Guest guest Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 namaste Angel, Purbashrama is bengali for " poorva-ashrama " . According to hindu way of life a man goes through 4 phases in life, 1. Brahmacharaya or the student's life during which he undertakes study at hermitages and practices celibacy 2. Grahastya or the married life during which he with his life-partener lives with the society contributing to its welfare 3. Vaanaprastha or the retired life when he slowly disassociates himself from wordly activities and prepares himself for departure to forests (vana) and life there as a spiritual seeker 4. Samnyasa or the life of renunciate, when no more wordly ties remain with him While according to some philosophies it is necessary to go through all these phases of life (Poorva meemamsa), vedantists believe that a spiritual seeker can directly ascend to Samnyasa phase(ashrama), as his mind is already prepared to accept that mode of life (due to his samskaras - or impressions of past lives). For such a samnyasi, poorvashrama refers to his earlier phases of life. In present context we can say that pre-monastic life is 'poorvashrama' for a monastic member. vikas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.