Metamorphoses

The Hindu life course is specifically structured so that each individual has an opportunity to go for the gold, to reach the spiritual liberation before death. If all goes according to plan, life metamorphoses through four stages :

1. Brahmacharya : Student life

2. Grihastya        : Married life

3. Vanaprastha    : Intensive spiritual

4. Sannayasa       : Letting go

Brahmacharya literally means " walking with God". During these years, the student receives cultural, vocational and religious training. You'll also hear the term brahmacarya used to mean celibacy since Hindus weren't supposed to have sex before marriage.

Marriage is a very Big Deal in Hindu culture. A small number of individuals renounce the householder in life and go directly from brahmacharya to sanyasa, devoting their entire lives to the spiritual quest alone. But the vast majority of people are expected to practice spirituality within the context of raising a family. Remember that having children was one of the five sacred duties required of Hindus. Even parents of some of the greatest saints India has ever known, like Shankaracharya and Ramana Maharishi, tried to pressure them into married life to meet the social norm-and so that they'd support in their old age.

When a couple got on in years, they'd retire as we do in the West. But rather than moving to Florida and fishing all day, they'd go live in a hut in the forest to pursue intensive spiritual practices. Vanaprastha literally means "living in the woods".

As death approached, Hindus (especially males) would renounce even the little hut and go wandering on pilgrimages, living on whatever handfuls of food strangers would offer. This was the act of letting go preparatory to final release when the body itself dropped away.

In Western culture, people are very rarely prepared for death. Hindus spend the last years of their life specifically preparing for this transition. Though these customs are have gone to spend the last months of their lives chanting God's name and praying. Many temples specifically accommodate these retirees with a minimum of food and shelter so that they can close out their lives with God.