To Support the Vision of
Mulund Institute
Third Stage of Life
Avatar Adi Da Samraj: The third stage of life involves forms of adaptation that should basically occupy one during the third seven years of life. It is the period of adaptation to both the lower and higher dimensions of the mind . . .
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[T]he physical base has primary importance in the first stage of life. In the second stage of life, physical adaptation of course continues, but the primary base associated with the learning process is the etheric body, the next dimension of conditionally manifested existence. Then, in the third stage of life, the next subtler level of conditionally manifested existence—the mental--psychic dimension—is the primary base of education, though (obviously) the physical and etheric dimensions still remain part of education. Every subsequent stage builds upon the preceding developments. And each stage is associated with a unique new form of study and a new kind of growth.
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As was the case in the preceding two stages of life, in the third stage of life, when both the lower and the higher dimensions of the mind are to be located and brought into operation, it is not necessarily clear to the individual that this next subtler dimension exists. Just as in the previous two stages of life, what must occur first is education that will familiarize the individual with this psychic dimension . . .
In conventional society, the psyche and subtle “experiences” tend to be de--legitimized, just as the energy--dimension (or etheric) dimension of the human personality tends to be de--legitimized. Actually, most people today do not even know that these two dimensions exist, or they doubt their verity, even though they have “experiences” which indicate the existence of these dimensions. . . However, young people should be able to enjoy free, open contact with these dimensions, so that they can rightly use this equipment as part of their ordinary humanity.
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[T]he individual should develop sensitivity to the spontaneous processes of mind that are deeper than ordinary thinking and the social personality. Thus, appropriate meditative exercises of a devotional type should develop further in this stage, and the exercise of imagination should, even as earlier in life, be emphasized and rewarded.
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The life of the thinking mind is another component of the subtle dimension of the being. Therefore, individuals in the third stage of life should develop their capability to reason, to observe, and to understand. Naturally, they should study in a much more sophisticated fashion than in the previous stages, and cover a wide variety of subjects of a conventional nature as well as material relating to the Reality--Way of Adidam.
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The third aspect of the subtle dimension is the will. The will is not merely some sort of hard--edged, effortful intention, but (rather) it should be free intention, based on the openness of the personality. The will is a guide to the natural life--force, and it should gently direct the . . . psyche, mind, emotion, body, and all of their interplay. The will is the connection between all of those functions and is the medium whereby the living force of existence is given form. Therefore, by understanding yourself in physical, etheric, and psychic terms, the will is able to release energy into the entire domain of psyche, mind, emotion, body, and relationships. This kind of learning, or capability, is the secret of the fulfillment of the third stage of life and of the early career of a human being. The ability of the open, free personality to direct the lower personality by means of the will (or free intention) is basically what makes truly human beings.
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The third stage of life is complete when the individual is fully responsible for adult life—not merely in the conventional social sense, or merely because of chronological age, but in the sense that he or she is fully prepared (physically, emotionally, etherically, psychically, mentally, and with a free, or intelligent, will) to enter into the social, personal, and devotional responsibilities of true human adulthood.
- from “Early--Life Education, or My Seventh Stage Way of Schooling In The First Three Stages of Life”
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Growth Challenges in the Third Stage of Life
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Acceptance of the psychic dimension:
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--awareness of and responsible participation in subtle phenomena including dreams, archetypes,
premonition, synchronicities, extrasensory perceptions, and so on
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Mental-intentional adaptation:
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--exercising reasoning power and the thinking mind
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--seriously studying a wide variety of subjects, academic and sacred
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--developing discrimination and will
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--observing and understanding one’s self in physical, etheric, and psychic terms
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--based on relaxed inspection, learning to consistently self--direct with intelligence and feeling
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--integration of the total personality—body, emotions, mind, and psyche
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Resolving conflict between childish and adolescent motives:
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--relinquishing “parent-child” relationship while still accepting the guidance of responsible adults
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--observing and going beyond the motives to childish dependency and destructive independence
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--learning intentional responsibility versus the impulse to self--indulgence
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--demonstrating the life--positive value of self--discipline
To learn more about how to mentor teens and young adults in the third stage of life, see The First Three Stages of Life:
