Talk:Puruṣārtha

correct order of four aims of life

Previously the article noted Kāma - "sensual pleasure, eros", before the other aims of life. This makes it appear that the primary aim in the life of a Hindu is sensual pleasure. This is not so. Hindu scriptures do not list the aims of life in this way. The correct order of the aims of life is as it is in the article now. It seems that Kāma - "sensual pleasure, eros" was mentioned first with malicious intent and to bring disrepute to Hindus. The correct order is found in the article itself, Dharma occupies the first place in the four categories of human goals, because the pursuit of security, artha, and pleasures, kama, need to be governed by ethical standards. Artha, striving for security, comes second, because it is the foremost desire of everyone. Everyone is obedient under the doctor's scalpel precisely because everyone wants to live. Granted life, one then wants to be happy, to pursue pleasures, kama. I want to live and live happily; and both pursuits, the struggle for security and the search for pleasure, must be governed by ethics. The last category is the goal of liberation, moksa, ranked last because it becomes a direct pursuit only when one has realized the limitations inherent in the first three pursuits. This is the correct order of the aims of life and I hope that it will be allowed to remain in the correct order.Civilizededucation (talk) 07:45, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

Dear IP, I think I have got myself misunderstood. When I said correct order of four aims of life, I meant "correct order of four aims of life according to the Hindu concept of Purusartha" and not in general. Since Purusartha is the subject matter of this article, I thought that it would be obvious. Anyway, I have clarified my explanation. You can also discuss the changes you want on this talk page.Civilizededucation (talk) 15:19, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Saraswati Quotation

I'm relocating this quote here until the article is sufficiently developed to handle it. --Aryaman (talk) 14:29, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Dayananda_Saraswati_(Chinmaya_Mission) explains the concept as follows:

"Dharma occupies the first place in the four categories of human goals, because the pursuit of security, artha, and pleasures, kama, need to be governed by ethical standards. Artha, striving for security, comes second, because it is the foremost desire of everyone. Everyone is obedient under the doctor's scalpel precisely because everyone wants to live. Granted life, one then wants to be happy, to pursue pleasures, kama. I want to live and live happily; and both pursuits, the struggle for security and the search for pleasure, must be governed by ethics. The last category is the goal of liberation, moksa, ranked last because it becomes a direct pursuit only when one has realized the limitations inherent in the first three pursuits."

References

Speculation

There is a lot of pure, organization speculation in this article that should be cleaned up, organized, and cross-checked. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Akhipill (talk • contribs) 19:38, 8 May 2012 (UTC)