Hari OM
'Text-days' are for delving into the
words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.
Yesterday we saw the verses on dharma, now let's explore them.
It is considered, in Sanatana Dharma, that there are four stages of
life, known as ashramas. The time of the student (brahmacharya), the time of
the house-holder (gRhstha), the time or retirement (vaanaprastha) and the time
of renunciation (sannyaasa).
The word ashrama itself means a place of rest (as in a physical
compound) in the physical sense, but in the subtler sense refers to a state of
being free of burdens. These four stages of life are called ashramas because
the idea is that we find the optimal balance in each stage to live life fully
and stress-free. Let us look at the first two of the ashramas. (Verses 50 and
51.)
Brahmacharya; the word means
self-control. This applies at all levels. We might think that children and
youth are the least self-controlled. However, this is also the time of
learning. The period of time is brahmacharya, but not until the lessons are
inculcated can one be said to be a Brahmachari. This is the time to be deeply
set in study, contemplation, mulling over the lessons, building sincerity of
purpose, defining goals. Of course, the purpose of dharma is that this ought
all, ultimately, be for spiritual gain such that we come to know The Truth.
In Sanskrit tradition, schooling was always with a guru (gurukula)
and all the lessons required for life were given there, as well as grammar and
scriptural study. The whole point of Sanatana Dharma is that spiritual life is
not a separate component of physical life. To separate these two is to divide
our personality.
Without a sense of the spiritual part of our being, we can find
ourselves adrift in society. The human psyche always will look for meaning and
this occurs most when we are in childhood. It is why fairy tales and fantasies
make the greatest impact in that time. If the tales provided contain horror or
have no basis in reality, how are the young minds to integrate what they learn
there with the actual case of life? In our current time, youngsters are lost in
video games with all sorts of unfounded storytelling. Many young folk go
unsupervised and have no solid, positive role-models, so make up their own with
populism and potential danger. Understanding this, Sanskrit has many, many
tales of its own to capture young imaginations, but all of them come out of the
scriptures and all are adored! All inspire! All lift the minds and hearts of young people. What is more, it all takes place in gurukula, where daily
routine and service of the teacher instils discipline and humility.
GRhastha; the time of the
householder is given an arbitrary marking of 25 years to 55 years, but of
course it can be longer. It is the time when attachment is accepted as a part
of the process of dharma. Majority of people will marry, have a family. All can
attain employment status, a home of their own, have the opportunity to support
others.
If the lessons in the time of brahmacharya have properly taken
within us, then we can pass through the time of gRhastha knowing that we are
not the body through which we act, through which we experience, through which
we suffer. If we attach to it and think we are this body, we set up for
ourselves all sort of strife! The wise man knows the doer is not he in this
body, but That of which we are part. Most of us fail in that wisdom. The wise
man will continue to grow in his studies on dharma and will be in a ready state
for action but know when inaction is worthy. The fool seeks only to learn of
the world and is constantly in a state of reaction. The wise man knows he owns
nothing. The fool can never own enough.
...tbc...
