Lives in a life

One way of living with full awareness, remaining positive and seeing one’s actions as having a purpose, is to break up life into stages. Just as one anticipates the seasons and makes preparations to greet them, life’s stages must also be anticipated and welcomed. Even as it sounds good to remain eighteen forever it is just not possible.

The first stage even today is that of learning. This may be formal or informal. The infant’s initial enthusiasm gets a bit distracted as the journey proceeds, but the norms are not different from those laid down traditionally. If the period is dedicated to earnest enquiry, cultivation of modesty through the respectful treatment of teachers, and pleasant behaviour, there is a lot to look forward to. The skill and confidence developed go a long way in the creation of wealth in the next stage.

The motivation for the wealth creator even in modern times comes from the desire to become independent, a householder responsible for, and caring for, dependants. In the process wealth is created not just for oneself but also for society. There is both pleasure and prosperity in doing so. The life goals remain kama and artha. With success comes the anticipation of the next stage. This is to retire from the rat race and spend time doing what one always wanted to do.

In this time of reduced responsibility one also has the joy of contemplating on what one has learnt, mentoring the young, coming to terms with limitations, and withdrawal from the desire to exercise power and control. The life goal here is to cultivate higher values. Society benefits from the aspirations generated by such ethical and sophisticated behaviour and learns to respect it. One lives by dharma, that is as one ought to live.

The last stage, of renunciation, is not really rooted in society. Having completed the earlier three stages, the joys of renunciation derive from the wisdom of not wishing or pretending to be young, of detachment from things beyond one’s control, and being motivated more by inner good. Here one can choose actions which lead to an eventual end which is desirable because it is intrinsically good.