By Victor M Fontane
The four stages of life, mainly for the men of the household are in Sanskrit: (1) sisya, or brahmacarya, (2) Grihastha, (3) vanaprastha, and (4) samnyasa. These categories complement each other, and link with the samskara system (tendencies transferred from life to life) giving a framework for the lives of an orthodox Hindu. This means that life consists of infancy, youth, the middle years and old age. Each stage is an important and beautiful time of growth, learning, caring and sharing in a special and unique way.
Sisya or Grihastha are the first 25 years of life, time of education.
Grihastha are the next 25 years to 50, being a house holder and taking care of your family, also driving ambition, fame and fortune.
Vanaprastha are the next 25 years to 75, the time for the individual to give back to the world with gratitude.
Samnyasa are the next 25 years to 100 (ideally), the time of self realization, finally figuring out the mistery of existence and preparing for the final curtain when the eyes close for the last time, what we call the mistery of death.
Hinduism subscribes to a belief in samsara, the cycle of life, death and reincarnation, until liberation (moksha) is achieved. Death is a hugely significant life event signaling either the attainment of liberation or the continuation on the pilgrimage of life. So, the soul lives after death? Yes, but defining the soul, is that little speck of consciousness which is connected to the unbounded ocean of consciousness.
As Rumi said: “You’re not just a drop in the ocean but also the ocean in the drop, the drop reflects the ocean but from a particular perspective. So is our awareness, unbounded, eternal, timeless, without cause, infinite, etc.
The soul then is the holographic or the hollow movement of the ocean of consciousness that give rise to us as an individual.
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