Four Types of Devotees
The Bhagavad Gītā (7.16) lists four kinds of people who worship Bhagavān:
- Ārta — one who comes to the Lord in acute distress and crisis, seeking immediate relief from suffering (e.g., Gajendra, Draupadī)
- Jijñāsu — one who seeks knowledge, who approaches God out of philosophical curiosity
- Arthārthī (arthin = one who seeks an artha/benefit) — the focus of this entry: one who worships Bhagavān for a specific worldly benefit or goal (health, wealth, children), approaching the Lord instrumentally
- Jñānī (knower) — one who knows the Lord's true nature and loves Him for Himself
The Lord declares all four as udārāḥ (noble/generous) — he accepts all. But the jñānin is described as "dear to me as my very self" (sa ca mama priyaḥ) — the highest grade.
The Ārthin's Surrender
The ārthin (= arthārthī) approaches the Lord with a specific goal in mind — a child, health, wealth, removal of an obstacle. Unlike the ārta (whose distress is acute and overwhelming), the ārthin comes with a concrete request. Paradigmatic examples of the ārta (not ārthin) are Gajendra and Draupadī — they came in extreme crisis. The ārthin by contrast is the one who prays before a temple deity for a particular boon.
The Lord accepts both types generously — the Gītā calls all four udārāḥ (noble). But even the ārthin's approach, if it deepens into genuine love, can elevate to the level of the jñānī.
Ārthin and Prapanna
Both the ārthin (seeking relief from suffering) and the mumukṣu (seeking liberation) can be prapannas — the difference is what they seek from their surrender. The fully developed prapanna seeks neither relief nor liberation as separate goals but only the Lord's pleasure.