Ones who felt that during their learning period they could not overcome their material desires (both mind and body what is called claim rights) addressed the other stage of life, domestic (grihastha ashram). Regularities of this stage will be discussed separately. But meanwhile we can say that at this very stage there was effective the social structure arranged in accordance with individual’s qualities. The majority of society was composed of family people. All other ashramas were under the care of this ashrama.
3) Partial renunciation. At the age of fifty, religious figures and leaders left their families and went to the forest to get to self-realization. That allowed to keep society constantly in hands of young people protecting it from rigidity (conservatism). Though it has to be said that certain conservatism is always needed for society not to lose its achievements, but from time to time even scriptures are commented according to time and circumstances. The key truth does not change, but methods of its presentation can be modified. The ways to do it without any distortion are known only by very lofty recanted persons. At this stage a man started his renouncement. He left his social duties (retired) and started his self-knowledge far from his family but he would receive food from it while undergoing adaptation. At this stage, a man could take his wife with him.
4) Renunciation.Via partial renouncement, a man got used to ascetic life and became a pilgrim. Walking around holy places, he met saints and got spiritual knowledge from them. Recanted persons communicated with people of the worldly mindset only for preaching purposes. The luckiest among them met the Lord.
The Bhagavad-Gita presents characteristics of different components of activity which our happiness and suffering depend on (Chapter 18, verses 18-28):
Knowledge, the object of knowledge and the knower are the three factors which motivate action; the senses, the work and the doer comprise the threefold basis of action.
In accordance with the three modes of material nature, there are three kinds of knowledge, action, and performers of action. Listen as I describe them.
That knowledge by which one undivided spiritual nature is seen in all existences, undivided in the divided, is knowledge in the mode of goodness.
That knowledge by which a different type of living entity is seen to be dwelling in different bodies is knowledge in the mode of passion.
And that determination which cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation, moroseness, and illusion-such unintelligent determination is in the mode of ignorance.
The regulated activity when done without any attachment, love or hatred or desire to get back anything is considered action in the guna of goodness.
Activity which requires many efforts aiming to fulfill own desires and dictated by the false ego, is called action in the guna of passion.
Activity caused by misbeliefs and in contradiction with instructions of holy scriptures without consideration of its enslaving consequences or activity with violence which cause suffering to other living beings is considered action in the guna of ignorance.
One who does one’s duty being free from influence of gunas of material nature and the false ego with great determination and enthusiasm, equally firm in success or misfortune acts in goodness.
If one is attached to activity and its results, spurred on the desire for enjoyment of one’s labor, being greedy, envious, impure, exposed to happiness and grief, he is said to be influenced by the guna of passion.
One who is constantly absorbed in activity which contradicts instructions of holy scriptures, being material and stubborn, cheating and constantly insulting others, lazy, all gloomy, postponing for the future, acts under the influence of the guna of ignorance.
Any cause-and-effect relation appears due to interaction of these factors: the knowledge, the known object and the knower.
The structure of society should be such that the above mentioned three factors would be in the guna of goodness. This is the only recipe for real prosperity of society. If any of these components “advances” towards the guna of goodness it “moves up” all the rest with it, and soon there appears the result in the form of happiness, prosperity, peace and so on. In fact, this knowledge is very comprehensive. Our aim is to show which particular regularities were considered by the Aryans for organization of their society. Everything begins from knowledge. As we have seen in the verses, goodness starts from awareness of the overall spiritual nature of all living things, consequently from the study of the relevant knowledge.
All problems arise from the point of view which makes us see the difference between living beings that hinders perception of their unity. The bodily concept makes to reject those who do not give us pleasure and seek for those with whom we can enjoy the world. This mood, in its turn, allows us to quietly kill those we hate and protect those we “love”. But perception of the uniform spiritual nature allows us to implement in practice the principle of justice. According to the above mentioned verses, when knowledge in goodness is developed, a person addresses regulating principles of behavior which control our sympathy and hatred (the basis of injustice). As a doer of activity, such person becomes resolute, exuberant and, mostly important, balanced in success and defeat. Such person is not proud (does no violence), when he/she wins (does not give rise to envy) and does not revenge when he/she loses (does not cause troubles).
Influenced by the guna of passion, a person differentiates living beings according to their bodies (not beautiful so not comfortable for pleasure, etc.). Under this condition, the basis for evaluation is pleasant/unpleasant people and whether happiness and grief, pleasures and danger are coming from these people. Such person is greedy, envious and impure (due to differentiation of living beings). Victory makes such person keep acting with great pains and defeat completely destroys the interest in activity. For purposes of society protection, such people cannot be relied on as their resolution is unstable. The main feature of a person in ignorance is that he/she considers his/her activity to be the only important thing. Such approach usually causes plenty of conflicts. Being doers, such personalities are materialistic, stubborn (in the negative meaning of this word), they like to resort to different types of force (for everyone to do what they want) and like to humiliate (give troubles). For the sake of their goal, they do not consider the amount of force they need to resort to and which suffering they cause to others. In society, such persons introduce the principle of the utmost injustice (a dictatorial regime).
Society is always composed of good, passionate and ignorant persons. Religious figures are truly full of goodness, rulers and warriors are of the mixed nature of goodness and passion, the mixture of passion and ignorance is inherent in merchants and producers and ignorance is inherent in servants and laborers. Accordingly, the first ones use their intelligence and control their senses; the second ones appeal either to intelligence or senses; the third ones appeal mainly to senses and sometimes to intelligence and the forth ones appeal to senses. And, respectively, they can be trusted certain types of activity. Advisors of society must be those who are strong in goodness. Protectors of society shall be persons who are of the passionate nature and like to act, but they are able to listen to advices and obey them. Producers shall be those who are apt to create material values and, thus, to money-making but at the same time they shall be ready to distribute accumulated wealth. And laborers and servants are those who lack the creative intelligence and can be only performers of someone’s will (constantly need guidance). These four types of people need each other. This need makes them cooperate for purposes of creating a harmonious society.
