and therefore have the greatest potential incompatibility; then a Shudra and a Brahmin; then a Vaishya and a Brahmin, and finally a Kshatrya and a Brahmin. Or to put it another way, since Outcasts and Shudras, Shudras and Vaishyas, Vaishyas and Kshatryas and Kshatryas and Brahmins are only one level apart, their incompatibility is less than if they were two or more levels apart.

EDWARD TARABILDA: There may be some truth in what you say, but I would not want such an understanding to serve as a basis for ignoring or compromising the rule that people should not marry outside their own caste.

Of course I hope, by now, you all realize I am not talking about marriage compatibility based on caste as determined by birth and heredity, which is a terrible perversion. Nor am I talking about enforcing such a rule against people's will, which is an even greater perversion. I am merely suggesting an educational strategy to promote the proper understanding of caste through the Art of Multi-Dimensional Living.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: What about the social caste institutions which my teacher, Rudolph Steiner, discussed in such great detail? This was his original contribution.

EDWARD TARABILDA: No, it wasn't. It existed in just as great a detail in the pre-Vedic culture and early Vedic culture. It is impossible to understand individual caste without seeing the relationship of each caste to a respective caste institution. In fact, to talk of social caste institutions divorced from individual caste natures is a partial teaching at best. I see why Steiner decided to keep his teaching partial, given the conservative place and time he lived.

Not that he didn't give hints and even challenges as regards to individual caste nature, but no one got it! Even now they don't get it! Read Bernard Lievegoed's "the Battle for the Soul" and you will see how even this great man couldn't quite grasp what Rudolph Steiner was suggesting, when he challenged students to find out what spiritual stream they were in.

By "spiritual stream" Steiner is probably not referring to one of the eight spiritual paths -- I don't know the context in which he was speaking -- but to the three main social streams which come out of spiritual forces: the priest caste, the warrior caste and the merchant caste. The servant caste serves one of the other three castes, and the outcaste is outside the mainstream of society, so these latter two classes are often not included in discussions which relate to the fundamental unfoldment of heart, mind and will.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: I have read Lievegoed's book. So you are suggesting that the three great leaders of humanity that he refers to (Rudolph Steiner, Christian Rosenkreutz, and the ancient Vedic law-giver Manu) are related to caste? Which leader goes with which caste?

EDWARD TARABILDA: If you wrestle with this issue, the answer will come to you.

Despite Lievegoed's inability to relate his material to caste, I consider his book to be a great contribution in the field of knowledge, but the book can cause great confusion unless one realizes that spirit, soul and body, and mind, heart and will relate to caste in the context in which he explores these subjects. Whether you are more in the stream of Anthroposophy, Rosicrusianism, or that of Manu, is a caste issue not a spiritual path issue. But caste is how the spirit works into the world, so for Steiner to call it a spiritual path issue is totally appropriate, even if confusing, in light of the distinctions between the various fields of living.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: I'm not sure you give Steiner enough credit for his development of the three-fold social order. You raise and discuss this individual caste issue in a way which undermines his own distinct contributions in this field.

Steiner did make an outstanding contribution to social and political life by relating the three great values of liberty, equality and fraternity to the three great social caste institutions, but that knowledge was also inherent in the pre-Vedic and early Vedic paradigm, although it badly needed restoring. It also needed further articulation and elaboration, which Steiner did a masterful job of providing. Many later Anthroposophists have also made contributions to this subject.

THEOSOPHIST: What does Rudolph Steiner say in these regards?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Maybe we should let the Anthroposophist speak on this matter.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: Dr. Steiner suggests that each of the three caste institutions must be autonomous from the other two, if we are to have a healthy and creative society. But that is not the case. The state interferes with both education and the market system, to the detriment of both. And the market system of a nation dictates or unduly influences the spiritual, cultural and educational values of that nation. There is a terrible mixing of social caste institutions to the detriment of all.

SCIENTIFIC MATERIALIST: There are no clear lines between these three institutions. For example, wages are a major issue in the economic arena. The state must intervene.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: Dr. Steiner recognized that wages involved equal rights, and that therefore the state did have a legitimate role in regulating this area of potential dispute.

He also saw the need to have people of knowledge -- what you might call Brahmins -- in key judicial positions of government.

EDWARD TARABILDA: These grey areas have been discussed at great length in the Anthroposophic literature, and as I already mentioned, it is a great contribution to social and political thought. I highly recommend reading some of Steiner's work in this field. I remember one of his books is called "Social Renewal", and I am sure there are a number of others on this same subject.

But I cannot emphasize strongly enough that without the knowledge of individual caste, and a method for determining it, it is difficult to "carry the day" on the social caste issue. Only people empowered in their individual caste natures will have the necessary motivation to protect the social caste institutions relating to their individual caste. This is as simple as I can put the matter.

I'm sure many of the Anthroposophists, in the early days of their movement, were convinced that Steiner's elaboration of the threefold social order would have enormous influence on social and political thinking during their time. They had to have been disappointed with the impact it actually had.

I suggest that this was inevitable. Without a true science of the stars to confirm people's individual caste nature, one cannot create the necessary groundswell to affect the social institutions as a whole.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: Do you think by giving a few people in our society your consultations on caste, assuming they are correct and empowering like you say, that you can create the necessary groundswell?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Of course not, but if an organization would begin to form around this aspect of the work, made up of all the four castes and the mixed caste group, for the purpose of first clarifying the role of each caste institution, and then protecting its autonomy, then I believe we can indeed create the necessary groundswell.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: The Astrosophists within our organization have not mentioned this idea of determining caste through astrology. I believe they are qualified to determine such matters.

EDWARD TARABILDA: And the Maharishi Jyotish people believe themselves to be the most qualified, the Yogananda people believe themselves the most qualified, and so on. Please don't try to mix spiritual authority and allegiance with this science of the stars.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: But you are doing the same thing arguing that you are the most qualifed!

EDWARD TARABILDA: Let the knowledge of the eight fields of living speak for itself. That can be my only response to you.

THEOSOPHIST: Can you give us some examples of people with strong caste natures?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Richard Wagner was a great Brahmin. (See Appendix B). A good example of a member of the servant caste was Amadeus Mozart. J. Edgar Hoover was an outcast, which only makes sense now that his private life and dealings have been exposed. A good example of a member of the warrior caste is Indira Gandhi. Finally, a good example of a member of the business caste would be Konrad Adenauer, who led post-war Germany from reconstruction to prosperity.

From these examples you can see that one cannot always predict what social caste institution a famous person ends up functioning in, because one's career, desire and spiritual nature also influences the result.

But the caste nature will always indicate how one deals with a social caste institution. I'm thinking, for example, of the Indian philosopher, Radhakrishnan, who dealt with knowledge all his life, but who was a warrior in his caste nature. This meant that his great gift was in resurrecting, protecting and preserving the Indian tradition of knowledge. Radhakrishnan has sometimes been criticized for not making more unique and original contributions to knowledge, but that wasn't his role.

One might suggest Hitler to be of the warrior caste, but he was actually a deluded Brahmin.

Or you can have someone like Clint Eastwood who not only plays the warrior role, but is a warrior. This is why he was willing to run for mayor in his home town.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: So if someone of the wrong caste nature -- a non-Brahmin -- were to be elected Pope, for example, this could have disastrous effects for the papacy?

EDWARD TARABILDA: In our age these things happen all the time: servants rather than warriors becoming presidents, priestly people doing servant work, warriors doing business -- all to the detriment of society. There is a mixing of castes, both individually and as societal units.

One of the great benefits of the Art of Multi-Dimensional Living is that it begins to make people aware, once again, of the importance of caste as a principle of natural law.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: In Plato's "Republic" we find a wonderful representation of the castes and how these energies play out in the organization of society.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Yes, it is a most profound discussion of caste. Ladies and gentlemen, I have no more to say on this field of living. I suppose I could talk a great deal more about how each caste nature defines morality and ethics in very different terms, but I am inclined to let our readers figure all this out for themselves. How much social responsibility one takes on is not necessarily the proper test of morality, because each caste will approach this responsibility very differently. What is moral behavior for one caste is immoral for another.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: You are of the school that morality is relative?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Understanding caste as I do, how could I hold otherwise? And if you read Steiner's "Philosophy of Freedom" you will see why morality is relative even from the highest vistas of spiritual perception.

PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR: I'm not familiar with this book, but I will look for it.

I know you discussed this in an earlier chapter, but what is the relationship of one's moral and ethical nature to one's spiritual nature according to your new subjective discipline?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Immoral action, or sin as the Christian tradition calls it, tends to solidify the boundaries of the ego and block spiritual perception. When we fail to act on behalf of others, we reenforce ignorance. We reenforce the false idea that we are separate islands unto ourselves, and that there is no relationship between what we send out to others and what we receive back. Life is interdependent, and a growing appreciation of that interdependence is what constitutes moral insight. And moral insight leads to moral action.

Eventually even morality must be transcended, and this is the whole message of the "Bhagavad Gita". External morality is the faithful servant of spirit only up to a certain point; then it must be totally transcended through a process of total internalization and individualization of moral impulses.

Even after this happens, one will still have a dharmic nature as determined by caste, but now that nature will be guided by natural law as displayed through the enlightened nature.

Is this a good place to end the chapter?

(All assent.)