World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 265

thought four main values of life (purusarthas) viz, dharma, artha, kama and moksa were prescribed.? Artha stands for material prosperity and kama stands for material satisfaction. Both of them jointly are known as preyas. Dharma is regulative of both and is a means to moksa. Moksa, along with dharma, comes under sreyas. It is spiritual realization. Though the ideals of life admit of a distinction between preyas and sreyas, there is no incompatibility between the two as there is no bifurcation between matter and spirit. Preyas provides the material base and sreyas constitutes the spiritual summit of the same process of self-realisation. Since matter provides the arena for selfrealisation, the preyas has a natural claim of being first catered to. But one should not remain entangled with preyas forever. After the necessary gratification of the preyas one should make a passage toward sreyas. Another thing to be remembered is that all the demands of matter do not constitute preyas and hence are not to be gratified. Only those demands are to be regarded as preyas that are not incompatible with sreyas. Preyas thus is the proximate value and sreyas is the ultimate value. The ancient thinkers established the asrama-vyavastha in order that there may be well-organised and balanced pursuit of both preyas and sreyas. The word asrama is suggestive of points of beginning and departure and stoppage.
In this context we may fruitfully make a mention of the Upanisadic theory of Pancakosas i.e. five dimensions of individual's personality as physical (annamaya), vital (pranamya), mental (manomaya), intellectual (vijnana-maya) and spiritual (anandamaya). 10 An all-round development of individual means fullest development of all these aspects in a proper proportion. In the modern context we can understand and appreciate this theory by reinterpreting it in a more meaningful way. The first and the foremost kosa is the gross physical body and the natural surrounding which are to be catered to by means of physical sciences and technology. The second one is that of vital breaths for which hygiene and medical sciences are helpful along with yoga. For the next two social sciences, humanities, fine arts and mathematics are to be resorted. For the last one we need higher spiritual pursuits in the form of contemplation and meditation and gradual withdrawal from hectic worldly activities.
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From the above-described view of life an appropriate way of life has also been prescribed. A way of life is the way man plans his life for realizing an ideal whatever it is. It is called yoga or marga. Many yogas or margas have been recognized by the ancient thinkers of which karma i.e. the way or action, jnana i.e. the way of knowledge and bhakti, i.e., the way of devotion, are prominent." Human being is a complex of cognitive conative, and affective elements and therefore a good way of life must have a balanced view of all these three. For the realization of the ideal life the whole person has to
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