Ancient Indian scriptures have enumerated four goals of life living in an organized society. These four goals combined together form the object of human pursuit and is the sum of all efforts of life. Irrespective of where you live these four things are common everywhere as these deal with the social, biological, intellectual and spiritual side of every human being. Our thought process revolves around these four goals. Depending on the person some maybe inclined more towards one or more goals but ultimately each of the four goals will play a part in our lives.
The first goal is of ‘Artha’ meaning wealth and prosperity. Wealth is directly related to our livelihood and our responsibility as a provider of food and shelter. It also means not to be dependent on others for our requirements which can be obtained through wealth. Every person should strive to create his own source of livelihood, wealth and bring prosperity to one’s own life. When each person is prosperous then the whole society becomes so. It is not only about creating more wealth but how to be content with what one is having. It is also about creating wealth in the right way without resorting to wrong doings. One very famous mystic said that if you want to enter the world of spirituality then first earn money so that while pursuing spirituality you are not dependent on charity for your requirements. Here there is no restriction on the amount of wealth and prosperity you can create and is completely dependent on the inclination and ability of that person.
The second goal is ‘Kama’ meaning fulfilment of desire and pleasure. It has wide ranging meaning from physical pleasure to enjoying art and music and other creative pursuits in life. It can be anything that makes us delightful and happy. Other than wealth many other things also give pleasure in life and it is all about our pursuit of those pleasures. The word Kama is now a day’s mostly related to sexual pleasure as interpreted by the West. The book ‘Kamasutra’ has been treated as a book of sex, but it is more than that. It is more about the art of enjoying sexual pleasure leading to the feeling of joy ecstasy and fulfilment. Sexual desire is one of the vital desires of humans and with age it is natural to all. In ancient India it was not a taboo topic and here there are ancient temples which have rock sculptures depicting the sexual acts. It was treated as a normal human requirement and its suppression by the general mass was not expected except for the spiritually inclined. Similarly a person passionate about painting, singing, music, sports etc derives pleasure from its pursuit and also comes within the purview of Kama.
The next is ‘dharma’ meaning imbibing right purpose, balance, ethics, duty, work, law in life which gives a true purpose to life. These are some of the universal qualities which are the basic structure of existence in an organized society. Dharma is what keeps an organized society from falling into chaos. Big cultures and civilizations have collapsed when they left the righteous path. It is all about what serves you and the greater society the best. In organization it is your dharma to do the job you are meant to do. If you hate your job then you are not doing justice to yourself as well as the organization therefore you should look for a change. Our every decision and action should qualify the definition of dharma, are my actions doing good to me as well as the whole society.
The last goal is ‘Moksha’ meaning freedom and liberation. It can be interpreted in various ways as per one’s inclination and temperament. For most of us it means spending time remembering god, for some it means making efforts to exit the cycle of rebirth and for some it means a pursuit for self realization. Though the end result may be the same but the ways to reach that can be different. This goal comes at the end when someone has been through the previous goals and may feel like missing the meaning of life in those goals. It is not something otherworldly but it can be as simple as practicing detachment from worldly attachments even when living in between those attachments. It is just a state of mind. Freedom and liberation from attachments which are ultimately transient in nature but bind us with its ‘Maya’. Once you have enjoyed wealth and prosperity, desire and pleasure, lived a balanced and righteous life then you understand the value of moksha which transcends all your previous achievements.
A person is supposed to fulfil these four goals in life so that when the end comes he feels satisfied and is free from any craving left inside. He has experienced and enjoyed what life had to offer.
( You may read my another article 'The four stages of life' )
Thank you Telesfor sir.