Message from Sri Sathya Sai Baba to the Russians. Higher powers save us from ourselves
Book " Four goals family life " demonstrates how today's married couples can build deep and lasting relationships, and at the same time develop spiritually, together walking along the path of the four components extolled in Vedic culture since ancient times: dharma, artha, kama and "Moksha" - righteous deeds, economic development, sense gratification and liberation).
E. Burke Rochford Jr. Doctor of Philosophy, professor of sociology and religion,
Middlebury College, USA, said the following about the book:
“Here we can find a recipe for success in family life, which brings into balance its material and spiritual components. This is a wonderful work that should be read by anyone walking the spiritual path in the modern world.”
Book " Four goals of family life"...filled with authentic quotes from scriptures and carefully prepared with enthusiasm and dedication, designed for the reader who is in search of timeless truths about marriage and family life. It is a must-read for all serious couples who want to have a family based on a sense of unity.”
Dr. Lakshmi - goddess of prosperity
">Lakshmi Dajak, MD (Louisiana),specialist in family therapy and marriage issues.
|
XIII Acknowledgments 1 Vivaha 2 Grihastha- 3 Dharma - the duties of a person according to his varna and ashram ">Dharma(Principles of Religion) 60 pages64 Varnashrama-dharma is the science of organizing a perfect human society, set out in the Vedas, in which society is divided into four classes and four ways of human life. Varna is the social and professional nature of a person. Ashram is a person’s way of life. Dharma is the duties of a person according to his varna and ashram: the inner quality of a living being is service to others.">Varnashrama-dharma. 70 Varna Dharma 80 Ashrama-dharma 82 Grihastha-dharma 86 Sanatana-dharma (sanatana-dharma) - the purpose of all living beings, the eternal religion corresponding to their original position, devotional service to the Supreme Lord.">Sanatana-dharma 93 for grihasthas 95 Srivanam (Hearing and Chanting) 106 (Path of Devotion) 4 Patni Dharma (Duties of a Married Woman) 120 pages |
5 Pati-dharma 6 Artha (Economic Development) 7 Kama (Satisfaction of the senses) 270 pages 8 Moksha (Liberation) 332 pages 372 Panchama Purushartha (Fifth Goal) 379 Applications |
Preface to the book
"Four Goals of Family Life"
Book " Four goals of family life" was written in response to the general lack of literature on marriage and in the light of ancient classical sources. Ours is dominated by high divorce rates, leading to a sad increase in the number of broken families, but we can learn a lot from ancient cultures that thrived and prospered on the basis of strong marriages and close-knit families. Nowadays, for family people, just maintaining a family and maintaining harmony in it can be a difficult task. Therefore, both husbands and wives can benefit greatly from divine inspiration and assistance.
The basis of the book Four goals of family life» Aryan civilization taken ancient india, which dominated the world stage until it began to decline approximately 5,000 years ago. The leaders of this society were guided by the instructions of the Brahmin priests, who were well versed in the Vedas and additional works known as common name"Vedic Literature". The most important of these scriptures have been preserved to this day in the original Sanskrit, and many of them are now available in translation into English and other languages of the world.
Covers a wide range of topics, including theology, philosophy, grammar, logic, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, architecture, politics, sociology and other disciplines. The Aryan civilization, built on these sciences, achieved high cultural development and gained worldwide influence. Vedic society was organized in accordance with varnashrama - a system of social and spiritual cooperation that provides people with specific life instructions appropriate to their occupation and stage of life.
The book “The Four Goals of Family Life” is based on the most essential Vedic teachings for family people, translated into modern language. The main principles of these teachings are relevant and valuable not only for people of a certain era or geographical place of residence, but also for all family people, beyond the boundaries of time and space. The book explains how couples can build a relationship by following the classical rules and working together to balance their material and spiritual goals. In the present world, in which Vedic culture and varnasrama have been replaced by moral degradation and social chaos, the main principles of Vedic spiritual and social teachings are relevant and urgently needed as never before.
Dharma– supports our existence. Dharma is knowledge of the law and following it, morality, piety, duty and its fulfillment, responsibility, religious duty, support for the law of existence. Dharma is the natural law of how to treat all living beings. The task of jyotish is to interpret the real dharma of a person, but the person himself is able to see his own dharma by lowering the level of gunas: tamas and rajas in his life.
Artha– material well-being, earnings, economic potential. Artha is nothing but resources and economic development person. Artha includes: achieving fame, accumulating wealth, acquiring knowledge and professional skills, gaining a high social position. In other words, artha is success in our material world.
Kama- these are desires and satisfaction of one’s feelings on different levels, physical pleasures, sensual pleasure, lust, passion. Kama is also relationships with other living beings.
Moksha– liberation from the mortal body, liberation from samsara, from suffering, dissolution of misconceptions/illusions.
Note:
- Dharma – 1,5,9 houses
- Artha – 2,6,10 houses
- Kama - 3,7,11 houses
- Moksha – 4,8,12 houses
If you look a little deeper into the theme of the houses of the horoscope and how the four goals in a person’s life are interconnected, then you can see how the houses of dharma, artha, kama and moksha are intertwined. In the houses of dharma, one way or another, the themes of a person’s duty and responsibility, his moral values, knowledge of the law, religion, following this path, etc. appear. In artha houses, how a person achieves prosperity and success in this life is how he accumulates resources for a normal existence here. In the houses of Kama, a person’s strongest desires are manifested, what he wants most in this life. In the houses of moksha, themes of something transcendental, secret, the theme of human transformation appear.
How can you apply this knowledge in practice?
It’s simple, open your natal chart and see which house contains the most planets. This knowledge will tell you a little about yourself, about what is important to you in life: dharma and following the path of dharma in life, perhaps moksha, and that is why your financial affairs are not working out, because... The soul itself, before birth, wished to deal with issues that would relate to moksha and spiritual development in life. Knowledge must be practical, so apply it, educate yourself. Only by understanding yourself and understanding your destiny can you understand others.
FOUR MAIN GOALS OF HUMAN LIFE
Having a goal and being able to achieve it means being human. An animal, like a person, goes through its life cycle, obeying instincts (feeding, reproduction, etc.). But it is precisely the presence of a goal that is the main difference between a person and an animal.
In ancient Aryan culture, sages divided a person’s life aspirations into four categories - purusharthas (from purusha - individual soul, artha - goal): drachma, artha, kama and moksha.
In the Charaka Samhita, they are expressed in the form of three innate and instinctive desires - ishan: pranaishana - the desire to live a long and healthy life, dhanaisana - the desire to achieve material well-being and paralokaishana - the desire to find happiness in the future life.
DHARMA
The word dharma has many meanings, so it cannot be translated unambiguously. IN in this case Dharma is following one’s nature, the natural way of life for a particular person. This is what a person wants and can do for himself, for his family, for society, for the Universe, an intuitive sense of duty, his purpose.
Dharma is unique and cannot be copied from another. By following the call of his Self, a person acquires all the benefits, protects himself from misfortunes and ensures good karma. But trying to be someone else, on the contrary, contributes to the accumulation of negative karma. Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita tells Arjuna: "It is better to perform one's duties imperfectly than to perform other people's duties perfectly. It is better to die while performing one's duty; another's path is dangerous."
No one can tell a person what his dharma is, only he himself can feel it. Yoga practices help calm the mind and become more receptive to the voice of intuition. It is also useful to observe what goals achieve happiness.
While doing his job, a person naturally concentrates, natural meditation arises, a person does not wait tomorrow and does not live in the past - he is “here and now.”
During life, as a person develops, his dharma changes.
Understanding your dharma leads to setting clear goals in life, effective use of energy, correctly made decisions and, accordingly, correct results. However, following the dharma does not mean at all that there will be no obstacles on a person’s path; their occurrence is a consequence of karma, but the obstacles in this case are overcome relatively easily.
If a person does not follow the path of dharma, he begins to feel the meaninglessness of life, emptiness, inability and unwillingness to carry its heavy burden, and a craving for such cheap “substitutes for happiness” such as alcohol and drugs appears.
Dharma presupposes that a person tries not to harm anyone or anything unless his duty is directly related to it. If the performance of duties involves causing harm to another, bad karma does not accumulate.
Walking the path of dharma, a person comes to comprehend the highest reality. Dharma is more broadly defined as the universal law on which the world rests.
ARTHHA
Artha literally means "that which is necessary."
The category of artha concerns the material aspect of existence and combines such components as well-being, a sense of security, health, i.e. everything that allows you to maintain life at the required level. Artha implies labor leading to accumulation material goods, because without a solid base, spiritual development is impossible. To achieve it, a person must build his life in accordance with legal, moral and ethical standards.
Since artha is not the ultimate goal of life, one should beware of excessive accumulation of material wealth.
It's no secret that modern society is called a consumer society. Humanity consumes and produces a colossal amount of unnecessary products, information and services. All the time and thoughts modern man busy in the endless pursuit of the most fashionable and prestigious. Guided by vanity and false ideas about necessity and goodness, people turn their lives into madness. Meanwhile, producing what you need takes little time and does not create economic, psychological or other problems.
KAMA
The concept of kama is associated with the satisfaction of worldly desires. This is a person’s natural desire for sensual pleasures, good food, comfort, his emotional needs.
Ayurveda is based on the knowledge of the existence of past and future lives. Unsatisfied desires cause suffering in the present and future lives. An indispensable condition for approaching liberation is the fulfillment of all one’s desires in accordance with family, social, cultural and religious norms.
However, there is a trap here: often a person becomes a slave to his desires and spends a huge amount of energy and time on achieving insignificant goals. The strategy of “denying yourself nothing” turns him into a weak-willed creature. Therefore, you should be careful about your desires, do not suppress them, but always evaluate the feasibility of implementation. It gives strong will and free energy. An important spiritual achievement of a person is also the ability not to cling to results obtained or desires fulfilled.
Restrictions and prescriptions, discipline in life are also necessary for a person, like a sick person needs a non-bitter medicine taken strictly according to the clock.
Proper nutrition, sufficient and complete sleep, pure consciousness, satisfaction of sexual needs, material comfort, regular spiritual practices and spiritual communication satisfy all the needs of a person, making him happy.
Theoretical part
Meaning of life
From the point of view of yoga philosophy, human life is not meaningless. Meaning human life- develop your mind and moral qualities to the maximum (determination, perseverance, patience, responsibility, goodwill, generosity, equanimity, insight, etc.). It is for this purpose that we have a physical body, since without it it is impossible to develop in this world.
Four purposes of human life
By experiencing human existence, we can move towards one of four goals:
- dharma(search for purpose)
- artha(achieving success)
- Kama(search for pleasure)
- moksha(desire for liberation)
The first goal in Sanskrit is called "dharma" - that is, following your inner nature, your purpose. When a person sets such a goal for himself, it means that, without being distracted by anything, he does what he is predisposed to and honestly fulfills his duty.
The second goal that a person can set for himself is prosperity. In Sanskrit it is called "artha". When a person sets such a goal, he no longer just strives to do something in accordance with his nature, but strives to do it most effectively and achieve success in it.
The third goal in Sanskrit is called "kama", which translates as pleasure. Everyone knows such a treatise as the Kama Sutra. So, the word “kama” in the title of this treatise indicates that it talks about how to properly enjoy while building a marital relationship. But if in the Kama Sutra pleasure is derived only from marital relations, then “kama” as the goal of life is a broader concept. This is the enjoyment of life in general, as the goal and meaning of life. When a person sets such a goal for himself, then whatever he does, he does everything only to enjoy, to have fun.
And the fourth goal is liberation, or "moksha" in Sanskrit. When a person gets tired of material success and no longer wants to enjoy what it gives usual life, he sets himself the ultimate goal of human life - to free himself from such a life, because it becomes a prison. The best example is former entrepreneurs who, on the wave of success, leave their business, family, go to India or Thailand and engage in some kind of creativity or yoga there. Or an even better example is clergy who leave worldly life with its vanity and settle in monasteries.
Yoga and the ultimate goal of human life
Exists two paths to the ultimate goal of human life- liberation from conditioning material world caused by the influence of the three gunas:
1. Be disappointed in life, because for a long time there were no normal relationships in the family, normal relationships with friends, or because for a long time I did something I didn’t like and did not achieve success in anything.
2. Tired of life, because everything I wanted to achieve, I achieved (in the family, in work, in business, and in creativity).
Yoga helps you move towards liberation in the second way: first, achieve real success in work, business, creativity; create a happy family with a good man, educate worthy people and provide them with everything necessary and only after that, with a sense of accomplishment, free yourself from the conditioning of this world.
Self-test questions
What is a sense of life?
What are the four purposes of human life?
What is the ultimate goal of human life?
What are the two paths to the ultimate goal of human life and which path does yoga help to follow?
Practical part
Exercise 1. Garudasana (Pose of the King of the Birds Garuda)
Execution technique
We stand up straight, bend our knees and intertwine our legs so that the right thigh is on top of the left, grabbing ourselves by the left shin with our right foot. We bend our elbows and with our left hand we braid our right hand from below and join our palms. We remain in this position for some time, and then change to the opposite.
Effect
Improves flexibility of legs and arms
Strengthens leg muscles
Develops a sense of balance
Improves concentration
Contraindications
Knee injuries
Elbow and wrist injuries
Exercise 2. Bakasana (Crane Pose)
Execution technique
We squat down, place our hands in front of us on the mat, rest our knees on top of our elbows and lean on our hands, transferring our body weight forward. We lift our legs off the floor and, to balance on our hands, linger in this position for some time, maintaining balance.
Effect
Strengthens hands and wrists
Tones the abdominal organs
Strengthens abdominal muscles
Strengthens the nervous system
Improves coordination of movements
Contraindications
High blood pressure
Hand injuries
Pregnancy
Exercise 3. Viparita karani (Inverted body position)
Execution technique
Lie on your back, raise your straight legs up and, placing your hands under your lower back, raise your pelvis so that your legs are bent at a right angle (90 degrees). We linger in this position for as long as it feels good.
Effect
Improves cerebral blood supply
Cleanses facial skin
Tones the internal organs
Gives rest to the heart muscle
Trains the body's ability to regulate blood pressure
Contraindications
Heart diseases
High blood pressure
Sign up for individual training, get more exercises and detailed transcript each point of the theoretical part, and you can also get a personal consultation by contacting the author. For those who practice yoga according to the program of the author's closed yoga school "Insight", all services are free, for others - by agreement.
My Skype: seahappiness
VKontakte page.
Vedic knowledge says that there are 4 goals of human life that complement each other and lead a person to harmony.
1. Dharma is a very broad concept. More than one book could be written on Dharma issues. Here I will talk only about some of the main facets of the Dharma. Dharma is the concept of duty, following one's destiny, fulfilling one's duties. Life and professional activity for the benefit of society, in accordance with his nature, with his talents and abilities. Spiritual development. Connection with God. Dharma is honor and conscience, following moral and ethical principles. Development of your Higher nature and control of the inferior. Following the Dharma cultivates a person's capabilities and abilities. Dharma teaches a person how to live in peace with other people and with the entire universe. Where there is Dharma, a person always feels peaceful. Dharma gives respect. God always protects the person who follows the Dharma and gives him many blessings, opportunities and good fortune.
In astrology, the houses that show the Dharma of a person are 1, 5 and 9. The all-good, the most best houses horoscope. If the houses of Dharma are strong, then the person is blessed with wisdom and opportunities. These houses show the person's reserve of pious karma - Purva punya. Strong houses of Dharma indicate that the owner of the card is a spiritual, honest and decent person. He has been given a lot. The basis of Dharma is compassion and following the Universal laws (the commandments of God)!
The first goal of human life is following the Dharma and spiritual development.
5 pillars of Dharma:
a) Knowledge
b) Justice
c) Patience
d) Devotion
d) Love
2. Artha – material well-being. Money, wealth, fame. Energy of Goddess Lakshmi. But, what’s interesting...in order to win the favor of Goddess Lakshmi, a person must follow Dharma - moral and ethical standards. The main quality of a person who can be rich is an internal detachment from money. Leo Tolstoy once said: “The truly happy person becomes the one who understands that what he has is what he needs.” Academician Likhachev expressed this idea even more precisely: “The poor is not the one who has little, but the one who has little!” Artha is the principle of sufficiency.
In astrology, the houses of Artha are 2, 6 and 10. The state of these houses will show whether a person will prosper, whether he will have money, how successful he will be and whether he will achieve fame. I would like to note that money karma changes most easily. How to change money karma? Through charity, donations and the development of internal detachment from money. We should appreciate everything we have, but we shouldn't be attached to it!
3. Kama – fulfillment of desires, sensual pleasures, satisfaction of one’s senses. The nature of personality is desires. When we have no desires, it is called depression. On the other hand, we can be grateful to our desires or, conversely, that we are constantly incarnating here on Earth. It is because of our desires that we cannot escape the cycle of our “deaths” and rebirths. Desires are what keep us here. Desires are a powerful driving force. Someone’s wishes come true once or twice. Someone with a creak.
In the horoscope, the 3rd, 7th and 11th houses are responsible for the fulfillment of desires. These are Kama's houses. Strong houses of Kama endow a person with strong desires, but also provide opportunities to realize them. It is always important for such a person to remember the words of the sage - “Beware of your desires - they can come true!” :) Because the fulfillment of our desires does not always bring us good. Although weak houses of Kama can give a person great ambitions, he will not have any special opportunities to realize these ambitions.
Ultimately, after countless incarnations, some earlier, some later, we must come to one single desire - to merge with the Supreme Source, return home, so to speak, and no longer incarnate on Earth. This is called - to achieve enlightenment / liberation - our next fourth goal in life.
4. Moksha – liberation from the circle of births and deaths on Earth, spiritual enlightenment. Gaining Cosmic consciousness, understanding that you are immortal. The ultimate goal of our life. In the chart, the houses of Moksha are 4, 8 and 12. Strong houses of Moksha will show a sage, a person of a philosophical mind. Weak people can bring a lot of trouble, but through them a person can realize the illusory nature of the visible world.
Houses of Dharma (1,5,9) – element of Fire. The most favorable houses of the horoscope. Any association with them is beneficial.
Houses of Artha (2,6,10) – Earth element. They will show our success in the material world.
Houses of Kama (3,7,11) – element of Air. They will show how our wishes will come true.
Houses of Moksha (4,8,12) – element of Water. They symbolize deep spiritual development.
Dharma is fulfilling one's duties to family, society and God. Spiritual development. Money (Artha) comes to those who follow Dharma. With the help of money, a person can satisfy his feelings and ambitions (Kama). But the Soul cannot be happy through satisfaction human feelings and desires. “I am not this body - I am the Soul!” - this is the main postulate of Vedic philosophy. The soul can be happy only by uniting with God (Moksha).