Vanprastha Ashram
At the age of about fifty, when a man had completed his household duties and responsibilities, he had to renounce worldly attachments and enter the Vanaprastha Ashram. The Aranyaka texts were composed by these Vanprasthi ascetics, who used to live in the Aranyas (forests). Vanaprastha life expanded in the Upanishad era. People of adult age used to go to the forest to lead a solitary life and expand their knowledge and thinking. According to some Dharmasutras, man could enter the Vanaprastha Ashram only after attaining Pravrajya after Brahmacharya Ashram.
According to Manu, when the hair of a person's head starts turning white, wrinkles start appearing on his body and his grandsons are born, then that person should go into the forest after becoming a Vanaprasthi. He could have been a vanaprastha alone or could have taken his wife also into the forest. Manu had given that the wife who did not wish to go into the forest by giving up village-food (paddy, yava etc. village-accessible food) and parichad (cow, horse, elephant, bed etc.) should be under the responsibility of sons. One should go to the forest by handing over or taking the wife accompanying him in the forest.
A similar view has been expressed in the Mahabharata. The theologians had made this arrangement so that a person could gradually adopt a life of renunciation and detachment and detach himself from attachment and illusion.
In the Vishnu-Purana, those who do not adopt the life of Vanaprastha after the life of a householder are called sin-karma. It is also known from Buddhist and Jain literature that the development of a person could be done by living in a solitary place like a forest. In the life of Vanaprastha, a person used to acquire renunciation, austerity, non-violence and knowledge.
Life of Vanprasthi
According to Manu, Vanprasthi should always be engaged in the study of Vedas, tolerate cold, hot, happiness and sorrow, honor and insult, etc. . Following these rules, a person lived the life of Vanaprastha till the age of seventy-five years. Bathing twice a day and performing homa-anushthan, sense-control and earning a living on alms were the main religions of Vanprasthi.
It was also necessary to perform Panchamahayagya and hospitality for Vanprasthi. Make sacrifices with food items, give alms (water, tuber-root-fruits) and please the guests. Manu has also given arrangements for Vanaprasthi to sleep on the ground, walk or stand or sit on the front leg for some time during the day (walks in between) and take bath in the morning, midday and evening.
Extending the time of his penance, he should take Panchagni in the summer season, stay in the open field in the rainy season and wear wet clothes in the winter season. Thus he was instructed to lead a harsh life.
According to Gautam Dharmasutra, Vanprasthi should eat root-fruits, complete the body with austerity, perform Panchamahayagya, and welcome other guests except unreachable guests. He should not cut his hair, beard and fingernails. He should make his clothes more northern with forest-accessible leather, Kush and Kash.
Certainly the life of Vanprasthi was a life of great spiritual practice, restraint and austerity. It was forbidden for Vanprasthi to enter the village or city. He knew the difference between true and false. He was free from sorrow and craving. Staying away from attachment, he used to be absorbed in spirituality and Brahma-knowledge.
According to the discipline festival of Mahabharata, the householder should retire from his duties and leave for the forest in the third part of his life. While living in the forest, he should eat the things that are produced in the forest, make the land a bed, keep his hair, beard and nails, wear a volk, should honor the deity and guest, should perform Agnihotra and follow Sanatan Dharma. should do. One who follows these rules attains Devlok.
Alberuni has written that Vanprasthi leaves his household and follows celibacy. If his wife does not adopt Vanaprastha with him, he leaves his wife to his sons. He stays out of the public civilization and re-emits the life he had lived in the first ashram.
He does not take shelter under the shadow of Chhajan and does not wear any clothes. Wears only the bark of the tree to cover only the cut part. He sleeps on the earth without any bed and eats only tubers-root-fruits and fills his stomach. He grows hair and does not rub oil. We also get the names of such pre-medieval kings who renounced the kingdom and became Vanaprasthi. This fact is confirmed by some records of Pratihara, Pala, Sen etc. dynasties.
Thus Vanprastha ashram was like a training camp before the preparation of the final ashram i.e. Sanyas ashram through self-study, sadhana and penance, in which man made his mind, intellect and mind pure and pure by leading a life full of celibacy and virtue. .
Sanyas Ashram
The last part of a man's life, from the age of seventy-five to one hundred years or beyond, was kept under the sannyasa ashram. Sanyas Ashram used to start after Vanprastha Ashram. This was the final step towards the attainment of the ultimate goal of all efforts, that is, salvation. In Vishnu-Purana he is called 'Parivat' And in the Dharmasutras 'Parivrajak' Having said. 'Yeti' for him in Vedic texts The word has been used.
'Sanyasa' in Sutrakal and 'Monk' The word began to spread. Sanyasi means complete renunciation, from bhikkhus to bhikkhus and 'Yeti' It is from penance. According to Manu, one should become Parivrajak by spending the third part of his age in Vanaprastha. An unresponsive person, that is, a person who did not fully perform the duties of household life, was not entitled to adopt Sanyas Ashram.
Life of a sannyasi
The basic aim of Sanyas Ashram was to attain salvation which required rigorous sadhana and penance. In the sanyas ashram, the person used to be completely detached and put his soul towards Brahman. The life of a sannyasi was lonely and detached from attachment, hatred and attachment. He did not collect food, clothes or other things. Apart from the study of the Vedas, he did not do any other work.
It was arranged in the Vishnu-Purana that he should have an equanimity and should not commit atrocities against any creature like Jarayuj, Andaj etc. He should give up the bad qualities like lust, anger, greed, attachment etc.
According to the Mahabharata, he remained unattached to fire, wealth, wife and children. Give up the means of happiness like clothes, seat, bed, etc. and keep roaming without staying in one place. A sannyasi should follow the rules of non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy, non-possessiveness, non-violence (purity), contentment, austerity, self-study and God-life etc.
According to Kautilya, a sannyasin should be Jitendriya with sense control. It is written in Matsya Purana that Jitendriya was the real monk.
Manu has instructed for him to lead an absolute and lonely life. While walking, he did not look here and there, he used to walk with his eyes fixed on his feet. That's why he is called 'Cuckootip' or 'Koukkutik' was called Manu has accepted the real sannyasi who is devoid of cosmic fire, homeless, who is not able to manage his medical treatment even when the body is diseased, stable intellect, who contemplates Brahman and has a sense of Brahman in his mind. P>
A sannyasi endowed with these qualities could go to the village for alms. Manu says that it was necessary for a sannyasi to control the senses. Being attracted to the objects, he should stop the senses with little food and solitude.
By stopping the senses from one's own objects, by giving up attachment and aversion, and by non-violence of the living beings, the way was paved. Manu has instructed him to take alms only once a day, because a person attached to alms could become attached to objects also. 'Variation' It was the main quality of a sannyasi. He did not stay for more than one night in the village and five nights in the city.
In the Matsya Purana, a sannyasi has been instructed to eat as much food as is capable of maintaining his life force.
In the post-Vedic period, the tradition of sanyasa ashram was generally present only among the Brahmins. Buddhist and Jain monks also used to travel as sannyasis. There is no information of Kshatriya and Vaishya monks in Ramayana and Mahabharata. For the Shudras only the householder was designated a ashram. Almost all the sannyasis of the epic period were brahmins.
In the Mahabharata, brahmin and sannyasi are also used synonymously. In the Puranas, people of non-brahmin castes also used to take sanyasa, but such examples are rarely found. Sannyasa was prevalent even in the pre-medieval ages. Arab travelers who came to India have written in detail about the life of sannyasi.
The Arab traveler Suleiman has written- 'There are people in India who always roam in the mountains and forests and have little resemblance to people. When they feel hungry, they eat the fruits or grass-leaves of the forest. Some of them remain completely naked. A piece of leopard skin must be lying on them. I had seen a similar man sitting in the sun. Sixteen years later, when I again passed by that side, I still saw him in the same way and in the same condition. I wonder why his eyes weren't lit up by the heat of the sun!'
Iranian writer Alberuni has written - 'The fourth period lasts till the end of life. The man wears a red cloth and a stick in his hand. Always meditative. He frees his mind from enmity and friendship and from lust, anger and longing. He doesn't talk to anyone at all. When he visits places with special qualities for the purpose of receiving some heavenly award, then he does not stay for more than one day in the village on the way and five days in the city. If someone gives him something, he does not save it for another day. He had no other work except to worry about the path of liberation and to reach that salvation from where there is no return to this world.'
Woman's place in the ashram system
There was a difference in the provisions of the ashram system for men and women. There was a provision of four ashrams for brahmin men and three ashrams for kshatriya and vaishya men, but the ashram system for women of these three varnas was voluntary. There was no ashram system for Shudra men and women.
Brahmacharya Ashram for Women: In the later Vedic period, women of the dwij varnas used to enter the celibacy ashram and their Upanayana ceremony was also performed. A girl child who is educated up to the age of 16-17 years 'Sadyovadhu' It was called After that he was married. The girl who was engaged in taking education for life and was not bound in marriage, she was called 'Brahmavadini' was called.
Very few women lived a life of celibacy. The celibate life of women almost came to an end from the Sutra period. She did not go to any guru's ashram for studies. Therefore the Upanayana ceremony of women stopped. Their education was done at home or in the village itself. His education was limited to simple knowledge.
Grihastha Ashram for Women: In the Sutra period and later eras, the marriage of the girl child was done in the childhood. Just as a brahmachari used to serve his guru, in the same way a woman had to serve her husband. Marriage was compulsory for women. The household life was meaningless without the support of the woman.
According to Manu, woman was created for the purpose of reproduction. Staying in the householder's ashram, the woman used to perform her socio-religious duties. She used to perform guest sacrifices along with Panchmahayagya etc. It was the ultimate duty of women that the householder's life should be happy and prosperous. In Atharvaveda she is called 'home-empress' Said.
Vanprastha Ashram for Women: After the completion of the grihastha ashram, the woman used to enter the vanaprastha ashram with her husband as per her wish. It depended on the woman's wish to go to the Vanprastha ashram with her husband or live with her sons. There are many such instances when a woman went to Vanaprastha with her husband. Later the entry of women in Vanaprastha Ashram was completely stopped.
Sanyas Ashram for Women: Almost all theologians have not made any mention of Sanyasa Ashram for women. Sanyas ashram was arranged for men and not for women. In the Buddhist era, young women also began to become nuns, which led to the moral decline of the Buddhist Sangharamas. Probably because of the fear of these problems, the theologians did not accept the life of a sannyasi for the woman and instructed her to live under the protection of a senior member of the family.
Importance of Ashram-system
आश्रम-व्यवस्था व्यक्ति के जीवन को अनुशासन, गति और पूर्णता प्रदान करने और जीवन के अंतिम लक्ष्य ‘मोक्ष’ की उपलब्धि कराने के लिए आरम्भ की गई थी। आश्रम-व्यवस्था व्यक्ति के निजी जीवन, पारिवारिक जीवन एवं सामाजिक जीवन में अनुशासन स्थापित करती थी। इसका निर्माण मानव जीवन की सब तरह की आवश्यकताओं को देखकर किया गया था।
यद्यपि चारों आश्रमों के लिए कठोर स्वधर्मों का निर्देशन किया गया था तथापि यह व्यवस्था व्यावहारिकता की कसौटी पर खरी उतरती थी। वस्तुतः इस व्यवस्था में मनुष्य की प्रत्येक अवस्था अर्थात् बाल्यावस्था, युवावस्था, प्रौढ़ावस्था और वृद्धावस्था में उसकी क्षमताओं एवं आवश्यकताओं, परिवार की आवश्यकताओं एवं समाज की आवश्यकताओं में संतुलन स्थापित किया गया था।
बाल्यावस्था ब्रह्मचर्य के लिए थी, युवावस्था गृहस्थ जीवन के लिए, प्रौढ़ावस्था वानप्रस्थ के लिए एवं वृद्धावस्था सन्यास के लिए निर्धारित की गई। विद्या, संस्कार और शिक्षा का अर्जन बाल्यकाल में ही सम्भव है। इसलिए बालयावस्था में मनुष्य को यम, नियम, संयम, दम, आचार, विचार आदि की शिक्षा दी जाती है।
इस अवस्था में मनुष्य इन शिक्षाओं को सहजता से ग्रहण कर लेता है। बाल्यकाल में प्राप्त किया गया ज्ञान, बुद्धि एवं विवेक ही मनुष्य के भावी जीवन का अधार बनता है तथा उसके व्यक्तित्त्व का सर्वांगीण विकास करता है। इसलिए बाल्यकाल हेतु ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम निर्धारित किया गया।
युवावस्था में मनुष्य के मन में रागात्मक वृत्तियाँ संचालित होती हैं। वह यौवन के स्वाभाविक आकर्षण से सम्मोहित रहता है। अतः उसकी यौन-वृत्तियों को संतुष्ट करने के लिए गृहस्थ आश्रम की व्यवस्था की गई। गृहस्थ आश्रम के माध्यम से ही व्यक्ति विभिन्न पुरुषार्थों को अर्जित करता था एवं अपने, परिवार के तथा समाज के प्रति विभिन्न कर्त्तव्यों का पालन करता था। इसलिए युवावस्था हेतु गृहस्थाश्रम का प्रावधान किया गया।
पच्चीस वर्ष का ब्रह्मचर्य पूर्वक विद्याध्ययन एवं पच्चीस वर्ष का धर्मयुक्त काम-सेवन एवं धनार्जन करने के बाद पचास वर्ष की आयु होते-होते मनुष्य को परलोक की चिंता होने लगती है। इसलिए मनुष्य को इन्द्रिय-सुखों के सम्मोहन से विरक्त करने के उद्देश्य से वानप्रस्थ आश्रम की व्यवस्था की गई। इस आश्रम में रहता हुआ मनुष्य अपने आध्यात्मिक ज्ञान में वृद्धि करता था तथा स्वयं को सन्यास आश्रम के लिए तैयार करता था।
पच्चीस वर्ष तक वानप्रस्थी जीवन व्यतीत करने से मनुष्य को इन्द्रिय-सुखों से विरक्त होकर जीवन जीने का अभ्यास हो जाता था। इस अवधि में वह अपने स्वाध्याय एवं चिंतन के आधार पर वास्तविक ज्ञान प्राप्त कर लेता था। अतः पचहत्तर वर्ष की आयु में उसे सन्यासी होकर समाज में वापस लौटना होता था ताकि वह अपने स्वाध्याय, चिंतन एवं अनुभव से अर्जित ज्ञान को पुनः समाज को लौटा सके।
इस प्रकार व्यक्ति की विभिन्न अवस्थाओं में विभिन्न वृत्तियों को ध्यान में रखते हुए ही चार आश्रमों की व्यवस्था की गई थी। जिस प्रकार प्रत्येक वर्ण का अपना स्वधर्म होने से वर्ण-व्यवस्था को वर्ण-धर्म कहा गया, उसी प्रकार प्रत्येक आश्रम के कुछ निश्चित कर्त्तव्य होने से आश्रम व्यवस्था को आश्रम-धर्म कहा गया। इन दोनों को समवेत रूप से वर्णाश्रम धर्म कहा जाता था।