Letter # 70: "New Year's Resolutions"

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right,” says Oprah Winfrey, (1954-), US actress and talk show host.
Why do we make resolutions at New Year? We make them in order to meet certain objectives in life, objectives that we know that we have ignored. New Year offers a time for a “stock taking” of life.
What are life’s objectives?
The Vedic wisdom offers a classification of the objectives of life. There are four main ones:
1. Dharma or “religious principles” or “the way”.
2. Moksa or “liberation” or “freedom from material attachment”.
3. Artha or “economic development”.
4. Kama or “sense" or "bodily qualities”.
You will note that first two are spiritual, and the latter two material.
Most of us put emphasis on the latter - economic development and the body. But is is only when we allow ourselves to pay attention to the first two that we attain peace, contentment and rest. When we rebel against the first two, and focus only on “artha” or “kama”, we suffer unrest, trial and tribulation.
Like all things in life, a balance is required. Jesus taught a balance. He said,"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." [Matthew 22:21]. Caesar epitomizes items 3 and 4 above; and God, items 1 and 2. Here, Jesus is saying that a man requires to give attention to both.
Guru Nanak sings: “Sabh te uttam har ki katha; Nam sunat darad dukh latha,” which stanza is rendered into English as: “The singing of the Lord’s praise is the best of all religious discourses; By hearing the Name, pain and sorrow vanish.” [SS Asht 2. P30].
For a proper balance in your New Year's resolutions be sure to consider all four of the objectives.

God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.
I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.