Confucianism And Hinduism: The Four Stages Of Life

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While every society seems to have celebrations surrounding the various life stages one passes through life, it varies as to which stages are celebrated and how each are celebrated. Confucianism and Hinduism are certainly worlds apart in their belief systems, but they share some qualities when it comes to their celebrations of certain life passages.
Hinduism has very structured way of life from the caste system which separate people into various economic classes which they are encouraged to stay within the one assigned to them at birth, to the goals a Hindu should hold through life, to stages of life that are to be celebrated. In this culture, there are four life stages or life passages which are marked as special and was originally based off …show more content…
The student passage is not just for any study but for religious study which sets the spiritual foundations for the person for the rest of their life. This passage starts at the age of around eight years old and ends around the age of twenty and the ones in this passage must remain celibate as it is an important part of this spiritual training. The next passage is the grihastha or householder which is marked by marriage around the age of twenty. The marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents and after the marriage the newly formed couple are then to fulfil their duty of having children of their own. The third passage is the vanaprastha or the retiree passage and it’s marked when the individual receives grandchildren of their own and can now retire from work to focus again on more religious matters. In ancient times this included going to live in the woods, secluded from the outside world, with just your husband or wife but what usually happens is that the retiree lives with their children under one house as multigenerational household. They might also get together with friends to participate in religious activities together. The final Hindu life passage is the sannyasin or renunciate and is only …show more content…
Unlike the Hindu, the Confucians put a high value on birth and thus the event is the first important life passage of the Confucians. This passage however, begins even before birth and starts with the T’ai-shen or the spirit of the fetus which is said to protect a pregnant woman and goes after anyone who harasses her while she’s pregnant. After the birth, the placenta is carefully disposed of and the woman is given a special diet and allowed to rest for month to recover from the event. The woman’s side of the family gives items that the baby would need on the first, fourth, and twelfth month birthday anniversaries as a way to celebrate this passage and to help care for the child. The second life stage is the stage of reaching maturity and is marked by having group meal where chicken is served to the new adult, but this practice is only done today by very traditional families. The next life stage is marriage, a concept shared with the Hindu yet in a different way and is separated into six distinct stages. The first stage is the proposal which consists of the couple exchanging the exact date and time of their births and then the three day wait to see if there are any unexpected events in the woman’s family; if such an event does occur then it is believed that the proposal has been rejected. Next comes the engagement which is announced by the bride-to-be through invitations and
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