Purusharthas
Every intelligent man seeks to know 2 things (a) the world around him (b) more about himself. The point is that you cannot understand the world without knowing something about yourself. At the same time you cannot know and understand about yourself excluding the world – you are part of this world.
Man has been trying to understand both. Study of the world has taken the shape of Science, and study to know himself has taken the shape of psychology. Indian thinkers did not separate the goal of life from the view of life. Your view of life matures based on what you want to achieve in your life. Your view of life leads you to attain some of your goals.
In Sanskrit, the word Artha has many meanings. In this context, it means “goal”. What is sought after by everyone is called Purushartha. Purusha in this case does not refer to a male person only. It also refers to females as well.
Purushartha here refers to Manushya artha.
In essence, we would like to discuss about the goals sought after by all human beings. What about animals and plants? Don’t they have goals? It is true that human beings have a number of features that are also found among the animals.
For example – Ahaara (food), Nidra (sleep), bhaya (fear), procreation etc. Yet, they do not possess the rare gifts such as – intellect, far sightedness, planning etc. Intellect or Buddhi is the difference. When a human being does not employ his buddhi – he is equivalent to an animal (buddhya vihina pashubhih samaana). Foresight is power.
Chaturvidha Purusharthas
Planning for the future is a natural consequence of Buddhi at work. For the improvement of our future, we think and we plan. We plan for both short and long-term goals to be achieved. These goals are Purusharthas.
We may have hundreds of goals to achieve in our lives. All the goals have been classified into 4 categories. They are called “Chaturvidha Purusharthas”.
Artha
So what is the first Purushartha? It is Artha. This first Purushartha starts very early in life. This word also has many meanings. In the present context, it means “security”. Security for survival. All measures that you take, which will allow you to survive come under this category.
For example – Food, Clothing, shelter, health, and wealth are all measures taken to provide you “survival”. These measures you take require planning. Planning requires foresight. Foresight is power. You then have secondary levels to provide you more security. Children, Insurances, Pensions etc.
At some stage, we pass the minimum required levels of Artha for security and start hoarding.
Kaama
The second Purushartha is “Kaama”. This refers to comfort. It is not as essential as the first Purushartha. But it is nice to have them and enjoy. Entertainment, comfort etc are all there to provide you pleasure. It is not money alone that rules the world. Pleasure is a more powerful force than property.
Sri Ramakrishna says “ Kamini and Kanchana are the two most powerful forces of ignorance” All human beings love pleasure. They seek pleasure both immediate and distant. Nature exists to be enjoyed and her capacity to entertain seems to be infinite (Bhuma). It is for this reason it is called Bhumi.
In the first Purushartha, we noticed that its usefulness lies in providing security or shelter. In this second Purushartha, men and women look for its “capacity to entertain”. In real life, pursuit of anything may be done in moderation.
Kama, when pursued without limits is dangerously corruptive – except in one case of Godlove. The process of turning lust into God-love can be done by one method only – regulating activities according to the limits set by Dharma. That takes us to the next Purushartha – Dharma.
Dharma
The third Purushartha is “Dharma”. Human conduct is different from the animals because it knows the difference between right and wrong. Our Rishis have told that man has a duty to natural elements, bhutas, as well as to all other creatures in the world.
We are asked to perform yagnas or sacrifices to 5 classes – Bhuta Yagna, Athithi Yagna, pitruyagna and Deva yagna. Dharma is defined as an invisible form of wealth. What do you mean by that? Some people refer to it as “ Good Fortune – Adrishta”.
Money, housing etc are visible forms of wealth. Dharma is an invisible form of wealth. Even then, this invisible form of health, Dharma, can be acquired by appropriate means. However, for acquisition, you have to start working in this present life. Since it is possible to acquire or achieve it, it is a goal.
Dharma contributes in two stages.
- (1) In the first stage, it contributes to our well-being in this very life itself.
- (2) Dharma will contribute to our next birth also – especially at the very early stages of our next life.
All of us know that the early stages of our life are not under our control. Parentage, wealth, social surroundings, health are not in control of the child. Dharma performed in this life will give us a good start or advantage in the early stages of our next life. We also hear now that the experiences in childhood influence our adult lives as well.
However, we are not in a position to control our childhood experiences. How my parents will bring me up, what sort of surroundings I will live under, what educational opportunities will be available to me –will not be under my control. The invisible wealth, Dharma that I collected in my previous life will decide my present childhood opportunities and experiences. The childhood experiences will determine my future adult life. So Punya sampaadana is a very important goal.
There are several ways by which you can earn Dharma Purushartha – the invisible wealth.
3 Human Goals
The three human goals (Purusharthas) – Dharma, Artha and Kaama have many things in common.
So these 3 put together are referred to as “Preyah”. So Preyah refers to Dharma + Artha + Kaama Purusharthas. Out of this the Dharma is very powerful. So people refer to the three as – Dharma, Artha and Kaama.
Moksha
The fourth Purushartha is Moksha. Now Moksha means freedom from slavery. Slavery from what? It is slavery from the Preyah – the three Purusharthas. It is an internal freedom. Why do you refer to the 3 Purusharthas as leading to slavery? Take the case of Artha Purushartha. When you do not have enough wealth or children you start feeling the lack of it. You start thinking about the “lack” continuously.
Eventually, the feeling of lack leads you to have a feeling of emptiness. You cannot get rid of it from your mind. Any kind of feeling a “lack” is slavery. Any object by virtue, of its absence that can create emptiness is capable of enslaving me. Similarly, when you have too much of it – instead of the lack you start feeling the strain. Too much money, too many houses to manage, too many children etc also puts pressure on you. This pressure you cannot get rid of. Both start preying on your mind.
When you examine it you will see continuous thinking of the Preyas lead either to a feeling of vacuum or of strain. And you become a slave of it. So some objects create problems due to their absence. And some other objects create problems due to their presence.
Some objects create problems both by their presence and absence. All these will eventually make you a “Daasa” – a slave. Quite often, man is caught up in Samsara – the problems of Artha; the limitless pursuit of Kama and confusion about Dharma drive him to desperation. He may seek to escape from society and start to retreat to forests and Ashrams.
Thus Vairagya becomes the first step towards Moksha. Nivrtti, turning from nature to spiritual nature, only comes to those who have suffered the agonies of life in the fields of Artha, Kama and Dharma. But a renunciation like this provides just freedom from the obligations of the three Purusharthas. This is not yet absolute freedom.
The next stage is Nirvana. It is attained by right thought and meditation and is helped by – ahimsa, kindliness, purity, and renunciation of the ways of this world. This is also described as Brahmanirvana. At this stage, the individual soul feels one with the Supreme Self. It is referred to as Kaivalya – meaning Freedom from all limitations.
What is essential is the quiet surrender (Saranagati) to the Supreme Spirit. Moksha is not the result of individual effort alone but a gift from Parabrahman – mere fruits of Karma alone will not lead you to Moksha but the grace of the Divine is the deciding factor.
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