"The four stages of life"
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE :
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1. THE STUDENT STAGE--
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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 selfcontrol, 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.
2. THE SECOND STAGE: MARRIED LIFE :
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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.
3. THIRD STAGE: RETIREMENT
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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.
4. THE FOURTH STAGE: RENUNCIATION
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