3 Jewels of Buddha

Gautama Buddha gave 3 jewels to spiritual aspirants,
1) Buddham sharanam gachchami
2) Sangam sharanam gachchami
3) Dhammam sharanam gachchami

Let us take a closer look at the three jewels.

Jewel 1 : Buddham sharanam gachchami
Meaning : One should take refuge in Buddha
Does this mean we have to go to a buddhist monastry and say to the Gautama Buddha that "Henceforth I declare that I take refuge in you". NO.
There are three kinds of Buddhas.
1) Sleeping Buddha : 99% people fall under this category
2) Waking Buddha : Very few people who are self-realised
3) Sleep walking Buddha : almost 1% who has half baked knowledge and become self-styled Gurus.
Now, If you are a sleeping buddha, then you have to take refuge in waking buddha. It is very difficult for a person to accept another person as a waking Buddha. The ego doesnt accept that a person can be enlightened and living. Ego can accept Gautama Buddha as an enlightened being because he is not there physically. Ego will accept any person as a great when that person is not alive. It cannot and will not accept that a living being can also be divine. It thinks that enlightenment is beyond this life. What it essentially saying is , you cannot attain enlightenment while alive. Hence the spiritual progress doesnt happen at all. The possibility of nirvana is nipped in bud. The moment a person acknowledges that it is indeed possible for a living being to be alive and at the same time enlightened, then the person is doing two things,
1) Acknowledging the possibility of enlightenment in this lifetime for somebody
2) Allowing hope to blossom in self for the same possibility that it can happen to me. this is the start of spiritual journey.
This acknowledgement of the possibility of nirvana is what is called sharanam.
So we have to find a person who is waking Buddha, and acknowledge and convince to ourselves that here is a person who has completed the journey and waking, I should take his/her guidance. This starts a process of awakening in that person.
Buddham sharanam gachchami.

Jewel 2 : Sangam sharanam gachchami
Meaning : Take refuge in company
Here sanga means 'satsanga', good company. It is said that it is the company that makes us.
If we have good company then, we will inculcate good qualities.
Two things happen in taking refuge in company,
1) We learn from each other's suffering. There is a lot to learn from suffering.
2) We are acknowledging that others are also equal to us, if not better

Jewel 3 : Dhammam sharanam gachchami
Meaning : Take refuge in dharma
Dharma means essential nature. It is the dharma of fire to burn, water to cool, and air to blow.
The essential nature of a person is peace and happiness. We have to take refuge in the peace and happiness inside us. We are made up of body mind and soul. The dharma of body is that of hunger. The dharma of mind is to produce waves of thoughts. The dharma of soul is to be peaceful. Apart from this, a person will have dharma with respect to their profession etc.
Fulfill the dharma according to the layer that you are. Fulfill the Dharma of all layers efficiently. This is the meaning 'Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha'.