This lesson will seek to explain the four permissible goals of Hindu life. In doing so, it will define the ancient concepts of kama, artha, dharma and moksha.
Hindu Goals
In today's lesson, we're going to tackle the four permissible goals of Hindu life. They are kama, artha, dharma and moksha. To do this in such a short amount of time will require some serious oversimplification of a very deep topic. Add to this the fact that most of the terms we're going to use are completely foreign to the Western tongue, and it's not hard to see how this lesson could get a bit hairy.
In order to make this lesson easier to navigate, there are three things I'd like you to grasp:
Hinduism teaches that the pursuit of these four goals is permissible. In other words, it's okay to want and seek them.
Each goal is considered more important, or noble, than the previous goal.
These goals traditionally apply to men only.
With this in mind, let's get on with our goals.
Kama
The first permissible goal is kama. To put it simply, kama is pleasure, and it refers to the desires of the mind and the physical body. It is the human desire for passion and emotion. In other words, it's ok to love; it's ok to experience attraction and desire. In fact, the Hindus' god of love is actually named Kama. From this name comes the famous and very ancient Hindu guide to the physical expression of love known as the Kamasutra.
Although kama, or pleasure, is a permissible goal, a spiritually maturing Hindu will realize it is not the end all to life. There is more to strive for. This brings us to our next goal, Artha.
Artha
Simply put, artha can be loosely translated as wealth and power, and according to the goals of Hinduism, it's ok to want these two things. In fact, the pursuit of them is considered noble since a person needs them in order to raise a family and keep a household.
This is especially true for those who exist in the upper classes, or castes, of Hindu society. For them, artha, or wealth, is sought after in order to fulfill one's destiny. In other words, some were made to be rulers and kings; others were made to be beggars. Those who were made to be kings have every right to seek wealth and power. It's not just a noble goal; it's their duty and the best way to keep society in balance. If they are born into the upper ranks of Hindu society, then by all means, they can seek wealth.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true for those in the lower castes of Hindu society. Although it is permissible for them to seek to provide for their families, they should not seek wealth as a means to move on up the social ladder. On the contrary, it is incumbent upon them to accept their low station in life as part of their duty or dharma.
Although this idea of one's predestined role or duty is very foreign to those of us in the West, it's a huge part of the Hindu faith. In fact, this idea of duty, or dharma, is actually the next goal. Although kama and artha are permissible goals, they are not as significant as the fulfillment of dharma.
Dharma
Since the goal of dharma is probably the most alien to our Western paradigm, we'll spend a bit more time on it. To simplify, dharma means duty. It's sort of a set of standards by which a person should live. However, dharma can be very circumstantial and very personal. In other words, each person's dharma is different. Since this is rather confusing, let's use a tangible example.
Most faiths hold to the idea that murder is wrong. Across the board, it's usually a no-no and would go against dharma. However, sometimes murder may be necessary for the greater good. For instance, what if a ruler kills a few people in order to avoid an all-out war? Although this is a rather violent argument on the use of personal dharma, it's a famous one taken right from the pages of the ancient Hindu story about dharma, known as the Bhagavad Gita.
In this Hindu classic, a ruler's crown is challenged by rebellion. Since the ruler knew murder was wrong, he put down his weapons and refused to kill the rebels. However, the god Vishnu appeared and told him it was his personal duty, or dharma, to kill his enemies in order to protect his people and bring peace to his lands. Yes, senseless murder would go against the universal idea of dharma, but in this story, it was the honorable ruler's personal duty, or dharma, to kill. By killing, he was fulfilling his dharma or duty.
Dharma is very central to the Hindu belief system; however, just the like the goals before it, it is not the end all! For the ultimate goal, we turn to moksha.
Moksha
Moksha is freedom from the cycle of birth and reincarnation. It's the prize at the end of the very long Hindu road.
To explain, as a person's soul, called atman in Hinduism, passes through the cycles of life and reincarnation, it is supposed to learn freedom from the need of anything earthly. Yes, the desire for the other three goals is permissible, but a truly enlightened person will realize that when it comes down to it, they're all trivial and unnecessary. To the truly enlightened, moksha is the main goal.
When this is finally accomplished, a person's soul, or atman, can rise above the need to be reborn. Therefore, the cycle of reincarnation will end, and the person's atman is released to transcend beyond the human existence. In Hinduism, this is the main goal - but one that only a few ever attain.
Lesson Summary
The four permissible goals in Hinduism are kama, artha, dharma and moksha, with each goal being more important than those before it.
In Western terms, kama can be remembered as the pursuit of pleasure. It encompasses the human desires for passion and emotion. Although the pursuit of kama is permissible, it sort of takes a back seat to artha.
Artha can be loosely translated as wealth and power. In Hinduism, it's permissible to strive for both. Especially in the upper crusts of Hindu society, the pursuit of these is considered a noble goal. In fact, it is even seen as their duty, or dharma, which is the next permissible goal.
Confusing to those of us in the West, dharma can be loosely translated as duty. It's sort of a set of standards by which a person should live. However, we need to remember that dharma can be very circumstantial and very personal. As told in the ancient Hindu story of the Bhagavad Gita, each person's dharma may be different.
With this, we end with Hinduism's main goal, known as moksha. Being freedom from the cycle of birth and reincarnation, moksha is the ultimate goal to which all the other goals take a back seat!
Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Name and describe the four goals of Hindu life
Identify the importance of the Bhagavad Gita