Purushartha

Purushartha is a key concept in Hinduism and Indian Philosophy. The word Purushartha comes from the Sanskrit word “Purushartha”, where ‘Purush’ refers to human beings and ‘Artha’ means purpose, object of desire or meaning. 

Together the word Purushartha translates to ‘purpose of human being’ or ‘object of desire’. There are 4 main Purusharthas or aims of human life that one must attain.

The first Purushartha is Dharma. Dharma means truth, the right way of living or the accepted behaviours one should follow to maintain the order of things in the world. On a larger scale Dharma refers to the cosmic law or rules that created the universe. On an individual scale however, it refers to the ethics on which we should live our lives. Dharma advocates that humans should be obedient to their teachers and elders, follow law and justice and practice good virtues such as Ahimsa in life.

The second Purushartha is Artha. Artha signifies means of life. In simpler terms it refers to wealth and materialistic things. It is believed that if you have the security of material comfort then you can live in the world with much ease. Artha does not reject the materialistic nature of the world but teaches us to accept and be content with the material benefits that we are provided with. Some of the examples that Artha include are career, love knowledge, friendships and good health.

The third Purushartha is Kama which means ‘pleasure’. The most common misconception that people have when talking about Kama is the belief that Kama means only sexual pleasure and this is completely wrong. Kama in reality refers to sensual pleasure. Anything that provides pleasure to our 5 senses is a way to obtain Kama. For e.g. apart from sexual intercourse, humans feel pleasure while listening to music, looking at art or other aesthetic entities. Love is also a part of Kama.

The fourth and last Purushartha is moksha. Moksha is the ultimate Purushartha as it is the most difficult to obtain. Moksha means liberation, to free or let go. In Indian Philosophy it is believed that our souls are eternal and never die. It is believed that souls just inhabit one body after another leading to a cycle of deaths and births. Moksha refers to the freedom from this cycle of birth and rebirth. It is also believed that when one attains Moksha, the soul (atman) is truly able to become one with the Ultimate Reality (Brahman). Moksha is also said to cease Karma. Because Karma is the major factor responsible for birth and rebirths. Therefore when one attains Moksha all his Karma ceases and so does his cycle of death and rebirth. In addition to all this, in Hinduism, Moksha is defined as a state of complete bliss and knowledge.

It’s important to know the types of Purushartha as they are heavily discussed in Indian Philosophies. Each of the Purushartha, if toned down to simpler meanings can be applied to our daily modern life and help us achieve self-improvement. Because if you have a clear mind then you have a clear focus.