The Four Ashramas

Martin Bohn discovers why ancient Vedic traditions are still relevant.

The young woman just about to start university; the newly-wed couple; the elderly lady at the end of her working life; the old man who leaves home to spend his last years in a care home… They all have something in common: They are in a transition from one stage of life into another.

The Vedas divide our lives into four different stages, called the four ashramas. They are brahmacharya (being a student), grihasta (being a householder), vanaprastha (forest dweller) and sannyasa (stage of renunciation).

Brahmacharya
This first stage traditionally used to be the period of living with the guru as a student (brahmachari), learning the scriptures as well as all the practical skills necessary in life. Brahmacharya literally means “walking in Brahman”. During this phase, which could start as early as the age of eight and last approximately to the age of twenty-five, the student had to serve his master and live a life of discipline and chastity. After completing his studies, the student usually married and thus entered the grihasta stage (griha = house).

Grihasta
During this period, husband and wife would strive to earn wealth and have children. It was the time when most of the purusharthas, the four chief objectives of life as laid down by the Vedas, were achieved. Of these four, which are kama (desire), artha (wealth), dharma (righteousness) and moksha (liberation), the first three were all meant to be fulfilled during the stage of grihasta.

Desires and wishes were to be realized through the enjoyment of material wealth as well as having sex and children as a natural part of married life. Kama (desire) and artha (wealth) were very much seen as interconnected. And both could only find fulfilment under the rules of dharma (righteousness). That meant that the acquisition of wealth had to always be through righteous means and the wealth thus gained had at least partially to be used for the welfare of society or even all of creation.

Therefore, the duties of the householder included a variety of sacrifices and rituals which made it clear that accumulating and enjoying wealth were not the main objectives of this period. There was the sacrifice to the Divine Absolute (Brahman); the sacrifice to the ancestors; the sacrifice to the elements/all living beings; and finally, the sacrifice to mankind.

This impressive number of sacrifices included prayers and rituals, commemoration ceremonies for the deceased, feeding and caring for animals and a lot of social service such as hospitality, feeding the poor, giving money in charity, protecting the weak and powerless, and, of course, raising children.

In this system, the attraction of being wealthy lay not so much in the sensual enjoyment and social status it provided, but more in the luxury of being able to give gifts and help those in need. Personal wealth was by no means regarded as reprehensible: on the contrary, it was seen as the householder’s duty to acquire a certain amount of wealth, at least enough to take care of his family.

But being wealthy mainly meant extra opportunities for sacrifice and charity, thus creating good karma for the giver. Yet sensual enjoyment was certainly not despised but seen as a legitimate part of life, kama (desire, lust) even being one of the chief goals mentioned by the Vedas.

Vanaprashta and sannyasa
The next stage as described by the Vedas was vanaprashta (forest dweller). After having discharged their family duties, husband and wife went to the forest to dedicate themselves to their sadhana (spiritual practice). This could lead to the final stage of sannyasa (renunciation).

With the consent of his wife, the husband could become a sannyasin and give up all worldly property and attachments to prepare himself for shedding his body and becoming one with the Divine. All the other goals such as fulfilment of desire (kama), wealth (artha) and righteousness (dharma) were abandoned at this stage to realize the fourth and final goal, moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

The inner meaning
What does this system of the four ashramas mean for us today? Simply copying it is not possible for many people. But when we look at its inner meaning, this ancient system may still provide a few pointers for our own lives.

As mentioned before, the main characteristic of the four ashramas is that they orientate life towards the Divine. Out of the four, the stage of householder (grihasta) seems to be the closest to the sort of lifestyle the majority of people have today.

Brahmacharya and sannyasa, however, seem to demand much more readiness to follow a rigid set of rules and accept a high level of discipline and austerity. These two stages are quite similar in this, but while brahmacharya wants to firmly root the young person in spirituality before he actually gets in contact with the world and its many temptations, sannyasa aims to cut oneself loose from the world after having lived a full life in it. Sannyasa will normally only be possible if there was brahmacharya at the beginning. A mind not trained by brahmacharya will be too weak and helpless to resist its own worldly tendencies and will be unable to completely renounce the world.

But brahmacharya is more than that. It also is the basis for a happy life as a householder, since a strong and purified mind will not so easily be overpowered by all the worries and anxieties of a life in the world . Detachment is not only necessary for dying; in fact, life can only be enjoyed when there is a certain level of detachment and spiritual orientation.

In this path as outlined by the Vedas the starting point is God, the middle stage is the world, while the last step brings one back to God. This pattern can strengthen the natural rhythm of life. The small child just incarnated will gently and gradually be prepared for an adult life, where he or she is active and effective in the world until old age, where he or she withdraws again from the world. It is a rhythm of arriving, getting involved and detaching again.

The arriving takes place in the brahmacharya stage, where the young, malleable person is expected to acquire a solid spiritual training apart from his secular education. This connection to the spiritual reality should even be deepened during the householder stage so it can find perfection in sannyasa.

Just like an apple develops from a bud into a flower and then into a fruit, all the ashramas are necessary and consecutive steps. The last one, sannyasa, doesn’t mean running away from life. It is its perfection. The ripe apple falls from the tree.

This might show that an active life and spirituality can go hand in hand and actually should go together at least over a certain period of time. As Krishna teaches in the Bhagavad Gita, renunciation will be nearly impossible without first having practised the path of (selfless) action: But renunciation of action, O mighty-armed one, is difficult to attain without performance of (selfless) action. The sage devoted to action attains Brahman quickly. (Chapter 5, verse 6)

Still valid today?
There are several things we might learn from ashrama dharma, the four stages of life.

First of all, we can be assured that worldly duties and responsibilities are not an obstacle to the spiritual path. On the contrary, the householder-stage of grihasta is really at the heart of this system. This is only possible for very few people to go directly from brahmacharya to sannyasa, that is to lead a purely spiritual life instead of a working and/or family life. For many people this would simply mean fleeing from the world and lessons that still have to be learnt.

Besides, one might also learn how critical the formative years in one’s life – the 20s and 30s – are. Whoever develops a healthy, spiritual lifestyle during this phase, whether through education, good role models or self-effort will feel this to be a blessing for the rest of their life. It should be clear, though, that this demands a high degree of self-control or even abstention from a variety of temptations that may divert one from spiritual pursuits.

The aim of life as the Vedas see it is to achieve moksha, liberation from rebirth or union with the Divine. Another word for this union is Yoga. All the various forms of yoga, in fact all the spiritual disciplines taught in Indian spirituality were meant to help man on his way to this union.

Young people and brahmacharya
The goal is the same even today. For young people today, brahmacharya could mean finding healthy ways to control the various desires that are especially turbulent at that age. To learn to be the master of their own body and senses, not their slave. To develop discipline and acquire a solid spiritual outlook that will last through the upheavals and instabilities of life.

Young people are highly idealistic but this can easily turn into sarcasm, anger and depression if they don’t find a worthwhile goal or role models who can show the way. Yoga can provide all that as well as the necessary techniques for spiritual practice.

There are a good number of contemporary spiritual teachers who not only have strong personal magnetism and purity, but who also inspire people to devote themselves to social service or environmental projects. It is especially important for young people to become actively involved in society in a meaningful way.

In the middle of life
The middle stage of life is the time where the soul has incarnated fully into the body and is now at its highest capacity to use this body as an instrument in life. This is the time where people are generally at the peak of their mental capacity, discipline and success. Most people are at the height of their careers.

The danger of this period is to become overwhelmed by worldly concerns and ambitions. There is always the temptation to lose oneself in craving for money, fame and power. The Vedas therefore describe all the various sacrifices and duties for this stage. They are meant to ensure the welfare of society as well as that of the householder himself, who can use his wealth to do good, and through this good karma can have a good future as well as grow further spiritually.

Worldly life does not have any real value of its own. It derives its meaning and value from the maturity, goodness and positive attitude that can be developed through it. It should take one closer to the Divine. Material wealth offers the chance of doing a lot of good and so it is a responsibility rather than a pleasure.

The challenge of this stage of life is to be in the world but not of it. Only through making God the goal of one’s life, say the Vedas, will one be able to eventually renounce the things of the world without fear, bitterness and clinging.

Modern forest dwellers and renunciants?
If selfishness, which to a certain extent is completely natural and healthy, is thus controlled, the soul will find it easier to detach again from the world in old age. The natural tendency of this stage is to look back on one’s life with either regret or longing for the good old days to come back.

To guide this into a fruitful direction, the Vedas advise old people to gradually renounce their worldly ties and responsibilities and devote more and more time to spiritual practices such as meditation and worship.

This is certainly not unfamiliar to many old people today. Having more time for artistic and cultural activities, travelling and spending time with children and grandchildren would also fall into that category, as long as it helps to develop a broader and more mature vision and doesn’t lead to further attachments.

Old people should be free from material concerns, because worries will only strengthen bondage. It is very healthy for elder people to retain some responsibilities, because they need to feel that they are still needed, which indeed they are. But they should only be light responsibilities and should leave enough time for contemplation and preparing for the final journey.

No one will expect old people to go to the forest or to renounce all their possessions and become a mendicant. The inner meaning of these stages is that spiritual pursuits become more prominent once more and that attachments are dissolved so that death can be accepted or even be seen as a chance.

Old age is the stage when wisdom can come to its fullest maturity, and spiritual teachers often only reach their full potential at a ripe old age. Wisdom comes more easily then because of the richness of experience that old people have as well as the fact that they have already moved closer to the world of the spirit. In fact, the soul of an old person is not as deeply incarnated as in the middle of life.

And when finally the moment comes where the soul leaves this world, it should do so joyfully and with full awareness of the spiritual significance of that transition, because it is said that the state of mind at the moment of death determines the nature of the next birth or might even lead to liberation. But it should also be clear that one has little control at that point and that essentially, one’s state of mind will be of the same nature as the life one has lived.

The essence
The aim of yoga is union with the Divine Reality. When this union is achieved, the cycle of birth and death comes to an end.

With this in view, the Vedas have laid down the four stages of life to make the journey of life a successful and peaceful one. Man should enjoy his time on earth while making the best use of the precious opportunity that life is so that he can eventually leave his body behind just as joyfully as he lived in it and attain the bliss of moksha.

A famous contemporary Indian spiritual master has put the recipe for such a life into a nutshell: Put God first, the world next and yourself last.

This is the spirit of ashramadharma, the four stages. By directing one’s life towards the Divine and serving the world one can transcend the ego and attain moksha, liberation from the prison of limited existence.

Martin Bohn is a Waldorf Teacher, living and working in the South of England. He has practised Hatha-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga and meditation for 9 years and spent about one and a half years in several ashrams in South India during his frequent trips there.

Martin Bohr for Yoga Magazine