Get ready to grow old

One of the skills that almost everyone wants to learn in life is "Age Management"! So, Totakacharya now addresses the reality of ageing.

Age is inevitable. Like it or not, it will take over. We can use all the anti-aging cosmetics and hair-colours in the world. But, we cannot really prevent ageing. We can at best postpone it a bit. But, finally, no matter how much we cover up and deny, we all are constantly ageing. 

From 10 to 20 to 30 to 40 to 50 to 60 to 70…the journey seems so rapid, that often we just do not know where our lives have gone! And interestingly, nobody likes to age. The entire cosmetic industry thrives on this fact! Yet, all their chemicals together cannot help it. 

The hair greys and goes, the stamina fades, the diseases infest, the senses become weak. It happens...to some at 20, to another at 60, and to yet another at 80. But it happens. 

Ever-green hero Dev Anand too could not really stay ever-green! 

We are all either on our way or already there. Old-age is a reality. But the reality of an unprepared old-age is uglier than we can imagine. It is not really the grey hair or the aching limbs or the wrinkles or the poor eyesight that is the cause of pain in old-age. That is still bearable. What is really miserable are the desires. 

Yes, very often we live under the myth that desires will fade with age. But Bhaja Govindam ruthlessly shatters that assumption. The desire to enjoy, to control, to own, to indulge, lurks in the heart of the old as much as in the minds of youth. The youth at least have the scope and capacity and energy to experience these. What about the old? They have none. 

Imagine that miserable life when the senses crave but the body doesn't permit, the mind longs but the circumstances don't support. It is not to say that the aged cannot enjoy. But how long? Nature snatches away all capacities sooner or later. What then? 

Prepare. Fore-warned is Fore-armed. Get ready for those times when still young. Know that the mind must be trained to live with and without anything. Reduce the cravings and eliminate them. Sublimate all desires for the world outside when you still have capacity. Don't say that since it is temporary, let me enjoy it now. When it is not there too, the craving won't end. If it is on your mind, it will torture you from within. That is what causes age-related depressions and disorders.

Get ready. Live independent. Be ready to drop anything at any time. Mentally detach from the world in youth or as early as you can. Then, old age is graceful and peaceful. 

Quote: They bleed less in war who sweat more in peace. 

Story: A retired Army General asked Gurudev: You are 70+ and so am I. How can you be so active and enthusiastic, while I am weak and dilapidated? 

Gurudev replied: Because when you were young you drank rum. When I was young, I drank "Ram"! 

THINK. 

Practice: 

1) Make a list of things that you are dependent on which you may not be able to get at old-age. Eg. Eatings sweets after every meal, having lots of friends and social life, always looking prim and proper, travelling a lot, eating out 3 times a week, attending all social functions without fail, reading without glasses, sitting long hours on the floor, etc. 

Value your gifts. You may not have them someday. Respect old-age. You will be there someday. 

2) Mentally prepare yourself to live non-dependent on anything or anyone external. Anchor your mind in the Higher. That is the best anti-ageing technique.

TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 15