Samayasara OR Nature of Self

Author(s): A Chakravarti
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 44

INTRODUCTION
xl11 duties and thus contributes to the general welfare of society. But he is not to be here for ever. He has to enter the third stage of his life. He is to become a parıvrajaka or a religious mendicant wholly devoted to the spiritual affairs Having served society well and to the best of his ability he now depends upon society for his maintenance devoting his whole time to philosophical research Now he spends most of his time outside the grama or nagara staying in the adjoining vana or woodland. On account of this habit of dwelling in the Udyanas or Vanas outside the city, the third stage is very often referred to as the stage of Vanaprastha This is to be followed by complete renunciation which is the last stage-Sanyasa which marks the close of the spiritual development The Upanishads and their associated Aranyakas perhaps refer to the third stage, Vanaprastha. It calls to our mind a pictuie of life closely akin to that of St. Francis of Assissi in the medieval Europe. His associates were the beasts and the birds of the forest. He had untrammelled spiritual peace, that passeth understanding in the undisturbed solitude of forest full of charm It is something like this that we have to imagine as the characteristic of the Upanishadic period. We are ushered into a world of congregations of preachers and disciples, the former elaborately expounding, the latter reverently listening to the theosophic rahasya otherwise known as Upanishadic secrets. The change from the world of sacrificial ritual to the world of philosophic speculation brought with it new claimants to honour and Truth. The sacrificial mantras and the sacrificial procedure were mainly cultivated and practised by the priestly class during the earlier period. But the Brahma vidya or atman cult of the Upanishads has nothing in common with the recitation of sacrificial formula This new philosophic speculation seems to have had its origin in the king's courts. It is associated with the Kshatriyas perhaps on account of peace and prosperity or perhaps the fruits of life are eaten to surfeit by them The Kshatriyas were the first to experience the emptiness of life and to turn their attention inwards in search of the underlying spiritual principle, atman or Brahman. Whatever be the social conditions that brought about this new outlook on life this