Advice To Grihastha ( Householder ) 1. Sri Swami Sivananda

-

18/11/2018
1.

The Ashramas or stages of life are four, viz., Brahmacharya, the stage of student life; Grihastha, the stage of householder life; Vanaprastha, the stage of seclusion (forest-living); and Sannyasa, the stage of total renunciation. Each order of life has its own duties. In none of these stages must a man grasp at the special duties of the other three. At the present moment, it is difficult to maintain or observe the exact details of the ancient rules, as the conditions have changed very much. But, if we can have a clear idea of the fundamental duties of each, we shall still be able to shape the life through a regulated course of development and steady growth.

The student, after finishing his studies, enters the order of Grihastha, when he is ready to take up the duties and responsibilities of household life. Of all Ashramas, that of the householder is the highest as he verily supports the other three. As all the streams and rivers flow to rest in the ocean, even so all the Ashramas flow to rest in the householder. This household life is the field for developing various virtues such as mercy, love, generosity, patience, tolerance, purity, prudence, right judgment, etc. It is highly lamentable to note that the grandeur, solemnity and dignity of this stage of life is not fully realised these days.

A householder has duties to do towards the society, his neighbours, country, friends, relations, wife, children and parents. He must serve religious or social institutions for some hours daily in a disinterested manner with the spirit of Karma Yoga. This will purify his heart and prepare the Antahkarana for the descent of divine light.

He must treat his neighbours as his own self. He should share what he has,—material, mental and spiritual—with others.

He must give good education to his sons and daughters and treat his wife well as she is his partner in life and religious performances (Ardhangini). Parents are veritable gods on earth. Therefore he should serve them nicely, and carry out their behests to their entire satisfaction. He should perform Sraddha (annual rites to the departed souls) every year and offer Tarpana to his Pitrus or ancestors.

To be continued ..


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Nature of the True Religious Life - 3.6. - Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
================================================================================ Thursday 12, September 2024, 05:30. Mysticism The Nature of the True Religious Life - 3.6.   Swami Krishnananda. Chapter 3: The Foundation of Religious Philosophy-6. ================================================================================= The question of relation is the central point on which every philosophical discussion hangs, finally. Causal relation is the greatest of all relations—one thing causing another thing, or giving rise to another thing, or for the matter of that, any kind of relation to any other thing. You will find that there is some peculiarity in the concept of relation. It is not so simple as it appears on the surface. Imagine that there are two things, A and B. You cannot imagine any sort of relationship between A and B unless A and B are two different things. If A is the same as B, the question of relationship does not arise. It is taken for granted that A and B are ...
Read more

The Nature of the True Religious Life - 3.5. - Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
================================================================================ Wednesday, 24, Jul 2024, 05:30. Mysticism The Nature of the True Religious Life - 3.5. -  Chapter 3: The Foundation of Religious Philosophy-5. Swami Krishnananda. ================================================================================= In one sentence, I told you that often it appears that the Real is not in this world because of its Supreme non-exclusive character. If it is transcendent totally, it can bear no relation to the world. If that which is called Real is not to be visualised, seen or recognised in anything in this world, which is subject to transformation, change and death, we cannot conceive of any kind of relationship between God and the world. If that is the case, you and I, involved in this world, cannot reach God. The aspiration for God would be a futile attempt because we have already decided that there is no connection between us and God. There are some philosophers who feel ...
Read more