श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः।।3.35।।
One’s own duty, though defective, is superior to another’s duty well-performed. Death is better while engaged in one’s own duty; another’s duty is full of fear.
Osho’s Commentary
This is one of the most fundamental and often misunderstood shlokas of the Gita. Swadharma does not mean the religion you are born into. It means your own intrinsic nature, your own unique way of being. Paradharma means the nature of another. Krishna is saying it is better to be yourself, even if you are imperfect, than to be a perfect imitation of someone else. It is better to be a unique rose, even with thorns, than to be a plastic lotus that has no fragrance. The world is full of paradharma. Everyone is trying to be someone else. We are taught to imitate, to follow, to conform. But in this process, we lose our own soul. We become carbon copies, not original masterpieces. And this imitation, says Krishna, is bhayavahah, full of fear. Why? Because when you are not being yourself, you are in a constant state of tension, of anxiety. You are always afraid of being found out. You are always comparing yourself with others. It is better to die in your own dharma, says Krishna. This means it is better to fail while being true to yourself than to succeed by being false to yourself. The world may call you a failure, but in the eyes of existence, you will be a success, because you have been authentic. Find your own song. Sing your own song. This is the only way to find joy, to find God.