The Five Dharma Types: Vedic Wisdom for Discovering Your Purpose and Destiny

by Simon Chokoisky

Overview

A handbook for unlocking the soul’s purpose and manifesting a fulfilling life

• Reinterprets the traditional Dharma system of ancient India as a map for revealing one’s true purpose

• Provides tests for determining one’s Dharma type

• Explains the benefits, challenges, and social, interpersonal, and health dynamics associated with each of the 5 Dharma types

Have you ever wondered why, despite great obstacles, some people achieve success, while others, though given everything, seem to squander it away? Or why some people, despite having very little, radiate joy, while others appear miserable though surrounded by opulence? The answer is Dharma: knowing your soul’s purpose and living it is the key to creating a fulfilling life.

Built on a deep body of Vedic knowledge, the ancient system of social structure and spiritual duty known as Dharma has modern applications for people seeking their life’s purpose. Author Simon Chokoisky explains the five Dharma archetypes—Warrior, Educator, Merchant, Laborer, and Outsider—and how your life’s purpose goes hand-in-hand with your Dharma type. Providing tests to determine your type, he outlines the benefits, challenges, emotional and learning styles, and social, interpersonal, and health dynamics associated with each type.

Chokoisky reveals how the Dharma types function as an operating system for your identity, helping you map your life and play to your innate strengths, whether in choosing a prosperous career or field of study or in facing health challenges and meeting fitness goals. By accepting and understanding the nature of your type, you begin to align with your true purpose and, regardless of fate, find joy and meaning in life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620552834
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	04/28/2014
Edition description:	2nd Edition
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	1,103,485
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Simon Chokoisky is a pioneer in using Vedic Astrology and Dharma Typing to help people discover their soul’s purpose. He runs a private consulting business based on his trainings in Vedic life mapping and Vedic Astrology. The author of The Five Dharma Types and Sex, Love, and Dharma as well as the creator of the Decoding Your Life Map with Vedic Astrology DVD series, he travels widely conducting seminars. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction and Self-Tests

DISCOVER YOUR DHARMA TYPE!

Dharma types are individual archetypal myths—the “I AM” identity that guides each of us in subtle but definitive patterns. Today we associate the word myth with something unreal or untrue, but to our ancestors myths spoke to an enduring truth that lay beyond the ken of the senses. Our everyday world is in perpetual flux—coming into being, changing form, and dying. But myth is eternal, driven by the intelligent blueprint that underlies the mundane world of name and form.

Use the test below to discover your dharma dype. Take your whole life into consideration when choosing your answers—life cycles can make it difficult to access your essential dharma look, so look at your self from childhood to now to get a complete portrait. This should help you determine your type, or at least narrow it down sufficiently to make a determination when you read the descriptions in part 1 of this book. Enjoy!

SELF-TEST I

Circle the answers that best apply to you. You may choose more than one answer for each question if applicable. Try to think of qualities that are permanent in you—how you have always been—rather than how you are at times or during recent changes in your life. Tally them at the end to determine your dharma type.

1. Circle the word that means the most to you or describes you best.
a. Freedom
b. Loyalty
c. Wisdom
d. Honor
e. Prosperity

2. Circle the phrase that means the most to you or describes you best.
a. Independence and Bliss
b. Love and Devotion
c. Worldliness and Knowledge
d. Discipline and Perfection
e. Entertainment and Fun

3. Circle the phrase that means the most to you or describes you best.
a. I love being alone. Sometimes I hate people, sometimes I like them, but they usually don’t understand me.
b. I don’t mind being alone as long as I have something constructive and productive to do.
c. I love being alone. I like people, but I need time to spend by myself for quiet contemplation and rejuvenation.
d. I don’t mind being alone, as long as I have a goal to accomplish.
e. I hate being alone. I prefer the company of people, even if I don’t know them.

4. Circle the phrase that means the most to you or describes you best.
a. I like strange, dark, or wild places, remote places no one has ever thought of or been to.
b. I like the plains and wide expanses of earth. I like living close to the ground, on ground floors rather than high-rise apartments.
c. I like high and remote places. I like upper floors, high-rise buildings, and living above others looking down.
d. I like challenging places. Places that are high, but not so high as to be remote. I like fortified and strong places.
e. From the Beverly Hills to gently rolling slopes, I like places where the action is; places that are easy to get to but also exclusive. I like living in the middle ground, not too high, not too low, where there is activity and access to the world.

5. Circle the sentence that describes you best.
a. I am the rebel or black sheep of my family. As a parent, I give freedom to my kids and let them individualize themselves from others.
b. I am deeply bonded with my family. As a parent, I nurture my kids by making sure they are well fed, healthy, and content.
c. I tend to teach my family and urge them to improve themselves. As a parent, I make certain my kids learn how to think for themselves, get a good education, and understand the world.
d. I am the strong one in my family. As a parent, I lead by example and earn my kids’ respect with discipline and order.
e. I actively support my family with shelter and resources. As a parent, I provide for my kids and make sure they understand the value of money, self-effort, and making your way in the world.

6. In religion I most value the following:
a. Going my own way
b. Faith and Devotion
c. Study and Scripture
d. Penance and Discipline
e. Rituals and Observances

7. In marriage I most value the following:
a. An unconventional spouse, one who understands my particular quirks and desires.
b. A dutiful spouse who is loyal and provides for me: a woman who cooks and cleans/a man who brings home the bacon.
c. A sensitive, intelligent spouse.
d. A challenging spouse with whom I can do activities.
e. A beautiful spouse.

8. I mainly watch TV for:
a. Horror, alternative political and spiritual viewpoints, science fiction . . .the Sci-Fi, FX, Indie, and Alternative channels.
b. Family, Drama, History, and Community programs like soap operas, Reality TV, daytime shows, cartoons, entertainment gossip, and re-runs.
c. Educational, thought-provoking, human-interest stories, and entertainment . . . National Geographic, PBS, Sci-Fi, and Documentary channels.
d. Sports, Action, News & Politics, Adventure stories, and entertainment . . . ESPN, CNN.
e. Fun programs, drama, music, comedy, game shows, financial and motivational stories, and entertainment . . . HBO, Comedy Channel, Spike.

9. Under stress I tend to:
a. bend the rules or lie to get my way, feel invisible, and self-deprecate
b. become lazy, close down in my own space, and worry a lot
c. be scatterbrained, feckless, and wishy-washy
d. become anger-prone, inattentive, and reckless
e. be moody/depressed, loud, and restless

10. At my best I am:
a. A Revolutionary, an Inventor, a Genius
b. A Devoted Friend, a Hard Worker, a Caregiver
c. A Counselor, a Teacher, a Diplomat
d. A Leader, a Hero, a Risk-Taker
e. An Optimist, a Self-Starter, a Promoter, an Adventurer

Answer Key
Tally your answers now; the most selected letter likely reflects your Dharma Type. For confirmation you should now move on to SELF TEST 2.
A. Outsider
B. Laborer
C. Educator
D. Warrior
E. Merchant

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction and Self Tests

Part ONE
The Roles of the Dharma Types

1 Merchant Society and the Dharma Types

2 Educator
Enlighten Others

3 Warrior
Protect Others

4 Merchant
Clothe, Connect, and Animate Others

5 Laborer
Nourish and Serve Others

6 Outsider
Innovate, Rebel, and Free Others

7 Summary of Part One

Part TWO
Authentically Living Your Dharma Type

8 Five Paths to Wellness

9 The Social Conscience of the Dharma Types

10 Element, Season, and Taste

11 Intelligence, Secret Fear, and Speech

12 Music, Myth, and Poodles

13 Sport, War, and Warriors

14 Money and Profession

15 The Life Cycles

Notes

Suggested Resources on East/West Wisdom

Index

Editorial Reviews

04/14/2014
Building on themes explored in his previous book and DVD series on Vedic astrology and dharma types, Chokoisky applies elements of the ancient Indian Vedic tradition to the modern psyche in this comprehensive handbook. Simple self-tests help readers determine their dharma type—educator, laborer, merchant, warrior, or outsider—while subsequent chapters explore these labels and apply them to real-world decisions like choosing a partner or a profession. Chokoisky’s tone is authoritative, inspirational, and rich with pop culture references from Harry Potter to Spider-Man that make his message accessible to the modern, Western mind. Exercises engage readers in a range of activities from sensory experiments to determine food preferences to more esoteric explorations such as choosing a totem animal as a spirit guide. While there are few true surprises here, either for fans of Chokoisky’s earlier work on dharma types or those familiar with other personality typing systems, the author demonstrates a deep understanding of his subject. He writes clearly and eloquently, offering a spiritually inspired, and ultimately practical, guidebook for personal fulfillment. Previously published as The Dharma Types: Secrets of the Five Ancient Castes that Will Transform Your Life. (May)

Publishers Weekly

This work has opened doors of insight and perception, allowing me to see our species in a fresh and hopeful light. I hope people will read this book more than once, and slowly.

coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pa Robin Gile

Simon Chokoisky’s The Five Dharma Types is a beautiful book. Reading it carefully will give you insight into your dharma and help you heal your life.

author of Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healin Dr. Vasant Lad

Simon Chokoisky’s The Five Dharma Types is a beautiful book. Reading it carefully will give you insight into your dharma and help you heal your life.

author of Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing an Dr. Vasant Lad

This work has opened doors of insight and perception, allowing me to see our species in a fresh and hopeful light. I hope people will read this book more than once, and slowly.

coauthor of The Complete Idiots Guide to Palmistr Robin Gile

This work has opened doors of insight and perception, allowing me to see our species in a fresh and hopeful light. I hope people will read this book more than once, and slowly.

coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pa Robin Gile

Stuart Sovatsky's teachings can empower couples worldwide to find true spiritual happiness, and help contemporary yogis and yoginis actually achieve the exalted goals of yogic adepts of ancient times.

Robert Thurman

Reading this book carefully will give you insight into your dharma and help you heal your life!

From the Publisher

Reading this book carefully will give you insight into your dharma and help you heal your life!

Dr. Vasant Lad

05/15/2014
Chokoisky (Ayurvedic Inst., Albuquerque, NM) teaches Sanskrit and "medical astrology," and this ambitious volume attempts to map ancient Vedic conceptions of human capacities to the realities of today's Western world. While we can, according to the author, be divided into five Dharma types: educators, warriors, merchants, laborers, and outsiders, we are all constrained to live in an age most congenial to merchants. Chokoisky's task, in addition to convincing readers of the types to which they belong, is in part to help them adjust to the times. The success of this book for most readers will depend on their acceptance of the validity of the ancient Indian model, which at times has been seen as a set of confining hierarchies: Chokoisky's attempts to visualize them as complementary personalities is intriguing. VERDICT The author's purpose—to allow each of us to find a right profession and way of living—is appealing, but his ideas may be a tough sell in America, where we tend to believe in an infinite ability to choose. Still, this book is enthralling, and should appeal to many students of Vedic tradition and yoga.

Library Journal