What Are the Four Goals of Human Life in Hinduism?
Originally just a name for a part of India, Hinduism has become its own religion representing a set of traditions, beliefs and practices that can be summed up in four main parts. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha embody the goals and meaning of human life in Hinduism. Understanding these four concepts lead to a better understanding of the Hindu religion.
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Dharma
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Dharma, roughly translated, is the code of how each person should live day to day. A person's dharma changes depending on status and their age. There are three levels of dharma: one with the spiritual world and the universe, one with the society immediately around an individual and one with oneself. Hinduism suggests that only through reading sacred texts can one understand their own dharma.
Artha
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Artha simply means wealth, and the pursuit of it through legal means. While Hinduism recognizes the need for wealth in order to carry out one's dharma, it also is important to note that one should obtain wealth to enable others and help them grow, not for personal gain or satisfaction. Artha is considered the second-most important objective in one's life, behind dharma.
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Kama
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In the big picture, kama means desire, but for most purposes, it means sexual desire. However, unlike most religions, Hinduism sees kama as either a great liberator or a great hindrance in one's path toward moksha. In Hinduism, sexual activity is meant to be for procreation and the perpetuation of a family and a social order, and not for personal pleasure. Like artha, kama is meant to be viewed as means of helping other, not oneself.
Moksha
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Moksha is the ultimate liberation from desire and the highest existence a human can reach. Obtaining moksha is considered enlightenment and freedom from delusion and a need for anything. There are four paths toward moksha: knowledge, action, devotion and renunciation.
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