Dharma Vahini - Post 16

Dear All,

We will skip chapter 5 and move on to chapter 6. 

Chapter 5 is all about education for Woman and the chapter is Self-explanatory and readers are requested to go through the chapter themselves. 

Now for some important aspects covered in chapter 6.

Purushartha

Swami says, 

"There are worldly maxims like “being engaged in a profession is the sign of a human (udyogam purushalakshanam)”, or “being engaged in a task is the sign of a human (karmam purushalakshanam).” 

But the real maxim is, “Observance of dharma is the sign of a human (dharmam purushalakshanam).” 

Everyone must engage in tasks infused with dharma, while putting into action the four goals of human life (purusha-arthas): dharma, wealth (artha), desire (kama), and liberation (moksha). "

Author's elaboration on Purushartha

Dear Readers,

Let us go back to Post no. 9 in the theme "KARMA" where, Purushartha is covered in detail.

Seers in the ancient Eastern tradition articulated the blueprint for the fulfillment of the objectives of human birth as was shown to them in the highest supreme levels of consciousness. 

The Supreme Self pervades and exists in all dimensions in all beings, sentient and insentient. It is that Supreme Self that exists inside each individual self, in each individual person. 

And therefore every individual person is none other than the Supreme Self, for how can the part be different from the whole.

In order for an individual to realize their supreme Self, they need to identify the reasons and objectives why they came into being on this earth plane and fulfill them. The ancient seers clearly articulated the objectives of humankind as "Purusharthas".

They articulated four Purusharthas as:

Dharma  : Righteousness, Duty

Artha       : Wealth

Kama      : Desire

Moksha   : Liberation

The four purusharthas are really the objectives of God, of the Supreme Self, the qualities of God. And since an individual person is a reflection of God, is a part of God, it is the rightful pursuit of a person to fulfill these four purusharthas.  In fact, it is both your individual and soul purpose. 

An individual can realize him or herself by balancing and fulfilling these four objectives. These four objectives are not independent of each other and should not be viewed in a stand-alone manner.

They define and refine the other objectives and allow the other objectives to define and refine itself. The activity of fulfilling one objective should also support the fulfillment of the other objectives. 

By maintaining a balance between the definition and fulfillment of the four purusharthas, a symbiotic evolution of the individual self takes place.

Exclusive pursuit of one purushartha creates an imbalance in a person's life and prevents the person from reaching the ultimate destination of their life. 

As a person progresses through the evolution of their soul, they find that some of the objectives eventually lose their place and importance to more predominant objectives. 

For example, the desire to earn wealth may diminish and disappear, or a person may come to the realization that there are no more material desires that they need to pursue and hence more room is created for the pursuit of the ultimate objective, Moksha.

More on the 4 Purusharthas in the next post.

Love.