पुरुषार्थ (puruṣārtha – Soul’s purpose)
Etymologically the term पुरुषार्थ (puruśārtha – soul’s
objective) is derived from the
Sanskrit words – पुरुष (puruṣa - soul) & अर्थ (artha - purpose). According to Hindu wisdom, as articulated in
various scriptures, following are traditionally the चतुर् वर्ग (catur-varga –four-fold classification) of critical objectives driving soul’s aspirations.
Please be noted that here the term पुरुष (puruṣa -self) is not restricted to an anthropocentric meaning
(i..e.,mankind alone), but is used in a more broader sense to include
every individual जीवात्मन् (jīvātma - embodied
soul). Each such soul,
ultimately, as Swami Vivekananda used to say, every soul has “to seek, to strive, to find, to conquer and not
to yield.” for achieving these four objectives
during its lifetime.
Etymologically, the term काम (kāma) means desire. The basic physiological needs of mankind
including the urge (strong desire) to live, sustain, grow and procreate, can be
considered under this group as they are predominantly triggered by natural
biological instincts for survival, which are not specific to human species
alone but universally applicable to all forms of life – a fact well
re-established by the famous Darwinian theory of evolution.
Well, you may be wondering as to in what way such needs are
related to religion.In other words, why have the Hindu sages, included it under
the domain of religion. Well, the answer is very simple and straight forward.
Religion is one of the basic expressions of man’s instinctual objectives a
fact endorsed even by modern modern psychological researches on
religion shared by eminent subject matter experts like Sigmund Freud,
according to whom, Religion is an attempt
to get control over the sensory world, in which we are placed, by means of the
wish-world, which we have developed inside us as a result of biological and psychological
necessities. But while this is true,
before proceeding further, I would like to warn you, with a word of
caution, not to get mislead by the term काम (kāma), from a very restricted sense of sexual lust alone.
Although sexual or sensual desire is one of the basic instincts of life, here
the term is used in a broader perspective of इच्च शक्ति (icca śakti –will power) of the self to
manifest and exist, Thus, the term काम (kāma - desire) here is more in conjunction with the famous
Cartesian स्ंकल्प (saṁkalpa -volitional determination) - Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I
exist). In
ontological terms of शैव सिद्धान्त दर्शन (śaiva siddhānta darśana), it represents the आणव मल (āṇava mala - ego fetters) attached to the जीवात्मन् (jīvātma
- embodied soul), responsible for driving these passions.
Interestingly, from a functional perspective, this ancient
hierarchical model can be mapped with the modern version of hierarchy of needs
based on functional classifications), originally proposed by Abraham Maslow
But please remember that, any such hierarchical models
including the ones discussed here are only a logical categorization of the
needs for practical epistemological reasons and hence do not have rigid water
tight compartments as explained by Maslow himself, “We have spoken so far as if this hierarchy
were a fixed order but actually it is not nearly as rigid as we may have
implied. It is true that most of the people with whom we have worked have
seemed to have these basic needs in about the order that has been indicated.
However, there have been a number of exceptions.”
काम (kāma - desire) would remain mere abstract wish-thinking,
unless acted upon (implemented). In order to satiate his existential needs
discussed above, each soul resorts to the next level of goals viz. acquisition
of sufficient wealth in order to equip himself (economically,
materially, intellectually etc.) for comfortably securing him, not only
his basic requirements including food, clothing and shelter, but all his other
desires as well. In fact, the renowned saint poet ஔவையார் (owvaiyaar), very categorically recommends each soul to embark on such a
pursuits for wealth.
திரை கடல் ஓடியும் திரவியம் தேடு
(
thirai katal Odiyum dhiraviyam thEdu
Seek for wealth even at the cost of crossing the oceans
)
ஆத்திச்சூடி (āththiccūḍi)
I would like to warn here also, please be informed that the term
wealth here is not confined to a mere financial sense of the word alone.
It is used in a more more holistic scope by including provision for all kinds
of infrastructures. Again the term infrastructure is
used in its etymological context viz. “The installations that form the basis for any operation or system”.
A simple analogy from the corporate world, would help us
understand this concept better. While काम (kāma - desire) represents the business vision and goals, the अर्थ (artha – utility) aspect focuses on the mission aspect of devising implementation strategies for realizing those visions comfortably. Any commercial
enterprise, in order to run its business, needs the following kinds of base
infrastructures, generally called as the 5M’s viz.: money, men, materials,
machines & methods. Without these ingredients no business vision can be
materialized. The same logic can be extended to the wider concept of
soul’s sustenance as well - our topic of discussion here. Thus,
the act of acquiring the same becomes a pre-requisite pursuits of life. Only
to emphasize the role and significance of wealth in one’s life, the
ancient poet திருவள்ளுவர் (thiruvaḻḻuvar) declares
அருளில்லார்க்கு அவ்வுலகம் இல்லை பொருளில்லார்க்கு
இவ்வுலகம் இல்லாகி யாங்கு.
இவ்வுலகம் இல்லாகி யாங்கு.
(
aruḻillārkku avvulagam illai
poruḻillārkku
ivvulagam illāgi yāngu
As to impoverished men this present world is
not;
The 'graceless' in you world have neither part nor lot
The 'graceless' in you world have neither part nor lot
) திருக்குறள் (ThirukkuRaL) (247)
Translated by Shuddhananda Bharatiar
In Darwinian terms, the world is a cutthroat battle- field,
wherein only the fittest can manage to adapt, survive and excel the
competition. Homeostasis is a classic example of physical
organism’s automatic efforts to maintain the metabolic equilibrium in its body,
in order to live. In animal and other lower organisms, अर्थ (artha – utility) gets manifested in more
primitive forms as food gathering, hunting, building of nests and other kinds
of shelter for its survival. In the case of human being, who is more of a
social animal, his aspirations are far more divergent in scope and driven by
the community or social needs. For example, while animals are content with
single home as a shelter, humans may not be contented with a basic house foe
his shelter, he would like to acquire more than one house property – which is
considered a symbol of wealth and prosperity in the society. In the words of
Maslow, “All people in our
society (with a few pathological exceptions) have a need or desire for a
stable, firmly based, (usually) high evaluation of themselves, for
self-respect, or self-esteem, and for the esteem of others. By firmly based
self-esteem, we mean that which is soundly based upon real capacity,
achievement and respect from others”.
Again in terms of ontology of சைவ சித்தாந்தம் (saiva siddhāntam), at a micro-cosmic perspective, continuous
pursuit for implementation (action) can be mapped to the कर्म मल (karma mala - action fetters), triggered by अहंभाव (ahaṁbhāva- self esteem), while at macro-cosmic scale,
such perennial activity is referred as क्रिया शक्ति (kriyā śakti), which is a recursively process in the संसार चक्र (saṁsāra cakra - phenominal cycle). An undeniable fact, testified by Lord Jesus, Himself,
(My Father has never
ceased to work and I am working too)
[The Holy Bible – Gospel of John -5:17]
If the above two
pursuits are left to themselves uncontrolled, then selfishness, greed and
beastly race of survival of the fittest, would eventually lead to chaotic
anarchy where only the savage laws fo the jungle works. This is where, in any
organised , the relevance of dharma - organised
governance (physical, political, economic, cultural etc.) driven by moral
standards, becomes indispensable for holistic and effective
cultural growth not only at an individual level but also at all the level of
the collective consciousness – family, corporation, city, country etc
Please remember that laws of धर्म (dharma - righteousness) not only starts but also ends
with nature – in fact, mother nature is one of the greatest law enforcers.
Every thing in this Universe – be it animate or in-animate, natural or man made
is bound by her omnipotent laws. For example, the entire universe is
driven by physical laws of nature (many of which have already been discovered
by science) including gravity, electricity, velocity etc. Again, all actions
are bound by the laws of causation, as established in the कर्म वाद (karma vāda – doctrine of fate) theory,
While such natural laws are universally applicable,
customized or self made laws are more prevalent among the advanced
organisms in the evolutionary hierarchy. For example mankind has been devising
various kinds of socio-political laws for better governance and
control. Moreover, able consciousness governance is one of the key yard
sticks for measuring the level of progress and maturity in a society –
community, country, company etc.
In fact, religion is one of the highest expressions of धर्म (dharma - righteousness), and that is why in the language of the ancient
Hindu sages religion is called सनाथन धर्म
(sanāthana dharma –
eternal laws or principles). As
prescribed by all religions in the form of regulatory guidelines – do’s and
don’t’s every individual can carry on with his passional or materialistic
pursuits via thoughts, words or deeds as long as they are bound by the moral
laws of individual and collective conscience. The ब्राह्मण (brāhmaṇa) texts like शतपथ ब्राह्मण (śatapatha brāhmaṇa), धर्म शास्त्र (dharma śāstra) text like मनुस्मृति (manusmṛti), अपस्तंब सूत्र (āpastamba
sūtra), अर्थ शास्त्र (artha śāstra)
The Ten Commandments laid down by Mosses and the eight fold
Golden path prescribed by Gautama Buddha are similar codes of conducts from
Judaism & Buddhism respectively, highlighting the principles of धर्म (dharma - righteousness).
Compliance to such धर्म (dharma-
righteousness) is mandatory
pre-requisite in qualifying oneself for experiencing higher
realms of spiritual consciousness. In fact, most of the religious
rituals are kind of self cleansing processes to set the stage for
man’s spiritual progress. Thus, we find that there are numerous such
religious practices that give tremendous strength and will power.
Faith helps us to move mountains. God gives man the much needed courage and
will power to progressively ascend the spiritual ladder.
Another major benefit of man’s faith in God and religion is the
belief in the concept of “Rewards
and Punishments”. A person who believes
in the universal ruler wants to enter the good books of Him. He feels that
every thought word and deed of him is closely watched and monitored by his
Highness and accordingly rewards those who indulge in good activities while
punishing those indulging in evil or wicked practices – some kind of a Kingdom of God – a governing system. Thus, this God-fearing man is
always in the fear of punishment and thereby tries to discipline himself by
trying to be good. Although fundamentally fear is a negative
attitude, yet to some extent it helps in at least controlling if not completely
remove evil tendencies in man since the general human tendency is that most men
refrain from evil acts not with any great noble intentions, but merely out of
fear of punishment. Let us face the bitter truth, for example most of the
students, (of course there are always some honorable exceptions) do not indulge
in copying in an examination not because of their honesty but merely because of
the fear that they may be caught. Again not all of us are law-abiding citizens,
not for any noble reasons but merely because of fear of punishment. How
many of us are voluntarily ready to pay the taxes, if not for the stringent
regulations and penalties in place.
Man is usually governed by fear. Just as how a government of a
state, controls crime by the ¾÷ÁტÂõ (dharmaraajiyam), enforce धर्म (dharma- righteousness) through his laws of कर्म (karma) – Òñ½¢Âõ, À¡Åõ (puNNiyam, paavam). Thus, many religions
promote such ideas of “Beware!
the Gods are watching you….”
Based on your deeds you shall either be rewarded or be punished. They
deliberately and constantly drive home this message into the hearts of the
people from their childhood and inculcate a sense of fear in them in order to
make them better humans. In fact, probably this is why, the great French
revolutionary poet Voltaire sings,
If the heavens, stripped of his noble imprint,
Could ever cease to attest to his being,
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
Let the wise man announce him and kings fear him.
Kings, if you oppress me, if your eminencies disdain
The tears of the innocent that you cause to flow,
Such, at least, is the fruit of a
useful creed.
For example, the beautiful concept of स्वर्ग (svarga – heaven) and नरक (naraka – hell, based on the कर्म (karma - fate) of a person, his after-life is determined
– he will be either in the luxury of स्वर्ग (svarga – heaven) or thrown into नरक (naraka – hell). There is Mr. चित्रगुप्त (citragupta) – the trusted officer of the यमधर्मराज (yamadharmarāja – lord of death), who very carefully tracks the conducts and
actions of each and every individual and prepares a balance sheet of his कर्म (karma - fate), based on which, the “after life“of the individual. There are also lots of parables, fables,
stories in the scriptures like the गरुड पुराण (garuḍa purāṇa), The Gospel of John – (Holy Bible) which promote such moral fears.
The furious and frightening forms of Hindu देवत (devata - deities) including बध्र कालि (badhra kāli) , भैरवि (bhairavi), नरशिम्म (naraśimma), सरेबेश्वर (sarebeśvara), रुद्र (rudra) etc., are direct indication of man’s fear concept –
kind of warning to potential sinners and wrong doers to refrain from such
actios else face the wrath (dire consequeces of eternal condemnation and
punishment) of the furious Gods.
Ancient वेद मन्त्र (veda mantra) like श्री रुद्रम śrī rudram) containing नमकम (namakam) and चमकम (camakam) are further testimonies of man’s earnest attempts to pacify their
angry God, praying for His Mercy and forgiveness of their sins.
Thus, we find that in this sense, religion has helped in promoting
what I would say a positive
fear concept driven by the
favoritism of rewards and fear of punishment aspect. However, please be informed that, such fear psychosis is not the
only driving force for souls to abide by the laws of dharma although the majority of the average minded souls would fall
in this category.
People who comply with such regulatory recommendations due to
either the convention, convenience or compulsion, would typically fall under
this category. However, there are many evolved souls (perfectionists) adhering
to धर्म (dharma- righteousness) purely based on their passionate conviction for the
same. Mahātma Gandhi, Yudhiśtra, the purānic legend rāja hariścandra, are some such honorable exceptions, who
demonstrated in their life their uncompromising conviction for the principles
of Truth.
வீடு/ मोक्ष (vIdu / mokśa – soteriologial pursuits)
Finally, we come to the highest rung (the summit state) in the hierarchy
of a soul’s needs which is aptly refered by Maslow as the self-actualization (originally termed by Kurt Goldstein) needs. Such needs represent the
ultimate purpose of every religion. Religion plays a key role in
the teleological discovery process of the respective soul,
i.e., a self inquiry into the into ultimate purpose of one’s existence
(manifestation). To quote Swami Vivekananda, “Each soul is potentially Divine… Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man (read soul)” by liberating from the
clutches of māyā. Etymologically, the Sanskrit term mokśa means final emancipation
(end state) and
is synonymous with मुक्ति (mukti - liberation), समाधि (samādhi – atonement), निर्वाण (nirvāṇa- release) and the Greek term 'soteria (salvation)'
Thus, the telos (ultimate purpose) of Life is spiritual salvation which is the realization of God, the अन्तर्यामि ब्राह्मन (antaryāmi brāhmana - inherent Divinity). In philosophical terms, this process is essentially called as the spiritual retreat or home coming – returning of the soul’s after a tiring journey, back to its வீடு (vIdu - hometown). In fact, even etymologically speaking, the very
term धर्म (dharma) which denotes religion in Sanskrit (as discussed
above), is derived from the root word ‘“ध्र’ (dhr), which means “to hold - bind together”. Interestingly, for that matter, the English term ‘religion’, is derived from the
Latin roots “re” which means “again” & “ligare” which means “to
bind back”, thus denoting
“ the art & science of
binding back together with the original source – God”. Such a concept of
the spiritual retreat to the source, is very
beautifully highlighted in the the mystic verses of the eminent
Persian poet and Sufi saint - Jelaluddin
Rumi,
Seeking the Source
a voice out of this world calls on our souls
not to wait anymore get ready to move
to the original home your real home
your real birth place is up here with the heavens
let your soul take a flight like a happy phoenix
you've been tied up your feet in the mud
your body roped to a log break loose your ties
get ready for the final flight
make your last journey from this strange world
soar for the heights where there is no more
separation of you and your home
your body roped to a log break loose your ties
get ready for the final flight
make your last journey from this strange world
soar for the heights where there is no more
separation of you and your home
- by Mevalana Jellauddin Rumi (translated by Nader Khalili)
In response to such a Divine call, every soul would eventually
embark upon a spiritual pilgrimage to return back to its favorite Home sweet Home. and just as in the empirical scenario he
can potentially select one or more of the modes of transport viz. railways,
roadways, waterways or airways, to reach his destination, according to Hindu
wisdom, in the case of the spiritual journey, the pilgrim can take one or more
of the following मार्ग (mārga - modes) viz. भक्ति मार्ग (bhakti mārga – devotional mode), कर्म मार्ग (karmāmārga – service mode), ज्ञान मार्ग (jñāna mārga – knowledge mode)
& ध्यान मार्ग (dhyāna mārga – meditation mode).
Please remember that, in physical travel, there could be varieties
of routes connecting the source and destination and some of these routes each
of these routes could potentially contain a variety of terrains that one has to
cross through (plains, mountains, seas etc.). Moreover, some journeys,
particularly those cutting across terrains, may require multiple modes of
transports.
Similarly, according to Hinduism, in a spiritual journey, the
variety of routes can be compared to different religious belief systems that
one can follow (viz. dvaita,, advaita, vishistadvaita etc) and the terrains correspond to different कोश (kośa – sheaths/realms) of consciousness viz. अन्नमय (annamaya - physical), प्रानमय (prānamaya - vital), मनोमय (manomaya - mental), विञानमय (viñānamaya – intellectual) & आनन्दमय (ānandamaya - bliss)
Again, just as in any physical travel, milestones market between
the source and destination, will help us measure and monitor the progress in
the journey, there are established milestone अवस्था (avasthās - states) in spiritual progress viz. जाग्रत् अवस्था (jāgrat avasthā – waking state), स्वप्न अवस्था (svapna avasthā – dream state), सुषुप्ति अवस्था (suṣupti avasthā – sleep
state) and the तुरिय अवस्था (turiya avasthā – fourth state of
mukthi liberation) and finally the तुरियातित अवस्था (turiyātita avasthā – transcendent
state) of परमानन्दम् (paramānandam - supreme bliss) beyond the तुरिय (turiya – fourth).
The traveler taking the appropriate mode of transport and route to
reach the destination, and after transcending the respective milestone stages,
finally at the end of the journey and depending on the modes of transport and
the routes taken, the traveler reaches the respective destination endpoint
(port of entry). For example, a person trying to return back to Chennai would
land in the appropriate port viz. airport, harbor or railway station or bus
terminus depending on whether he has traveled by flight, ship, train or bus.
Similarly, a spiritual journey could have multiple endpoints (destination
ports). Hinduism, for example, recognizes the following endpoints - viz. वेदान्त (vedānta), सिद्धान्त (siddhānta), नाधान्त (nādhānta), बोघान्त (boghānta), योगान्त (yogānta) & कलान्त (kalānta).
