Great World Religions Quotes

“The Hindu tradition speaks of four “goods” of life, each of which constitutes a valuable, worthwhile aim in life. First is the good of dharma, or duty. The second is the good of artha, or wealth and material acquisition. The third is the good of kāma, or pleasure and enjoyment of the sense. Mokśa is the fourth and highest good. To achieve mokśa, one must be willing to give up the other three goods, because even though doing one’s duty and pursuing wealth and enjoyment are viewed positively, they also keep one bound to the wheel of rebirth. For those who are not yet prepared to abandon a life of duty, material acquisition, and enjoyments, the religious life means doing one’s best to improve this life and future lives.”
― Mark W. Muesse, Great World Religions: Hinduism

“Śiva is both the creator and destroyer of the universe, movement and tranquility, light and darkness, male and female, celibate and promiscuous. These paradoxes serve to symbolize the limitlessness and freedom of the divine and suggest that what we might ordinarily consider oppositions are, in fact, closer than we think. These divine dimensions are illustrated in the images of Śiva as Mahāyogi, the Lord of the Dance (Natarāja), and Half- Woman Lord. The image of Śiva as the Great Yogi accents Śiva’s tranquil, ascetic aspect, providing a model for many Śaivites who seek to practice asceticism. The Natarāja image depicts Śiva’s cosmic dance during the auspicious occasion of the Mahashivaratri, the great night of Śiva, when he dances to dispel the ignorance of the night. He holds a drum and a flame; with the drum, he sounds the world into existence, and with the flame, he destroys it in order to create another. [...] The Hindu images of divine, both anthropomorphic and aniconic, function symbolically to point beyond themselves to ultimate, infinite reality.”
― Mark W. Muesse, Great World Religions: Hinduism