As the body grows and gains different forms in aging, so also the mind passes through different stages. Let us examine these phases and decide which is most acceptable for leading a balanced life.
The first phase that a human has, in the beginning, is Kshipta. This is a childhood stage wherein the child will have more curiosity to know everything about something and something of everything. The child, however, does not stick to anything. It is just a curiosity, and nothing else. The child at this stage is more creative and exploratory. The child moves from one thing to another without firmly adhering to it. The child learns by touching, licking, and playing with the things and by imitating. We can call this stage a butterfly stage. Just as a butterfly flicks from flower to flower, the child moves from one object to another.
The second phase of the human mind is Mudha. This is a stage that every young man undergoes. This stage is a confusing stage. At this stage, the young seem to be more confused as to what to pursue, how to set goals, what to take into life, and so on. This stage also is imitative. Every young man imitates someone who is extraordinary and exceptional in life. Someone is taken as a role model and is imitated. Also at this stage, the young are swayed by emotions and seemed to be more romantic, dreamy, nevertheless confused. Confusion happens in this stage because the young are not pretty sure as to how to proceed further in life. Confusion persists because they need proper guidance and direction; they suffer from a lack of strong willpower and determination. In most cases, they are unsteady and unstable in their thinking, movement, and action.
This third phase is Vikshipta. It is experienced in the adult stage. It is a middle-age stage between thirty-five and fifty. This stage is a little more advanced than Mudha stage. In this phase, the human overcomes confusion experienced in the stage of Mudha. The mind becomes steady and not confused; emotions gain balance. The goals become clear and the human starts pursuing them with a sense of sincerity and perseverance. The clarity in thinking takes place. More or less, he/she will get settled in life by marrying and begetting children. Family builds up and the bond within among children and parents gets woven. Responsibilities increase, and hence, human becomes more preoccupied with the continuance of family structure. Values laid by society and institutions are pursued; family norms and conventions are followed and respected.
The fourth phase is Ekagratha. The human becomes matured. He pursues the goals with one-pointedness. He is ready for true life. Usually, this happens after fifty. Vairagya slowly creeps into life as he gets tired of life’s ambitions and pursuits. Slowly wisdom dawns upon him. He realizes the meaninglessness in all pursuits and imagines something beyond all these mere pursuits in the empirical world, and decides to pursue that. An indifferent attitude to life becomes the center stage in life. He may not be aware of what this is. But unconsciously, he enters into a world that is altogether different and mystifying.
The fifth and last phase is called Niruddha stage. This is a self-controlled stage. Everything is in control. Vairagya in this stage leads him to exercise control over his body and mind. The food habits are streamlined. Emotions get stabilized. Life is completely reoriented in a new direction. The pursuits are not material but are changed into the spiritual. He thinks that he needs to lead a different kind of life, not based on material pursuits but on spiritual inquiry. This stage is a complete deviation from the earlier stages. Viveka (discrimination) becomes a virtue. He starts distinguishing between what is permanent and impermanent. Vairagya (dispassion) is intensified. Both Vairagya and Viveka become the two eyes in living.
Since Viveka necessitates intellectual awareness, it is cultivable. While cultivating Vairagya as a virtue in isolation—which comes from introspection alone—can be challenging. One becomes indifferent to worldly pursuits as they contemplate about life. The more life is reflected upon, the more one becomes detached from their surroundings. As one gradually distances themselves from worldly goals, peace emerges. Depending on the prior karmas, a person may enter this stage at a young age. Such people become yogis at an early age.
Everyone at the cemetery develops wisdom and begins to realize how fleeting the temporal world is. However, the lesson learned in the cemetery is forgotten as the mourners head home after the funeral rites. They get busy again, doing the same things they used to. Once, someone went to see the great 16th-century saint-poet, Kabir. On being told that the poet had gone to the burial ground, the stranger expressed his desire to see him at any cost. Since he had never seen the poet, he inquired as to how he might identify the poet. People told him that he could recognize Kabir as he wore a feather in his cap. Upon arriving at the cemetery, he noticed that everybody had a feather in their cap. He was in awe. As the funeral procession moved away, the feathers of each one disappeared at varying distances. The only one whose feather remained was the saint, Kabir. The feather represents the thought about the illusion and fleeting nature of our very important affairs and pursuits.
