The Four-Way Path - by Héctor García & Casa de Col on de Las Palmas (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An inspiring guide to achieving happiness through purushartha (pronounced poo-roo-shar-tuh), or the four ultimate goals of human life, by the bestselling authors of Ikigai and The Book of Ichigo Ichie Modern life presents us with such a dizzying array of options that it can be easy to doubt we're living the life we're meant to be living. But the authors of the global bestseller Ikigai, about the Japanese concept that has helped millions of people discover their reason for being, are now on a mission to show how the ancient Hindu concept of purushartha, meaning the ultimate goal of life, provides a powerful framework for charting a path toward a life of purpose and fulfillment in our complex modern world. The authors have made many trips to India, where Ikigai has sold more copies than anywhere else in the world, and were inspired to write a book honoring the balanced ways of life they attribute to fostering happiness and achievement. In The Four Purusharthas, they draw on practices from India's numerous spiritual traditions to show you how to cultivate the four components of purushartha: your dharma, or what the world needs from you your kama, or what you love doing your artha, or what you need to sustain your life your moksha, or your truest, most actualized self If you already know what your purpose in life is, then this book provides a blueprint for living in accordance with your purushartha. If you don't yet know, then it will give you the tools to start the adventure of knowing yourself better, and to bring inspiration, beauty, peace, and purpose to your daily life"--

Book Synopsis

An inspiring guide to achieving happiness through purushartha (pronounced poo-roo-shar-tuh), or the four ultimate goals of human life, by the bestselling authors of Ikigai and The Book of Ichigo Ichie

In our complex modern world, it can be easy to doubt we're living the life we're meant to be living. But the authors of the global bestseller Ikigai, about the Japanese concept that has helped millions of people discover their reason for being, are now on a mission to show how the ancient Hindu concept of purushartha provides a powerful framework for charting a path toward a life of purpose and fulfillment .

Having spent a great deal of time in India, the authors were inspired to write a book honoring the culture they came to appreciate. In The Four-Way Path, they draw on practices from India's numerous spiritual traditions to show how to foster happiness and achievement by cultivating the four components of purushartha

• your kama, or what you love doing

• your dharma, or what the world needs from you
• your artha, or what you need to sustain your life
• your moksha, or your truest, most actualized self

If you already know what your purpose in life is, then this book provides a blueprint for living in accordance with your purushartha. If you don't yet know, then it will give you the tools to start the adventure of understanding yourself better, and to bring inspiration, beauty, peace, and purpose to your daily life.

Review Quotes

"[A] wonderful book . . . I commend [it] for delving so accessibly into the complex cultural and spiritual traditions of India, and distilling from them guides for living that should be valuable to everyone with an open mind and a willingness to learn from the wisdom of the ancients." --Shashi Tharoor, from the Foreword

"[The Four-Way Path] draws from Indian philosophy, yet refuses to be academic. . . . An accessible narrative, so that once and for all, happiness or the larger meaning of life might seem closer." --The Hindu

About the Author

Héctor García and Francesc Miralles are the coauthors of the multimillion-copy international bestseller Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life and The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way. Their books have been published in more than sixty languages.
Shashi Tharoor (foreword) is the bestselling author of more than two dozen books about India's history, politics, and culture, including Why I Am a Hindu and The Hindu Way. A member of parliament in India, he has been under secretary-general of the United Nations and has won numerous literary awards, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.