{"id":3657,"date":"2021-02-02T08:33:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T08:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sanatankultura.com\/?p=3657"},"modified":"2021-03-19T14:03:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T14:03:25","slug":"ashram-and-satsang-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanatankultura.com\/?p=3657&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Ashram and Satsang"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ashram<\/em><\/h2>

According to the Vedic tradition and the teachings of the Vedas, one definition of the word \u2018ashram\u2019 (a \u2013 welcome, shram \u2013 to work) is a place where you are welcome to do something for others and for yourself. In this way ashram is a place where you work on yourself in a spiritual sense.
It is a place of spiritual activity through daily practice of yoga, equally in all its forms: the practice of karma yoga, bhakti yoga, gyan yoga and raja yoga. Ashram is a place where you will find refuge without any discrimination and where you are always welcome. Anashram is a refuge. The purpose of life in the ashram is the same as the meaning of yoga\u2013 enlightenment and moksha.
The ashram is usually populated with sannyasis and aspirants who have the desire and ability to fully devote a period of their life to spirituality. One of the major purposes of an ashram is to offer a place of spiritual gathering for people who lead a worldly life. We can safely say that ashrams are lighthouses and harbors on the stormy sea of samsara.
In the ashram, during satsangs, spiritual strength is renewed so that one can stay focused on Sat Sanatan Dharma and God during their everyday life, and more easily recognise and avoid the pitfalls of maya \u2013 worldliness.<\/p><\/div>

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Besides the regular satsangs and organised yogic activities for the community, ashrams often have Gurukuls (schools where students live and where, besides learning worldly knowledge, they also practice spiritual skills) and Gosalas (a place for old and sick animals to be taken care of).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashrams have always been, and continue to be, the main gathering point for communities living in surrounding areas. A place of safety, a place where students and locals came to their teacher \u2013 Guru,for a darshan and advice; places where they could get any kind of help and spiritual guidance for their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Four Stages of Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The term ashram <\/em>also means the four periods of life in accordance with the Sanatan Dharma:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Brahmacharya Ashram<\/em><\/strong> (Birth \u2013 25 years of age) is the time of discipleship and celibacy, when we dedicate ourselves to learning, spiritual disciplines and secular knowledge.<\/li>
  • Grahasta Ashram<\/em><\/strong> (25 \u2013 50 years of age) is the time for creating family and for domestic life. It is a time when spiritual activities are conducted together with the worldly life and through helping others.<\/li>
  • Vanaprastha Ashram<\/em><\/strong> (50 \u2013 75 years of age) is the time when we devote ourselves more to spirituality, and serve the community and environment as a role model, advisor and transmitter of tradition and culture to younger generations.<\/li>
  • Sannyasa Ashram<\/em><\/strong> (75 onwards) is the time for a full withdrawal from the world, when all worldly duties and positions cease to exist. (Sannyasa<\/em> can be chosen as a way of life at any time.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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