swami-brahmachari-sannyas

[Guest guest]

Not to re-hash an old debate, but here's some info

i found about the traditional approaches to the stages

of life found at:

http://www.indiancultureonline.com/Mystica/html/ashram.htm

 

"There are three schools of thought about the observance of ashrams:

Sammucchya or orderly co-ordination; Vikalpa or option; and Badha,

annulment or contradiction. Sammucchya prescribes that a man should

follow the four ashrams in order. Manu is the chief supporter of this

view. The Vikalpa School preaches that a man can become a sanyasi

immediately after the Brahmacharya Ashramashram or after the

Grihastha ashram. But one can only become a sanyasi after studenthood

if one has mastered control over one's senses and desires. The

Vikalpa School does not consider Vanaprastha ashram a separate stage.

This view is expounded in the Jabala Upanishad. The Badha school is

held by the Gautama Dharmasutra and Baudhayana Dharmasutra (see

Sutra). Followers of this school believe that there is just one

ashram: the Grihastha ashram. They hold that the Brahmacharya ashram

is only preparatory to the Grihastha ashram. Since each school is

supported by Vedic text, all three are equally valid.

 

"In the present day, few people find it practical to follow this

system of life. Most people to the Badha school of thought,

albeit unknowingly. First, they study, which prepares them for an

occupation, and then marry. This stage, with slight variations

according to different individuals, continues for the rest of their

life."