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Hinduism

Dharma: Four Goals (duties) of Life

The first three goals are world affirming (they relate to life in this world and society):

• Kama: pleasure - sensual, aesthetic & physical enjoyment: the arts and the Kama Sutra - erotic/sensual pleasures

• Artha: success - economic, political, fame/prestige

• Dharma: responsibility - fulfilling one’s duty within family and society
  "Dharma" can mean duty, truth, law, religion...

          Duty
TrutH
      LAw
               Religion
            CosMic Order
          TeAching

The fourth goal is world denying:

• Moksha: liberation from life in Samsara - a rejection of caste, a bypassing of the stages of life, a rejection of the more worldly goals of life in favor of spiritual goals (the goal of the renunciant).

summary chart: Hindu Organization of Life

Activity: The Four Dharmas - a collage

The Sanskrit term "yoga" is related to the English word "yoke," as in yoking two oxen together. Thus yoga implies a "bringing together" or "uniting" (interestingly, the term "religion" means essentially the same thing - to "bind" or "tie together").

• Yoga unites body, mind, and soul. 

• Yoga unites the individual self (atman) with the universal Self (Brahman). 

• Yoga unites individual people together in a community.

Hinduism identifies four major systems of yoga, four ways of uniting. These are the four primary paths to Moksha:

• Raja (the "King") Yoga - the path of meditation, suited to the quiet and reflective (introspective) personality (the spiritual side of human nature)

• Jnana Yoga - the path of knowledge, suited to the intellectual personality

• Karma Yoga - the path of service (action in the world), centered on physical activity

• Bhakti Yoga - the path of loving devotion to god or gods, suited to the emotional personality

Tolerance and diversity: Hinduism recognizes that different personalities need different paths to the same end goal. Mother India is most tolerant of variety: "different strokes for different folks". The presence of many religions in India attests to this. Even Hinduism itself is more accurately viewed as a collection of different spiritual paths with a common, underlying theme.

Bhakti Yoga is the most popular path. Colorful stone images of the gods and goddesses is perhaps one of the first images that comes to mind when one thinks of Hinduism. But, before we take a closer look at devotional Hinduism, let’s become familiar with the various deities of the faith...