The forgetful householder life of the conditioned soul is a
soul-killing dark well. This is the opinion of Sr Prahlada Maharaja,
the celebrated devotee of the Lord. Too much attachment for
hearth and home is never recommended by a self-realized soul.
Therefore the span of human life should be methodically divided.

The first stage is called the brahmacari-asrama, or the order of
life in childhood, when the man-to-be is trained in the ultimate
goal of life. The next stage is the grhastha asrama, in which the
man is trained to enter into the Transcendence. Then comes the
vanaprastha asrama, the preliminary stage of renounced life. The
last stage recommended is the sannyasa order, or the renounced
order of life. In this way one accepts a gradual process of spiritual
activities for the ultimate goal of liberation.

Unfortunately, for want of sufficient culture of the human spirit,
no one wants to give up the householder life, even though it is full
of pinpricks and mud. And those who are too attached amidst the
pinpricks of muddy householder life are compared to the cranes
that stand on the bank of the river for some sense enjoyment
despite all the inconveniences there. We should always remem-
ber that the society, friendship, and love we are supposed to
enjoy in family life are only shadowy representations of the real
society, friendship, and love reciprocated in the kingdom of God.
There is no reality in the conditioned life of material existence, but
because of our ignorance we are attached to the mirage. The idea
of society, friendship, and love is not at all false, but the place
where we search for it is false. We have to give up this false
position and rise to the reality. That should be the aim of life, and
that is the result of cultivating the human spirit.

Unfortunately, for want of sufficient culture of this spirit, the
materialistic man always sticks to this false place in spite of all its
turmoils. It is said that a man should give up the order of house-
holder life at the age of fifty. But in this era of ignorance even an
old man wants to rejuvenate his bodily functions, put on artificial
teeth, and make a pretense of youthful life, even on the verge of
death. Cranelike politicians especially are too much attached to
the false prestige of position and rank, and so they always seek
reelection, even at the fag end of life. These are some of the
symptoms of an uncultured life.=

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