{"id":4035,"date":"2013-07-13T01:53:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4035"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:53:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:53:00","slug":"52-old-age-vol-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/03-questions-and-answers-volume-03\/52-old-age-vol-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","title":{"rendered":"-52_Old Age.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\nOld Age
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/i>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why
\nthis joy, this gladness, when the world is forever burning? O you who are
\nenveloped in shadows, why do you not seek the light? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

See
\nthen this poor decorated form, this mass of corruptible elements, of
\ninfirmities and vain desires in which nothing is lasting or stable. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This
\nfragile body is but a nest of misery, of decrepitude and corruption; for life
\nends in death. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What
\npleasure is there in contemplating these white bones strewn like gourds in
\nautumn? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In
\nthis fortress made of bone and covered with flesh and blood, only pride and
\njealousy, dissolution and death are established. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Even
\nthe gorgeous chariots of kings are worn out in the end. It is the same with
\nthis body which at last is worn out with age; but the true Law is never worn
\nout and so one sage can pass it on to another. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The
\nignorant man grows older like a bullock; his weight increases but not his
\nintelligence. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Many
\ntimes have I passed in vain through the cycle of births in search of the
\nbuilder of this house. And how painful is this cycle of births! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

At
\nlast, I have found you, builder; never again shall you build this house that is
\nmy body. All the beams are shattered and the ridge of the roof has
\ncrumbled.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My
\nliberated mind has attained the extinction of all desires.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 237<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

Those
\nwho have not lived a life of self-control and who, in their youth, have not
\nknown how to gather the true riches, perish like aged herons beside a lake with
\nno fish. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Those
\nwho have not lived a life of self-control and who, in their youth, have not
\nknown how to gather the true riches are like shattered bows; they grieve for
\ntheir lost strength. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There is one thing certain which is not clearly stated here, but
\nwhich is at least as important as all the rest. It is this, that there is an
\nold age much more dangerous and much more real than the amassing of years: the
\nincapacity to grow and progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

As soon as you stop advancing, as soon as
\nyou stop progressing, as soon as you cease to better yourself, cease to gain
\nand grow, cease to transform yourself, you truly become old, that is to say,
\nyou go downhill towards disintegration. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are young people who are old and
\nthere are old people who are young. If you carry in you this flame for progress
\nand transformation, if you are ready to leave everything behind so that you may
\nadvance with an alert step, if you are always open to a new progress, a new
\nimprovement, a new transformation, then you are eternally young. But if you sit
\nback satisfied with what has been accomplished, if you have the feeling that
\nyou have reached your goal and you have nothing left to do but enjoy the fruit
\nof your efforts, then already more than half your body is in the tomb: it is
\ndecrepitude and the true death. <\/span><\/p>\n

Everything that has been done is always
\nnothing compared with what remains to be done. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do not look behind. Look ahead, always
\nahead and go forward always. <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u00a0<\/font><\/span>25 April 1958<\/font>\u00a0<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 238<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t<\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Old Age \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0    Why this joy, this gladness, when the world is forever burning? O you who are enveloped in shadows, why do you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","wpcat-115-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}