Page 68 - Hinduism

10. Ajñāna is ignorance of what is good and what is bad. 11. Ahaṅkāra is egoism expressed in terms of self-elation and the feeling of superiority to others. It includes identification with the body. 12. Mamakāra is the sense of possession or mineness. 13. Pramāda is perversity due to ignorance. 14. Īrṣyā is envy. 15. Asūya is attributing evil to good people. Of these the first six, viz., kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and mātsarya are the chief and are called arisadvarga or the six inner enemies of spirituality. Of these again the first three, kāma, krodha and lobha are considered to be more baneful than others. Lastly kāma is the worst of all the enemies as it is the sourse of all the other vices.
A man's life is divided into four parts and each is called an āśrama. The four āśramas are stages in the pilgrim's progress to God or stages in the process of spirituality. They make the man given to secular life turn his mind towards spiritual life and finally lead to the realization of the supreme Self. The first āśrama is brahmacarya. A man enters brahmacarya at the age of seven or eight. It is the period of study and the whole attention of the student should be absorbed in study at the residence of his teacher (gurukula). Brahman is the Veda as the source of spiritual knowledge and so brahmacarya is the study of the Veda. The highest of all studies is Vedic study. The object of the study is to attain mastery over animal nature. The
Brahmacārin has to lead a well-regulated life, 68