THE REGULATED LIFE

What is lost in learning may be made up for, but what is once lost in the way of life is lost forever. The cast* system regulated society in the days of our poet. The Brahmin had the duty of study and teaching. If the Brahmin forgot the scripture, he lost the purpose of his elevated rank.

But this, says the poet, could be made up for by fresh study. Not so, however, could the Brahmin regain his position once he fell into the error of neglecting the regulation of life prescribed for him. Ignorance or the neglecting of prescribed studies was a great offence in the Brahmin. But a greater offence was the neglect of the discipline of life prescribed for him.

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