EDITORIAL:

In our Vedic literature, we come across many rishis, who performed penance for long period, after remaining celibate. From the Puranas we know the stories of many persons who observed celibacy upto the end of their life. This tradition did not die later on. It continued even in the historical times. Adya shankaracharya was a celibate. There is a good story behind his celibacy, Saint Ramdas, Swami Vivekanand are some other modern celibates, who were known for their religious work. Swami Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Shri Radhakrishnaswami from Madras, were married in their early age; but they remained celibate throughout their life, looking upon their wives like their mother. Shri Sai baba also did not marry and led a celibate life. From these examples, some people in the religious field are under the impression that celibacy is necessary for getting deliverance from the cycle of birth and death, which is supposed to be the highest achievement of human life according to the Vedic philosophy

Sexual Impulse and four Ashrams.

When we start considering the above question what we have to remember first is that the examples quoted above are exceptions and not the rule. The rule has more or less been that of marrying with one woman at a time and remaining faithful to her. After marrying with one lady, the rules of morality require a person to look upon all other ladies either as a mother or a sister. Now why was marriage considered as a moral act ? The reply to this question is obvious. Sexual impulse is a natural instinct One verse says (Food, sleep, fear and sexual intercourse these are common impulses of the human being and the beasts) and if no provision is made to satisfy the last impulse, there would spread immorality in the society as a whole, which would result is social chaos. In order to avoid this possible unrest in the society, marriage was made a legal affair when the society advanced much and settled in the plains casting away their nomadic life.

The question of this sexual impulse was given a special thought by our forefathers. They had realised very clearly that this impulse may be controlled and curbed but is should not be suppressed. The arrangement of the four Ashrams, therefore seems to have been made with a view to giving full scope for this impulse when it is uppermost in the human minds. The first Ashram was known as *****. The very name of this Ashram indicates that celibacy was the key note of this Ashram. The arrangement in old days was to send a pupil to the Ashram of some Rishi for study. These ***** served the purpose of the schools and colleges in those days. Study always requires concentration of mind and a person, who would start a love-affair being under the sway of sexual impulse, would not be able to concentrate his mind. We come across several stories and novels written on this subject where a person ruins his career and even abandons studies in some cases when the sexual impulse has full control over him. By experience and observation, therefore, our forefathers kept a complete taboo on ***** (sexual impulse) in this part of the life of a man.

Next follows the ***** In this Ashram the student was allowed to come home when permitted by the Guru after completing his proper education. At this age the natural instinct of ***** was uppermost in every human being and therefore it was necessary to give vent to it, give it full sway with certain modifications and controls. The rules of marriage were therefore framed whereby the sexual impulse would only be controlled and not suppressed the suppression of this impulse has very bad effects on many young men and women. The young men who do not get enough opportunity to satisfy this impulse become depressed and consequently they do not progress properly in their business or other job. Some ladies, who really need their sexual impulse to be satisfied, become hysteric in the absence of the usual opportunity of man’s company by marriage at the proper age. Thus is order to preserve proper moral level of the society, this second Ashram was provided.

In the third Ashram ***** a man and his wife are allowed to stay together; but they they have to prepare in this Ashram for the fourth Ashram viz. the *****. A man has enjoyed the pleasures of life in the *****. He may be having children, who can now take up the responsibilities of the household. A man has therefore to withdraw from the family scene and he was to hand over the reins to his children. Due to this arrangement this friction between the two generations, who are usually at cross roads due to generation gap, must be being avoided in those days. Due to the change in living conditions now-a-days we see this friction ruling in most households. The old who do not want to give up their control over the family affairs, often become unwanted in the house and they feel that the young generation for whom they did so much in their youth and childhood have become ungrateful to them. The young people on the other hand feel that it was alright that they were dictated by the elderly persons when they were quite young; but now when they have grown up and when they can think for themselves independently and take their own decisions, why are these old people still having control on us and guiding us. However this quarrel between the generations has been going on from very old times and though it was being avoided in ancient society by arrangement of these Ashrams, it is now uppermost in the present society, due to the vast change in the circumstances.

The fourth Ashram was that of *****. In this Ashram the ***** had to remain all alone and manage his own affairs by himself. If a man has made mental preparation during the third Ashram and if he has come out of his addiction to family affairs, then he would be able to adjust to this Ashram very easily and attain ***** or deliverance at the end of his life.