The Four Asramas of Hindu Dharma

On this auspicious day of Pangguni Uthiram, I would like to share some information of the significance of Pangguni Uthiram celebration and the four Asramas or stages of Hindu Dharma.

Pangguni Uthiram (Meena Uttara-Phalguni in Sanskrit)
Pangguni Uthiram is a day of importance of Hindus. It falls on the day the moon transits in the asterism or nakshathira of Uttara-Phalguni or Uthiram in the twelth month of Hindu solar calendar, i.e. Pangguni (March-April). It is the full moon of the month Pangguni.
This month is special because the Uthira Nakchathira coincides with the full moon. This full moon signifies the marriage of Parvathy and Parameswara (Lord Shiva), Murugan and Theyvayanai, Raama and Sita, and Andaal (also known as Kothai) and Rangamannar took place. God worshipped in Kalyana Kola (Bridal form).
The darshan of Kalyana Kola signifies the importance given to grahasta dharma (marriage life and householdership). The Almighty manifests in the marital state as Uma Maheswara, Sita Rama, and Radha Krishna- despite his changelessness, sans childhood (Bala paruvam), youth ( Kaumaara Paruvam), old age (Yevane Paruvam). The lord is indeed a Nitya Kalyana Murthi all time marital status). It is also the day Lord Ayyapan was incarnated and Goddess Mahalaksmi incarnated on earth from the ocean of milk after the ocean was churned by the Gods and the demons) Hence, is it celebrated and Mahalaksmi Jayanthi.

Four Asramas of Hindu Dharma
There are four Asramas or stages in life, viz, Brahmacharya (period of studentship) Grahastha (householdership), Vanaprastha (forest-dweller or hermit), Sannyasa (life of renunciation or asceticism). Each stage has its own duties. These stages help the evolution of man. The four Asramas take man to perfection by successive stages. The practice of the four Asramas regulate the life from the beginning to the end. The first two Asramas pertain to Pravriti Marga (path of work). The two later stages relates to Nivriti Marga (withdrawal from the world or renunciation).
Life is systematically and orderly arranged in Sanathana Dharma. There is opportunity for the development of the different sides of human activities. Due occupations and training are assigned to each period of life. Life is a great school on which the powers, capacities and faculties of man are to be evolved gradually.
Every man should pass through the different Asramas regularly. He should not enter any stage of life prematurely. He can enter next stage, only when each has been completed. In nature, evolution is gradual. It is not revolutionary.
One who has passed Brahmacharya phase, without breaking celibacy, should eventually dwell in the householdership. After that, he should retire to the forest and finally he should abandon all attachments, wander as an ascetic in the fourth portion of life. In extraordinary cases, we have Suka who was born a Sanyasin. Sankaracharya took Sannyasa without entering the stage of a householder. A Brahmacharya take on Sanyasin only when his 'debts' to the world having been fully paid in the previous birth. Nowadays, young Sannyasins without qualification are found in abundance. This is contrary to the ancient rules and causes much trouble.

Brahmacharya Dharma
The first stage is the period of study and discipline. The student should not indulge in any pleasure. He stays in the house of his preceptor and studies the Vedas and science. This is the period of probation in the Gurukulas. The students begged his food. The children of the rich and poor lived together with no bias of status of life. The student regarded his teacher as his spiritual father and served him with faith, devotion and reverence.
The life of the student begins with the Upanayana ceremony (second birth). He must be hardy and simple in his habits. He rises early, bathes and does Sandhya Vanthana and Gayathri Japa. He studies scriptures and takes simple food in moderation and takes plenty of exercise. He sleeps on time and doesn't enjoy the pleasure of sleeping during the day. He is humble and obedient. He serves and respects the elders. he attempts to be chaste in thought, word and deed.
He always engages himself in serving his preceptor. He refrains from liquor, meat, perfumes, garlands, tasty and savoury dishes, women, acids, spices and injury to sentient creatures out of lust, anger and greed. He refrains from singing, dancing, gossips, slander and untruth.
Before leaving the Gurukula, and starting household life, he gives guru dhachana (a gift for the Guru) and obtains his final ubadesam (wisdom words) from his Guru:
Speak the truth, Do your duty. Never swerve from the study of the Veda. Do not cut off the line of progeny. Never swerve away from truth. Never swerve from duty. Never neglect your welfare. Never neglect your prosperity. Never neglect the study and the teaching of the Vedas.
Never swerve from the duties to the God and forefathers. Regard your mother as god (Matridevo Bhava), Regard your father as god (Pitridevo Bhava). Regard your teacher as god (Acharyadevo Bhava). Regard your guest as god (Atithidevo Bhava). Let only those actions that are free from blemishes be done and not others. Only those that are good acts to us should be performed by you.

Grahastha Dharma
The second stage is that of huseholdership. The household stage is entered at marriage, when the student has completed his studentship and is ready to take up duties and responsibilities of householder life. Of all the Asramas, the is the most important, because it supports all the others. As all creature live supported by the air, so the other orders exist supported by the householder. As all streams and rivers flow to rest in the ocean, so all the Asramas flow to rest in the householder. The Grahastha is the very heart of the whole life. Everything depends on him.
Marriage is a sacrament for Hindu. The wife is his partner in life. She is his Ardhangini. He cannot do any religious rituals without her. She stands by his left side (where the human heart is) when he performs any religious performance. Husband and wife keep Rama and Sita as their ideal.
A householder should earn money by honest means and distribute it in the proper manner. He should spend one-tenth of his income in charity. He should enjoy pleasures within the limits of the moral law. A householder is permitted to enjoy conjugal happiness on one night in a month.
The householder should perform the Pancha Maha Yajnas. The five Yajnas are:
Deva Yajna- offering oblations unto Devas, with recitation of Vedic Mantras
Rish Yajna- study of Vedas and teaching of Vedas to students, and offering oblations to Rishis.
Pitri Yajna- Tarpana or oblations to departed souls and Sraadha or annual religious rites performed for departed souls.
Bhuta Yajna- distribution of food to cows, crows and animals in general.
Atithi Yagna- giving food to guests and honouring them.
Hospitality is one of the householders' main duty. He must always feed his guest, Brahmanas and his relatives first.
When the householder sees that his children are able to bear the burden of his duties when his grandchildren are around him,he should know that the time has come for him and his wife to retire from the world and spend their time in studies and meditation.

Vanaprastha Dharma
Brahmacharya is a preparation for the life of the householder. Vanaprastha is a preparation of the final stage of Sannyasa. After discharging all his duties of a householder, he should retire to the forest or a solitary country place and begin mediation in solitude to attain higher spirituality. he is now free from social bonds and the responsibilities of life. He has ample time for studies of scriptures.

Sannyasa Dharma
When a man becomes a sannyasin, he renounces all possessions, all distinction of castes, all rites and ceremonies and all attachments to any particular country, nation, or religion. He lives alone and spends his time in meditation. He lives on alms. When he attains the sublime state of deep mediation he rejoices in his own self. He is quite indifferent to sensual pleasures. He is free from likes and dislikes, desires, egoism, lust, anger, greed and pride. He has equal vision and balanced mind. He loves all. He roams about happily and disseminates Brahma Jnana. or knowledge of the self. He is the same in honour and dishonour, praise and censure, success and failure. He is now Ativarnasrami, i.e. above Varna and Asrama. he is quite a free man. He is not bound by any social customs and conventions.
Such a Sannyasin is an ideal man. He has attained perfection and freedom. he is Brahman Himself. He is a Jivanmuktha or liberated sage. Glory to such exalted personages who are living Gods on earth!

Chathurasrama (Four Asramas) in the Modern World
At the present time, theAsramas cannot be exactly lived according to the details of ancient rules, as the conditions have changed very much. However, they can revived in our spirits to the improvement of modern life. In these stages, no one should do the duty of another. The student or Brahmachari should not do the duties of a householder, a recluse or a Sannyasin. The householder must not perform the duties of a Brahmacharin, Vanaprastha or a Sannyasin. A Sannyasin should not seek again the joys of the householder.
Peace and order will definitely prevail in the society, only if and when people do their respective duties efficiently. The abolition of Varnas and Asramas will cut at the very root of social duties. How can the nation hope to live when Varnasrama Dharma is not rigidly practised?
The students of schools and colleges should lead a life of purity and simple living. Mind should focused on studies, attaining knowledge, being respectful, humble in character, behaviour and actions. Pleasure of joy, women, liquor and any form of addictions should be refrained and rejected at all cost. Only sincere and truthful peers and companionship should be maintained.
The householder should lead the life of an ideal Grahastha. He should practise self-restraint, mercy, tolerance, non-injury, truthfulness and moderation in everything. He has to remain honest and faithful to his wife and family. Rama should be his soul idol, Eka Patni Vritha should be followed, whereby he only admires his own wife and no other women. Physical pleasure should only be obtained from his wife. This eventually cultivates sincerity, and faith amongst couples. Those who find it difficult to lead the life of the third and the forth Asrams, should remain in the either the earlier two Asramas, gradually withdrawing themselves from worldly life, desires, expectation from spouse, children etc. Practise selfless servce, study and meditate a lot. Doing this will eventually help maintain mental and physical health. Peace of mind is always felt, family bonding, worries about family members fade off, cultivating a stable and relaxed mind.

Yuga Dharma
Here we will explore the Dharmas in different yugas (era) and the evolution of Dharma in each of the yugas. In Krethayuga (Sathyayuga)- Golden age, there was a different set of Dharmas or laws. In Thretayuga- Silver age, Dharma changed into another form. In Dwaparayuga- copper age, there were different forms of Dharma. Finally the present era, Kaliyuga- Iron age, Dharma assumes a different form. Man is undergoing changes, his nature gets transformed through experiences. Hence, his external form of Dharma also should change accordingly.
In Krethayuga, Dharma was achived through contemplation, In Trethayuga, it was attained through sacrifices. In Dwaparayuga, Dharma was attained through worship of Lord Hari. In Kaliyuga, you may attain Dharma through Kirtana or loud chanting of the Lord's name.
In Krethayuga, the mind of men was generally pure. They had no distraction of the mind. There were neither cinemas, nor hotels, or dancing clubs or barhouses. Hence meditation was easy and natural to them. That is the reason why contemplation has been prescribed for men during that era. In the tretayuga, materials for the performance of yajnas or sacrifices were easily available. The people had active tendencies. Therefore, it was easy for them to perform agnihotra, Jyotistoma, Darsa-Pournimas, and other Yajnas. That is the reason why Yajna has been described as the external form of Sanathana Dharma in that age. In the Dvaparayuga, there was the manifestation of Avatars and men could easily have direct worship of God. hence, worship was perscribed as the principal form of Sadhana (practice) in that age. In the Kaliyuga, there are many distractions for the mind. People lack in Brahmacharya strength of will and power of enquiry or rational investigation. The control over physical sense deteriorate, actions take place according to fancies of the sense, emotions fluctuate or change according to the results of such actions. Expectations and material worldly attainments or attachments are set as the priorities. Humbleness, respect for each and another reduces. Pride and ego of material attainment get to the peak. Therefore Namasmaranam (chanting of god's name) and Namaswarnam (hearing of god's name) is the bear basic selfless service of humanity being recommended as the principal forms of Sadhana.With this Sadhanas, one learns to be humble, realised ones ownself, realises the lord that dwelves in all living beings. Eventually, the tendency of uplifting Chaturasrama and Dharma to ones level best increases.

Conclusion
Follow your Dharma with zeal and enthusiasm. Discharge your duties faithfully and honestly. Develop all the virtues which constitute Dharma. Never ever deviate an inch from the path of righteousness. Stick to Dharma with all your heart, mind and soul. Performance of ones duties brings happiness, quick evolution and freedom. You will soon attain immortality, eternal bliss, supreme peace of mind, perennial joy, absolute freedom and perfection. Glory to Dharma, the supreme light that leads you to the kingdom of God, kingdom of eternal peace and everlasting peace.
Om Shanti... Sarvea Jana: Sugino Bhavantho, Samastha Shanmangalaani Santho...Om Shanti!

Sivapuranam Part I

Long live the glorious Namasivaya

Long live the feet of my Master

Long live the feet which does not leave my heart even for a wink of my eyelids

Long live the feet of the king of Thiruperunthurai, my Guru who is Ruby

Long live the agamas which speak of His feet and His grace and proximity

Long live the one, long live the many, long live my god's feet.

Satguru

I just browsed the Wikipedia and found some meaning of who a Satguru is. It is defined as below:
Satguru means the true (Sat) guru. The term distinguishes itself from other forms of gurus, such as musical instructors, scriptural teachers, parents, and so on. The Satguru is a title given specifically only to an enlightened rishi/saint whose life's purpose is to guide initiated shishya along the spiritual path, the summation of which is the realization of the Self through realization of the God.
The recommendation says that the first and the foremost qualification of the True Master (Satguru) is that he must have known the True Lord (God) himself. In one of Kabir's songs, the Satguru is described as the real Sadhu:
He is the real Sadhu, who can reveal the form of the Formless to the vision of these eyes; Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him, the is other than rites and ceremonies; Who does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath, and renounce the world; Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever the mind attaches itself; Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities. Even immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the spirit of union in the midst of enjoyments. The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in earth, water, sky and air; Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is established above the void. He who is within is without: I see Him and none else."
Vashista, Lord Rama's Guru was the Satguru in Treta Yuga. Swami Shankar Purushotamam Tirtha quotes Yoga Vashistha:
According to Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a Hindu Satguru is always a Sanyasin, an unmarried renunciate.
However, not all writers include the stricture. For instance,"Tukaram, a Hindu Satguru, is known to have had a family. Mounuddin Chishti also had children. The Satguru Kabir had a son, Kamal, who was very Devout."

From the above definition, what we can say is most of us or rather all of us have failed to realize the true meaning of Satguru. In todays's world, we define Satguru to be the person whom we seek when we are in trouble. When we face some sort of material problems, we go to this particular person and seek his advise on what should be done to overcome the problem. This person goes on trance, tells us to cut lime, throw around the house and we will see improvements. It might sound funny when it is put on words, but that is exactly what is happening today! We fail to realise that this 'Samiyaar' is merely reducing our self confidence, merely attracting devotees and followers, merely making a living out of this. He has not realize god himself, what more making us realize god! Once we seek such kind of Samiyaars to solve our problems, we are bound to go to him again and again whenever we face a problem. To the extend we lose our self esteem and motivation. One fine day, when we do what he says and we realize that it is not helpful, we consider him to be not powerful anymore. We turn to other Samiyaars. A Satguru doesn't have powers, he doesn't put up magic shows to attract people. A Satguru is an ordinary man with an ordinary soul, only that he has realized the Parabrahma and now he is making others realize the Parabrahma.
A true guru doesn't solve our problems and request us to do certain Parigara to overcome our problems. He teaches us how to face problems with a brave heart, how to overcome these problems our self through Sadhanas (good practice) and by building our self confidence and motivation.
A Satguru doesn't preach, what he does is to teach. A priest in a temple or churche preaches, he talks about the greatness of God, he even conducts seminars or courses for a fee. He has a number of followers or even devotees who worship him. On the other hand, a Satguru teaches, he does talk about God etc, but then he doesn't stop there, he teaches us how to self realize god within us. He teaches us to see God not externally but internally within ourselves and in every every other living beings. In short, he enlightens us, he cultivates love within all human beings, anger and hatred is thrown away.
Hence a Satguru does not have followers or devotees. He seeks for Shishyas (students). He does not charge fees for the knowledge he passes on, he realizes that the knowledge he has is far beyond the dollars and cents!
A follower follows blindly whatever the guru says, he accepts every single word that the guru utters. This does not help in growing the knowledge. The knowledge fades away with the follower. However, a student will study the knowledge gained, he analyses the teachings, he debates his thoughts on the teachings with the Satguru and when the student has come to a certain level of enlightenment, he passes on the knowledge gained from the guru and also what he understands out of it. This way, the knowledge has multiplied itself and continues to grow.
A good example will be Swami Vivekananda and his Satguru Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. When Swami Vivekananda was a student of Ramakrishna, he argued a lot with the guru and challenged his teachings. He took time to study the rationale behind the guru's words. This way, he was able to get enlightenment and today we have Raja Yoga or Hatta Yoga is because of this great student of Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna confined himself in his asrama, he was teaching his students under 1 roof, but Swami Vivekananda spread the knowledge he gained from his Guru blended together with his own studies throughout the whole world. This is the greatest success of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa When someone called Swami Vivekananda a Guru, he said, " I'm not a guru, it's all my guru, Swami Ramakrishna.

Satsanghatve Nissangatvam

What is the meaning of Satsangham?

Sat (Truth) + Sangham (Company). Means to seek the company of THE truth. Truth can only be one, so as the Satguru or Parabrahma, which is only one. The concept of oneness is termed as Advaita Vedanta. The mind is modulated to see one in all and all in one. What's the one that we see? We see the truth. We see God as one and the one God that dwells in all beings. Once this level of moderation is achieved, one overcomes evil thoughts, hatred, jealousy, anger, lust etc towards another. One promotes love and easily accepts the differences between each other.

The great Shankaracharya has given clues that form the steps to Samaadhi (enlightenment). It forms simple yet definitive steps. Many Gurus and spiritual masters teach to us that desire (moha) should be dropped and there are zillions of people trying to practice dropping of the desires. Unfortunately only a few succeed.

Shankara knows better and this is Krishna's approach in Gita as well. Moha or desire is not like a ball that you catch and drop. It is like a habit or addiction. We can call it conditioning. Nobody has quit smoking by throwing a packet of cigarette. The individual when ready to quit, throws the packets. and he/she only quits when he/she changes and conditions oneself. Similarly, no body quits drinking by breaking a bottle of Johny Walker whiskey. Again, once the changes in the individual happen, he is ready to throw away the bottles. The change to get rid of a habit or addiction has to happen at the level of the personality and outlook of the individual concerned. Or else, after throwing the cigarette or the bottle, the individual would head back to the shop to purchase another.

Shankara therefore starts at the level of an individual and emphasizes the importance of Satsang as the starting point. Satsang is similar to right company. We all know that for advancement of our career we need the right company. I as an accountant socialize with other fellow accountants. We listen to talks and interact. We come back to our towns and apply that knowledge in our practice. There are conferences in every topic around the country and people come for developing better understanding their field of interest. There is no reason to get attached or hooked to these conference; there is no need to get attached to these conventions.

Similarly, in the field of spiritualism, satsang should lead to nissang (anasakti or non-attachment). This is so significant and is worth pondering over. Basically, Shakara here is defining what satsang is. Any company that leads to non-attachment is satsang. Conversely, if it does not lead to non-attachment, then it is not satsang. This is immensely helpful in finding the right Guru. This is just one simple formula. If a Guru tries to bind you down and is producing attachment, he is not the right Guru. A guru who is simply pointing his fingers to the direction you should go and is showing you the path to non-attachment (anasakthi or nissang) is the right Guru for you or me.

What is satsang and how does it work? The Guru or the right company encourages you or me to bring awareness to our lives. This company of awareness is ultimately the right company or the true satsang. The awareness that every action occurs at the periphery and nothing happens at the center is the starting point. Day by day, it becomes obvious that the natural state of being is non-attachment. There is never a connection between me the center and I the periphery. And this realization of anasakti or non-attachment.

If a Guru promises you that he will show you heaven, he will awaken your kundalini Sakti for a certain amount of fees, he will grant you happiness in life, prosperity in business, a good family life, what so ever which is material by nature, please be aware that such Gurus are not Satguru (True Guru). They are merely binding you down and producing attachments. Unfortunately, in today's fast moving world, the society seeks the feet of such Gurus. When the Guru grants 'magical' boons with their magical stick, temples are built for them, idols of them are placed. On the other hand, when the gets into a scandal or shows signs of worldly attachments and desires, their fame is washed down the drain and devotees turn away from them. These followers have failed to realize the true meaning and the true essence of a Guru. Please realize that this person is not even a Guru in the first place. You have been merely blinded and now you have been awakened by such unfavorable events. Please seek the true Guru, i.e. the Satguru!

Krishna does talk about abhyas (practice) yoga and he lays a lot of emphasis on this yoga. But we have to know what have to be practised. We cannot and should not try to practice non-attachment, because it is not an acquired phenomenon, neither can it be forced or taught by someone to follow; non-attachment is our default status, it is the natural state of all beings. All we have to do id REALISE it. But practice is required in bringing our awareness to it. The mind likes to get attached to the periphery and keep us busy there. Practice is needed in bring it to the center and keeping it there. Acts will still continue, but will continue with awareness. All techniques of meditation and all modes of Satsang try to make this happen. And once it becomes the steady state, it becomes hard to get attached or detached. For this a proper guru is essential.

It is also important to realize that both attachment and detachment happen at the periphery and that effort is needed for both. To come close to someone needs effort and similarly effort is needed to hate someone. Non-attachment does not require an effort; it is simply realization of our natural state of being. And once it happens, it produces qualitative changes in life. There may not be any changes obvious to someone watching from outside. Krishna still eats food and drinks water. He still plays tricks like anyone else, but there is qualitative difference in him and someone else doing the same thing. Krishna is established in the center, and all acts for him are happening at the periphery. There is no possibility of any attachment.

Satsang leads to non-attachment and in simple terms Satsang is living life with awareness; satsang is spending time with the center and watching the actions at the periphery as a witness. Any company that promotes this to happen is the right company. Shankaracharya truly has taken the gist of Gita and put it in a formula for us here and it is worth spending some time on understanding these gems of Bhaja Govindam.

Below is an extract of the Bhaja Govindam for all of us to ponder upon. Take time, read it, understand it and realize the true meaning.

Satsangatve Nissangatvam

Nissangatve Nirmohatvam

Nirmoatvam Nishchalattvam

Nishcalattvam Jiivanmuktih

From Satsangha, comes non-attachment; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, which leads to self-settlement. From self-settlement comes Jivan Mukti (liberation).