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individuality and collectivity
(vyasti
and
samasti) —
one is for
the other. The ultimate objective is that we must enjoy the life
while in the world and even beyond it.
Vedas and An Individual's Life: The
varndiranza vyavastha
is the cornerstone of the human development both as an
individual and as a social network. At the individual level, the
human life has been divided into four phases called
iThrama —
brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha
and
sarimyasa,
i.e. the
student life, married life as a householder, retired life as an
ascetic, and finally that of a monk. It must be contrary to many
peoples' belief that the topic that has been discussed in the
greatest number of Vedic hymns is that of the householder's
life. This phase has been treated as the very center of the social
fabric. Naturally and obviously so, the housewife occupies the
central position in the household, and therefore, the woman's
position has been at the highest pedestal. The four divisions of
the human life lead to a guided destiny in a perfect balance
where one learns to develop himself/herself in
brahmacarya
with the purpose to repay back to his/her parents in
grhastha.
Later on the person is expected to work for the community in
vanaprastha
and then for the entired humanity while being in
sanznyasa.
The married life is not to satisfy lust but to procreate
children of increasingly better characteristics. The singular
contribution of the Vedic culture is to view sexual intercourse
as the means to
garbhathdhana —
it is not an act for gratification
alone but is the most responsible act to bring a new child into
the world. Certainly so, it is not a sinful act.
Vedas and the Society: Likewise, the society is viewed with
its four integral segments. This is based on a deep study of the
causes of pains and sufferings that a society goes through. The
sufferings are broadly due to: 1) ignorance, i.e. lack of the true
knowledge or due to the wrong knowledge, 2) injustice, and 3)
scarcity of commodities. These three factors are expressed by
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