4 Human Goals – Purusharta Vichara
Before you can gain Moksha (complete fulfilment and happiness), you require something called ‘Viveka’ (Nitya-Anitya-Vastu-Vivekah). This is what the Vedantic teaching (in Tattvabodha) explains. Viveka is the ability to clearly see the difference (i.e. discriminate) between 2 things which are seemingly mixed up. Like what? Like when you mix salt into water. You can’t see the salt, but when you taste the water it tastes salty. So do you conclude ‘water is salty’? No. Salt is salty. Water is not. They are 2 things mixed up which seem to be 1. This ability to be able to clearly understand the difference between 2 things (water and salt) in your mind, even though both are seemingly mixed up as 1, is called ‘Viveka’ or ‘discrimination’.
So what does Viveka mean in the context of Vedanta? Here it can mean ‘Purushartha Viveka’ = Discrimination (clear understanding) regarding Human Goals. Purusha = Human; Artha = a goal or something you seek in life; hence ‘Purusha + Artha = Purushartha’ is a Human Goal.
But hang on….Why are we only talking of HUMAN goals here? What about animals and plants…don’t they have the same goals we have? Aren’t humans basically the same as animals anyway? The Vedanta Shastra (teaching) answers: No, not exactly. There are many similarities between humans and animals (Food, Sleep, Sex, etc) BUT there is 1 key difference. And because of this key difference, humans have the ability to pursue certain goals (Purushartha) which animals cannot. What is that difference? Intellect (Buddhi). Humans have an intellect. Animals do not have this to the same extent. The intellect (Buddhi) allows us to think, judge, reason, project and plan for the future and rationalise. It is this Buddhi that makes humans special compared to other animals (Buddhir hi teshaam adhiko visheshah). The buddhi allows us to be SELF-aware and make self-judgements. Hence we can compare ourselves to others. “Oh….he is more successful than me. I wish I could be like that. OK…I will try and improve myself. I will plan to work harder in the future.” It is this self-judgmental thinking that is due to the buddhi and drives us to pursue future goals (Purushartha).
So what are these human goals? There are millions….countless in number. Everyone has a different goal. One fellow wants to be rich, another wants to go partying. Another wants good health whilst the some just want to have a family. There are short, medium and long term goals. Anyway, whatever your goals are, Shastra categorises all human goals into 4 categories. Every single goal can be categorised under one of these 4 alone :
1) Artha – Security
Anything you procure for the sake of your physical survival and security falls under ‘Artha’. E.g. Food, Clothing, Shelter, Health. Money enables much of this. You need food to live. You need a roof over your head to survive – hence we buy a house. You need clothing to protect yourself from the environment. And we need good health, hence we pay for medicine and look after ourselves. This is all basic stuff, but without it you can’t even survive. When I have these, I feel secure. I feel safe. My mental sense of insecurity and fear is largely removed (Abhaya prapyartham). Anything I gain that helps me remove that sense of insecurity is classified as ‘Artha Purushartha’. Hence, many of us spend our entire lives only pursuing Artha and nothing else. Especially so in poorer countries where these basics are a real struggle due to lack of money. Ok…so I have enough savings, good money, nice house, enough clothing and good medical insurance. I feel reasonably secure from a physical needs perspective. Is that all I want? No….now I can focus on the next human goal….
2) Kama – Pleasure
This is the pursuit of pleasure, comforts, luxuries of life. I watch a movie, go on holiday, listen to some music, do some Bollywood dancing, go partying, meet my friends, etc. Why do I do all this? Do I need it to physically survive (Artha)? No. My life is not at threat if I don’t go on holiday. But I do it to have fun, to relax, to chill out and enjoy! Ananda! Great.
3) Dharma – Punya
Dharma can have many meanings. Here it means ‘good luck’ or ‘good fortune’. In Sanskrit we say ‘Punya’. What is Punya? Is it a physical object? No. It is not something you can see in itself, but does influence your life in a way you certainly can see. Like what? Like when things in life just seem to go your way with very little effort. Doors open, you are at the right place at the right time so you easily get that job you want. You get that opportunity you were looking for. You meet that person you always wanted to meet. Luck is working to help you. How so? “I was lucky”. Well…according to Vedanta there is no such thing as RANDOM luck. The word ‘luck’ implies it is random, no order. No cause-effect relationship to it. But Vedanta says it’s NOT random. Good luck is earned by you. How? By your good actions. This is the law of Karma: Do good and you will get a good result later (and now). That good result later is directly produced by your good (helpful, compassionate, honest) actions. This ‘good result’ is stored in the form of an unseen result of your karma (adrsta karma phala) called ‘Punya’. So what? Who cares about some unseen result of my actions? Well…that unseen result IS seen in your life later on. How? In the form of ‘good luck’. So it helps you get Artha and Kama if you want it. The universe helps you. Factors are in your favour. This Punya can be earned by general good actions and specific methods spoken of in the Veda (pujas, etc). The pursuit of Punya via these means is called ‘Dharma Purushartha’. Dharma is something we must learn about from the Veda and Gita; it is very important for achieving 1, 2, and 4.
1, 2, 3 all have common features so are called ‘Preyas’ in the Upanishad. The 4th Human Goal is unique from these and therefore given a different name – Shreyas or Moksha….
4) Moksha – Freedom
Moksha means freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from the bondage to 1, 2 and 3 (Artha, Kama and Dharma). Freedom from depending on 1, 2 and 3 to feel happy and fulfilled. Moksha means I am happy WITH 1, 2, 3. I am also happy WITHOUT 1, 2, 3. So in the PRRESENCE and ABSENCE of objects, I am content and cheerful. This is the infinite happiness we were talking about last class – limitless in quantity, quality and duration. This is Moksha.
Moksha is considered by the Upanishad as the primary human goal (purushartha). The main purpose of human life. 1, 2 , 3 are all secondary human goals. To clearly understand and discriminate this fact, is what Tattva bodha referes to here as ‘Vivieka’. If you have Viveka, you are ready to gain Moksha. More next time.
