Traditional Hindu Society

The second and the third quarters of life were devoted to Pravrtti [involvement] in the worldly spheres of Artha and Kama. Artha meant the acquisition of wealth and achievements in life, whereas Kama meant the graceful surrender to the temptations of life and the aesthetic enjoyment of the same, which marriage and family life provided for. Significantly, Dharma was to be the guiding light even as the individual traversed through these worldly spheres.

Artha and Kama are necessarily intertwined and constituted the second and third goals of life. Artha and Kama were intended to bring about a full-blown fulfilment to all desires.

Modern Secular Society

The essential interconnectedness of Artha and Kama is as valid in a modern secular society as in a traditional Hindu one. Significantly, on account of the fundamental shift that has occurred in the nature of Dharma, the goals of Artha and Kama must now necessarily be pursued without the moral and the spiritual foundation that Dharma had provided in a traditional Hindu society.