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THE FOUR ASHRAMSThere are four distinct stages in man’s life according to the Indian tradition. They are the following four ashramas.
1. Brahmacharya (celibacy)
2. Grahasta (household)
3. Vanaprastha (recluse)
4. Sanyasa (mendicancy)The four ashramas corresponds to these four stages of life.
Brahmacharyashrama is the early period of life when the young boy is initiated in thee study of the scriptures. The religious master (guru) takes him as full-time disciple and personally imparts the sacred knowledge of Vedanta to him. The brahmachari (celibate) observes the vow of celibacy and takes in the knowledge in a spirit of surrender and worship. The initiation is usually done between the age of six and eight years and the training imparted for about 12 years. When the boy returns after completing his studies (called samavarthanam) he is fully charged with spiritual knowledge. He is well equipped to face any situation or challenge of life and work himself up to realisation of his supreme Self.
The brahmachari goes through the initiation or upanayana ceremony when his intellect matures. That is the time when he is able to think independently. The parents of the boy conduct this ceremony in their home. The hair on the boy’s head is shaven off leaving a small tuft at the back. The sacred thread consisting of three white cotton strands is put around his neck and waist like a cross belt. The verse from a hymn of Rigveda called Gayatri mantra is whispered in his ear. Soon after the ceremony is over the boy is sent to gurukul (guru’s residence) for spiritual education. The word ‘upanayana’ literally means "bringing near" (upa = near, nayanam = bringing). The ceremony is meant to bring the disciple near the master both physically and spiritually. The disciple is guided carefully and taken gradually to the highest spiritual awakening in which his guru revels.
The shaving of the head indicates the removal of desires. When the disciple approaches the teacher he is expected to leave behind all material and sensual desires and bring with him only a few spiritual desires. They are desires to serve the master, learn from him, apply his teachings to his own life and realise his supreme Self. The hair that is removed represents the material and spiritual desires while the tuft left behind symbolises a few spiritual desires that he needs to carry to his master for his ultimate realisation.
The tying of the two ends of thee sacred thread around his neck and waist signifies the boy’s determination to unite his finite personally to the infinite Self that he really is. The three strands of cotton comprising the sacred thread may be taken as representing the sattwic, rajasic and tamasic gunas which are the tree states in the mind that every man is composed of, or they could be taken as the waking dream and deep sleep which are the three states of consciousness that man goes through. The determination of the student indicated here is his commitment to transcending these three states of the mind or the three states of consciousness and reaching the fourth state called turiya in Sanskrit which is his supreme state of Realisation.
The second stage of life is that of the grahastashrama. The grahasti (householder) leads his life with his wife and children performing his obligatory duties. He fulfils his sacramental rites to ancestors and gods in submission to the spiritual authority of the brahmins. The husband and wife live a normal marital life- disciplined, never indulgent. Both of them find a beautiful opportunity to live a life based on "giving rather than taking" and learn to love, to serve, to sacrifice. In short, married life is an ideal field for one to develop the noble qualities necessary to lead a true religious life.
Having imbibed such qualities through a disciplined life the grahasti enters the third stage called vanaprashatashrama. In this stage the married man continues his companionship with his family members but develops more mental abstinence and detachment. The vanaprasthi (recluse) gains greater spiritual maturity. He practises the art of living in a spirit of dispossession amidst his possessions. He maintains a sense of detachment in all his transactions of life. With the coming of age of his sons he even renounces worldly possessions and family life and retires to solitude for contemplation and meditation.
The last stage of life is the sanyasashrama. The sanyasi (mendicant) is a homeless beggar-saint. He renounces the world and fully attunes himself to the pure Consciousness within him. He wears an orchre-coloured robe. Orchre is the colour of fire. His ochre robes are therefore meant to indicate that his body is burnt away and he has no right to claim anything from society. He wants nothing from world. His life is dedicated to giving to service, to sacrifice, for the betterment of humanity.
Even though there are the above four stages of life man need not mechanically go through all the stages. Some men may be qualified to skip over the stage of householder if they have no vasanas or tendencies to go through martial experience. Others may lead a true life of a sanyasi without having to go through a ritual of taking ochre robes of a sanyasi. In other words, the four categories enumerated above are only meant to picturise the different stages of development of a normal human being and the necessary training is needed at each stage to escalate him to the realisation of the Self.
