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In our grand Indian culture they conceived of life in four stages: the
preliminary stage, the development stage, the flowering or blossoming
stage, and the culminating, fruitful stage. The satisfactory growth of
the latter three stages truly depends upon the management of the first
stage.
THE STUDENT STAGE
The supreme value of the student period is incalculable. Student life
is the most precious
life. The way in which you utilize this period will decide the nature
of the coming years that lie ahead of you. Your happiness, your success,
your honour and your good name all depend upon the way in which you live
now. In this present period, my dear student, you are preparing your future.
Remember this.
I wish you to be great. The world has put its faith in
you. Your elders keep their hope
upon you. Now is the time for you to wisely mould your life, your character,
your physical health, your entire nature in any way in which you make
up your mind to do so. And you must do this now.
It is like the laying of the foundation for an important
building you wish to construct. If
this building is something very important to you, then just think how
much more important its proper foundation becomes in your view. The strong
and continued existence of the building depends certainly upon the foundation.
This is the stage you are now in.
Let your preparations be wise, correct, and of such a
kind that will lead to your true
welfare, supreme good, and lasting happiness. You should acquire knowledge
of subjects not only like History, Geography, Mathematics, etc., but also
about human nature, the science of self-control, the art of developing
a pure mind, the duties of men and women, and the proper relationship
between you, the world and God.
Thus, the first 25 years of human life should be dedicated
to acquiring good health,
perfect character, self-control, and all that is necessary for you to
know in order to live life righteously, to be financially independent
via some trade or profession, and to thus attain lasting satisfaction
and happiness. I shall mention briefly about the second, third and fourth
stages and then take up the important question of how you can manage your
present stage in a most beneficial way.
THE SECOND STAGE: MARRIED
LIFE
Having already created a firm and ideal foundation, the student enters
into the second
stage of life, the householder's life. One is not merely entering into
a physical partnership with another physical creature, is not entering
into a social relationship with another family, but is entering into a
spiritual partnership with another soul in order to fulfill a mutually
shared divine destiny. So that the relationship between husband and wife
is essentially a spiritual partnership between two souls. Your spouse
is to you everything: companion, friend, consoler, helper and partner
in this great spiritual adventure. Such is the ideal and total concept
of this relationship.
With such an understanding, the home becomes not only a place for living
the normal
worldly existence, but a place of worship and devotion. Daily worship,
helping those in need, and honouring the guest (especially the chance
visitor who happens to be at your door at the time of food) become primary
duties of householders.
Another aspect of the householder's duty is to evolve
between themselves reciprocally a
certain ideal behaviour of mutual love, honouring each other's individual
freedom. Such an atmosphere becomes the ideal ground for nurturing the
new generation. They find that between their parents exists a beautiful
relationship of harmony, love, mutual respect and tolerance, which creates
an ideal atmosphere for their growth. Through their personal relationship
the parents place before the children an exemplary way of conducting themselves
which becomes the first educational process of the child. Home is, therefore,
the nursery of the nation, nursery of the world. Providing an ideal setting
and an ideal atmosphere for the generation of tomorrow is an important
duty of the married couple.
THIRD STAGE: RETIREMENT
Having fulfilled the duties of raising children, making them adults capable
of standing on
their own feet, a new stage of life comes into being. Up till now you
were entirely preoccupied with your family and your profession, providing
for your parents, wife, children and other dependents. To a certain extent,
it was a self-centred life, although one practiced selflessness for the
sake of the children and family. But now one must give way to the new
generation.
Having retired, with a little more leisure on your hands,
and with a vast reservoir of
professional experience and expertise, one has the time to become a true
selfless servant of the society, to become altruists and philanthropists.
This is also the time for husband and wife, together, to enter more into
the inner life, study, meditation, prayer, pilgrimage. We must realize
that a time comes when we have to say "Good-bye". We have to
prepare for that last journey.
THE FOURTH STAGE: RENUNCIATION
At this time of life the only duty is to gather together one's mind and
place it upon the
Supreme Being. That is the fourth quarter of life, the sun-set period
of one's life, when all your relationships and connections are now coming
to a close. At this time, your entire mind should be fixed upon the Eternal,
no more on the passing world. You have fulfilled all your duties, and
now you have to depart. The river is reaching the Ocean, and a time will
come when it has to merge into the Ocean.
Here one's mind has become calm, steady and pure. One's
heart is desireless and free
from all cravings. One is established in perfect self-restraint and virtue.
This ideal state is the fruit of right living. Here, one automatically
becomes absorbed in the contemplation of the Supreme and moves toward
God-experience. He or she reaps the harvest of a rich inner spiritual
life, supreme peace and bliss, obtaining that ultimate objective for which
one has taken birth.
That is the goal to be reached. But now you are just
beginning. What must you do? How
must you live? How should you manage a student life satisfactorily? There
are Twelve Keys to successfully managing a student's life.
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