Goals

We have all heard about “goals” in our working life. It always referred to short term goals, long term goals pertaining either to our company or to our careers. But have we really thought about goals for our life? Even if we have, perhaps it is desultory without any concrete action plans to achieve them. Even if we put forth efforts to achieve them, they may also be sporadic with insidious statements like “go with the flow”, a euphemistic expression for being rudderless and drifting as it were. If this is so, are there really “goals” for us human beings?

In this vast expanse of Universe, spanning across millions of light years, it may sound conceited to claim that man is the crown of creation. Nevertheless, taking our planet alone into consideration, man with his evolved intellect and other faculties like speech, comprehension, imagination etc., may, with due humility, claim such a distinction. If that is so, then how different are we from animals that live by instinct alone? Our goals and purpose in life distinguish us from animal kingdom. Each one of us may have many goals – one wants to enter into the Guinness book of world records for living in a pit filled with snakes for several days while another wants to jump from 30,000 feet without a parachute! Some want name and fame, while others want to amass wealth! There may be as many goals as there are people. Likewise, even for the same person, the goals may vary depending on his stage of life – as a child to a senior citizen. However, our scriptures point out that despite innumerable goals of mankind, they can all be classified into four categories. They are Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha – generally termed as “Purushartha.”

Artha – means wealth indicating all forms of wealth which are meant for one’s own security so that we can safeguard ourselves from diseases, suffering, hunger, thirst etc., This is required for basic survival – generally called food, clothing and shelter. In Sanskrit it is called “duhkha-nivrutti” meaning ‘freedom from pain”. Man being man, does not stop with these basics but embellishes them with types of dishes, varieties of homes and designer dresses to fulfill these basic needs!

Kama – which generally means desires is also about entertainment for our enjoyment. We listen to music, watch TV (not to forget our mobile with its WhatsApp messages and FB!), travel, read and so on so forth. These are also innumerable and catering to the myriad tastes of mankind. But fundamentally, this necessarily comes after Artha for we think of pleasures only after our basic security is taken care of.

Dharma – this is also called ‘Punyam’ or the invisible favourable factor or ‘Adrishtam’. Hindus believe in re-birth and therefore they not only worry about current life but also about their future birth and also the well being of their progeny. So they would want to pursue a dharmic way of life – noble activities prescribed in the scriptures – so that they acquire ‘Punyam’ in this birth. Such a Dharmic way of life contributes to their Artha and Kama also in legitimate ways. They also get a better life in their next birth.

Most of the humans pursue these three goals only (commonly referred to as ‘Preyas’). While it may not be bad at all to pursue these, we need to analyze the limitations of these three goals. First and foremost, while these goals are wonderful and worth pursuing, there is lot of pain, effort and competition in acquiring these. For example, if one has built a palatial house, that person always talks about the time, effort, hassles in obtaining permits and money spent on building that house! And ultimately it is also subject to decay, just as a scratch on a new car hurts us so much! There is no gain without a corresponding loss. Therefore, acquisition involves pain. Secondly, despite all acquisitions, we have dissatisfaction. Despite huge amounts of money we have, we feel insecure that inflation may eat it away. And our satisfaction is always in the future, starting right from childhood thinking that I will be satisfied once I complete schooling etc. And finally, these goals are addictive and we become dependent on them. Once you own a car, you cannot even travel by a bus on one day when your car has gone for servicing. The more we are dependent, the more we suffer. And what I can I say about our dependency on mobile phones these days?

Hence the scriptures advocate that, while there is nothing wrong in pursuing these three, we need to transcend these three and aim for the fourth goal which is “Freedom” or “Liberation”. Freedom from what is the question. It is freedom from all types of dependence on external factors. In other words, we should not depend on any external factor for our security – like people around me, money I possess etc.  Discovering happiness in ourselves, discovering security in ourselves is called Moksha or ‘Shreyas’. And also it is in our ignorance that we pursue permanent fulfillment through these impermanent objects that causes suffering. So ‘Moksha’ also implies freedom from suffering. What happens then is, if we do not depend on them, we need not bother about going head over heels in acquiring them. If they come to us, it is fine; else also it is fine. Their arrival is fine; their departure is fine too. This includes everything you can think of and this inner freedom is called Moksha and the highest Purushartha. This is also called ‘Parama Purushartha’ (Prime Purushartha) because there is no further pursuit once this is fulfilled. That is why when you do an archana in a temple, the priest chants “dharmaartha Kama Moksha chaturvidha Phala Purushartha siddyartham” indicating that “may all your purushartha’s be fulfilled.”

This is a topic that generates lot of discussion. Whether Dharma precedes Artha or whether all the four are inter-dependent are all deliberated in great depth by all learned scholars. I have followed the lectures of my Guru Swami Paramarthananda and mistakes, if any, in my narration are solely attributable to me.  

In Psychology, when the entire community was a bit down by the theories floated by Sigmund Freud and other neo-Freudians, humanist psychologists like Abraham Maslow brought a whiff of fresh air focusing on the positive aspects of the human psyche. He postulated his ‘hierarchy of needs’ which most of you might know. They are Physiological needs, Safety needs, Belonging needs, Esteem needs and finally Self-actualization. Does this roughly correspond to what our scriptures stated thousands of years ago?

And finally, can a ‘Liberated man’ be equated to a ‘Self actualized person’? Well, maybe it is a topic of discussion for some other time!