Life
Our life is short. Life can be divided into four parts and can be compared with a day. This comparison is well explained by four photographs. Look at it :
Childhood – its like sunrise in the morning.
Youth, the mid point of our life, like noon of the day- the brightest part of the day. In our life too, it is the best part of our life and many decisions come in this part of life.
Old age is like the Sunset at the end of the day.
Darkness engulfs – life ends and set for a heavenly journey.
According to Hindu Religion, there are four stages of life viz. Brahmacharya (student), Grihasta (Householder) Vanaprasta (forest dweller or Hermit in semi retirement) Sannyasi (the renounced one in full retirement) and the Dharma of each is different. The four stages may be said to represent periods of Preparation, Production, Service and Retirement.
1. Brahmacharya Ashrama (Student)
This stage begins when a child enters school at an early age and continues until he or she has finished all schooling . The goal is to acquire knowedge, build character and learn to shoulder resonsibilities.
2. Grihasta Ashrama (HouseHolder)
This stage begins at marriage. In this ashrama an individual pays three debts (service of God, serving sages and saints and to ancestors), and enjoys good and noble things in life in accordace with Artha-Kama-Moksha.
3. Vanaprastha Ashrama (Forest Dweller or hermit in semi retirement)
After the responsibilities of Grahastha ashrama are complete (when one’s children have reached adulthood) one enters this ashrama. This is known as ascetic or hermit stage of life. In this stage one gradually withdraws from active life and begins devoting more time to study of scriptures, contemplation and meditation.
4. Sannyasa Ashrama (the renounced one in full retirement)
This ashrama is the final stage of life in which an individual mentally renounces all worldly ties, spends all of his or her time in meditation and contemplation and ponders over the mystries of life. In ancient times one would part company with one’s family and become a mendicant
Acknowledgement : Photos : Yahoo group circulation. (Explaination by : Anil )
This is my canvas, where I would like to spread different colors of life on it. Different colors are seen in our life since life is a journey through sunshine and shadow, ups and downs and this colorful and eventful journey makes us prudent.
This is really article. What is the purpose of life? Who am I ? these are some beautiful questions which we must keep with us till the end.
Yes, it makes sense, a reawakening of thoughts and ideas on the true essence of existence, inspiring words for the hearts, and most of all, reflecting time for the long forgotten truth that man’s purpose on earth is unknown….after all, we are here to die…
Yes we born to die. But as we believe in Hinduism that life has to perform some duties in different stages. 4stages to present : Preparation, Production, Service and Retirement. If we can go through all these stages then only we are successful as human being. Our purpose of coming to this earth is not totally unknown. we should do our duties. and thats what made us here. Its my way of thinking.
Anil
hi….am happy to find this way of exchanging thoughts in any interesting topics. thanks for the enlightening thoughts..
Hi Nina,
You may visit ISKCON website http://www.mayapur.com for details about their membership etc by mailing your queries directly to ISKCON. They will contact you. Also you will be informed if any branch is there in Manila or elsewhere in your country. They have branches all over the world.
have a nice time and good luck.
Anil
hi,
thanks for giving this site. I opened it but haven’t gone to ISKCON yet. Thanks again.
Your intepretation of life through photographs is lovely, however did you notice that however dark, each photo does has some semblence of brightness and even the first photo depicting childhood has a shade of the setting sun… life as we all know is beyond colors and beyond the blacks and the whites too.. had logged in for the pictures but yr creativity is inspiring
Hi
Thanks again for sharing your lovely and in depth thoughts on life.
In the first picture which is depicting childhood, if I am not wrong, it is sunrise with a clear blue sky, which again resembling with our childhood, begining of our life like begining of a day.
In all the picture the life has been shown as a day at different times, like our life at different ages.
Its my thinking, i may be wrong.
bye, have a nice time