tent of experiences gone through by human beings in their lives is of infinite variety,
Patanjali has classified these under three heads (1) class, (2) length of life, and (3)
pleasant or unpleasant nature of the experiences. These are the principal features
which determine the nature of a life. First, Jati or class. This determines the environ-
ment of the individual and thus his opportunities and the type of life which he will be
able to lead A man born in a slum has not the same opportunities as a man born among
cultured people. So the kind of life a person has is determined in the first place by Jati.
The second important factor is the length of life. This naturally determines the
total number of experiences. A life cut short in childhood contains a comparatively
smaller number of experiences than a long life running its normal course. Of course,
since the successive lives of an individual form one continuous whole, from the larger
point of view, a short life intervening in this manner does not really matter very much.
It is as if a person could not have a full day for work but had to go to bed early. An-
other day dawns when he can continue his work as usual.
The third factor is the nature of the experiences gone through as regards their
pleasant or unpleasant quality. Jati also determines the nature of the experiences but
there we consider the experiences in relation to the opportunities for the growth of the
soul. Under Bhoga we consider experiences in relation to their potentiality to bring
pain or pleasure to the individual. There are some people who are well placed in life
but have a difficult time—nothing but suffering and unbappiness from birth to death.
On the other hand, we may have a life lived in comparatively poor circumstances but
the experiences may be pleasant all along. The pleasures and pains which we have to
bear are not entirely dependent upon our Jati. There is a personal factor involved as
we can ourselves see by observing the lives of people around us.
ben green
(Ben Green)
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