THE FOUR STAGES:- The full life-period of an Indo-Aryan was divided into four stages, namely, brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha, & sannyasa. The first stage was devoted to study. The celibate led a life of chastity & austerity & served his teacher with humility. He learnt the Mantra & the Brahmana sections of the Vedas. And when he left the teacher’s house, after completing his studies, he was commanded not to deviate from truth & not to forget to persevere in the study of the Vedas. The second stage was devoted to household duties. The young man took a wife. Both together performed the Vedic sacrifice with the hymns of the Mantra & in accordance with the rules laid down in the Brahmana. The third stage commenced when the hair turned grey & the face began to wrinkle. The householder consigned the responsibility of the home to his children & retired with his wife into the forest. He was then known as a vanaprashthin or aranyaka, a forest-dweller. The Aranyaka portion of he Vedas prescribed for him sacrifice by meditation & symbolic worship. RECONCILING THE TEACHINGS OF THE UPANISHADS:- One finds in the Upanishads various strands of thought: Dualism (Dvaita), Qualified Non-dualish (Visishtadvaita), Further, the Upanishads describe both the Brahman with attributes (Saguna Brahman) & the attributeless (Nirguna Brahman). They also deal with the disciplines of philosophical knownedge (jnana), divine love (bhakti), action (karma), & yoga. Sometimes contradictions appear. Hence the queation atises as to whether the Upanishads present a single, consistent, co-orinated system of knowledge of a mere conglomeration of unrelated ideas. The orthodox Hindu view is that the Upanishads are consistent, that they describe a single truth, namely, the reality of the non-dual Brahman, & furthermore, that this same truth is rendered in the Bhagavad Gita & the Brahma Sutras. The Vedantic philosophers support this conclusion by certain accepted means of proof. THE VEDIC KNOWLEDGE:- According to the Mundaka Upanishad, one should acquire two forms of knowledge: the apara (lower) & the Para (Higher). The lower consists of the four Vedas (that is to say, their ritualistic portions) & their six auxiliaries. It deals with the phenomenal universe. Most of the Upanishads exhibit stark realism in describing how to obtain wealth, fame, power, a long life on earth, a healthy body, & worthy children. Many of the prayers are directed to this end. The rishis’ understanding of man & the universe, though it may appear crude & naïve in the light of modern science, was derived from observation of nature & provides the foundation for spiritual wisdom. But both the universe & material enjoyments, they taught, are impermanent. The Higher Kmowledge is that by which the Imperishable Substance is know. To this Imperishable Substance the Indo-Aryan seers gave the name of Brahman; hence the Higher Knowledge was also called Brahmavidya, the Knowledge of Brahmavidya was regarded as the foundation—savavidyapratishtha. Highly treasured by the rishis, it was zealously guarded by them; for they regarded it as more preciopus than the earth filled with riches. The secret of Brahman could be transmitted only to a qualified disciple. NIRGUAN BRAHMAN:- Nirguna Brahman, as has already been stated, cannot be characterized by any indicative marks, qualities, or attributes. Therefore It is not describable by words. ‘From whence all speech, with the mind, turns away, unable to reach It.’ That is why the attributeless Brahnan is explained sometimes by silence. Sankara declares, in his commentary on Brahma Sutras III. Ii. 17, that Bahva, being questioned about Brahman by Bashkalin, explained It to him by silence. ‘He said to Bashkalin: “Learn Brahman, O friend,” & became silent. Then, on a second & third questioning, Badhva replied: “I am teaching you indeed, but you do not understand. Silence is that Self.” SAGUNA BRAHMAN:- When Brahman becomes conditioned by the upadhi of maya & shrinks, as it were, because of that maya, It is called Saguna Brahman, the conditioned Brahman. Saguna Brahman is the Personal God. Without compulsion from outside, Brahman imposes upon Itself, as it were, a limit & that becomes manifest as God, soul, & world. Creation, preservation, & destruction are the activities of Saguna Brahman. But Nirguna Brahman & Saguna Brahman are not two realities. The sea is the same, whether it is peaceful or agitated. Maya, as we shall presently see, has no independent reality. It inheres in Brahman, as the power of Brahman. Fire’s power of burning cannot be conceived of as in essence different from fire. REBIRTH:-The question of a man’s hereafter was perhaps raised even at the dawn of human thinking. Vedic philosophy has dealt with the subject, & the conclusion arrived at is very significant. Its doctrine of karma & the rebirth of the soul has exercised a practical influence upon millions of Hindus from the most ancient time. Even now its influence on their daily lives is great. All the good & evil that befall a man during one lifetime cannot be explained if we confine our attention to this life alone. What does he know of life who only one life knows? In the narrow span of a single life we cannot possibly reap the fruit of all that we do. It is reasonable to admit the existence of a transmigrating soul in order to substantiate the general belief in moral requital. ‘A mortal ripens like corn, & like corn he springs up again., But the seed is left. We are all born with a blue-print of our life, as it were, mainly prepared by our actions in the previous life. Our present acts & thoughts are the result of our past & create our future. Man is the architect of his own fate & the builder of his own future destiny.