ANSWER THE QUESTIONS FROM THE READING
What are the Stages of Life in Hinduism and how do they relate to the four aims? Where do you place yourself? Can an individual occupy different stages at once?
According to Hinduism, people follow various paths as they try to fulfil their desires. Essentially, individuals are different and they also move through different stages. The stages are made up of four phases which dictate how people conduct themselves as well as how they relate to one another. In the first stage, a person is viewed as a student. It is important to note that in this stage, a students main role is to grasp all that which was taught by the teacher and learn. This is where the student acquires character and his or her habits cultivated. At the end of this stage, a student is supposed to have acquired all the skills that would help him or her be effective and good in life. The next stage involves a householder which begins with marriage whereby attention is given to the three fronts of life. These are; community, vacation, and
The third stage of life involves retirement which in most cases comes after the first grandchild is born. The final stage of life, which Bhagavad Gita defines as the most important stage in life, involves the realization by a person that his joy rests in being...…realize his joy, he devotes himself to spiritual growth by following the way of God. In this case, the said individual realizes about God through knowledge, through love and devotion, through intellectual work or devotion, or through psychophysical experiments that involve mental exercises and meditation.
If I was to gauge myself, I would place myself in the first stage of life since I am still learning. It is also important to note that a person can occupy different stages at once. For instance, a retired person can still be fulfilling the three fronts of life while still learning as a student. In addition, the said person can at the same time be engaged in activities that are rooted in…
