Found Senior Member thebigthinkg's exposition interesting, and also enjoyed the dialogue with Senior Member KRN; noted with regret the latter's exit from the dialogue. Sri a-TB's timely input was quite relevant and I agree with him.
Countless scholars have tried to interpret the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad (and other upaniishads) with varying degrees of success and levels of communication skills. Examples are the translations by Rai Bahadur Sris Chandra Vasu and Pandit Ramaksya Bhattacharya (Vidyabhusan) with Sri Madvachaarya's commentary published in 1916 by The Panini Office, Bhuvanswari Asrama, Allahabad, and modern translation and commentary by Svami Mridananda published in 1986 by Sri Ramakrishna Mutt, Trichur.
In his expository introduction on 4 August 2018 evening Senior Member thebigthinkg, after proclaiming categorically "Asrama is a dharma, the law of the Universe," announces (inter alia):-
"We grow from being born to adults. This is brahmacharya."
Is there some flawed thinking here? My understanding seems to be that only after attaining the appropriate Vedic age and undergoing the samskaaram of upanayanam, and showing his worth, ability and apritude for Vedic upadesham and studies does a male person born of Brahmin, Kshathriya or Vaishya lineage become a brahmachaarya.
"As we grow into adulthood, we enjoy the dharma of the householder, Grahastha. Our body, brain and mind are best suited to do these functions (mating, producing kids) in this stage." Again, why elevate the mating instinct and consequences of succumbing to this instinct into a lofty ordained dharma? Boys mature while still brahmachaaris, as we all know, and they have founded families in the past (legitimate or otherwise). Why dispense with the prescribed samskaarams of Vivaaham, Garbhha-daanam, Jaatha-karmam, Naama-karanam, and so on? (Incidentally, is dharma merely something to be "enjoyed"?)
"We retire from active life. This is vanaprastha. Here our body cannot hold the pressures of grahasta." The flawed assumption here seems to be that, as there is an abrupt transition from suckling sisu-dom to brahmachaaryam, and from that to grahastha-aashramam, there is a comparable sudden leap into vanaprastham from grahastha-aashramam. Life experiences show that the rundown of the faculties (and of the senses) occur gradually and almost imperceptibly over the years. There is no set "retirement age". Brahmin (and other Dvija) males work hard and productively well past their shashti-abda-poorthy and sathaabhishegam samskaarams.
"Our brain can do a lot of unlearning and re-learning in this stage." Another fallacy? The truth is: unlearning and re-learning occurs throughout life, even during sisu-dom (weaning and toilet-training), brahmachaaryam, and grahastha-aashramam. One needs not go to the forest to do that. One can stay at home with one's loved and loving families.
"Finally even our brain faculties start giving up. We enter into sanyaasa." To say all sanyaasis are brain-dead nonentities is an undeserved and gratuitous insult to our learned and revered mutt-aathipathis, to our young, healthy and active ascetics and volunteers who have renounced a life of luxury and leisure to pursue a life of service to mankind (and womankind and to animals and all lives).
"Passion is nothing but energy. Vi-rajas is indeed lack of passion, lack of energy. The person going to kaasi yaatra is not having lack of passion. He is not leaving passion. So that's not what it is.." Misconception on top of misconception.
Passion is an intense feeling, sometimes uncontrollble, that might lead unadvisedly and unthinkingly to action with adverse consequences. Energy, on the other hand is ability and potential to achieve visible and palpable work. If we reverse the equation, is energy nothing but passion? To the thinker, cannot passion be something negative (indeed destructive), whereas energy can be something positive (and creative)?
I have done Kaashi-yaathra (and Prayaaga-yaathra and Rameshvaram-yaathra) more than once. The question of passion or of energy has never once come up. Snaanam at punya-theerthams is a natural activity of all devotees. In fact we need not go on any yaathra unless we want to do so and have the means, physical fitness, and so on.. We can invoke the presence of not only Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvathi, but also of Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu, and Kaveri into a kumbham whenever and wherever we wish. We do so during kalasha-puja, during punyaaha-vaachanam, during udakashaanthi. To demean the Kashi-yaathra devotee is (with due respect) an act of arrogance in my view.
Namaskaaram.
S Narayanaswamy Iyer
