The System of Ashrams

Introduction

There are no limitations to human desires. People are full of greed, lust, and anger. To overcome all the dark side of our lives there is the existence of an Ashram system. The existence of Ashram system can be found in India since ages. The system of ashram and its theory was suggested by ancient sages. They believed that system of ashram makes a man satisfied with a healthy and prosperous life. Moreover, one can get spiritual knowledge, education, and find the morals of life by following the system of Ashrams.

The System of Ashrams

The system of ashrams work follows four principles such as Dharma, Artha, Kama and lastly Moksha. The whole life of a human being is driven through these four principles only. The words Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha signify the meaning of virtue, wealth, willingness, and freedom. The sequence is very important to achieve the goal of life. At first, there is Dharma which satisfies the term well established. This principle of life works differently in different situations of life. It is the ultimate resource of human values.

Then the second principle is Artha signifies achievements that are wealthy. The achievements can be of different types such as learning the virtue of life, skills, and habits. As a result, achieving artha requires an intermediate level of motivation. It refers to the culturally conditioned ideas that shape individual desire. The depth and stability of such cultural ideas are relative. They have larger and more enduring than personal aspirations because they are shared by many people within the community that exists even as individuals come and go. As a result, achieving Artha requires an intermediate level of motivation. It refers to the culturally conditioned ideas that shape individual desire. The depth and stability of such cultural ideals are relative. They are larger and more durable than personal aspirations because they are shared by many people within the community that endures even as individuals come and go. The third principle is the Kama which signifies the willingness of humans for any object. These desires vary from person to person. It can be decreased or controlled by time or by experience. The principle of Kama is the best example to motivate a person.

The last and final goal of the Ashram system is to take a man to the Moksha. It implies the freedom of human beings. There is no existence of desires. People are free from the factors that hamper our mental and physical health. There is only the existence of knowledge and spirituality. However, all the Ashrams work upon spiritual theory.

Importance of an Ashram in Ancient Indian Society

An Ashram is the step of life where people take a break and prepare themselves to step into a new stage of life. It has played a great role in managing the lives of ancient people. In ancient history, four stages of life are classified based on the theory of Ashrams. Each of the Ashrams signifies the different goals of life to be achieved by a person. People used to follow the steps throughout their entire lives. The sections of the Ashram and their importance is described below −

• Significance of Brahmacharya − The initial stage of life is known as Brahmacharya. A child enters the cycle of Ashrams of life stages by the ceremony of upanayana where they are considered the reborn child. A boy of eight years old is chosen for the ceremony. Kshatriya boys of ten years and Vaishya boys of twelve years are allowed for the ceremony. There is no place for the Sudra boys to take part in the process as they were not permitted to take education. In this stage, children are taught about disciplines, cultures of India and the Vedas. Personality development is the agenda of this Ashram.

• Significance of Grihastha −This is the second stage of life where a boy enters youth life from his childhood life. He entered into married life. However, they have to provide services to people, requiring themselves along with the birds and animals.

• Significance of Vanaprashta − The next stage of life is known as Vanaprashta which begins at the age of fifty. At this time he has to leave his family as well as the village. He has to go to the forest alone and practice meditation. This is the way of making the soul pure. The control of the senses is the main focus of the vanaprastha. Sometimes the wife of the man is permitted to live with him for the sake of performing social activities.

• Significance of Sannyasa − The final stage of life entered after the vanaprastha took place at the age of 75 years. In this stage, a person forgets about all the bindings with the world and serves to the God.

Education in Ashrams

Previously it had been discussed that an Ashram is the best place for gaining knowledge. From the stage of Brahmacharya, a child studies the Vedas and spirituality. After that, he learns how to eliminate desires from life. In the case of Grihastha life, he learns to take responsibility and duties of his family as well as to serve the whole world. In the Vanaprastha stage, a person not only serves the world but also he spreads knowledge and experience to the young generations. In the Sannyasi stage, he learns to sacrifice his life to God and starts working in the service of God. Moreover, he learns to forget about the attachment to the family as well as the universe.

Conclusion

The life of human beings is linked up with Ashrams. India is the harbour of spiritual activities. It is the root of Indian culture and history. The Ashram has a great role in developing a person mentally and physically. But nowadays the agenda of Ashrams have tangled with the lifestyle of the young generations. There is no essence of Vedic knowledge remaining in society. People forget to do their duties and responsibilities towards the society as well as the nation. A man enjoys the Grihastha stage from marriage to the end of his life which results in conflicts and troubles in their family. A person without the knowledge of life stages, cannot survive in society or cannot be happy inside. So, there is a requirement of spreading the knowledge of Ashrams rapidly among the current generations.

FAQs

Q1. How many types of Ashrams are there in our life?

Ans. Four types of Ashrams are included in our lives are Brahmana, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa.

Q2. What is taught through an Ashram?

Ans. An Ashram develops the personality of a person and makes his soul calm and pure. Moreover, different kinds of physical activity like yoga and the ethics of Indian culture are taught through an Ashram.

Q3. What is the main target of life to be achieved by the system of Ashrams?

Ans. The ultimate target of life is to achieve moksha through the process of Ashrams.

Q4. Which of the Ashrams is nowadays performed by the people?

Ans. The main focus of the current generation is to settle in life and marry. So, the Grihastha stage of Ashrams is nowadays performed by every human being.