Sometimes I get amazed by the rat race that goes on in the name of enjoyment. People go to any extent to ‘enjoy’. For many people enjoyment is the very purpose of their life.
I am not against enjoyment per se. I am not like those ancient Buddhists who shunned enjoyment as a cause of all miseries. But they frowned only upon worldly enjoyment. They had no problem with the enjoyment or bliss one experiences as a result of meditative practices.
Buddhism shunned worldly enjoyment and advocated a life of renunciation probably because of the extremities the mankind had taken towards a joyful life ignoring all norms and responsibilities.
Buddha appeared on this earth when India was full of bloodshed driven by extreme greed. The then prince Ajatashatru killed his own father to ascend the throne. He even conspired to kill Buddha. But Buddha reformed even such a person by his sane advice and finally Ajatashatru renounced extremities.
The Vedic roots to which Buddha belonged, never advocated complete shunning of enjoyment. In fact, Kama or worldly enjoyment was one of the four attainables of any person. But there was a way to do it.
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| Four attainables |
Once a person has mastered Dharma, then and only then he was allowed to earn a livelihood, again, earning without violating the norms laid by Dharma or righteousness. That was Artha or wealth.
Once a man was well established in the society as a responsible individual, he was entitled to enjoy the world in a righteous way. That was Kama or enjoyment.
After enjoying as long as he wanted or as long as the body permitted and most importantly without transgressing the limits set by righteousness or Dharma, one could choose to aspire for complete liberation from all entanglements. That was Moksha.
In this way Dharma – righteousness, Artha – wealth, Kama – enjoyment, Moksha – final liberation, were the four attainables one should aspire for, as per the ancient Indian way of life. The emphasis was on a responsible way of living both as an individual as well as part of a healthy society.
At least in Buddha’s case, he went through the study of Dharma in his early life. He was a prince who inherited lot of wealth. He got married and even had a son. But finally, at the age of 40, he decided to renounce the worldly life for the betterment of the society and also for his final emancipation. His over emphasis on the last achievable, namely Moksha may not have been meant for all people.
In ancient India, the life of an individual was divided into 4 quarters each spanning 25 years. In the first 25 years one was supposed to study Dharma. During this time, worldly enjoyment was completely forbidden. One needed to focus completely on studies alone. No part time jobs. No dating or partying as we see the students now-a-days engaged in 😉
Only after one completes the studentship one was eligible for earning as well as enjoyment. But again, within the limits of righteousness! That was the stage after first 25 years and for the next 25 years.
From 50 to 75 was the transition period when one prepared for a graceful exit from active worldly life. Only at the fag end of one’s life that is between the age 75 to 100 one had the option to work on liberation or Moksha.
But what are we doing today? The word righteousness has lost its meaning. ‘Anything that is right for me’ is our definition of righteous. Enjoyment has become the only goal.
But there is difference between enjoying and enjoying responsibly. Otherwise we become no different from animals that are totally driven by instinct with no ability to think.
This theme flows in all the ancient Indian scriptures and was once an Indian way of life. One of the Upanishads, namely the Ishavasya Upanishad says that
“One should aspire to live for full hundred years, enjoying life. But one should keep doing one’s duty as well as avoid over indulgence. One should not hoard wealth nor one should snatch someone else’s share. Afterall, the entire world belongs not to you alone but to everyone or to the creator of everyone.”
It is the same message one sees in Bhagavad Geetha. Even the Yoga propounded by Patanjali starts off within the same setting.
We will delve into more details on how Patanjali starts off his process of Yoga in the next episode.
A series revolving around Mind – Science of Mind, Philosophy of Mind, Notions of reality, Mind modulation, Domains beyond Mind, and so on. © Dr. King 2019
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