Bhakti gives 4 goals of life: artha, kama, dharma, moksha. Bhakti contains all kinds of happiness, including the happiness that comes from the relationship formed with the Supreme Lord. Bhakti relieves suffering. Bhakti quickly helps the living entity to manifest pious qualities. Bhakti gives the happiness of devotional service to the Supreme Lord. The accompanying factor of bhakti is knowledge. The majestic nature of bhakti helps develop attachment for the Supreme Lord.
Lecture for Practitioners from the section "Religion and Spirituality" with difficulty of perception: 6
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00:00:00 Om namo Bhagavate Vasudeva. Om namo Bhagavate Vasudeva. Om namo Bhagavate Vasudeva.
00:00:19 So, good evening, dear devotees! We reviewed the 31st text with you yesterday, in which Srila Rupa Gosvami made a statement there, which is voiced in the tantras, which said that bhakti-yoga gives one amazing mystic powers, material enjoyment, eternal happiness in brahmana realization, and infinite bliss in the service of the Supreme Lord.. We discussed these points for a while, and I hope we came to an understanding that the most important idea to be understood was that if a devotee, he refers in general to the manifestation of mystical powers in his life, or the possibilities of sense gratification. (this includes, say, a prosperous life, I don’t know, there is a good wife, good children, good work - all these are forms of sense gratification in this material world), if all this comes to a devotee, and the devotee considers this a consequence of his devotee service, that is, as a reward from the Supreme Lord, which he can somehow use in order to quietly and happily perform his devotional service in this material world, then in this case everything is all right.
00:01:44 If a devotee, he turns to any processes with the mentality that bhakti did not give him something ... yes, here we can do the same in order to make the example clear, yes, for example, a person may be sick, and he can sit and repeat the mantra with all sincerity in order for this disease to pass from him. But in fact, this disease cannot go away, for example, such a disease, which in fact, it requires surgical intervention, for example, right? Then we understand that the mantra, if we dedicated a mantra to this, then the mantra, it does this: we meet a good surgeon who performs an operation on us, and we get rid of what we needed. And the devotee, he thinks that it was the chanting of the mantra of this good doctor that brought him into his life. And a nondevotee, he thinks that chanting the mantra did not help him, his illness was not cured, and he had to go to the doctors. This is the difference between the mentality of a devotee and the mentality of an actual offender, so to speak, let's say a little strictly, but it is much more in line with the content that this situation is happening with a devotee. Now, from yesterday's lecture, we had to accept this understanding, this inner attitude, and then, whatever happens in our life, we understand that whatever we receive is the result of our devotional service.
00:03:45 So, texts 1.1.32. (Reads in Saskrit.) Translation: Hari bhakti sutrudari also says, “O Lord of the devas! Again, I beseech you to grant me firm devotion to you. Bhakti is a creeper, the fruits of which are artha, karma, kama and moksha, as well as the happiness of realizing the Lord.. Commentary by Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur: “ I pray to attain bhakti, the creeper that brings forth the four kinds of fruits of human effort, the highest of which is liberation. A creeper that brings the bliss of God-realization, in the light of which even liberation fades».
00:04:50 Thus, we see that Srila Rupa Goswami, he is just now citing the previous text, it was from the tantras, now from "", we get the same idea. We get the same idea that bhakti, in turn, in the same way gives, provides a person with economic development, provides a person with dharma, (dharma means the power of fulfilling duties, let's say so), kama - the ability to fulfill one's desires, and in ultimately - moksha, that is, the possibility of liberation.
00:05:32 That is, these are the results that bhakti really gives and which are very desirable for conditioned living beings - we must understand that conditioned living beings, they are on the territory of (inaudible)-bhakti, they really need - they need it is to improve one's economic situation through one's practice, to achieve a level of happiness in relationships, which is actually possible only when sentient beings each perform their prescribed duties, which are called dharma. To be able, on the basis of this, to fulfill one's desires and at the same time take into account the desires of other living beings. That is, this is kama - this means the territory of the fulfillment of desires and not only ours - this is a very important point. And in the end - the achievement of liberation from the material world. I.e, we constantly see that liberation comes after kama, that is, after being able to fulfill one's material desires.
00:06:52 Now. Well, it's exactly the same topic, so we don't really have much to talk about here, just we must understand that bhakti gives results in fact varnashrama-dharma, because in fact artha, kama, moksha are different levels of varnashrama-dharma, that is, karma yoga. And bhakti gives these results. That is, when it was said that in general there are three types of happiness: happiness coming from ..., sorry, four: happiness from material objects, happiness from brahman realization and happiness that the Lord brings - three types. And now Srila Rupa Gosvami says that happiness that can come from material objects, bhakti calmly gives this happiness. When we talk about material happiness, we must understand that there is gross happiness, so to speak, and subtle happiness. Subtle happiness is associated with the mystical capabilities of a person, gross happiness is already a rough level of relationships with living beings.
00:08:06 Now. Rupa Gosvami, he is discussing this very subject, that bhakti contains all varieties of happiness: both happiness coming from various material objects on the gross and subtle planes, and liberation, but she has one kind of happiness that is not found in any other process - this is happiness coming from the relationship formed with the Supreme Lord. And we definitely must understand that now, if we are really engaged in bhakti yoga, then these processes should take place here. These processes should take place here, that is, these texts should work when Lord Shri Krishna says: “When I am pleased with someone, I keep what he has and add to him what he lacks” . “..I add to him what he lacks” so that he can live his life calmly, fulfill his duties, and at the same time develop spiritually.
00:09:20 Therefore, we must understand that if we are really involved in the processes of bhakti, then bhakti, it gives strength to fulfill one's duties, it gives an improvement in the economic situation, because in fact, by practicing bhakti we burn all those karmic reactions that , thanks to which, if I may say so, we have bad karma: that is, we have poverty there, we have there, I don’t know, such a situation, any situation. When we chant a mantra, these karmic reactions, they are burnt out on the condition that the Supreme Lord is pleased. We say bhakti, which means: we have in reserve actions with which the Supreme Lord was pleased. Now, if He was pleased, then everything is in order. And if we think that we are performing devotional service, and in fact the Supreme Lord is not at all pleased with us, then we understand that everything remains the same with us, and sometimes it can become even worse if we also we offend.
00:10:39 Now. Next text 1.1.33. (Reads the text in Sanskrit) Translation: " Bhakti completely devalues liberation. When even a slight attraction to the Lord appears in the heart, then the 4 goals of human activity artha, dharma, kama and moksha become like straw and do not dare to come before bhakti". That is, we now see now that Rupa Goswami is raising the bar, he is raising the bar to the highest level. Commentary by Jiva Goswami: In this verse, the word pratha - "growing" but not "born" is used to show that bhakti does not originate from anything, but manifests itself. The goals for which people usually make efforts, namely, artha, dharma, kama and moksha become like straw - this means that they are ashamed to stand before bhakti. So, as we can see... Goswami is practically repeating a text that, well, as one of my disciples once wrote to me that "You can't explain to me why the acaryas do this, that they just sometimes repeat the text verbatim, what is the meaning of this ? And to be honest, I don't know what the meaning of this is, but we see that sometimes the acharyas actually do this - they just repeat the text verbatim, so we will look at the text itself.
00:12:34 And so, we have seen from the structure that, as we have already discussed this, Srila Rupa Goswami discusses the potency of bhakti. Because, in fact, when a living being has to take some process, it must understand in general what this process solves problems, in what ways it does it, and when a person starts this practice, he must make sure that those methods that provided to him, they really solve these problems. And we discussed with you that at the initial stages of spiritual life for conditioned living beings, the problem of getting rid of suffering is paramount. And so Rupa Gosvami first of all discussed this: what is bhakti, it is easy - that was the main characteristic of bhakti - bhakti, it easily relieves suffering. It is enough for a devotee to simply ask the Supreme Lord while chanting the mantra at the end, dedicating his circles to this, that: “Dear Lord, I ask you, accept this japa-yajna of mine, forgive me all my sinful reactions, please forgive me all my mistakes, all my sins that I have committed, and let me, give me a calm, prosperous, healthy, peaceful life so that I can safely engage in spiritual practice. And he will see how gradually this phenomenon, it simply begins to occur: and the devotee finds himself in a very calm, comfortable environment in which he calmly develops spiritually.
00:14:18 It's another matter if he himself has wrong concepts, wrong ideas, some attachments of his own, and he himself constantly continues to pull this material world - a completely different mentality. When a devotee pulls this material world, he can accordingly receive completely different reactions, which in fact are no longer symptoms of this, symptoms of the fact that this conveys this, that this is the result of bhakti, we must understand that this is already the result of our own attachments. Therefore, we saw Srila Rupa Gosvami discuss these points in succession: the first is that if we please the Supreme Lord with our practice, our karmic reactions quickly burn out. The second result is that bhakti very quickly helps a living being to develop pious qualities in himself, that is, not to develop, but manifest - the pious qualities of a living being appear when he engages in bhakti, this actually happens very quickly. Because in varnasrama-dharma, for example, a living being, at least in each caste, he is born four lives. In every caste, it is at least born in order to fully develop the characteristics of that caste, acquire the qualifications of that caste, and acquire the qualifications to make the transition to another caste. We just recently spoke with one of my students that in fact, in order to come to the point of developing truly blissful qualities of the soul according to varnashrama-dharma, at least 16 lives are needed, this is at least at the very simple arithmetic calculation. When practicing bhakti, these same qualities of the soul can manifest themselves quite quickly, it can actually happen within one or two lifetimes, and this is a very quick result.
00:16:32 So, bhakti, it helps, contributes to the soul, it manifests all its beneficent qualities, and therefore we discussed with you that if we find ourselves in a society in which we do not develop beneficent qualities, this means directly that we are not in the territory of bhakti. Because the territory of bhakti, the territory of the devotees, is the atmosphere that promotes, which promotes, which is favorable for development, for the manifestation of all the good qualities of the soul. We discussed this with Bhaktivinoda Thakur, that in order for this to happen, the general situation among religious people must be fair, kind and truthful. The standards that are sometimes formed in the society of devotees, according to which a devotee, he must endure all the tyranny of other devotees - this is not really true, this is not really consistent with this religious doctrine, we do not find confirmation of this anywhere. On the contrary, we see that in the commentary to the Upanishanita, Srila Prabhupada directly says that "a devotee, in order to develop properly, must avoid, he must avoid this contact with kanisthaatikari devotees", that is, these are the same devotees who who do not yet have this inner culture, do not have this development, do not have these good qualities, and therefore they are in fact an unfavorable society.
00:18:28 Now. The next question that Srila Rupa Gosvami discusses is just this question, that bhakti brings about the results of all other processes. That is, really practicing bhakti yoga, we will repeat this all the time, provided that Lord Shri Krishna remains pleased, the devotee can develop mystical powers from bhakti, he can get a calm, prosperous, happy life in all respects from bhakti in order to simply live quietly in this material world - and this is called sensual pleasure, as we discussed it with you yesterday. In the same way, bhakti gives liberation very quickly, because the shastras, they say so: bhakti quickly gives sensual pleasure and liberation. Lord Sri Krishna is very difficult to give devotional service. That is, in order for a devotee to have a particular devotional service in which the Supreme Lord remains satisfied, it is necessary that the devotee has a very strong, very high level of devotion, a very high level of fidelity, and then Lord Sri Krishna trusts such the living being of himself, and allows himself to be devotedly served. And this kind of happiness, it is a big deficit. It is a great deficit - this is exactly the form of happiness that actually fully corresponds to the nature of a living being, which is always an active principle, and always strives for happiness in this activity. Therefore, we discussed this moment that the nature of bhakti, it is actually pleasurable. And yet we should not be afraid, we should not be afraid to enjoy in the territory of bhakti.
00:20:44 Now, my dear devotees. Now we see here that Srila Rupa Gosvami puts forward this concept, that even those rare and happy jivas who have managed to perform real devotional service to the Supreme Lord at all, such that, you know how, such that the Supreme Lord is pleased. And we discussed this with you, that when the Supreme Lord is pleased, He first of all allows the devotee to think of Himself. He allows the devotee to think of Himself, He allows the devotee to take care of Himself, because He allows the devotee to feed Himself, to clothe Himself, various kinds of devotional service, and these are symptoms that the Supreme Lord, He is pleased. We have seen that Rupa Gosvami, he, in a special way, as a factor of satisfaction, or as a factor of accomplished devotional service, noted what he noted? – that the accompanying factor of bhakti is knowledge. The concomitant factor of bhakti is knowledge, and therefore we should understand that those devotees whose devotional service is pleased with the Supreme Lord have unique knowledge. By unique knowledge, and it does not matter at all that they receive this knowledge, this enlightenment, from within or from without, but this knowledge is necessarily manifested in them.
00:22:26 Sometimes we see that a devotee, for example, based on examples from Chaitanya Charitamrita, comes to the conclusion: there was such a devotee who held the Bhagavad Gita upside down and was in ecstasy. And on the basis of this, so many devotees come to such a great understanding that in bhakti yoga there is no need to study at all, there is no need to listen, because you can just hold the Bhagavad-gita upside down and get this mercy of the Supreme Lord, get everything. That is, there is a special example that actually shows exactly this - that the ecstatic state of a devotee, it does not depend on his literacy. That is, the whole Chaitanya Charitamrita, it is filled with examples that... this is the line that Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur is fighting for - this is the line that affirms the absolutely independent nature of bhakti. Therefore, we must understand: if we say that bhakti depends on Sanskrit - we humiliate bhakti, if we say that bhakti depends on education - we humiliate bhakti, if we say that bhakti depends on caste - we humiliate bhakti. That is, any material category on which we have made bhakti dependent - we will humiliate it.
00:24:01 We must understand that bhakti has a majestic nature. And bhakti, if it is already manifesting, that is, what does bhakti mean?, it was said here - when even a slight attraction to the Lord appears in the heart. Do you understand what we are talking about? We are not talking about prema, we are talking about a generally insignificant desire, but still for the Supreme Lord, and not for arranging our affairs through Him. Now, if a devotee develops this insignificant grain of attachment to the Supreme Lord, then the 4 goals of human life become like straw, and do not dare to appear before bhakti. That is, then a living being finds himself in some such state, in some such realities, his life flows in some way, you understand, these are not just words, we must understand that a devotee gets into such a state that now both the fulfillment of duties, and economic development in general, and the possibility of fulfilling material desires, and the possibility of being a liberated person are losing their attractiveness. Sometimes devotees try artificially, constantly repeating these moments to themselves, to bring themselves supposedly into such a state of neglect of karma. But as soon as some disturbance enters their life, the devotee immediately becomes agitated. Therefore, we must understand that these levels, they do not exist in order to imitate them. I hope that when we are already associating with serious acharyas, we should come to this mood, that how ridiculous it is in the territory of bhakti to pretend there is something, to pretend that you are there something that you are not at all, then yes, this is all bullshit, it actually turns, well, just like children's games. Like children's games that are not very suitable for adults. Therefore, we must understand that these are not just words, these are the realities in which that jiva lives, who has even a slight attraction for Krishna. This is not what we are now trying to use Krishna Consciousness, not motivation, you see, but real attachment, or attraction to Krishna or His pure devotees, real, not sentimental. Now, when this attachment, it is real, even if it is insignificant, it plays this role, that the devotee, he finds himself in such an emotional state that everything else, which seemed so important to him 5 minutes ago, simply fades in its significance. And we must understand, dear devotees, that these are not just words. So the whole point is that the devotee should spend his efforts on just this: he should spend his efforts on simply developing this little attachment for the Supreme Lord to begin with.
00:27:59 Now. As long as the possibility of sense enjoyment is not devalued for us, the problems of economic development are not depreciated, the problems of liberation from the threefold sufferings of the material world are not depreciated - this means that we still have no real attraction to Lord Sri Krishna. We don't have any real attraction yet, and for now we are simply living beings who practice bhakti yoga at the level of... devotion, trying to develop just this attraction. And those devotees who do everything right achieve this result, and then these 4 goals that all living beings strive for, they simply fade before the greatness of bhakti. And we must understand that while in our life this is not happening this way, it means that we do not have this very, albeit scanty in general, but real attraction to Krishna. Hare Krishna dear devotees! Goodnight!
Dharma- sustains our existence. Dharma is knowledge of the law and following it, morality, piety, duty and its fulfillment, responsibility, religious duty, support for the law of being. Dharma is the natural law of how all living beings should be treated. The task of Jyotish is to explain the real dharma of a person, but a person himself is able to see his dharma by lowering the level of the gunas: tamas and rajas in his life.
Artha- material well-being, earnings, economic potential. Artha is nothing but the resources and economic development of a person. Artha includes: achieving fame, accumulating wealth, gaining knowledge and professional skills, gaining a high social position. In other words, artha is success in our material world.
Kama- these are desires and satisfaction of one's senses at different levels, physical pleasures, sensual pleasure, lust, passion. Kama is also the relationship with other living beings.
Moksha- liberation from the mortal body, liberation from samsara, from suffering, dissolution of delusions / illusions.
Note:
- Dharma - 1,5,9 houses
- Artha - 2,6,10 houses
- Kama - 3,7,11 houses
- Moksha - 4,8,12 houses
If you look a little deeper into the topic of the houses of the horoscope and how the four goals in a person’s life are interconnected, then it is possible to notice how the houses of dharma, artha, kama and moksha are intertwined. In the houses of dharma, one way or another, themes of a person’s duty and responsibility, his moral values, knowledge of the law, religion, following this path, etc. are manifested. In artha houses, how a person achieves prosperity and success in this life, how he accumulates resources for a normal existence here. In the houses of kama, the strongest desires of a person are manifested, what he wants in this life most of all. In the houses of moksha, the themes of something transcendent, secret, the theme of human transformation appear.
How can this knowledge be put into practice?
It's simple, open your natal chart and see which of the houses has more planets. This knowledge will tell you a little about yourself, about what is important for you in life: dharma and following the path of dharma in life, possibly moksha, and that is why your financial affairs do not add up, because. the soul itself, before birth, wished to deal with issues that would relate to moksha and spiritual development in life. Knowledge must be practical, so apply it, study yourself. Only by understanding yourself and understanding your destiny can you understand others.
People who worship yoga and those who are close to the teachings of Hinduism / Vedism believe that a person has four goals in life - purushartha. It is for the sake of moksha, dharma, artha and kama that a person should live.
The basis of everything is dharma
It is believed that the components of purushartha complement each other. Nevertheless, the drachma is considered the basis of everything. Translated from Sanskrit, this concept means "that which holds." This is a multifaceted category that cannot be taken literally, relying only on translation. If we understand dharma as the primary goal of the existence of a person, then in essence we are talking about a harmonious way of life, a person's understanding of his nature. By drachma they mean the individual's awareness of the meaning of life, his destiny in front of himself, the world around him, the universe. Each person has his own dharma, which is associated with the characteristics of his personality.
This is moving matter. Drachma is something that changes with a person as he lives and fulfills his destiny in worldly life. Many come to understand the dharma during yoga. This awareness allows you to correctly prioritize, set new goals, direct energy in the right direction.
They talk about the five pillars of dharma:
- love,
- patience,
- justice,
- knowledge,
- devotion.
Relying on them, a person achieves more, it is easier to cope with life's difficulties. If the realization of dharma has not come, life becomes more difficult every year. Without the meaning of life, a person feels unnecessary, empty.
Often this leads to the fact that he goes astray and acquires addictions.
The visual embodiment of dharma is the dharmachakra - a wheel with eight spokes. Each spoke is a principle of dharma, which implies that everything should be right for a person:
- Worldview.
- Goals.
- Speech.
- An image of existence.
- Behavior.
- Concentration.
- Memory.
- Force.
The observance of these eight principles is the purpose of dharma. Only by following them a person will achieve great goals in life, will be able to benefit the world, live his life in harmony with nature, with his own nature and the Universe. And in the end, he will reach the highest goal - he will know the highest reality.
Needs - artha
The second component of human life is called artha. This concept combines everything material, something that cannot be dispensed with. Artha combines well-being, health, security and other benefits, without which the standard of human life will not be truly worthy.
Artha is also a multifaceted concept. Its important component is the work that a person must perform every day of his life. It is simply impossible to achieve material wealth without labor. And without a good material foundation, it is difficult to give oneself to spiritual development.
Through his work, a person creates the ground for personal growth.
But it is extremely important not to overdo it. The achievement of material wealth should not be the main goal of existence. The point is not to accumulate, but to create comfortable conditions for life. Incorrectly set priorities, values shifted towards material wealth lead a person astray, preventing the realization of the true goals of artha.
Some ancient texts, the artha-shastras, have come down to us. They represent a documented distribution of the roles of people in life, the principles of the structure of the world, the organization of society. One of these books discusses such issues as the development of the economy, the distribution of responsibilities between ministers, the topic of taxes, war, the security of citizens, etc.
Earthly needs - kama
Another important component of life is the achievement of earthly pleasures, the satisfaction of basic needs. The concept of kama combines human needs:
- in delicious food
- comfortable living conditions,
- sensuality,
- emotional needs, etc.
Kama is interpreted differently in different teachings. Some believe that kama teaches the enjoyment of life as an opportunity to save oneself from suffering. However, the “classical” understanding of this term speaks of the fulfillment of desires as one of the goals of life. True, with an eye to the moral, ethical standards, traditions of society, culture, religion. A person must control his desires and not fall into their captivity. Otherwise, he risks wasting his life. It is necessary to sensibly evaluate desires, to think about whether it is really worth giving free rein to them.
Only by controlling his desires, a person can become truly free and happy.
Kama has its own shastras - teachings. They pursue the goal of streamlining sensual pleasures in marriage, reminding of the need to strive for spiritual perfection. Kama shastras talk about the arts, including music, theater, architecture, singing, etc. They teach raising children, home improvement, the proper use of makeup and clothing, etc.
The ultimate goal is moksha
This is a complex concept that hides the final, most important goal of human life. Moksha means liberation from earthly shackles, the conventions of the device of worldly life. This is the way back to the truth.
Moksha should not be taken literally as physical death. The elect comprehend it, being living people. If a person has known moksha, he is freed from the fetters, his existence takes on new forms, illusions are destroyed.
A person who no longer lacks social and material life begins to look for his own path, the path to the knowledge of the intangible, known only to him. If the search is successful, the person is released, finds peace. This is the realization of moksha.
Some seek their path in spiritual practices, others in wanderings in holy places, and others in religion. When a person finally comes to understand that the source of his own drama is himself, the path of liberation begins.
Moksha is a road passed through suffering, trials.
It will have no companions. But after the road is mastered, moksha will open. A person must understand his essence, throwing off the shackles of imposed conventions and norms. Then his consciousness will expand, and life will turn into Lila.
Book " Four goals of family life"demonstrates how couples of our time can build deep and lasting relationships, and at the same time develop spiritually, together walking along the path of four components, extolled in Vedic culture since ancient times: "dharma", "artha", "kama" and Moksha - righteous deeds, economic development, sense gratification and liberation).
E. Burke Rochford, Jr., PhD, Professor of Sociology and Religion,
Middlebury College, USA, said the following about the book:
“Here we can find a recipe for success in family life, which balances its material and spiritual components. This is a wonderful work that should be read by anyone who is on the spiritual path in the modern world.”
Book " Four goals of family life» «...filled with authentic quotations from the scriptures and carefully prepared with enthusiasm and dedication, it is designed for a reader who is in search of eternal truths about marriage and family life. It is a must read for all serious couples who aspire to have a family based on and a sense of unity.
Dr. Lakshmi - Goddess of Fortune
"> Lakshmi Dajak, MD (Louisiana)specialist in family therapy and marriage issues.
|
XIII Acknowledgments 1 Vivaha 2 Grihastha- 3 Dharma - the duties of a person in accordance with his varna and ashram ">Dharma(Principles of Religion) 60 pages64 Varnashrama-dharma is the science of organizing a perfect human society, set forth in the Vedas, in which society is divided into four estates and four ways of human life. Varna is the social and professional nature of man. Ashram is a way of life of a person. Dharma is the duties of a person according to his varna and ashram: the intrinsic quality of a living being is service to others."> Varnashrama-dharma. 70 Varna-dharma 80 Ashrama-dharma 82 Grihastha-dharma 86 Sanatana-dharma (sanatana-dharma) - the destiny of all living beings, the eternal religion corresponding to their original position, devotional service to the Supreme Lord."> Sanatana-dharma 93 for grihasthas 95 Srivanam (Hearing and chanting) 106 (Path of devotion) 4 Patni-dharma (Duties of a married woman) 120 pages |
5 Pati-dharma 6 Artha (Economic Development) 7 Kama (Satisfaction of the senses) page 270 8 Moksha (Liberation) 332str 372 Panchama Purushartha (Fifth Goal) 379 Applications |
Preface to the book
"Four Goals of Marriage"
Book " Four goals of family life was written in response to a general paucity of literature on marriage and in the light of ancient classical sources. Ours is dominated by high divorce rates leading to a sad increase in broken families, but we can learn a lot from ancient cultures that thrived and thrived on strong marriages and close-knit families. In our time, for family people, just maintaining a family and maintaining harmony in it can become a difficult task. Therefore, both husbands and wives can benefit greatly from divine inspiration and help.
The basis of the book Four goals of family life takes the Aryan civilization of ancient India, which dominated the world stage until it began to decline about 5,000 years ago. The leaders of this society were guided by the instructions of the Brahmin priests, who were well versed in the Vedas and additional works, collectively known as Vedic Literature. The most important of these writings have been preserved to our time in the original Sanskrit, and many of them are now available in translation into English and other languages of the world.
Describes a wide range of topics, including theology, philosophy, grammar, logic, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, architecture, politics, sociology, and other disciplines. Aryan civilization, built on these sciences, reached a high cultural development and gained worldwide influence. Vedic society was organized in accordance with varnashrama - a system of social and spiritual cooperation that provides people with specific life instructions corresponding to their occupation and stage of life.
The book "Four Goals of Family Life" is based on the most essential Vedic teachings for family peopletranslated into modern language. The main principles of these teachings are relevant and valuable not only for people of a certain era or geographical place of residence, but also for all family people, beyond time and space. The book explains how couples can build by following the classical rules and working with each other to balance their material and spiritual goals. In today's world, in which Vedic culture and varnasrama have been replaced by moral decline and social chaos, the main principles of the Vedic spiritual and social teachings are as relevant and urgent as ever.
Although the goal of life is life itself, nevertheless, the Vedas describe 4 types of inner values that every person possesses.
Moksha, dharma, artha and kama- these are 4 types of values that are uniquely mixed in each person. Depending on the proportions of each goal, the individual nature of the personality is formed.
Moksha - liberation from suffering (≈0.1% of people)
Or in other words, the search for an eternal source of happiness and inner peace. Moksha translated as liberation, problem solving, freedom. Each person, consciously or unconsciously, strives for inner freedom and self-acceptance. Freedom from experiencing material adversity and from attachment to external circumstances is the goal of life called moksha.
Looking around you can understand that a very small part of humanity is clearly aware of their suffering, therefore moksha a rare goal of life, if you take statistics around the world. Although moksha is the highest of all goals, quite a few people are looking for a fundamental solution to their deepest problems and dissatisfaction. For the most part, humanity prefers temporary “anesthesia” and oblivion of the deep layers of consciousness with the help of material pleasures.
disadvantage moksha is disinterest in material development and, as a result, indifference to the social and mercantile life of the world. Although, on the other hand, this shortcoming is fully compensated by spiritual taste and subtle development. People with a predominant goal of moksha should make an effort to share the light of knowledge with others and the world.
Dharma - following honor (≈1% of people)
Dharma quite a broad concept, if we take the Vedic philosophy and psychology. Dharma translated as nature, duty, morality, manners, purpose and law. This goal of life can be described as, the adoption of a certain order and code of life and strict adherence to the rules.
In the practical plane of life dharma takes 2 main forms: (1) following the rules of an organization or (2) following one's own principles and laws of life. Dharma not as rare a goal of life as moksha, but far from popular in the modern world.
The main disadvantage dharma is ossification in the built order. Therefore, followers of the goal of dharma life are advised to revise and update their life paradigm and inner values more often, so as not to get stuck in their archaism.
Artha - desire for wealth (≈9% of people)
“Money is power and opportunity” is the slogan of people who follow arthe. And they are somewhat right. If a person thinks a lot about money and prosperity, he / she should definitely develop in this vein.
This goal is quite widespread in the world, but it also has a certain threshold of entry and adherence to it. Not every person is destined to get rich and manage large amounts of resources.
Negative side arthi is strongly conditioned by money and opportunity. The mind of such people is periodically eclipsed by external successes and takes away the opportunity to focus on the inner reality.
Kama - material enjoyment (≈90% of people)
The first place in the world in popularity is occupied by pleasure as the goal of life. Most people in the world are in constant pursuit of various material circumstances. Moreover, many of these people do not make appropriate efforts to achieve what they want, which causes a storm of indignation and complaints about life.
Insofar as 90% of people everywhere and always will seek high, the world will always revolve around the production and consumption of various types of pleasures. And this is absolutely normal for modern times and culture.
Any pleasure becomes boring and needs a change of entourage and scenery, this is main disadvantage kamy . The temporality of material circumstances will not make it possible to get high forever and sooner or later you will have to look for new pleasures. But most people are not a bit embarrassed and they embark on more and more new searches for material happiness, which they will never find.
Each purpose of life has its own unique charms and disadvantages. I suggest you reflect on what mixture of goals and values you have and how it manifests itself in life. I hope this article has helped to take another small step towards self-awareness and understanding of one's nature. Happy thinking!
Roman Gavrilov