Chaturvida Purushartha
All human endeavors, or purusharthas, can be grouped into four categories: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
Let’s begin with artha
Artha includes the material aspects of life - wealth, property, career success, and more. In today’s society, artha is often seen as the primary goal, pushing us to focus on material prosperity. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a material life; after all, money is essential for our livelihood. However, problems arise when the need for material success turns into greed. At that point, we may harm others or even damage the ecosystem that sustains us to achieve our goals.
Another problem with greed is that it fosters jealousy toward those who are more successful. Outwardly, one might seem kind, but beneath the surface, there may be a hidden wish for the downfall of those who surpass us. In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana’s envy of the Pandavas’ prosperity led to his own ruin, the destruction of his family, and devastation for the entire kshatriya race.
In verse 29 of the Vairagya Satakam, Bhartrihari notes that Meru, the mythical mountain of gold, serves no real purpose to anyone. Though this may seem absurd at first, he clarifies that a greedy person—even if given a mountain of gold—will never feel fulfilled and will simply crave more. For a content person, however, possessing even a mountain of gold is irrelevant. Thus, what good is a mountain of gold?
santoshat anuttama sukha labhah - Patanjali yoga sutras 2.42
Patanjali says that one who is established in contentment attains immense happiness. We notice this phenomenon in our own life as well. When something good happens unexpectedly, the joy is immense. But when we anticipate a positive outcome, the resulting joy is often less intense, and we might even feel disappointed if our expectations were too high. Contentment is a virtue; it brings peace in the material world and helps in spiritual growth.
Kama (strong desires) needs no introduction
Desires are deeply ingrained in our mind. It is natural for the mind to go outwards in order to fulfil the desires. Initially, we pursue our desires through righteous, or dharmic, means. Yet, as stated in the Bhagavad Gita, when our desires become overwhelmingly strong, we may feel compelled to act against our own will, sometimes resorting to harmful actions as if driven by a force beyond our control.
atha kena prayukto’yam papam carati purushah
anicchan api varsneya balad iva niyojitah - Bhagavad Gita 3.28
Desires in themselves are not inherently bad. The scriptures suggests Grihasta asrama (householder stage) as the ideal period for fulfilling desires in a healthy way. In this phase of life, the individual focuses on material prosperity (artha) and fulfilling desires (kama) without deviating from the path of righteousness (dharma). The scriptures even provide numerous rituals in order to acquire material pleasures in this life and the next.
Dharma is the path of righteousness
Every action we undertake in life, physical or mental, should fall within the framework of dharma. As we discussed previously (Samsara - 10/03/2024), actions rooted in dharma bring pleasure, while adharmic actions lead to suffering in this life and beyond. Therefore, it is wise to lead a life guided by dharma. Even if one is uncertain about the effects of karma, there is no harm in choosing good actions and avoiding harm to others.
However, following dharma is not always simple. Take, for example, the dilemma faced by Arjuna in the Mahabharata. Standing on the battlefield, it was Arjuna’s dharma to fight, but he was overwhelmed with sorrow when he saw his family and friends on the opposing side. Life often presents us with similar conflicts.
Sometimes we wonder:
Why endure painful situations when letting go would bring peace?
Why accept a lesser responsibility than our peers despite having equal qualifications?
Is it wrong to be disloyal to someone who is not a good person?
Should we prioritize ourselves or our dependents?
Is it acceptable to compromise on our responsibilities?
This is where some guidance come for help in life. For instance in your professional life, if you face a challenge regarding a particular job, you go to someone who has come across such a problem in the past and take their help in order to solve it. Similarly in life we need some guidance to navigate the everyday challenges we face. We sometimes go to our elders for guidance. But not everyone is fortunate to have right guidance in life. Recognizing this, Krishna advises in the Bhagavad Gita that one should live according to the scriptures.
tasmac chastram pramaṇam te karyakarya vyavasthitau
jnatva sastra-vidhanoktam karma kartum iharhasi - Bhagavad Gita 16.24
Scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras are not solely focused on liberation; they first help us develop a healthy mind and guide us toward becoming better human beings. They guide us on what is right and what should be avoided. For instance yoga sutras provide guidance on how to deal with different kinds of people we come across everyday.
maitri karuna muditopekshanam sukha dukha punya apunya vishanyanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam - Patanjali yoga sutras 1.33
Maitri: Developing friendships with happy or spiritual people who are working to reduce mental afflictions encourages us to engage in spiritual practices as well. Humans are creatures of imitation - when we surround ourselves with virtuous people, we tend to adopt their qualities.
Karuna: Show compassion towards the suffering even if the person is evil. Pain is pain, regardless of a person’s character. Just as we don’t wish suffering for ourselves, we shouldn’t wish it on others. This attitude purifies our mind.
Mudita: When someone is doing good things, appreciate them rather than finding faults. When we do good, we naturally hope for appreciation, so why should others be any different? If you appreciate others, it encourage them to be even more committed.
Upeksha: Be indifferent towards the wicked. Whether we like it or not, we come across bad people in our life. If you hate them, it only ruins your peace of mind. Instead practice indifference towards such people.
One need not restrict oneself to the Yoga Sutras or Bhagavad Gita. Any text that helps reduce the mental afflictions - kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), madha (pride), and matsarya (envy) - can be beneficial, as long as it does not promote hatred toward people of other communities, classes, or regions.
Moksha (liberation) is the ultimate goal
Since desires are natural for humans, the scriptures provide guidance on fulfilling artha (material wealth) and kama (desires) within the framework of dharma (righteousness). Engaging in dharmic (virtuous) actions not only purifies the mind but also results in pleasures in this life and the following ones. However, the limitation of a dharmic life is that it does not break the cycle of samsara - the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth will go uninterrupted. The purpose of human life is to go beyond artha, kama and dharma in order attain moksha.
As long as one engages in karma (action) with the expectation of a result, they will experience the rewards of good actions or the suffering of bad deeds. Sometimes it happens in the same life if circumstances allow; otherwise, rebirth is necessary to exhaust the fruit of that karma. Essentially it is not the karma that bind us to this samsara, but our attachment to that karma. The way to break from this eternal cycle of samsara is by detaching from the karma. This is karma yoga.
yogastah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhanahaya
siddhyaasiddhous samo bhutva samatvam yoga uchyate - Bhagavad Gita 2.48
Krishna advises Arjuna to do his duty (dharma) without any attachment, thus transforming his wordly karma into spiritual karma. One does not have to be a yogi in order to practice this. We can all practice this in our everyday lives by offering our good karmas to Iswara. Patanjali also suggests this as one of the easiest paths to attain liberation.
Iswara pranidhanat va - Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.23
*Refer to the previous post (Samsara - 10/03/2024) for understanding the technical terms in the above figure.
