what is the ultimate aim of a human beings life ?

Question

what should a man strive 4 in his life ? Fame or Money or Salvation or what ?

Answer 1

Purusha means human being and artha means object or objective. Purusharthas means objectives of man. According to Hindu way of life, a man should strive to achieve four chief objectives (Purusharthas) in his life. They are:

1. dharma (righteousness),
2. artha (material wealth),
3. kama (desire) and
4. moksha (salvation).

Every individual in a society is expected to achieve these four objectives and seek fulfillment in his life before departing from here. The concept of Purusharthas clearly establishes the fact that Hinduism does not advocate a life of self negation and hardship, but a life of balance, achievement and fulfillment.

Dharma

Dharma is a very complicated word, for which there is no equivalent word in any other language, including English. Dharma actually means that which upholds this entire creation. It is a Divine law that is inherent and invisible, but responsible for all existence. Dharma exists in all planes, in all aspects and at all levels of creation. In the context of human life, dharma consists of all that an individual undertakes in harmony with Divine expectations and his own inner spiritual aspirations, actions that would ensure order and harmony with in himself and in the environment in which he lives. Since this world is deluded, a human being may not know what is right and what is wrong or what is dharma and what is adharma. Hence he should rely upon the scriptures and adhere to the injunctions contained there in. In short, dharma for a human being means developing divine virtues and performing actions that are in harmony with the divine laws.

Dharma is considered to be the first cardinal aim because it is at the root of everything and upholds everything. For example see what happens when a person amasses wealth without observing dharma or indulges in sexual passion against the social norms or established moral values. Any action performed without observing dharma is bound to bring misery and suffering and delay ones salvation. Hinduism therefore considers it rightly as the first cardinal aim of life.

In ancient India dharmashastras (law books) provided guidance to people in their day to day lives and helped them to adhere to dharma. These law books were written for a particular time frame and are no more relevant to the modern world. The best way to know what is dharma and what is adharma, is to follow the religious scriptures such as the Bhagavad gita and the Upanishads or any other scripture that contains the words of God.

Artha

Artha means wealth. Hinduism recognizes the importance of material wealth for the overall happiness and well being of an individual. A house holder requires wealth, because he has to perform many duties to uphold dharma and ensure the welfare and progress of his family and society. A person may have the intention to uphold the dharma, but if he has no money he would not be able to perform his duties and fulfill his dharma. Hinduism therefore rightly places material wealth as the second most important objective in human life. Lord Vishnu is the best example for any householder who wants to lead a life of luxury and still be on the side of God doing his duties. As the preserver of the universe, Lord Vishnu lives in Vaikunth amid pomp and glory, with the goddess of wealth herself by his side and yet helps the poor and the needy, protects the weak, upholds the dharma and sometimes leaving everything aside rushes to the earth as an incarnation to uphold dharma.

Hinduism advocates austerity, simplicity and detachment, but does not glorify poverty. Hinduism also emphasizes the need to observe dharma while amassing the wealth. Poverty has become a grotesque reality in present day Hindu society. Hindus have become so poverty conscious that if a saint or a sage leads a comfortable life, they scoff at him, saying that he is not a true yogi. They have to remind themselves of the simple fact that none of the Hindu gods and goddesses are really poor.

Hinduism believes that both spiritualism and materialism are important for the salvation of human beings. It is unfortunate that Hinduism came to be associated more with spiritualism, probably because of the influence of Buddhism, where as in truth Hinduism does not exclude either of them. As Swami Vivekananda rightly said religion is not for the empty stomachs. Religion is not for those whose main concern from morning till evening is how to make both ends meet. Poverty crushes the spirit of man and renders him an easy prey to wicked forces.

In ancient India Artha shastras (scriptures on wealth) provided necessary guidance to people on the finer aspects of managing their wealth. Kautilya's Artha Shastra, which is probably a compilation of many independent works, gives us a glimpse of how money matters were handled in ancient India.

Kama

Kama in a wider sense means desire and in a narrow sense, sexual desire. Hinduism prescribes fulfillment of sexual passions for the householders and abstinence from it for the students and ascetics who are engaged in the study of the scriptures and in the pursuit of Brahman.

The Bhagavad gita informs us that desire is an aspect of delusion and one has to be wary of its various movements and manifestations. The best way to deal with desires is to develop detachment and perform desireless actions without seeking the fruit of ones actions and making an offering of all the actions to God. This way our actions would not bind us to the cycle of births and deaths.

Hinduism permits sexual freedom so long as it is not in conflict with the first aim, i.e. dharma. Hindu scriptures emphasize that the purpose of sex is procreation and perpetuation of family and society, while the purpose of dharma is to ensure order in the institution of family and society. A householder has the permission to indulge in sex, but also has the responsibility to pursue it in accordance with the laws of dharma. Marriage is a recognized social institution and marriage with wife for the purpose of producing children is legitimate and in line with the aims of dharma.

One of the important sects of Hinduism is Tantricism. It recognizes the importance of sexual freedom in the liberation of soul. The Tantrics accept sex as an important means to experience the blissful nature of God and the best way to experience God in physical form. They also refer to the concept of Purusharthas to justify their doctrines. They believe that sexual energy is divine energy and it can be transformed into spiritual energy through controlled expression of sex.

Just as the dharmashastras were written for the sake of dharma, and artha shastras for artha, kama shastras were composed in ancient India for providing guidance in matters of sex. We have lost many of them because of the extreme secrecy and social disapproval associated with the subject.

Moksha

If dharma guides the life of a human being from below acting as the earth, showing him the way from above like a star studded mysterious sky is moksha. Dharma constitutes the legs of a Purusha that walk upon the earth; both artha and kama constitute his two limbs active in the middle region; while moksha constitutes the head that rests in the heaven.

Human life is very precious because of all the beings in all the worlds, only human beings have the best opportunity to realize the Higher self. It is also precious because it is attained after many hundreds and thousands of lives. Rightly, salvation should be its ultimate aim.

Moksha actually means absence of moha or delusion. Delusion is caused by the inter play of the triple gunas. When a person overcomes these gunas, he attains liberation. The gunas can be overcome by detachment, self control, surrender to god and offering ones actions to God.

If dharma is the center of the wheel of human life, artha and kama are the two spokes and moksha is its circumference. If dharma is at the center of human life, beyond moksha there is no human life, but only a life divine.

The four Purusharthas are also like the four wheels of a chariot called human life. They collectively uphold it and lead it. Each influences the movement of the other three, and in the absence of any one of them, the chariot comes to a halt.

Answer 2

There is no common goal for all human beings. This question ignores the fact that all elements in nature are unique, have a distinct identity and purpose. They are also inalienably connected with each other and thus constitute the whole universe.
The second part of the question, "what should man strive for in life", has an answer but we are unable to find it because we seek a single answer for all humanity. This is the reason that the answers given by the so called masters do not appeal to all. Even if they appeal to some, they remain unattainable for most.
In order to find the answer that is right for any one of us, we have to stop imitating others. We should not have any one else as a role model, however eminent that person may be. We may admire them but not attempt to be like them. This is an affront of the creator who has made all of us unique and special. We should also stop repeating ourselves. We should avoid all comparisons and competitions with other. We should stop comparing with our own past in an attempt to better it.
Then over a period of time our unique identity and purpose in life will become clear to us.
From that moment temptations will have no power to deflect us from our goal and success will us.
Ganoba in love

Answer 3

A man should strive fr according to his needs he may be rich bt he dont have peace of mind if he is poor then he will nt have money where he cant enjoy all the luxaries that rich man does and the common thing that both can posses is that salvation salvation is nt that going to himalays after old age and then doing some meditation it should come from our heart we should build it inside simple things like helping,sharing,charity etc will do fr salvation so a man should first strive fr his needs and when he achieves then salvation

Answer 4

80% of humanity, the religious folks, don't need to ask the meaning of life, the church tells them....the supernatural explanation. But the rest of us can't swallow religious dogma, because there's no evidence. Nobody can prove that there life after death, that people are tortured or rewarded after life or that there's invisible spirits running around.

I've come to two conclusions recently:

1. Life has no meaning
2. Life has a million meanings.

First, there's a certainty that death and annihilation awaits not only you, but the Earth in general. It's an astonomical certainty that our sun will supernova and leave the earth a burnt crisp, not to mention all the other extinction level events around the corner.

Second, the million things that give us meaning are the pleasurable experiences we can conjure up during the short period we are here on the earth, in the form of the relationships we have with our kids and other people, and the 'housekeeping' types of purposes. What i mean by that are the curing disease, ending hunger, improving literacy, reducing crime, preventing war, helping other kinds of things.

So the bottom line is, we only have a temporary meaning to life, to reduce pain and increase pleasure, other than that everything is lost to oblivion.


To be or not to be? "To be" is temporary and "not to be" is inevitable.....

Answer 5

Scientifically speaking the aim of human life is same as that of any other life form, i.e. to exist as long as it can. However, with the intelligence and thinking power associated with human beings, he will use all his skill and knowledge, not only to extend his stay on this planet for a longer period but also to make it more comfortable, more enjoyable and more useful to others, such as being philanthrophic, physician or a poet. this means he will or should try to excel in what ever field he is in.

Answer 6

To find its meaning. Your own meaning always different from others. Fame and money is to shallow to strive for and I am not saying that salvation is the answer. I am saying that what ever you strive for must have meaningful and make you happy.

Answer 7

Aim is, to be happy in infinite measure and for all times to come isn't it? It is to seek answer to this question.

If money or fame could do it, please go after that, provided both the requirements pertaining to quantity and time are met.

If it is not, then we have to seek advice from someone, who himself is meeting the two requirements.

I am very sure though, that the aim of life for any human being can not be, live, only to die one day.

Answer 8

Dharma is a very complicated word, for which there is no equivalent word in any other language, including English. Dharma actually means that which upholds this entire creation. It is a Divine law that is inherent and invisible, but responsible for all existence. Dharma exists in all planes, in all aspects and at all levels of creation. In the context of human life, dharma consists of all that an individual undertakes in harmony with Divine expectations and his own inner spiritual aspirations, actions that would ensure order and harmony with in himself and in the environment in which he lives. Since this world is deluded, a human being may not know what is right and what is wrong or what is dharma and what is adharma. Hence he should rely upon the scriptures and adhere to the injunctions contained there in. In short, dharma for a human being means developing divine virtues and performing actions that are in harmony with the divine laws.

Answer 9

Be a human being that will take you to the ultimate goal.Lack of humanity leads to all the unwanted things. Behave like a human being as it is said in any scriptures of any religion. Humanity is the highest religion and it is the crowning glory for everyone.

Answer 10

The ultimate aim of human beings life is to survive with or without sufferings and happiness and to create next generation.

Answer 11

SURVIVAL is a ultimate aim of all human beings till death.
idea of survival varies with money,fame from person to person and no one is sure of salvation.