This refers to Kanika Datta's column "Age-old problems" (Swot, April 25). One can't help but wonder if the solution to this problem is also the one that is age-old. In the olden times, wise Indian sages had laid down the "ashrama dharma" system, consisting of four phases of human life. While the first two (brahmacharya and gruhastha) are driven by worldly considerations, the predominant focus of the last two is to be away from the world. Vanaprastha is the time for gradually withdrawing from the physical world, and it should begin around the age of 50, if not earlier. Sanyasa is a total withdrawal from the world, and it should be the last phase beginning around the age of 60 years. How one wishes that people followed this system - especially those in public life so that younger people will be at the helm.
Kishor Kulkarni Mumbai
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