Dear Friends,
Namaste!
So we follow “Brahmacharya” for the first twenty five years of our life. Our body becomes fit as a fiddle. Our intellect becomes razor sharp and replete with enough knowledge so we can actually start putting it to constructive use. Our mind becomes serene after knowing the Bigger Picture and our unique place in that picture. Now we can think about paying back our debts...
The first debt is the debt of our parents and ancestors (“Pitru Rina”). What better way to pay it back than to continue doing the good work that they did, viz., giving birth to our progeny and taking good care of them (throughout their “Brahmacharya”) until they are able to stand on their own feet? Our ancestors and parents made sure that they contributed to Continuity of Life. They made sure the Show would go on. It is our turn now! Therefore, we are advised to enter into the next phase (“Ashram” in Yoga jargon) of life, “Garhastha”.
“Garhastha” or Raising our Family:
We are expected to play the role of a “Grihastha” (“Griha” is home and “Stha” means ‘staying in’ so “Grihastha” literally means one who stays in a home – a family person) for the next twenty five years of our life. These years cover our youth and initial years of middle age.
We are expected to marry and start a family. We are expected to give birth to children and groom them into good persons, professionals and global citizens. We are expected to earn sufficient money and provide them comfort (not necessarily luxuries!).
If we do not pay off the debt of our parents/ancestors, it is believed that posthumously we go to a hell named “Put”. However, when we give birth to and raise our children, the debt is considered to be paid off. Thus, our children literally save us from going to hell! Therefore, in Sanskrit (the language of Yoga), they are called “Putra” (son) or “Putri” (daughter). (“Putat trayate iti Putrah” – one who saves us from hell called “Put” is known as “Putra” or “Putri”)!!
Whilst personal enjoyment and paying back other debts at the same time are not prohibited, we should give highest priority to our family during this time.Charity should indeed first begin at home!
At any time, we play multiple roles. In this phase, we may play several roles simultaneously – husband, father, son, host, brother, friend, professional to name a few. In this phase, we should give more priority, more attention and more focus to the family oriented roles.
This would expand the notion of our “self” from merely being an individual to our family!
In fact, the whole journey is about expanding our identity. In “Brahmacharya” we focus on our personality. In “Garhastha” we focus on our family (which is bigger than an individual). In “Vaanaprastha” we focus on the society or country we live in (which is bigger than our family) and in “Sanyas” we focus on the whole world (which is obviously bigger than anything else!)...
Once our offsprings can stand on their own feet (enter the next phase of their lives), we become ‘free’ from the debt of ancestors and ready to pay off our next debt, viz., “Rishi Rina” – the debt of our teachers. This is also when we enter the third phase (called “Vaanprastha”) of our life.
“Vaanaprastha” or Working for Society:
We are expected to play the role of a “Vaanaprastha” for the next twenty five years of our life (from fifty till seventy five years of age). These years cover our middle-age and initial years of old age.
By this time we have developed our personality and also completed major responsibilities as a family person. Now we are expected to let the whole society we live in have the benefit of our expertise and experience. (This is how we pay back the debt of our teachers!) We are expected to work for the upliftment of the “have-nots” in the society. We are expected to carry out our social responsibilities with more rigour.
Whilst personal enjoyment and paying back other debts at the same time are not prohibited, we should give highest priority to our society during this time.Charity should indeed first begin at home but not stop there!
In this phase, we should give more priority, more attention and more focus to the society oriented roles.
This would expand the notion of our “self” from merely being a family person to a coveted citizen of our society and country.
We are expected to build and groom our second line in our profession so our contribution becomes continuous and immortalized through successors (just like our family name would continue through our children). This is yet another way of paying back the debt of our teachers!
Adios...
No comments:
Post a Comment