Purusharthas Essay

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Introduction According to Hindu religion, human has four goals in life. Various Hindu scriptures define the four goals as Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. The ideas of Artha, Kama and Dharma were prevalent in the Vedas and Moksha in Upanishads and Sramana teachings. But Purushartha came to gain popularity only in the Sastra period. It has been a constant problem for the interpreters of Purushartha to present its components in the right order and see the precedence of one over the other. Even in its formative stage the formulation was marked by divided opinions about its components and their order. The four goals can be achieved only through Atma Jnana (Self realization). Hindus believe that equal importance has to be given to these four goals. These four goals are called as Purusharthas. Purusha means either God or a human being. Artha means an object or objective. "Purusharthas" means objectives of a human being. Purusha does not mean male in the physical sense, but any soul in its differentiated aspect. So the purusharthas are applicable to both men and women equally. The theory of Purusharthas offers the four goals to achieve by the Hindus. This believes in four goals as Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha. Artha (wealth) refers to acquisition and enjoyment of wealth, Kama (Satisfaction of biological desire) refers to the satisfactions of sex drives and temporal interest and aesthetic urges. Dharma (right or moral conduct) refers to the acceptance of the prescribed discipline and obligations in social, religious and cultural realms. The fourth aim is the Moksha which refers to the ideal of spiritual realization that is to get entry to Swarga-lok, although later on interpreted as total liberation from Karma Samsara. The first three goals are the external to human and attainable in the present life. These are the means or saddya to achieve Moksha, but Moksha is the
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