Hinduism: The Four Aims of Human Life (Purusharthas)

Question 1

Explain the term Dharma.

Answer 1

• Dharma is duty or a teaching
• It changes depending on your stage in life or what your position is.
• E.g. It is a soldier’s Dharma to kill the opposition, so he doesn’t get bad karma for it. If a farmer killed someone, he would get bad karma, as it is not his Dharma.

Question 2

Explain the story of Prince Arjuna and Varnashrama-Dharma.

Answer 2

• The teaching Krishna (Vishnu’s avatar) taught to Prince Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita
• Arjuna was a prince in conflict with his cousins, however he didn’t want to kill them
• Krishna (his carriage driver) teaches him about his Atman; that it is the only permanent thing, the rest is impermanent and an illusion
• By worrying about his cousins, he is attaching himself further to the illusionary world
• He needs to purge his Karma so he can see the world as it really is
• He needs a goal (Artha) that by the end of his life his Atman will be reincarnated nearer Moksha, and he has to do whatever it takes to achieve it
• If you follow your Dharma, you get no karma for it

Question 3

Explain the teaching of Varna.

Answer 3

• Varna means caste or social class
• In Hinduism, there is a very rigid caste system (though it was outlawed 60 years ago)
• You are only allowed to marry within you caste or you become an Untouchable
• You can only do the job your parents did (or marry someone who does that job)
• Every caste has a different duty
• E.g. only Brahmins (the highest caste) can become priests

Question 4

Explain the teaching of Ashrama.

Answer 4

• Ashrama means age or stage of life
• There are four stages of life a Hindu will ideally pass through:
  1) The student: obedience to the teacher, chastity, devotion
  2) The householder: marriage, family, supporting priests, honouring gods
  3) The forest dweller: after the birth of grandchildren, retreating from society, yogic practices
  4) The homeless renouncer: leaving all possessions, begging for food, only seeking Moksha

Question 5

What is Sanatana Dharma?

Answer 5

• The Eternal Dharma (Universal Truth/Teaching)
• The name some Hindus give to their religion
• The most important part of religion is following your Dharma

Question 6

What does the Bhagavad Gita say about attachment?

Answer 6

• “Thinking of objects, attachment to them is formed in a man. From attachment longing, and from longing anger grows”
• “But the self-controlled man, moving among objects with senses under restraint, and free from attraction and aversion, attains to tranquillity”