Tag: Moksha

Purusharthas

The Purusharthas are the psycho moral bases of the Ashrama Theory. These are a kind of psychological training. They are concerned with the understanding, justification, management and conduct of affairs of the individual’s life in relation to the group in and through Ashramas. They are four Purusharthas that govern the human life, namely; Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

Dharma:

  • It is the central concept of all social institutions.
  • Derived from Sanskrit word ‘dhri’ meaning ‘to hold together/ to preserve/ to support/ to bear/ to nourish.
  • Dharma is created for the well being of all and is created to keep all beings free from any harm.
  • The comprehensive view of Dharma holds “Dharma Rakshati Rakshita” which means he who follows Dharma is protected in turn by Dharma.
  • Dharma regulates the acquisitive and emotional drives the enjoyment of life consistent with man’s spiritual progress.
  • Dharma signifies the totality/ entirety of privileges and obligations in different stages of life.
  • Dharma exists more essentially for community and most of all for that universal self which is in each of us and all beings.

Artha:

  • Artha refers to satisfaction of acquisitive instinct in man, i.e., wealth and material being.
  • Artha according to Zimmer includes “the whole range of objects that can be possessed, enjoined and lost and that are in daily life.”
  • The pursuit of wealth is a legitimate human desire.
  • The acceptance of sex drives, emotional urges and economic drives as necessary and even desirable, never undermines the supreme goal of life.
  • Artha is to be understood as referring to all the means necessary for acquiring worldly prosperity, such as wealth or power.
  • Artha is desirable because man has to maintain the Dharma as a householder and therefore temporal interests were allowed for the smooth running of day to day life.

Kama:

  • Kama implies the desires in man for the enjoyment and satisfaction of the life of the senses, including the sex drive.
  • The desire may also mean the desire for early possession.
  • According to Prabhu, “Kama refers to the native impulses, instincts and desires of man, his natural and mental tendencies and finds it equivalent, we may say, in the use of English words- desires, needs, primary motives, urges and drives.“
  • Kama is recognized as one of the aims of marriage along with “dharma” and “praja”.
  • Kama is given lowest importance among the valuable ends of marriage, because sex finds its meaning I procreation (praja).
  • Kapadia holds the view that ” Kama doesn’t mean only instinctive life, it means emotional and aesthetic life as well.”
  • The aesthetic life in man expresses itself in both creation and appreciation of all that is fine and sublime.
  • The healthy development of personality calls for the expression of the emotions.

Moksha:

  • Moksha is seen as the ultimate end of the life of Hindu or can be said as the liberation of soul.
  • According to K. M. Kapadia, ” Moksha means that the true nature of man is to unfold it and derive thereby the meaning of joy of it.”
  • The aim of man is the purification and perfection of ‘Atman’ by pious acts and devotion to God.
  • Moksha can be attained possibly by inquiry into the true nature of the ‘Atman’ and by founding the whole life of power and truth of the “Atman”.
  • The trivarga becomes the means for the attainment of that end.
  • The Hindu thinkers do not consider ‘artha’ and ‘kama’ as barriers in the way of man’s striving for realization of ‘moksha’.
  • They have recommended the fulfilment of such urges for the healthy development of man’s personality.
  • The goal of Moksha does not possess the narrow individual outlook for the Hindu nod it is to be pursued exclusively and directly by an individual unless and until he has duly satisfied all his social debts and obligations.

The Ashrama Vyavastha

The Hindu Sastra- Karas advocated that man’s life and conduct is set in accordance to the attainment of the ultimate goal of life, that is, “moksha” and is influenced by four factors such as ‘desa’, ‘Kala’, ‘srama’ and ‘guna’. The Hindu sages were univocal on the presumption that any scheme of social organization which aims at the best functioning, must, in the first instance, take account of human beings from two aspects. First, the scheme must consider him as a social being with reference to his training and development in the ultimate goal of his existence; and secondly, tho has to be co- ordinated with another scheme which visualizes man with reference to his natural disposition and attitudes. The first of these is undertaken under the scheme of “ashrama“.

The word “Ashrama” comes from a Sanskrit word “srama” meaning “to exert oneself”. The word ashrama literally means a resting or halting place. According to the Hindu Vedas, there are four ashramas, that are regarded as resting places during one’s journey on the way to final liberation. Each ‘ashrama’ is a step in the long journey towards the ultimate goal. Therefore, Vedavyasa has described in the Mahabharata that ‘ashramas’ are the four rungs of ladder which takes man in the direction of Brahma. The four ashramas are:

  1. The Brahmacharyashrama
  2. The Grihasthashrama
  3. The Vanaprasthashrama
  4. The Sanyasashrama

The Brahmacharyashrama

The first stage of life of an individual is the Brahmacharyashrama. This is marked by the initiation rotes or upanayan ceremony. Brahmacharya literally means the leading of life according to Brahma. In this stage, a person acquires knowledge, achieves discipline and moulds his character. He acquires knowledge of the Vedas, shastras (weapons), tatva (theoretical knowledge) and vyavahar (practical knowledge). The student stays at the teacher’s house, ‘Gurukula’, which marked the beginning of schooling in the Vedic texts. The student not only performs his study, but also performs the tasks assigned to hin by his teacher. When the teacher is convinced that the student had evinced a real desire for study, he unfolds the Vedas to him. The student follows some strict rules and learns to restrict and have control over his senses. The individual has to surrender his life of sense, mind and intellectual to the handling and moulding by the teacher.

The Grihasthashrama

After the completion of prescribed education in Brahmacharyashrama, in the first twenty five years of life, the youth enters the Grihasthashrama, that is the time when he is fit to marry with certain aims. In enters this stage with aims of ‘Dhrama’ meaning religiousity, ‘Praja’ meaning procreation and ‘Rati’ meaning satisfaction of sexual urges. The major aim of Hindu marriage is ‘dharma’. To fulfil his ‘dharma’ the married man performs five mahayajnas or the five great sacrifices along with his wife or ‘ardhangini’ or ‘dharmapatni’. These great sacrifices were offered to Gods (Daiva Yajna), Saints or Brahmans (Rishi Yajna), Parents (Pitri Yajna), Ancestors (Bhuta Yajna) and the men (Atithi Yajna). The Grihasthashrama is given a high place of honour. It is also the responsibility of the householder to take care of all those who are in the other three ashramas.

The Vanaprasthashrama

After the completion of the householder’s duty and at fifty years of age, man entered into the third stage of life, the Vanaprasthashrama. At this stage the individual lives as a recluse and resides in the forest. He must satisfy his hunger by eating roots or fruits available in the forest. The hermit must maintain celibacy, sleep on the floor, residing under a tree without any attachment to where he happens to reside.The qualities and virtues he needed to cultivate as a hermit were self restraint, friendliness, charity and compassionate attitude towards all creates. The presence of wife along with him was optional. It is a life devoted to meditation and contemplation, a life of enquiry and searching.

The Sanyasashrama

In the last stage, after twenty five years of conditioning in the Vanaprasthashrama, the man enters the Sanyasashrama, that is, life of an ascetic, casting off all attachment with the world. At the time of entering this ashrama, a person takes the vow that ” I have completely, from tho day, bidden farewell to AL the desires and anxieties regarding son, wealth and the world.” As regards the practice he should beg once in a day without any desired to get large quantity of alms. By restraint of his senses, destruction of love and hatred and by abstention from injuring creatures, he becomes fit for immortality. By passing through this stage, all the sins of man are washed away and destroyed. The man at this stage was mainly concerned with his own realization of spirituality.

It can be concluded that the ashramas are, as a school of life at various phases of human existence, devised and organized, towards the attainment of “moksha” in accordance with the theory of the ultimate nature of human beings.

Hinduism

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, dating back more than 4000 years.Hinduism is the thirs largest religion behind Christainity and Islam. Hinduism is unique and it’s not a single religion, it is the compilation of many traditions and philosophies.

Origin of Hinduism

Most scholars believe that Hinduism started between 2300BC to 1500BC in the Indus Valley near modern day pakistan. Many hindu argue that their faith is timeless and always existed unlike other religions. Hinduism has no founder but it is a combination of various beliefs.There are many beliefs in Hinduism i.e. dharma,karma,moksha. Some basic hindu concepts includes-

a. Hinduism fuses many religious ideas,that’s why, it sometimes reffered as ‘way of life’ or a ‘family of religions’.
b. Most form of Hinduism are henotheistic which mean they worship a single deity known as ‘Brahman’

c. Hindu believe in the doctrines of sansara (the continous cycle of life,death and reincarnation) and Karma [the universal law of cause and effect]

d. Most impt ward of Hinduism is ‘Atman’ or the belief in the soul.

e. Goal is to achieve Moksha which ends the cycle of rebirth to becvome part of the absoulte soul.

Hinduism Symbols

There are two symbols associated with Hinduism, one is OM and other is SWASTIKA. The word SWASTIKA mean ‘good fortune’ or ‘being happy’.OM is composed of three sanskrit letters and represent three sounds [a,u and m].

Hinduism Holy Book

The primary sacred texts, known as vedas were composed around 1500 BC. Vedas were the collection of verses and hymns which were written in sanskrit.The vedas composed of ;
Rig veda, Sama veda, Ayurveda, A thar veda, The Upnishads, the Bhagawad Gita, Ramayans and Mahabharta are also considered important texts in Hinduism.
Hinduism has no founder but compilation of of various beliefs. Hinduism contains various doctrines like Dharma, Karma, Moksha. One fundamental principle of Hinduism is ‘as you sow, as you reap’ i.e. people’s action and thoughts directly determine their current life and future life. Major goal of Hinduism is to achieve ‘Moksha’, which ends the cycle of rebirths to became part of absolute soul. Make your soul pure, do your Karma in good faith and follow path of dharma, then you will definitely achieve moksha.