Every word of Vedas?---- The ARTHA OF ARTHA IN VEDAS ! -

[Guest guest]

Our beloved benji has raised a very pertinent question and i am also

impressed with kenightji's prompt response to this question.

 

Artha has two meanings in Sanskrit.

 

one meaning is -artha= meaning

 

the other meaning is artha=wealth

 

as you all may be aware, Hinduism recognizes the follwing four goals

of life called "Purusharthas"

 

1) Dharma

 

2) artha

 

3)kama

 

4) moksha

 

IN vedic texts, specially in Rg Veda , pursuit of material wealth and

material enjoyment is not prohibited , provided such the same is on

the path of Rta and Dharma. Any accumulation of wealth by unrighteous

means( adharmic or not in conformity with Rta) is condemned.

 

Vedas advocate 'moderation' in the pursuit of Artha and Kama and

advises to always follow the path of Dharma and with 'moksha' as the

ultimate goal .

 

In fact,there is a verse in Rig veda which reads " O: God Give me

strength to follow my vocation relating to artha with dharma and

nishkam karma .

 

rig veda also says

 

 

Artha should be pursued to avoid indebtedness, poverty and

destitution

 

Wealth of earth and heaven (prithvi and divya) are provided to

mankind based on the principle of moderation and selfless work

 

It should also help us to integrate ourselves physically,

psychologically and spiritually with the environments and make us

move towards moderation and avoidance of material excesses .

 

(Knightji! if you are reading this, you may please quote the sanskrit

verses - i could not locate them.)

 

Accumulation of Wealth is based on needs and not on greed . For greed

means - swartha ... swartha=selfishness .

 

rig veda also says

 

In a society, if a single person dies of starvation, the entire

society is blamed and the rulers are considered as sinful. .

 

So vedic artha does not mean you cannot earn wealth by legitimate

means but only false attachments to wealth.

 

But, benji

 

we need to pay close attention to what knightji says...

 

He says simply but very effectively ...

 

" Regarding the Vedas we each need first to question ourselves as to

our intention in reading them."

 

very well said?

 

there is a speaker and there is an audience !

 

shruthi and shrouta!

 

knightji again says

 

"It may be also that we need the help of that trustworthy person,

apta, who speaks with understanding. Then we may be able to peel back

the layers of interpretation and hear all four quarters of the

mantras and not just the one quarter that everyone can hear."

 

yes- interpretation!

 

there is a metaphysical interpreatation as well as a literal

interpretation in all vedic texts.

 

Rg veda itself says

 

catvAri vAk parimitA padAni tAni vidurbrAhmaNA ye manISiNaH

guhA trINi nihitA neN^gayanti turIyaM vAco manuSyA vadanti

 

This verse is actually in reference to the four levels of sound

manifested in the soul (para-vak), in the karana-sharira (pashyanti-

vak), in the mind (madhyama-vak), and in the physical world (vaikhari-

vak).

 

it is said ...

 

"The Bhagavatam further describes these higher sound manifestations

of the Vedas as ananta-param (limitless), gambhiram (deep),

durvighayam (unfathomable), and samudra-vat (like a great ocean). In

otherwords, it is impossible to understand the complexities of the

Vedic mantras as they move from manifesting as external sound, to

manifesting as the reality of existence (i.e para-vak, transcendental

sound, wherein the sound is the object)."

 

as Rg veda says

 

YASMADRUTE NA SIDDHYATI YAGYO VIPASHRIT SHRANA SA DHINAM YOGAMINVATI |

 

 

 

May that divine knowledgeable person inspire us without whose

inspiration the knowledgeable does not attain complete knowledge.

 

yes ! we need the Grace of Vag-devi, GODDESS OF SPEECH! SARASWATI

DEVI!

 

(gathered from many sources to answer benji's question.)

 

( benji - moderation, middle path, golden mean all apply to

accumulation of wealth and material enjoyment! - smiles)

[Guest guest]

--- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote:

>

> Artha has two meanings in Sanskrit.

>

> one meaning is -artha= meaning

>

> the other meaning is artha=wealth

 

In the RgVeda it also has the meaning of intention or

wish, desire, which lies at the heart of the meaning

of a word in action:

I.10.2

yát saánoH saánum aáruhad bhuúry áspaSTa kártvam|

tád índro árthaM cetati yuuthéna vRSNír ejati ||

'As up he climbs from ridge to ridge and looked

upon the toilsome task,

Indra observes this wish of his, and the Rain hastens

with his troop.'

 

If you look at Monier Monier Williams he gives the

following as the early meanings of artha:

"aim, purpose; cause, motive, reason, ...

 

> (Knightji! if you are reading this, you may please

> quote the sanskrit

> verses - i could not locate them.)

 

Thank you for your exposition of the

Purusharthas...what an interesting word that is in

itself!!

I will have a look for some authoritative texts after

I have finished trying to convince some students that

Maths is easy and beautiful and not just a means to

passing an exam.

For those interested, a quick search came up with

these interesting sites for further reading on this

subject

 

http://members.tripod.com/antibjp/archives/chapter2a.html

This is a humanist humanist site

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/disc/disc_76.html

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/sadh/sadh_07.html

 

> yes- interpretation!

>

> there is a metaphysical interpreatation as well as a

> literal

> interpretation in all vedic texts.

>

>

This will be much examined in future postings, mainly

through Yaska's words on the fruit and flower of

language and ritual action., all in the context of

adhyatmika, adhidaivika and adhibhautika teachings.

But I want to take this slowly so please be patient.By

going slowly I hope that some will join in who have

not much experience of these ideas.

 

>...............the four

> levels of sound

> manifested in the soul (para-vak), in the

> karana-sharira (pashyanti-

> vak), in the mind (madhyama-vak), and in the

> physical world (vaikhari-

> vak).

 

Although I personally understand the RgVedic

descriptions of the 'four portions of language' in

this way, the Shatapatha Brahmana quotes someone as

saying these four portions relate to the language of

humans, animals, birds and insects ( I will look up

the reference for you later)

 

I am emphasising frequently the need to hear the Vedas

and have suggested that people look up the audio sites

that I have suggested because that is the way to open

up pashyanti-vak. That is what is behind my recent

post to Benjamin.

It is going to be difficult to continue this study

fully without people availing themselves of the chance

to 'hear' the eternal sound of the Vedas through the

medium of the texts available to us.

 

Thank you for your contributions to this topic,

 

 

Ken Knight

 

=====

‘From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

--- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote:

>

> (Knightji! if you are reading this, you may please

> quote the sanskrit

> verses - i could not locate them.)

 

 

Good evening,

I had a search in the Rgveda and could not come up

with a specific teaching on purusharthas but I did get

side-tracked by the some suktas.

What kept striking me was that all the later emphasis

of the concepts of the world being a place of pain

and sorrow, from which we are to seek an escape route

is not there in the words of the rishis. They are

much more concerned with bringing that immense power

which they perceive beneath the manifest forms into

the full fruition in their own lives and the lives of

the community Their lives are perceived as to be a

harmonious unit where there is not conflict between

man's future and present. In the book, 'The Cultural

Heritage of India' there is an essay by C.K.Raja on

Vedic culture in which he makes a similar point and

states:

'... there is no conflict between dharma, artha and

kAma.'

 

Somehow, through our discussion I hope, we can get

closer to the context of the rishis and my next

posting will be aimed at that.

 

Thank you for your considered and informed

contribution,

 

Ken Knight

 

=====

‘From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Messenger.

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