Dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa

Dharma (religion; discharge of religious duties), artha (economic development), kāma (regulated sense enjoyment) and mokṣa (liberation) are four objects and goals of a human society. They are collectively called caturvarga (four paths). They are described in detail below.

Dharma

Dharma means religious principles, divine laws and refers to (1) varnāśrama dharma (the practice of religious duties in the Vedic social system) and (2) sanātana-dharma (nitya-dharma – eternal religion) or bhagavat-dharma. Dharmam tu sākṣād bhagavat-pranītam – true religious principles are given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are also specific religious practices for each of the four ages, called yuga-dharma.

1. (1) varnāśrama dharma: The duties in the Varnāśrama social system are laid down in various Vedic scriptures such as Manu-Saṃhitā. They are ultimately meant to regulate people's activities so that they can make spiritual progress. In each of the four varnas (social classes – brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaisya, Śūdra) and the four āśramas (stages of life – brahmacarya, gṛhasta, vānaprasta, sannyāsa), people have different duties to perform. When the members of the Varnāśrama system perform their respective duties, it benefits society as a whole as well as the individual: Peace, order and prosperity for all and purification of consciousness, spiritual upliftment for the individual, depending on how resolutely he follows the instructions of the scriptures.
2. (2) nitya-dharma: According to their innermost nature, all living beings are tiny parts of the Supreme Lord and they are His servants. This is their dharma. Identifications of living beings with their respective bodies are manifestations of the influence of the three modes sattva, rajas and tamas. In the human form of life, the living being, the spiritual soul has the opportunity to realise that it is not identical with the body but is of a spiritual nature. Trapped in various notions related to the body and having nothing to do with sanātana-dharma, people think “I am German”, “I am Indian”, “I am Christian”, “I am Muslim”, “I am Jewish”, etc., and do not understand their true nature as eternal servants of the Supreme Lord. People who are established in sanātana-dharma attain liberation from all misconceptions, happiness, fearlessness and love for the Supreme Lord by engaging in His devotional service through the nine processes of bhakti-yoga.

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.19.27) the Supreme Lord explains what true religious principles, true knowledge, true detachment and true opulence are:

“True religious principles are those that lead one to My devotional service; true knowledge is the consciousness that reveals My all-pervading Presence; true detachment is complete disinterest in the objects of material sense gratification; and true opulence consists in the eight mystical perfections (anima-siddhi, etc.).”

In a lecture, Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami gives interesting and insightful explanations on the subject of dharma. He describes three or four types of dharma: nitya-dharma, naimittika-dharma, anitya-dharma and kaitava-dharma.

artha

Following dharma in the Vedic social system and pious actions lead to artha, economic development, improvement in living conditions, wealth, prestige, etc. in this life or the next.² People anchored in sanātana-dharma are not interested in artha, kāma and mokṣa.

kāma

Through economic development, improvement of living conditions, wealth, prestige, etc., one attains kāma, sense enjoyment or satisfaction of the senses. There are also rules or regulations for the enjoyment of the senses. Failure to follow these regulations leads to degradation, i.e., if one gratifies one's senses according to one's whim and violates all the regulations of the scriptures, one is sure to find oneself in misery sooner or later.

mokṣa

When one gets tired of sensual pleasure because one realises that one is not really happy through it or when one cannot satisfy sensual desires for some reason, one may strive for mokṣa, liberation, salvation. Then one indulges in severe asceticism to become forever free from suffering and the pursuit of happiness. Or one may think that when one has no more cravings at all, one is happy. But that's a mistake – you could just as easily become a stone. The desire to have no desires at all is itself a desire.

Those who are engaged in sanātana-dharma automatically attain artha, kāma and mokṣa, although they are not at all interested in them. One should unreservedly engage oneself uninterruptedly in the service of the Supreme Lord – without seeking material benefits – then one will get all that one needs to live; one will be happy and, after leaving the body, will enter the kingdom of God.

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.149 it is said:

“Because a devotee of Kṛṣṇa is desireless, he is peaceful. Karmis (those who strive for the fruits of their labour) desire material enjoyment, jñānis (those who strive for liberation from the cycle of birth and death) desire liberation, and yogis (those who strive for mystical powers) desire power over matter and therefore they are lustful and cannot attain peace.”

In Bhagavad-gītā 9.22 the Supreme Lord says:

“But to those who worship Me with devotion and meditate on My transcendental form, I give what they need and preserve what they have.”

Mokṣa or mukti is not the solution to all an individual's problems. Buddhists and other impersonalists strive for that, and unintelligent people believe that everything is over with death – so why strive for liberation? That is why it is said in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.150:

“O great sage, among many millions of materially liberated persons and among many millions of siddhas who have almost attained perfection, there is hardly one pure devotee of Narayana. Only such a devotee is really completely satisfied and peaceful.”

Conclusion

Sanātana-dharma, or to be engaged in the loving service of the Supreme Lord, is actually the goal of dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. People who perform their duties in varnāśrama-dharma to satisfy Viṣṇu are on the right path and will eventually come to the level of sanātana-dharma, where the rules of varnāśrama-dharma no longer have any meaning for them. People who follow the rules of varnāśrama-dharma for the sake of material benefits deceive themselves and they will eventually fall down from their position. People who follow no rules at all, disregard the Vedic scriptures and have no interest in spiritual progress are called dvipāda-paśus (two-legged animals) in the Śāstras (the revealed Vedic scriptures), and in the third mantra of the Sri Isopanisad they are called ātmā-hā, “murderers of the soul”.

In the kali-yuga, the present age, the mass of people are ignorant of their spiritual nature, the Vedic scriptures and of what bestows eternal happiness and freedom; varnāśrama-dharma is virtually unknown to them and people strive mainly for material happiness; those who consider themselves religious and follow some “ism" disregard the Vedic scriptures and the Personality of Godhead and are therefore no better than ordinary hedonists.

In Bhagavad-Gītā the Supreme Lord says:

The Supreme Lord appeared in the form of Śrī Caitanya in Navadvipa, Bengal, about 500 years ago. He descended from His eternal realm to teach sanātana-dharma
(see: Yuga-dharma – Religion in the 4 Ages).

Footnotes

¹ An Indian dish consisting of rice, dhal, ghee and other ingredients.

² Attainment of artha and kama in the same lifetime is unfortunately less and less possible in the Kali-yuga, the present age, as time progresses. Since in the Kali Yuga many things are upside down, many things are wrong, in this time wealth and sense enjoyments are obtained rather by deceit, rather by irreligious actions. The fruits of pious actions, however, will certainly be obtained in the next life.