Vedic Wisdom teaches that each individual goes through certain phases during the course of life, and that each of these phases should provide the opportunity to master the knowledge and skills required for making real progress toward the attainment of the Purusharthas. The systematic organization of these phases, known as Ashrama, foresees three main segments in the life of man.
1. Brahmacharya or Student Life: This is the stage of life in which the child receives a solid education in Vaidika Dharma, including the sciences and the arts. It entails living a celibate and simple life, free from the distractions of sensuality and materialism, hearing and studying the Vedas, and developing virtuous qualities such as discipline, purity in thought, word and deed, cleanliness, humility, etc.
- Swami Dayanand on the purpose of Brahmacharya: "Brahmacharya (or the 1st stage of life) is meant for perfecting one's body and acquiring knowledge and culture." (Satyarth Prakash 159)
Brahmacharya is the foundation of the noble life, for it imparts the knowledge of one‘s proper place and function in society and in God‘s creation, as well as training in skills one will make use of in all the subsequent stages of life.
2. Grihastha or Household Life: This is the stage of life in which the individual learns and practices a profession suited to their nature, i.e., their natural gifts and talents. It is also the stage in which a person usually gets married and starts a family, and entails the careful observance of prescribed duties and Yajnas or ritual sacrifices.
- Swami Dayanand on the purpose of Grihastha: "Grihastha (or the 2nd stage of life) is for the pursuit of useful occupation and professions, marriage, etc." (Satyarth Prakash 159)
In many ways, Grihastha is the pillar of all the other phases of life, as Householders are the ones who support both children and the elderly on the one hand, as well as temples and priests on the other.
3. Vaanaprastha or Retired Life: This is the stage of life in which the individual, having fulfilled his duties to his children and his community, withdraws from his professional role in society, making way for the next generation, and turns his attention inward, devoting himself more fully to the practice of yoga and the search for divine wisdom.
- Swami Dayanand on the purpose of Vaanaprastha: "Vaanaprastha (or the 3rd stage of life) is for meditation, concentration of the mind on abstruse subjects, the perfection of one’s character and the acquisition of divine knowledge." (Satyarth Prakash 159)
For most people, this stage represents the culmination of all their efforts. They have the freedom to spend the remainder of their days absorbed in the contemplation and worship of God and in altruistic actions. However, for Braahmanas, there is one additional stage which can be taken as an option.
4. Sanyaasa or Renounced Life: This is the stage of life in which the individual renounces all ties to worldly existence, focusing all his energy upon the propagation of Vedic Wisdom and the teaching of the same to others.
- Swami Dayanand on the purpose of Sanyaasa: "Sanyaasa (or the 4th stage of life) is meant for disseminating knowledge of the Veda and the Shaastras, practicing virtue and renouncing vice, preaching the gospel of truth and dispelling doubts and ignorance of the people. … Therefore, it behooves Sanyaasis to devote themselves assiduously to the preaching of Truth and enlightening the minds of the people who are in doubt, to the studies of the Vedas and the Shaastras and the propagation of the Vedic religion, thereby promote the good (physical, social, mental and spiritual) of the whole world." (Satyarth Prakash 159)
Braahmanas may also go directly from Brahmacharya to Sanyaasa, as they are alone qualified through knowledge and piety to execute the duties of a true Sanyaasi, and as it is sometimes the case that they have little if anything left to learn from the stages of Grihastha and Vaanaprastha.
