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The Four Goals Of Life

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Goswami 108 Shree Aashraykumarji Mahodayshree.

Prior to this era of globalization, humans have always believed in spiritual beings or higher intelligence that govern the earth. But now, we have abandoned religion and spirituality, focusing solely on ourselves and science; modernism to be precise. But before we go further, let me enlighten us on the definition of modernism in the current context.

Modernism can simply be seen as the belief in contemporary ideas, thoughts and practices. Modernism can further be seen as a philosophical thought which aims at changing the traditional ways of life which includes religion, science, art, literature and so on. In essence, those who believe in modernism are not believers in any spirituality or divinity.

With the emergence of modernism, humans have come to abandon religion and welcome the radical thoughts and belief in the new teachings and contemporary ideas to fit our daily lives which are contrary to the teachings and belief as taught in Sanatan Vedic tradition or Hinduism. Here, I will try to brief us on Hinduism and how it can help us grow in life.

Hinduism, known as the oldest religion in the world and widely practised in the Indian subcontinent is an Indian religion and defined by many scholars as the eternal tradition. There are four goals of human life accepted by classical Hindu thought and these goals are namely; Dharma, Artha, Karna and Moksha. These four are known as Purusarthas; objectives of human life. These Purusarthas are the aspects of Hinduism that can help every human grow, develop and progress in life.

The Dharma, in Hinduism is considered as the first goal of a human being which deals with the righteousness and ethical principles guiding humans. It is seen as the moral codes and religious duties which humans must accept, respect and follow in order to sustain peace and harmony in the world. This helps humans grow in life because it teaches humans the rules to abide byin order for peace to reign on earth and in one's life.

Artha is the pursuit of wealth and riches for prosperity and livelihood in a virtuous way. This is an important goal of a human being on earth; to be financially stable and the Artha in Hinduism teaches us the right and truthful ways to enrich ourselves for not only our own benefit but also for the benefit of others that are less fortunate.

Kama, in Hinduism is referred to as desire; a wish or a longing or passion; pleasures of the senses or the enjoyment of life or the feeling of love whether sexual or not, and this is an essential goal of a human life, and the truthful pursuit of Karna helps in the growth of a human life without sacrificing the remainder of the goals.

Moksha which is considered as the most important goal of human life is the realization of one's union with God. This is a very important goal of human life because it guides us to good deeds here on earth as humans because whatever we do here will determine whether we'll be with God after death.

When we look deeply at these four goals of life and practise them judiciously, it will bring purpose and meaning to our life and make the world a better place where humans can live in peace and harmony. Hinduism, having these four aims of life is a way of life that will help a person grow in life in accordance with its teachings.

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