Hindu stages of life
In the Hindu culture there are four stages, or ashramas, in life. This is, of course, in the "ideal" life of a Hindu man who is a member of the upper three classes must go through these four stages, after birth and before death, to complete the cycle of the current life and move on to the next level whether it is to be reincarnated or move on to something greater. The four stages are student, householder, hermit, and sannyasin. These four stages are for males to follow; females follow a similar path but mainly will act as a support to the male. The first stage, student, is really a student of religion and learning about one's self. The male would follow the teachings of his father or of a teacher much like an apprentice does like their teacher. This involves teachings of
During this stage of life a man is supposed to break away from the household and let his son take over where he left off and he will "retire to the forest. day to day activities, ceremonies, studies of scripture, and broad teachings of the Hindu religion. The first stage, student, is almost identical in our culture. Maybe this is forced upon you instead of something you want to do, but it is done anyways. The third stage, hermit, in the western culture is kind of like the mid-life-crises that a lot of men go through; we break from our household and attempt to "find ourselves. In the final stage of life, Sannyasin, the wandering hermit is supposed to break ties with all of his earthly belongings/friendships and prepare for death. " The final stage, sannyasin, in the western world is almost identical to when your children get fed up with you and stick you in a nursing home awaiting death. In our western culture we follow a similar path during our cycle of life. The Hindu have a strange way of going about the whole life cycle and it is almost unimaginable for someone from a western culture to understand the role the females play in the Hindu culture, but this is the way they live their lives and who knows, maybe it IS the "path to enlightenment. The third stage is the hermit stage. In the second stage, householder, most western people do the same as the Hindu which is establish yourself, build a "home base", marriage, family, and establish yourself in the community. In the householder stage of life you would move on your own, out from the wing of your teacher/father and start your life as an independent contributor to society. This lasts for possibly up to the age of twenty-five.
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