Hindu religion helps an individual in understanding what is real satisfaction in life.
In the Bhagavata, as well as in the Mahabharata, we find the story of King Yayati, who after many years of sense enjoyments came to the following conclusion: ‘Verily, this desire for enjoyment never becomes satisfied through enjoyment. The desires go on increasing and become more and more intense as in the case of fire when clarified butter is poured into it.’
The desire for enjoyment does not end with the objects of enjoyment being brought to us. The more we enjoy, the more our greed increases; just like by adding ghee or butter to the fire it increases further, and becomes more and more powerful. So is the case with every walk of life.
We are not satisfied; we always want something more. Only at the end of our life we realize that all our attempts at gratifying our senses have proved to be ineffective, and we have not got that peace which we had been seeking. Such is the experience that comes to all thinking beings.
The ultimate satisfaction is the quest of our life. Everyone may not be a thinking being, that is, one may not consider in detail what is the aim of life, and how one has to live to just get at that goal of life. Everybody does not give much thought to that. Such people are considered by our ancient philosophers as no better than animals, for animals live without such a thought.
If a human being lives like an animal, then she or he will have no higher aim in life, no thinking as to what should be the goal of life. That is the common feature of people who are living an animal life. But then we will come to know that mere animal life does not satisfy us.
We always want something that will bring us eternal peace and satisfaction, something that we do not have.
Ancient Indian rishis devised a pattern of life that would give satisfaction for every grade of existence. That is why we have the purushaarthas, the quests of life as four: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
Dharma implies our duties [both in social and religious life]. These duties help us regulate our life so as to attain the ultimate goal of human life. Then artha, wealth, must be there to procure the basic necessities for sustenance. Then only one can fulfil kama, desire for the satisfaction of senses or satisfaction of the mind. Finally comes moksha, liberation from the prison-house of the life of raaga and dvesha, likes and dislikes, which are due to our attachment and identification with the body. It is a sort of prison-house as it were, because it does give us some satisfaction, no doubt, but at the same time it limits our existence, it limits our knowledge and it limits our sense of happiness as well.