Goals of life

Dharma (duty on the path of righteousness) is one of the goals of life as per the scriptures, along with artha (prosperity) , kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). One must lead a balanced life to attain the above goals. To achieve artha and kama without the practice of dharma is not the right way. Of the 4, moksha is the ultimate goal, but the transcendence of the other 3 basic goals is required to attain the ultimate goal, moksha. If one has obtained the 3 basic goals, one is satisfied and no longer subject to intense desires or cravings, hence, it is easier to transcend these desires, which is a prerequisite to attain the ultimate goal, which is moksha.

One who has not attained the basic goals will still have some attachments and unfulfilled desires which will prevent him from attaining moksha. One who does not perform his duties according to dharma can never attain moksha. One who refrains from action and tolerates injustice is not on the path of dharma. If one performs his duties for the welfare of the world, artha and kama will follow. The nature of artha and kama is such that if one chases them for their own sake, they will slip and not stay for long within one's grasp, but when one performs actions as a sacrifice according to his unique capabilities for the best interests of the world, they will be attained automatically. Even the enjoyment of wealth and pleasures should be carried out with detachment. If one is incapable of enjoying wealth and pleasure without attachment, it will be an impediment to obtaining the ultimate goal. The path to moksha is by staying on the path of dharma, and to enjoy life as a whole without attachment.

Sense objects and sensations

Joy is contained in the self, and not in external objects. An external object per se does not cause happiness or even pleasure. The same object may arouse different sensations on different people, so the object itself is not a cause. The cause is in the mind of the perceiver. Realization of this truth will enable one to be detached towards external objects and seek peace and bliss within the self alone. This truth may be illustrated through the following examples

1) A dog believes that the enjoyment in tasting blood while chewing a bone is derived from the bone, whereas the blood is from its own gums

2) A person drinks alchohol or does drugs looking for the 'kick' which actually comes from his own brain and at the expense of his own body and mind

3) A person smokes a cigarette looking for the rush which comes at the expense of clogging his own lungs and arteries and preventing him from experiencing breathing fresh air

4) A person views images of scantily clad women, indulges himself and experiences pleasure

In these cases, the 'enjoyment' is not free, but comes at own's own expense. The expense is a loss of vital energy or health. The capacity for enjoyment is only in the self, and if channelized wisely, can lead to permanent bliss. But the perceiver attributes it to the sense object, which may be the bone, the alchohol, the drug, the cigarette, or the images, that trigger a temporary response of pleasure in the brain, but cannot create a state of bliss.

The fact that the enjoyment comes not from the object, which is only capable of triggering a temporary response in the brain is proven by the fact that the same object, when indulged in subsequently, fails to provide the same satisfaction. So, the person indulges more and more and still does not get the same satisfaction that he initially used to get easily. The satisfaction derived initially from one single puff is not later experienced even on smoking a full pack. Still, the smoker does not realize that the enjoyment that he is seeking lies within and not in the cigarette. Thus deluded, he continues to smoke cigarette after cigarette. This eventually diminishes his own capacity for enjoyment and leads to self-destruction.