Dharma, the first of the four basic objectives or goals for a Hindu is hard to define in English. The closest English word that I can think of is “righteousness” though in fact it connotes much, much more than mere righteousness. Dharma connotes the essential Hindu fabric of traditions, customs, religion, rituals and ethos that each Hindu has to don, to put on. The word dharma is derived from the root Sanskrit word dhri which literally means “the element that holds” or the element that keeps one from withering away or dissipating.
Dharma has been assigned the key position because it is dharma that keeps a firm hold over the other two objectives, artha and kama , and prevents a person from going astray. For artha, one’s aim in life, can always go astray and make a person extremely selfish. Similarly, kama, the desire, if let loose may play havoc in society. Dharma is the guiding force, a lighthouse on the high seas, that keeps a devout Hindu on the right path.
यतो अभ्युदय नि:श्रेयस सिद्धि: स धर्म:
Says sage Kanaad: “That which helps in progress, prosperity and leads to salvation is deemed Dharma“
Based on the root Sanskrit word “dhri” the word “dharma” has been described in the epic Mahabharata to mean “an element, or the fabric that holds us” all through our life. The Hindus often use the Sanskrit word Samskara to connote a combination of Hindu values, traditions, customs, religion, rituals and ethos “all rolled into one composite whole.”
“Give our child good Hindu samskara“, is oft repeated phrase amongst the Hindu Americans. If a kid goes astray a Hindu American grandmother would often lament, “Don’t cry over the spilt milk. You haven’t given good samskara to your child!”
The second essential is the word ‘artha‘. The word connotes a wide variety of meanings: purpose, end, intent, reason, motive, aim, objective, and raison d’etre. But it can also be variously used to mean money, essence, and the meaning in life. In purusharth chatustay (पुरुषार्थचतुष्टय) the word ‘arth‘ has been used to connote man’s purpose in life, the meaning in life or the raison d’etre.
The third word is “Kama.” The sanskrit meaning of kama is ‘desire’ and in most of the Hindu scriptures the word “Kama” is meant mean “desire”. To drive home my point I am quoting the 4th stanza of the Rig Veda 10.129. The hymn, one of the most sublime ones in Rig Veda, describes the origin, the genesis, of the universe:
Ralph T.H. Griffith, a noted English Indologist translated the above hymn in the following way:
Thereafter arose Desire in the beginning,
Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit.
Sages who searched with their heart’s thought
discovered the existent’s kinship in the non-existent.
German Indologist Adolf Kaegi translated it as:
Then, for the first time, there arose desire,
Which was the primal germ of mind, within it.
And sages, searching in their heart, discovered,
In Nothing the connecting bond of Being.
Vātsyāyana, the noted author of Kama Sutra (कामसूत्र) gave a sexual overtone to the word and described the principles and postures of love-making in his classic book. Thus Kamadeva becomes the Hindu version of ancient Roman god Cupid. Nevertheless, most classical scriptures, including Kamasutra, have named the “sexual desire” as रतिकाम् that is, रति + काम् thereby meaning, broadly, sexual + desire. Thus there is a clear distinction between काम् (desire) and रतिकाम् which specifically means sexual desire.
In Gita chapter 16 shlok 21 the word “Kama” has been used to mean “lust” and has been clubbed with the six perverted desired that a devout Hindu is expected to abhor.
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः।
कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत्।।16.21।।
(Desire, wrath and greed – this is the triple gateway to hell, ruinous to the self. Therefore one should abandon these three.)
Manusmriti, one of the most respected Hindu scriptures that describes and codifies the essential Hindu customs, rituals and rules, has given the word ‘Kama’ (काम) it’s due respect.
कामात्मता न प्रशस्ता न चैवैहास्त्यकामता ।
काम्यो हि वेदाधिगमः कर्मयोगश्च वैदिकः ॥ २.२॥
Neither selfish desires excel nor desirelessness, it’s the desire that leads one to Vedas, vedic rites and karma yoga.
सङ्कल्पमूलः कामो वै यज्ञाः सङ्कल्पसम्भवाः ।
व्रतानि यमधर्माश्च सर्वे सङ्कल्पजाः स्मृताः ॥ २.३॥
Desire is the root cause of a firm resolve. Desire makes your vedic vows possible. Your resolve commits you to vedic and dharmic rituals.
अकामस्य क्रिया का चिद्दृश्यते नैह कर्हि चित् ।
यद्यधि कुरुते किं चित्तत्तत्कामस्य चेष्टितम् ॥ २.४॥
Without desire your limbs, eyes or mind wouldn’t stir. Without desire your eyes wouldn’t open or close.
‘Kama’ (काम) is the summum bonum of Grahastha ashram — the married, home life. Like the Biblical (Genesis 1:28) dictum “Go forth and multiply” the Hindu scriptures also affirm that progenation is the essence of man’s existence.
According to scriptures a man essentially has three key desires or as the Hindus call them, trishna (तृष्णा). The word trishna (तृष्णा) would literally translate to ‘thirst’ : Thus the three essential desires or trishnas are:
(1) Money (called वित्तेष्णा vitteshna)
(2) Progeny (called पुत्रेष्णा putreshna) and
(3) Fame (called लोकेष्णा lokeshna)