Religions of the Far East Heru Thutmose El Bey Philosophy 353 WomackHinduisim Exam (1) Artha, the 2 nd legitamate aim in life according to the Hindu means “worldy success” in the form of power, wealth, and fame, but why, postulates the sages, is artha satisfying but ultimately insufficient. Let us first direct our attention to a quote by Huston Smith as follows; “1. W ealth, fame, and power are exclusive, hence competitive, hence precarious. Unlike mental and spirtual values, they do not multiply when shared; they cannot be distributed without diminishing one's own portion.”(W .R. pg.15) Again, this concept is expounded b y Ar juna in the opening discourse with Krishna, “ What do I want with victory, empire, Or their enjoyment? O Govinda, How can I care for Power or pleasure, My own life, even, When all these others, Teachers, fathers, Grandfathers, uncles, Sons and brothers, husbands ofsisters, Grandsons and cousins, For whose sake only I could enjoy them Stand here ready To riskblood and wealth In war against us?” (B.G. pg. 32) Wise words spoken by one of great humanity , for Arj una knows of the ep hemerality of our brief existence on this planet and the fruitless harvest ofcalamity that befalls one who would pursue such a path. Artha in all it's form does not last and is even , according to Smith is “hedonism”. It is too self centered and ev entually leads one to the sense of something else, a reality underlying what is immediately cognized by the seeker. Desires are insatiable and only lead to the indulgence of more desires. Once on e acts on their desires they give up their divinty and become a slave to externals, there will,dashed against the rocks o f their own folly .As Smith demonstrates, nothing can be taken with us and leaves us with a sense of fear of loss, wondering to ourselves “Is this all”. Now there is nothing wrong with artha. It is merely a stepping stone, if you will, for when one realizes that there is more to life than these fleeting enjoyments, introspection can begin, and the doors to the temple of knowledge can be approached.
