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Virtue, Success, Pleasure, and Liberation : The Four Aims of Life in the Tradition of Ancient India by Alain Daniélou and Alain. Daniélou (1993, Trade Paperback)

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Virtue, Success, Pleasure, & Liberation : The Four Aims of Life in the Tradition of Ancient India, Paperback by Danielou, Alain, ISBN 0892812184, ISBN-13 9780892812189, Brand New, Free shipping in the US Exploring the fundamental concepts of the caste system, Alain Danielou addresses issues of race, individual rights, sexual mores, marital practices, and spiritual attainments. In this light, the author explains how Hindu society has served as a model for the realization of human potential, and exposes the inherent flaws and hypocrisies of our modern egalitarian governments.

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Product Identifiers

PublisherInner Traditions International, The Limited

ISBN-100892812184

ISBN-139780892812189

eBay Product ID (ePID)1135712

Product Key Features

Book TitleVirtue, Success, Pleasure, and Liberation : the Four Aims of Life in the Tradition of Ancient India

Number of Pages192 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year1993

TopicPersonal Growth / General, Hinduism / General, General, Customs & Traditions

GenreReligion, Social Science, Self-Help

AuthorAlain Daniélou, Alain. Daniélou

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.4 in

Item Weight9.5 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN92-025844

ReviewsThis book is important not only for those wanting to understand India and Hinduism as traditional Indians see them, but also for what different assumptions and values reveal by comparison about our own Western culture . . . Highly recommended., This is one of those books you should give your child when they come of age so that they may understand the natural rhythm of life, their duties, how to find their place, and along with it happiness and freedom in a seemingly chaotic world.

Table Of ContentNote from the Publisher Introduction by Robert Lawlor Part One 1. The Historical Background History and Legend The Birth of a Civilization Sanskrit 2. The Bases of Social Order The Cycles The Origin of the Ages, the Races, and the Castes Elements of Social Order The Castes Occupation, Heredity, Environment The Four Tyrannies Race and Racism Duties and Privileges Caste and Marriage Caste and Diet Caste and Conquest The Outcastes Protection of Less Advanced Races Part Two 3. The Nature of the World The Nature of the World Creation and Perception Matter, the Stars, and Life 4. The Four Aims of Life The Four "Aims of Life" (Purusharthas) Action (Karma) 5. The First Aim of Life Dharma: Duty, Virtue - Self-realization on the Moral Plane Ethics Moral Purity, Ritual Purity, and Untouchability The Three Debts of Man The Role of Women Population Control 6. The Second Aim of Life Artha: Material Goods, Wealth, Success, Power - Self-realization on the Social Level Material Goods The Acquisition and Use of Wealth 7. The Third Aim of Life Kama: Pleasure, Sexuality, Enjoyment - Self-realization on the Sensual Level Pleasure Pleasure and the Other Aims of Life Pleasure and Liberation Pleasure, the Individual, and Society The Forms of Erotic Realization Erotic Arts and Techniques 8. The Fourth Aim of Life Moksha: Liberation - Self-realization on the Spiritual Plane Liberation Degrees of Divine Union Transcendent Reality Qualifications The Paths of Liberation Samadhi 9. The Four Stages of Life The First Stage of Life: The Quest for Knowledge (Brahmacharya) The Second Stage of Life: Family Life (Grihastha) The Third Stage of Life: Retreat into the Forest (Vana Prastha) The Fourth Stage of Life: Renunciation (Sannyasa) 10. Conclusions Hindu Society in the Modern World Appendix 1 - The Thirty-Two Sciences Appendix 2 - The Sixty-Four Arts Sources Index

SynopsisWhat is the Nature of the social order that unquestionably produced one of the greatest and longest lasting civilizations known to humankind? Alain Dani lou, distinguished Orientalist, musicologist, and linguist, reveals the foundations of India's culture and the four aims of human life as they are viewed in the traditional Hindu society: virtue on a moral plane; success on the material and social planes; pleasure on a sensual plane; and liberation on a spiritual plane. Coexistent with these aims are the four stages of life: quest for knowledge, family life, retreat into the forest, and renunciation. A four-fold division can be found in all traditional societies throughout the world, symbolically representing the progression of creative consciousness into physical reality. In India, this division is reflected in the caste system, a social order that differs profoundly from those accepted in the contemporary Western world. Exploring he fundamental concepts of the caste system, the author addresses issues of race, individual rights, sexual mores, martial practices, and spiritual attainments. In this light, he exposes the inherent flaws and hypocrisies of our modern egalitarian governments and shows how the shadow side of the ancient caste system persists, disguised and unacknowledged, beneath contemporary economic regimes. Dani lou explains how Hindu society has served as a model for the realization of human potential on many levels, addressing sociological and human problems that are both timeless and universal., What is the Nature of the social order that unquestionably produced one of the greatest and longest lasting civilizations known to humankind? Alain Daniélou, distinguished Orientalist, musicologist, and linguist, reveals the foundations of India's culture and the four aims of human life as they are viewed in the traditional Hindu society: virtue on a moral plane; success on the material and social planes; pleasure on a sensual plane; and liberation on a spiritual plane. Coexistent with these aims are the four stages of life: quest for knowledge, family life, retreat into the forest, and renunciation. A four-fold division can be found in all traditional societies throughout the world, symbolically representing the progression of creative consciousness into physical reality. In India, this division is reflected in the caste system, a social order that differs profoundly from those accepted in the contemporary Western world. Exploring he fundamental concepts of the caste system, the author addresses issues of race, individual rights, sexual mores, martial practices, and spiritual attainments. In this light, he exposes the inherent flaws and hypocrisies of our modern egalitarian governments and shows how the shadow side of the ancient caste system persists, disguised and unacknowledged, beneath contemporary economic regimes. Daniélou explains how Hindu society has served as a model for the realization of human potential on many levels, addressing sociological and human problems that are both timeless and universal.

LC Classification NumberBL1215.L54D36 1993