If You Have Crossed 50...

We are immortal

The science is trying by different means to make the perishable human body immortal, without the basic knowledge that it is the essence that is immortal. The clothing (physical body) has to change periodically to start on a different path, to gain another set of experiences. As long as you try to hold on to the status of your adult body as you age past that, life is going to be miserable.

One tries to maintain youthful look by dying the hair. With passing days, parts of hair as they emerge, look white and the remaining hair look jet black. This combined with the wrinkles around the eyes and the neck make one look really comic. I have seen one person having severe allergic reaction in his eyes from the hair dye, which forced him to stop using it.

Then the botox injections and the plastic surgeries!! The injections keep the muscles taut, but it also gives rise to ‘plastic smiles’ that look pathetic.

Let the grace of aging show up on your face, and be proud of the wisdom you have gained.

We are souls in a human body

We have taken this human form for some purpose and the physical body is perishable. The souls are eternal. We feel nothing on seeing a leaf yellowing, falling off the tree, getting decayed and merging into the soil. The human body is no different from that. Due to the intelligence we possess, we have come to think that we are something special!

The four stages of life

If we consider the human life span to be 100 years, the four sections of 25 years have specific karma to perform. The first stage (Brahmacharya ashram) is the ‘addition’ stage. We are adding lessons and experiences in our life.

The next, Grihasthashram, is the ‘subtraction’ stage. We lead a family life and we are subtracting our experiences and earnings in providing for the family/children.

The third, Vanaprasthashram starts from the age of 51. In Hindi, 51 is ‘Ikkavan’. The word ‘ikka’ means one, and ‘van’ means forest. It means, after the age of 50, one leg should be in the forest ie., one should start detaching from the worldly entanglements. At the same time, it is the time for ‘multiplication’. One is supposed to hand over the responsibilities to the next generation and spend time in ‘sadhana’, which will multiply their knowledge and convert it into wisdom.

And then the last stage of Sanyasashram, the ‘division’ stage. Here we are supposed to distribute our wisdom to the deserving and eager to absorb individuals.

Generally it is seen now that nobody wants to get out of grihasthashram. Even into ripe old age, they want to enjoy life as they enjoyed at the age of 35. What is the problem with that? Let us see from different aspects.

Consider the teeth

I am a dentist and this is going to come first J. Our requirement for food keeps reducing as age advances. After the age of 30, one needs to start gradually reducing the food intake. After 50 years, the dinner can be totally done away with. Apart from a dozen health benefits from this, it also insures your teeth will remain longer in the mouth. Once you have your evening tea (with some snack) at 4.30 to 5 pm, you can brush your teeth and the teeth remain clean and free of food particles and bacteria till you have your breakfast the next day.

Keep your body flexible

This has to be done by two means – one by consuming good oils and ghee (the wonder food). Our joints need lubrication to remain functional. Refined oils are harmful as they don’t provide any ‘oiliness’. Get cold pressed oil from a reliable source.

Have oil massage every day, followed by hot water bath. And do some exercises/ yoga.

Learn something new to keep those brain cells young

By learning something new you are exercising your brain that can help to improve cognitive functions such as concentration, memory recall, attention to detail, and problem solving. This reduces the chance of developing dementia.  

Observe your children’s lives, without being judgemental, and try to get a sense of social transformation that has taken place in your life time so far. If you can get a grip of this, life will be more smooth flowing and enjoyable.

Time to go with the flow

You have toiled for 50 years, putting in a lot of hard work, and now is the time to relax, enjoy every day, every moment of your life. Don’t try to interfere with your adult children’s lives. It will only affect  your inner calm and destroy their peace of mind! Feel the gratitude for being alive another day, when you wake up every morning. Look around, feel the breeze, smell the flowers, enjoy the vastness of the sky, and every sip of your tea/coffee. 

Make life an every day celebration, which will give the message to the next generation that life is worth living well.