he West express when we say, "You can't take it with you."
It is only when the attractions of the Path of Desire begin to pall that men begin to seek the Path of Renunciation. It should be noted that Hinduism does not expect everyone to become bored with pleasure and success. It all depends on how many reincarnations a particular soul has experienced, according to this doctrine. If it is a relatively young soul, it may well be satisfied with the Path of Desire, but if it is an older soul, it may seek the more mature Path of Renunciation. (Smith, 1958, p. 20)
The third great aim of life, then, is duty. It yields many rewards, such as praise from the community and self-respect, but it suffers from the problem that the human community is finite and incapable of perfection, no matter how much one does to serve it. In the end, duty also cannot fully satisfy man's desires.
This brings us to the fourth goal, and the only one which Hinduism as a religion really speaks to: liberation. By liberation we mean a release from the limitations of the present finite existence, which would allow us to experience being, joy, and knowledge (which are said to be man's real wants) in infinite amounts. The surprising thing is that HInduism says that, not only can we have infinite being, joy, and knowledge, but in fact they are already ours in the form of the "Atman." The Atman is the infinite soul which endures throughout all reincarnations while bodies and egos die - it is the "beyond that is within." (Smith, 1958, p. 25)
The chief goal of Hinduism is to discover and live through the Atman rather than through the body or ego. Once one lives through the Atman, one is capable of taking a universal, objective perspective on life, thus making one indifferent to the petty triumphs and defeats of the individual self. This liberation from the immediate and the personal, then, should allow one to experience infinite joy. Similarly, id...