| From The River Of Heaven |
 |
| Books By David Frawley |
| VEDIC SOCIAL SCIENCE : THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF CULTURE | |
|
|
|
| The
Structure Of Human Society There are only a few basic values or goals in life we can pursue. This is owing to the limited nature of our lives, our body, senses and mind. While we may think there is any number of things we can pursue they resolve themselves into a few areas: pleasure, wealth, power and knowledge. The most basic goal is pleasure, to enjoy ourselves in life, primarily enjoyment of the senses (kama). While a certain amount of pleasure in our natural functioning is necessary for harmonious action in life, we usually seek it far beyond this. The second goal is wealth, which is the accumulation of the necessary objects to provide for our well-being (artha). The most basic are food, clothing and shelter but beyond these we seek objects to make our lives more comfortable or convenient or simply more ostentatious. The third goal is power or status, which is the achievement of a certain recognition or fame for ourselves (dharma). For us to accomplish anything in life we have to have a certain status or reputation. Without that no one knows who we are or what we can do. Yet beyond this natural need we seek to have power over others and to exalt ourselves at the expense of others. |
|
|
|
