The Hindu Civilization has a past of many millennia. Kingdoms have come and gone. Rivers have changed course and become extinct. Seas have encroached land and Mountains have risen. Many aspects of our Civilization have changed. Every 200 years temple architecture changes at its outer level without changing its inner core. Forms of expression have changed. New influences absorbed and some old discarded. Yet, in the midst of all this the Hindu Civilization has seen a Sanatana flow of its essence. How do we characterize that Sanatana Flow? There are many centres to the Civilization - the perspective of Purushartha is one of them. At the level of an individual, the perspective of the Purushartha has remained unchanged. This is not a matter of chance, for many aspects of our Civilization stand on the meaningful composition of the Purushartha.

It is unlikely that most Hindus ever study a treatise on the Purusharthas. Yet, most people will be able to list the Purusharthas and their meaning/purpose at a certain level. We have an intuitive appreciation of it. That people do not study the Purusharthas is not any weakness of our Civilization rather the strength. It is accessible to people through their immersion in society. They hear it from their grandparents. The scholarly and elderly discourse around tells them about the Purusharthas all the time. The terms are integrated into daily life conversations. Over a period of time, without knowing the perspective seeps into us unconsciously. Or so it was until recently. The challenge we face in the 21st century is of a different order. There is a lot we have to do to make it seamlessly accessible for future generations. But we shall come to that later.

The essence of Purushartha

Why has the Purushartha remained a Civilizational constant? Before answering this question let us understand the Purusharthas a little better.

1. Kama - All our desires, fascinations and pleasure put together.
2. Artha - All that provides security, meaning and anchor to our lives.
3. Dharma - That which balances everything out.
4. Moksha - The ultimate state of Liberation from everything else.

This may look like a simplistic flat list, but that is not so. The interrelationship between them is complex and one that reflects realities of life.

1. Artha and Kama require resources. Since resources are limited, their pursuit by different people/communities/countries/civilizations often clash with each other.
2. We need a philosophy and framework to resolve these clashes and conflicts, and balance out everything in life.

Dharma is that philosophy and framework. Life is a pursuit of Dharma. In other words, life is nothing but Dharmikataa. Our civilization has recognized that determining what is Dharma in many situations is not trivial. Hence, much in our literature is about this pursuit that serves as a guiding light for us to till this date. We have a fundamental responsibility to preserve it, protect it and pass it onto the future. In addition, we have the onerous responsibility of nurturing it and promoting it, as well.

Our Civilization has also realized that there is something beyond Dharma without the pursuit of which even Dharma becomes impossible. That is the pursuit of Moksha. If there is no sense of renunciation, liberation, finding a balance - in the midst of immense pursuit of Artha, Kama - becomes impossible. At some point, we will drift towards Adharma. Much more in our literature and in our practice is about the pursuit of Moksha, that creates a capacity for Dharma which in turn creates an equitable opportunity for everybody to fulfill their desires and fascinations.

Thus, the Purushartha framework is a guiding framework for maximizing Artha and Kama of the entire world, rather than that of individuals. We seek as much Artha, Kama so that it does not take away their balanced pursuit by others as well. The beauty of this framework is that it is intelligible, comprehensible by all. It is simple. It builds empathy and a sense of togetherness in the society.

Challenge in the Pursuit of Purushartha

For millennia, we never suffered a challenge to the framework of Purushartha. We suffered many physical assaults, our cities were ravaged, temples razed to the ground. But our societies were shaped and driven by the pursuit of Purushartha. For, our education systems and community life - two fundamental ways in which knowledge is transferred from generation to generation - did not suffer a foundational assault. Hence, we could constantly make defining comebacks. However, this changed significantly during the British colonial period and Modernity. The consequence of all of this is that

• Our trust in the achievability and purposefulness of Moksha has weakened
• Our understanding of Dharma is blurred. For decades we mistook it for religion and many continue to do so

Naturally, Artha and Kama have become our main pursuit. We have lost those ways in which our pursuit of Moksha and Dharma reshaped Artha and Kama pursuit. Our challenge is to regain this faith in Dharma and Moksha, and reimagine our pursuit of Artha and Kama. Otherwise, we will be absorbed into the larger narrative of the Western Civilization.

Purushartha as the Gateway to our Ontology

Purushartha is also our entry point to understand our Civilization better and strengthen it further. It has not been envisioned in isolation. Entire Bharateeya Santana Parampara finds its reflection in the Purushartha-s. The entire web of Bharateeya Concepts can be understood through the Purusharthas. It is both a performative framework and a pedagogical instrument at once.

We must recognize that the Purusharthas have a strong relationship with Srishti-Sthiti-Laya - our foundational Ontology. Srishti is realized by Artha and Kama. Sthiti is represented by Moksha. Srishti’s subordination to Sthiti is represented by Artha and Kama being guided by Dharma. Dharma being guided by Moksha and Moksha’s relationship with Sthiti reveals another foundational concept of our Civilization - Rta - the universal principles of Cosmic order. Together - Dharma-Rta-Sthiti are powerful enough to explain everything single thing in the Civilization. Karma is that collective of actions that enables the Purushartha pursuit. Karma aligns Artha & Kama with Dharma, results in Srishti being in the path of Sthiti, strengthens Dharma and opens up those paths for Moksha.

Purushartha also explains the Community life of Bharatavarsha. The pursuit of Purushartha becomes impossible for an individual in isolation. A shared community vision that binds all aspects of material and spiritual life together is required for the right pursuit of Purushartha. That, in turn, also explains why there is so much diversity in India. Since much of life is within the Community, the Rajadharma of Bharatavarsha focused on Security, Justice and maintaining the order of this Community life. Thus, the entire statecraft of Bharatavarsha is uniquely aligned with the Purushartha perspective. If we continue further, we can establish that every single aspect of our Civilization was well aligned for the individual and the community to efficiently pursue their Purushartha together.

The Future of Purushartha

If Purushartha is our Civilizational constant - it is fair to ask ourselves if our modern life is organized in its favour or otherwise. If not, how do we reorganize modern life to favour the pursuit of Purushartha.

It is important to note that the relationship between the Individual and the Community, strong and tight, was central for our pursuit of Purushartha. Modernity is rooting for a looser community and greater individualism ideologically. The Industrial dynamic further seeks the same gap between them so that individuals move from one industrial reality to another. In summary, the Industrial entities have assumed that critical space in our lives which earlier belonged to the Community. As a consequence, it is fair to ask the question - can modern industrial entities and modern institutions have their own Purusharthas? In this way, the Purushartha of the individual would then be the function of family, community and modern institutions with which they are associated.

Today, our institutions do not have an articulated vision of Purusharthas of their own. They are fundamentally drawn from the modern secular world which in turn is the cultural dynamic of the western world with roots in their ‘religious’ culture. They are not religion independent as we incorrectly seek to understand them. Hence, it is time to re-imagine our modern institutions with their own Purushartha vision. That would be a first step in their reconfiguration and realignment towards the natural civilizational flow of Bharatavarsha.

Image source: Hindu website