7 Steps to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. Step 4 - Creating Prosperity.

Misery is a long life without wealth.

 "Prosperity is not just having things. It is the consciousness that attracts the things. Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things." - Eric Butterworth

"Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped." - Calvin Coolidge

 “One must have a desire for wealth for there is nothing so miserable as a long life without wealth.” - Charaka Samhita

In Ayurveda, there are four goals of life: 

·      Dharma meaning one’s life purpose.

·      Artha meaning prosperity.

·      Kama meaning fulfillment of desires, happiness and love.

·      Moksha meaning becoming one with the divine, the spiritual path.

Artha does not mean amassing great wealth or living a luxurious lifestyle or living selfishly.  Instead, it is a byproduct of living one’s dharma, one’s life purpose.  If we are firmly established in dharma, then prosperity naturally follows.  It comes from living our dharma.  Thus, we benefit most from focusing on our dharma, which allows the other goals of Ayurveda to be pursued effortlessly as they serve to create and maintain our dharmic foundation.

When artha is an end to itself it causes wrong action, which can lead to physical or mental disease.  When balanced, artha creates the foundation for us to grow as spiritual beings.  When imbalanced, two things can occur.  The first is that we crave too much.  We become greedy, our lives are imbalanced, limited and selfish.  If, on the other hand, we ignore the material necessities of life, we risk becoming overly dependent on others, insecure and frustrated.  Fulfilling our dharma may not be possible.  By accepting artha as an essential goal of life, we become responsible for our lives and are able to fulfill our needs.

Artha also means managing our material wealth in a righteous manner.  In Ayurveda, the old adage “health is wealth” also applies.  If we have good health, the desire to earn is prominent.  When knowledge is also used to support oneself, it can be part of artha.  Ayurveda aims at ending suffering so each individiual is able to self-actualize, to accomplish the four goals of life:  dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. 

In the Charaka Samhita, one of the three ancient texts on Ayurveda, Charaka said, “One must have a desire for wealth as there is nothing so miserable as a long life without wealth” (nor without health for that matter).