The Purushartha's, or the Four Goals of Life, are the primary areas where we seek to fulfill our lives. In this short essay I share with you some of my thoughts on these goals. If you would like to learn more about them, their foundations in Hindu Philosophy, and ways to work with them please check out my book 'The Four Goals of Life - A Survival Guide to the Kali Yuga'. It can be found on Amazon as both Kindle or paperback. 

We pursue each of these goals throughout our lives. The goals we haven’t yet accomplished will impact our success in achieving the other goals now, as well as carry on with us into future lifetimes. Putting our conscious attention on the attainment of our goals allows us to understand where our work is.

They interact with each other and are interdependent and mutually inclusive. For example: If you are not achieving your goals for Artha (wealth) it may be a result of not following your purpose in life (Dharma) or because you are making poor relationship choices (Kama).

It is difficult to put our attention on Self-Realization (Moksha) when challenges managing goals regarding our life purpose keep us focused on the satisfaction of basic needs. By keeping our perspective open to noticing where we are out of balance, we find that we are better able to keep life in perspective.

Sri Yashpal Singh said: "We should soar in this world like a bird whose body is made up of Dharma or principles, and who moves toward the spiritual goal of Moksha or Liberation by balanced use of the two wings of Artha (monetary pursuits) and Kama (emotional and social pursuits).

We live in a universe formed by objects and relationships in which we eternal beings, are moving about in temporary bodies. We have forgotten that our true nature is Divine and that we are, as manifestations from the creative mind of Brahma, eternal. We have become deluded by the sensory world, we’ve forgotten our True Nature, and we have come to identify ourselves with the temporary world in which we reside. 

We are here in this world, at this moment in time, to wake up to that which we are – drops of water in the Ocean of Mercy. Just as a drop taken from the ocean is still purely ocean, but not The Ocean, we are drops of pure Divinity, but not the entirety of what is Divine.

When we are fooled into believing that we are the entire Ocean, or forget that we already are pure Ocean, we are caught in the intertwining web of maya – illusion, and moha – confusion. 

Our path forward is found when we lead a balanced life with an ultimate goal. One way in which Sanatana Dharma suggests we accomplish this is through the achievement of the purusharthas – the four goals of life. Goals are necessary in every aspect of our lives. As Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Swamiji) teaches us we must always keep our "goals" in mind so that when we "wander off” into confusion, or get stuck in delusion, our regular practice will bring us back to wholeness.

Then refreshed and revitalized, we again go into the world.” Swamiji says: "without a goal, we become part of someone else's plan." 

Let’s consider that Dharma is what we do in life, Artha is your resources, Kama is your desires, and Moksha is freedom from separation and the ties that bind us to this life.

Our Dharma is very much about our relationship to ourselves and our role in the world. What are we known for? What career have we chosen? Are we trustworthy, efficient, and do we take care of our physical body and surroundings? Dharma is what we do in the world; thus, it includes our work, our families, and all of our other activities. Dharma also includes our internal motivators such as integrity, drive, compassion, and ethics. It is our heritage and the circumstances of our lives. 

Unless we begin by addressing our purpose in life from a perspective where we consider our Dharma, little else in our experience will produce the fruits of our effort. We must be willing and committed to follow our Dharma. When we are prevented from following our Dharma, we find it difficult to encourage others to follow theirs; or we may be compelled to encourage them to follow ours. If we don’t follow our Dharma, we will often live with the feeling that something is “missing” from our lives. 

The next goal for us to achieve is Artha. What is Artha? Artha is the attainment of the resources necessary in order to fulfill our Dharma. It includes all that we have and everything that is available to us. We might think of Artha as wealth, but it also includes our goals. 

While money is generally the first thing that comes to mind when we consider wealth, we might also consider our unique gifts & talents, education, associations, property, motivations, and all of the other resources we possess. 

The resources of Artha and the accumulation of wealth provide us with the ability to devote ourselves to the pursuits of the other goals. Without Artha it would be difficult to satisfy any of them. 

In the physical world it is necessary to have resources available in order to care for our families and other responsibilities. If we are having difficulty acquiring the means for our survival it is impossible to grow & flourish. Money is one such resource that provides us with the freedom to explore our possibilities. 

Having our needs satisfied means that we are not caught in a cycle of continuous need, or to be forever seeking to fulfill those needs. This cycle prevents us from resting in the realization that everything is available to us, which is the only way in which we can truly achieve satisfaction of our desires.

Kama is the third goal in life and many people often associate it with desire and sexual activities.

While these certainly are aspects of Kama, in actuality Kama is everything that we might want or desire; which can include all sorts of things. 

Kama – to desire, includes Dharma – the desire to do what is ours to do, Artha – the desire to have what we want, and Moksha – the desire to know who we are. It is at the foundation of why we do anything in life, for without desire we often remain stuck in ignorance and apathy. 

Unrequited desire is what keeps us looped in this cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Our desires must be met, that is a principle within the nature of karma. A desire, by its very nature implies that there must be fulfillment of it in some form; just as every action carries within it a result. 

Reincarnation, the rebirth of the Soul into another physical form, is intimately connected to Kama. It is desire that keep us embodied, returning life after life. 

Kama offers us an exploration into the opposites in life. It bridges the gap between have and have not and is always looking outside of itself for answers. As part of the bridge between Dharma and Moksha, Kama is what leads us to seek a life of greater experience than that which we have previously known. But Kama is also that which keeps us separate.

Its very nature insists that there is something outside of us, something to attain, something more than whom we are or what we have.

Perhaps desire is simply a part of our nature. Do we ever do anything that is free from desire? As physically embodied souls we are Beings of Desire. Understanding this allows us to begin noticing which desires we are choosing to cling to. Our desires can be extremely strong and compelling; for most of us our task lies in learning to desire in appropriate ways. 

The fourth goal in life is Moksha, and it is our ultimate goal in life. Moksha is the process of rediscovering the truth of our being and returning to a remembrance of the Self. By this I mean the Self with a capital “S”, the Self that is ever present, never changing, in all places, all the time. It is this goal of transcendence that carries us through the world of objects and their relationships into the understanding that there is only One of us here; one Self, one Life, one Existence. 

We often think of Moksha as enlightenment but how would we define that so as to know when we are having the experience? Wikipedia defines it as “a final blessed state free from ignorance, desire and suffering.” Since these states (ignorance, desire, and suffering) are all transient then Moksha must refer to a state where we are no longer influenced by maya and moha.

Is it even possible to achieve Moksha while still a jiva, or embodied soul? What does it mean to be enlightened while in a physical body? 

It is finding balance between caring for our body as a vehicle for our soul, while at the same time maintaining an attitude of being in the world but not of the world. It requires making choices which will lead us to our goal of liberation, rather than choices which will carve ever deeper samskaras into our consciousness. 

Enlightenment in the physical body implies that we recognize ourselves as part of a larger system, understanding that we are not separate from the world we live in. When we make our choices based upon whether they will lead us to our goals we are better prepared to create a life that is joyful, loving, purposeful, and prosperous.

Everyone has a purpose in life and a unique talent to give. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exaltation of our own Spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.