As we go about our daily lives we all feel as if something is missing, as if some void needs to be filled, the monotony needs to be broken, but we never realize why we feel so incomplete, and we find different ways to distract ourselves from this emptiness. Sometimes we think going on vacation would help us feel good, sometimes we look for happiness in food, sometimes we spend time with friends and family. We look for everything outside of us to attain fulfillment and joy that in the process we forget to discover ourselves and lose the treasures within.
The Bhagavad Gita tells us that we can find ultimate peace and joy when we balance 3 aspects of our lives:
Artha:
Artha includes everything in your environment that allows you to live a fulfilling life and also the means to achieve it. It includes knowledge, friendships, love, career, skills, good health, and prosperity.
Kama:
Kama includes all the pleasures of life such as art, music, beauty, love, intimacy, affection, fellowship, and kindness—it’s what brings a sense of delight to your life. The right kinds of pleasure lead you toward your Dharma and help you fulfill it with passion. Kama is good and necessary when it exists to support Dharma and becomes part of the richness of life. However, excessive Kama can lead to overindulgence, addiction, sloth, greed, and lust. Kama is good as long as it is aligned to your purpose in life.
Dharma:
Finding the true purpose in your life while also ensuring that you are being kind and true in your words and actions, having compassion for others, and being awake to the existence of the divine within you.
When we can balance Artha, Kama and Dharma, we can find ultimate fulfillment in our lives.