A life with four aims
Hindu tradition does not ask people to choose between worldly life and spiritual life. It names four purusharthas — "aims of a person" — and treats all four as legitimate: dharma (right conduct and duty), artha (wealth, security and worldly success), kama (pleasure, love and the enjoyment of life) and moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). Texts from the Dharmashastras to the Mahabharata discuss them, and the Kamasutra and Arthashastra were written as manuals for two of them.
The four, one by one
- Dharma: what upholds — one's duties to family, society, nature and God, and living with truth, non-harm and fairness. It changes with one's stage of life and situation (svadharma), which is why the Gita insists on doing one's own duty well.
- Artha: earning, building, providing — a household, a livelihood, a kingdom. Poverty is not treated as a virtue; supporting one's dependants is a duty.
- Kama: love, beauty, art, family life, food, music — the pleasures that make life worth living. Kama is honoured, not condemned, as long as it is within dharma.
- Moksha: freedom from the cycle of rebirth, realisation of the Self — the aim that, in most schools, finally fulfils and goes beyond the other three.
Why dharma comes first
The classic formulation is that artha and kama are to be pursued within dharma. Wealth earned by cheating, or pleasure that harms others, defeats its own purpose. Dharma is the riverbank; artha and kama are the water that flows between; moksha is the ocean the river reaches. That is why lists usually say "dharma, artha, kama, moksha" in that order.
The four ashramas
The traditional stages of life map loosely onto the aims:
- Brahmacharya (student): learning dharma.
- Grihastha (householder): artha and kama within dharma — the stage that supports all the others.
- Vanaprastha (retiring): handing over, turning inward.
- Sannyasa (renunciation): moksha as the whole focus.
Frequently asked questions
What are the four purusharthas?
Dharma (righteousness and duty), artha (wealth and security), kama (pleasure and love) and moksha (liberation).
Is desire (kama) considered bad in Hinduism?
No. Kama is one of the four legitimate aims of life, as long as it is pursued within dharma.
Which purushartha is the most important?
Moksha is usually called the highest aim, but dharma is the foundation without which the others go wrong.
What is svadharma?
One's own duty according to one's nature, stage of life and situation — the Gita's emphasis on doing one's own dharma well.
How do the purusharthas relate to the four ashramas?
Broadly: student life learns dharma, householder life pursues artha and kama within dharma, and the later stages turn toward moksha.