Fear Of Old Age (The Guidelines of Vedanta III)

Courtesy: The Vedanta Kesary, English monthly from R K Math, Chennai

As people get old, they begin to become dependent on others for support and care, and this
causes them fear and anxiety for their future. 'Who will look after me when I become old and
cannot function or work?' is the universal concern of the elderly. They live in constant fear of
being neglected, forgotten, and abandoned by their family members and friends.

Vedanta asks us to practice non-dependence in all matters. The wisdom of Vedanta says
that all dependence brings misery and non-dependence alone is happiness. Practice of non-
dependence from an early age makes old age less vulnerable to fear and anxiety. Non-
dependence has two aspects: physical and mental. Physical non-dependence calls for
maintaining good health by following the laws of health: diet, exercise, conservation,
relaxation, and moderation. Our body, when neglected, abused, or defiled, becomes a
burden and a cause of worry in old age.

Another component of physical non-dependence is material non-dependence, without which

a person is forced to live on the charity of others. It is the duty of a family man to make
provision for his family and for himself so that in old age he will not be at the mercy of others
or even dependent on them for favors.

The other aspect of non-dependence is mental. Mental dependence takes the form of
emotional dependence on friends, relatives, people and things. Humans perceive the world
through the eye of emotions. Their actions and reactions are guided by emotions. They are
bound together by the tie of emotions. Emotion is the vehicle of self-expression, one of the
basic urges of human life. When people cannot express their feelings of love, affection, and
sympathy, they feel suffocated and live a miserable life. They are heavily dependent on
receiving emotional satisfaction from others. Emotional dependence becomes acute when
they get old.

As in the case of the practice of non-attachment, practice of emotional non-dependence calls

for transferring our dependence to God, knowing that God alone loves us and cares for us.
Prophets and saints tell us that it is a mistake to expect any support from the human world.
Human love is mostly guided by selfish motives, and dependence on such love brings
nothing but disappointment. The more we are able to depend on God, the less will be our
dependence on others. Dependence on God, however, does not come by itself. This
requires deepening our God-consciousness by practicing prayer, meditation, and dispassion.
Those who are not inclined to follow these practices are advised to develop the habit of
reading books, writing, painting, or playing musical instruments, etc., so that they can keep
themselves occupied, have emotional satisfaction, and be non-dependent.

Even world-renouncing monks and ascetics are advised to practice non-dependence. The
laws of physical decay and disintegration are universal and they do not exempt anyone.
When the body gets old and begins to break down, it drags the mind down to the physical
level. A weak or sick body demands more attention of the mind. Practice of prayer and
meditation becomes difficult even for a monk when his body is taken over by old age
ailments. Small wonder then that in old age a monk begins to feel the chill of dependence.
Unless his self-surrender to God is unshakable and his faith in God's caring hands is
unwavering, he becomes fearful in old age.

Instructing a monk, Swami Saradananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, said the
following: 'It is good to be active, but it depends on several factors. Your health must be good
and you must be able to get along with fellow-workers.

But suppose you have injured one of your limbs; then it would be difficult for you to do work.
Therefore I request you to cultivate the habit of reading. Even that is not enough. Suppose
you become blind. Therefore it is good that you also practice meditation so that if you cannot
read or work, at least you can meditate.'

Activity should not be the sole spiritual preoccupation of a monk. He should keep up the
habit of intense study of holy texts and the practice of meditation, so that when he is no
longer able to be in the field of action he can be totally non-dependent and spend his old age
in study and contemplation of the Divine. The goal of a monk is to be a monk, not to
become an administrator, a preacher, a lecturer, or a scholar but to be a man of God,
and in his journey to that goal he is alone with his absolute dependence on God. For a
monk who forgets these facts, old age brings not enlightenment but disappointment,
frustration, and fear.

Do Your Duties and Do Your Best.

The Vedanta Kesary, p. 49-52, February 2002

Vedanta says that life is interdependent, not independent. Our individual life is sustained by
receiving support from others. Our body is reproduced from the parental cells. Our food is
gathered from the vegetable and animal worlds. Our individual mind-stuff is derived from the
cosmic source. Many have to suffer and many have to die to keep us alive.

The human, superhuman, and sub-human worlds are bound together by a tie of spiritual
unity. Therefore we have duties to others, duties to God the Creator and the sages, to fellow
human beings, to the vegetable and animal worlds, to parents, and to departed ancestors.
By doing our duties we recognize that bond of unity and overcome our selfishness and
greed, and attain to peace and tranquillity.

Receiving and giving are the two aspects of living. When we were born, we received help
from others for our growth, support, and development. When we grow up, we are expected
to repay our indebtedness to others by doing our duties to the best of our ability. Those who
do not or cannot repay are forced to live a miserable and demeaning life, and their old age is
haunted by feelings of self-defeat and unworthiness.

Contribute to the Welfare of Others.

One of the cardinal teachings of Vedanta is that all existence is one: there is one Self that
lives in all; there is one life that pulsates in the whole universe. Each individual is like a leaf
of a huge tree. Leaves grow and fall in their due time, but the tree continues to exist. When
we ignore the fact of oneness, our individual existence becomes separative and delusive.
Because of the oneness of existence, our individual welfare depends upon the welfare of the
totality. Thus, by doing good to others we really do good to ourselves.

We experience the joy of self-expansion. Swami Vivekananda says: 'They alone live who live
for others, the rest are more dead than alive.' Self-sacrifice for the good of others is the
highest virtue. The Bhagavad Gita (II.40) designates this virtue as the greatest dharma: 'In
this selfless action, no effort is ever lost and no harm is ever done. Even very little of this
dharma saves a man from the Great Fear. There is an ancient verse that says: 'Since death
is certain for the body, let this body be used for the good of others.' According to the
Bhagavad Gita, the doer of good is the best among the yogis (VI.32): 'Him I hold to be the
supreme yogi, O Arjuna, who looks upon the pleasure and pain of all beings as he looks
upon them in himself.'15 Further, the Bhagavad Gita (VI.40) says: 'O Partha, there is no
destruction for him either in this world or the next: no evil, My son, befalls a man who does
good.'

Our selfless actions for the good of others help us to break down the walls of our separative
existence, and bring us in contact with our ageless true Self. This contact with our true Self
puts an end to all our sorrows and sufferings.

About the author

Swami Adiswarananda

Swami Adiswarananda, the Minister-in-charge of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre,

New York, USA, is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He is a well-known thinker and
contributes articles to various journals.