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Asramas Dharmas

ANANDA ANG

2011

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The Asramas are the 4 stages of the ideal life of the Hindu.

• The Asramas Dharmas are the duties & obligations appropriate to the individual as he progresses towards the supreme goal.

• They are designed to insure that each person in the Hindu community will have the necessary opportunity to advance toward the state of liberation.

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Asramas

• The word Asrama comes from sram meaning to exert energy

• The implication is that each life stages embodies an expenditure of effort towards specific ends & that the whole scheme is directed toward Moksa.

• If the Varna can be said to emphasize nature, the Asrama stress nurture

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Evolution of the Asramas• The Asramas are not mentioned in the Rig

Veda as Asrama although references are made to students, householders & ascetics.

• There are also references in the Upanishads to student learning the sacred teaching who lived in the house of their teacher Chandogya Upanishad 2.23.1

• We know that by the time of the Buddha the 4 Asramas had been established

• The Hindu community did not favor the Buddhist tendency to omit or shorten the householder stage, nor did it approve opening the ascetic stage to women.

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The presumption that the institution of the 4th Asrama of

life is pre-Buddhistic is not borne out of evidence

• One of the oldest Upanishads mentions only the first 3 Asramas (Chandogya Upanishad 2, 23-1) & even this Upanishad cannot be definitely regarded to be older than the Buddha

• The Pali Tipitaka do not know Upanishads nor do they refer to the idea of neuter Brahman

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Unlike Vedic religion, original Buddhism was an ascetic & monastic movement which could not at that time be looked upon as progressing within the Brahmanical culture as then known

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Later on, Brahmanical religion imbibed a great deal of the

ascetic tendency & thus came nearer to Buddhism

There was considerable interchange of ideas & tendencies between Buddhism

& Brahmanical religions in course of time & the explains sheer gradual but

partial similarity of aspects

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The Asramas scheme of man’s life is a functional division

• The 4 functions in chronological order are preparation, production, service & retirement

• They constitute a rhythm of inner direction & outer direction.

• The 1st is an inner-directed stage of training for the 2nd & 3rd which are both outer direction

• In the 2nd stage, the person maintained the entire society, & in the 3rd he shares his experiences for the good of all.

• The 4th final stage is again inner-directed; the individual, having contributed at least as much as he has received, now prepares himself for release from life itself.

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Deviation of practice of the Asrama

• Manu condemned a man who sought moksha without going through the first 3 stages, but there are many deviations from this norm (Manu Dharma Sastra 6.35)

• A Sádhu may skip the 2nd or the 3rd Asrama or he may skip both

• Many modern Hindus in practice recognize only one Asrama, the householder stage, the 1st being regarded as preparation for the householder stage, & the last 2 as largely of historical interest

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Asramas in practice

• The 4 stages are outlined in the classical writing of Hinduism with the Brahmin chiefly in mind, although since Moksa is a possibility for any of the twice-born, Ksatriyas & Vaisyas theoretically may also move through the 4 Asramas

• In practice few other than the Brahmins participate in the 3rd & 4th Asramas.

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Asramas in practice• It has been said that the Brahmins move

through all the 4, the Ksatriyas reached the 3rd, the Vaisyas attain only the 2nd, & the Sudras live a life of preparation for participation in the Asrama Dharma in another life

• Although the Asramas are well delineated in the Dharma Sastras & in the other Smrti writing, they may best be understood as a paradigm of the ideal life than a program of careful & minute observation for Hindus.

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The 4 Asramas are known as Brahmacarya, Grhastha, Vanaprastha, &

Sannyasa

1. Brahmacarya – The 1st stage is the life of the student in which he receives

instruction in the Vedas, learns meditative disciplines, develops self-control, &

prepares himself for his life responsibilities2. Grhastha – The young man marries, rears

a family, continues his studies without formal guidance by a guru, engages in his occupation, & supports those of his family

in the other Asramas

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3. Vanaprastha – Is a time for checking attachment to worldly possessions, of turning over the family occupation to sons, of guiding others on the basis of one’ s own experiences, & of paying more attention to the perfecting &

liberating processes of life

4. Sannyasa Asramas – The ties with family, occupation & all other worldly matters are cut off & full attention is given to the goal of

Moksa 

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Brahmacarya – The Formal Education

The formal education of the Brahmin boy,

according to Manu, normally begins not later

than his 8th year.Prior to this he should have 7 free years to experience

without restraint the

world of color, form, sound, taste & odor However, if the boy

promises of great intellectual attainments, the formal education may begins as early as the 5th

year

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Brahmacarya – The Formal Education

It begins when the boy goes to the home of his

prospective guru with fuel in hand requesting

permission to be a pupil in the home of the teacher

If he is accepted, he is invested with a 3-strand thread, standing for control of

thoughts, actions & desires, to be worn during his entire life; he is also given a staff, symbolic of the authority of the teacher over

him during the Brahmacarya years

His guru serves in loco parentis for the 5 months of each year during which times he

lives in the guru’s home

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The education outlined for the Brahmacarin in ancient Hinduism was a forest education, not a town education• Its purpose was to prepare

the boy for participation in the great heritage of the

Indo-Aryan.• It was a vocational education,

but not an occupational one, that is, it was training for the

vocation of being a man, a being who has the unique

opportunity of self-perfection

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• Hinduism does not think of a man chiefly in terms of what he

does to make a living, as is usually the case in the West

• . In the Asrama plan for life, earning a living occupies only the 2nd

period, during the 1st a Hindu is supported by those of his family

who are in the 2nd period, & during 3rd & 4th period he is supported both by his previous earnings & by those

of his family who are in the 2nd period.

• It was 1st of all an education in discipline of the body

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• His body was hardened & conditioned by eating simple food, wearing the minimum of clothing, walking without an

umbrella, & observing complete chastity

• The pupil serves his guru in complete loyalty

• He collected fuel for the fires in the home, tended the house & cattle, made a daily round of begging for his food, went to

bed after the guru’s retirement, arose before the guru wakened, & served the

guru in the spirit of obedience & reverence

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• It was training in Dharma; the pupil was to learn his duties & how to do

them.

• It was an existential education, an education of living close to a great man

who embodied the ideal toward which the pupil should

strive• It was an education through work – truly a Karma marga

– rather than a bookish education

• He was to learn to do what was expected of him without inner struggle; he was to acquire the identification of himself & his

dharma

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• He was to listen to the expounding of the Veda from the lips of his guru, to

recite this wisdom until it was a part of his very being, & to meditate upon the

meaning of what was spoken

• The Brahmacarya Asrama guaranteed the conservation

& transmission of Vedic wisdom

• When the boy left his guru at the age of 16, he was expected to carry

with him habits of study & meditation that would remain with

him throughout his life, to be picked up again as a full time occupation in the last Asrama

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• Shortly, thereafter, he was to marry & to

enter the 2nd Asrama

• At the end of his training period, the Brahmacarin took

a ceremonial bath, made a formal offering to his guru in gratitude for his instruction & returned home, where he was

honored by his family with gifts of fine clothes & an

umbrella.

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The education of Ksatriya & Vaisya was slightly

modified

• The reason for the early education of the Brahmin

was based on the principle that those with the richer endowments had greater

obligations to the community & were to

assume these community responsibilities as soon as

possible

• Formal instruction for them began in the 11th or 12th year & ended in

the 22nd or 24th.Manu Dharma Sastra 2.

38-40

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• Girls of the twice born Varna’s were to receive their

instruction in their homes in the duties & responsibilities pertaining to the life of wife,

mother & homemaker

• Through the centuries the forest retreats of gurus have been modified & supplemented by hermitages, institutions for

advanced studies, & schools in king’s court

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2.GrhasthaThis is the

householder stage of human life

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MARRIAGES

• Marriages is woman’s sacrament

• In ancient India marriages was

expected, & to this day one rarely finds a

mature man or woman in Hindu India who is not, or has not been,

marriedIt was & is a social duty & a sacramental

necessity

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MARRIAGES

While happiness in marriages is not forgotten – the Dharma Sastras state

that one of the purposes of marriage is for pleasures

both sexual & non sexual – the main purposes of

marriage were to beget offspring, to fulfill specific Dharma’s, & to perform proper sacrifices to the

gods.

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MARRIAGES

“The man is not man alone, but his wife & children’s also”, said

ManuManu Dharma Sastras 9. 45.

The education of the boy in the home of his guru &

that of the girl in the home of her parents

were both designed to prepare for Grhastha

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MARRIAGES

A woman can never be happy even with a

hundred sons, without the husband. Her life is then like a lyre without the strings, or a chariot without its wheels. The

gifts of the father, mother & the son are limited. It is only the

husband gifts that are unlimited…Husband is the highest god to a

woman.”Ramayana

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MARRIAGES

• “A woman cannot live without her husband”

• It was this high regard for the husband which among other factors accounted for the appearance of the cruel practice of Sati.

Ramayana

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The Grhastha is the most valuable of all the Asramas

Mahabharata

The reason is that the householder is the supporter of all:

“The gods, pitris, guests, & servants all depend (for their sustenance)

upon the person leading a life of domesticity.”

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More obligation fall upon the householders than upon those in the

other stages of life.He must discharge each day 5 Dharma’s:

1. His debt to Brahma the creator he discharges by studying & teaching the Vedas

2. His debt to his ancestor is discharge by offering food & water to their memory

3. His debts to the Deva is discharge by a fire oblation

4. His debt to the lower animals is expressed by a gift of food to an animal, perhaps nothing more than a few crumbs of breads for the ants

5. His debts to his fellow humans are to be expressed by some gesture of hospitality.

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Throughout the day from the time of awakening to that of going to sleep, the householders’ life has been prescribed

in the Dharma Sastras.

• For example, while dinning he is advised to face the east for long life, the south for fame, the west for prosperity, & the north for truth. (Manu Dharma Sastras 2.51, 57)

• There were the complicated Vedic sacrifices which the householders was expected to perform.

• A life of domesticity is the most difficult of all the 4 modes of life

• Yet when Yudhisthira, disgusted with life, expressed a desire to renounce the householder life & become a Sannyasin, Vyasa dissuaded him with the argument that the highest duty of man lies in living the full life of the householder. (Mahabharata 12, 23)

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3. Vanaprastha

The householder stage of life is

terminated when the

grandchildren arrive, grey hairs

appear, & the wife ceases to be

capable of bearing children.

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Vanaprastha• The husband & wife, having been

together through many joys & sorrows, now enter together into the 3rd Asrama, the period of gradual giving up of desires for possession of worldly goods.

• The Vanaprastha Asrama is based on the sensible recognition that life in a family & in an occupation is not always conducive to the psychological & mental condition needed for the attainment of Moksa

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Vanaprastha• Although Vedic study is continued during the

Grhastha Asrama, the cares of the family often crowd out concerns for the fundamental goal of life

• Hence the 3rd period was established as a period in which an individual begins a semiretirement from the daily responsibilities of home & work in order to spend more time in contemplation & meditation

• He does not yet become a wandering ascetic; he remains at home & observes more faithfully the rites of the Grhastha Asrama

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The man in the 3rd stage of life has the opportunity & the incentive to give

himself to the service of his fellow men

• He has freed himself from the pressing obligation of his family & home & he does not yet give full attention to the goal of Moksa, therefore he can benefit his fellowmen with guidance based on the riches of his experiences.

• Hence the Vanaprastha Asrama is often called the Dharma Asrama.

• But in time these matter must also be given up, & the quest for perfection enters the last period when all attention is given to the ultimate goal of life.

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Sannyasa Asrama

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4. Sannyasa Asrama• Its involve extremely demands on the

individual.• The candidate for liberation takes up

completely the task of devoting all his time & energy to meditation & contemplation

• He renounces family, economic pursuits, human fellowship, & political activities

• He engages in solitary meditation under natural surroundings

• He begs for his food, accepts no money, owns no property, collects no disciples, & does no teaching

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4. Sannyasa Asrama

• He makes no reference to his past life• When spoken to, he responds by

repeating the name of God• He restrains his passion & senses• He aims for nothing other than Moksa• For one man it may mean extreme

Tapas, for another adoration of his god & for identification with Reality

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This stage is not a stunt of self denial or physical torture

• It is a return to the life of the student lived

years ago in the home of his guru; although

now it is different, since the Sannyasin

returns to his studies & his meditations with the rich resources derived from full

participation in the life of man

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Different stages of the Asrama

1. Brahmacarya is the time for planting

2. Grhastha is the time of nurturing

3. Vanaprastha is the time of sharing the products of planting & nurturing

4. Sannyasa is the time for reaping the harvest

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