People become religious not for attaining the transcendental stage, but for material benefit, dharma, the artha. Artha means material opulence. These four things: dharma artha kama moksa

Expressions researched:
"people become religious not for attaining the transcendental stage, but for material benefit, dharma, the artha. Artha means material opulence, that. They . . . these four things: dharma artha kāma mokṣa"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

People become religious not for attaining the transcendental stage, but for material benefit, dharma, the artha. Artha means material opulence, that. They . . . these four things: dharma artha kāma mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, CC Adi 1.90). And why they want artha? To satisfy their senses. Dharma artha kāma . . . and when they're again baffled, they want mukti, to become one with the Supreme. These are the four different tastes of the material. All, all of them are baffling and illusory. The so-called religiosity with a view to get some material profit, that comes everywhere.

740408 - Morning Walk - Bombay

This happiness and distress is the cause of śocati and kāṅkṣati. Kāṅkṣati means desiring to have something. This is distress. And lamenting for something, that is also distress. Actually, this is the material position. When we haven't got the things, we desire it. That is also distress. And when it is lost, that is also distress. But by illusion, they take it. When they get it, they think that it is happiness. This is māyā. Actually, to get the things, he has to undergo so much hard . . . a man is given credit . . . suppose he was a poor man; he has now become multi-millionaire. He is given credit. But he does not see that he has simply passed through distress. But he . . . by illusion, he's thinking that he's happy. He's also thinking, and others also thinking that, "He has become happy." But actually it is distress. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (japa) (break) . . . people become religious not for attaining the transcendental stage, but for material benefit, dharma, the artha. Artha means material opulence, that. They . . . these four things: dharma artha kāma mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, CC Adi 1.90). And why they want artha? To satisfy their senses. Dharma artha kāma . . . and when they're again baffled, they want mukti, to become one with the Supreme. These are the four different tastes of the material. All, all of them are baffling and illusory. The so-called religiosity with a view to get some material profit, that comes everywhere. Just in Christianity, the religion means, "O God, give us our daily bread," material profit. Similarly, in anywhere, they go for material benefit. Therefore this kind of religion, it is also good, but it not first class.