ashram
The Sanskrit ashrama was a place for ascetics
to perform austerities (practices of renouncing
bodily and psychological comfort), usually at a
distance from and in isolation from the larger
world (shram, means to exert oneself strongly).
In later times the word came to designate a place
organized for spiritual practice, a refuge where
devotees could pursue their paths. Most often
the ashram would be under the tutelage and
guidance of a particular guru or lineage of teach-
ers. Isolation is no longer the determining factor
of an ashram, though many are still deliberately
sited away from the hustle and bustle of everyday
life.
Further reading: Anne Cushman and Jerry Jones, From
Here to Nirvana: The Yoga Journal Guide to Spiritual
India (New York: Riverhead Books, 1998); R. P. Sax-
ena, and Vinay Laksmi, eds., A Directory of Ashrams
in India and Abroad (Mathura, India: Ashram Publica-
tions, 1975) Susan Vickerman, “An Examination of
the Indian Ashram and Its Potential for Women’s Spiri-
tual Fulfillment” (Ph.D. Diss., Graduate Theological
Union, 1990).
ashramas
The ashramas were the four traditional stages of
life that BRAHMIN males were expected to follow,
according to the authoritative Hindu texts. People
of other twice-born castes, such as Brahmins,
warriors, or merchants, could optionally take on
the ashramas. SHUDRAS and Dalits (Untouchables)
were not included in this system.
The four traditional ashramas are BRAHMACHA-
RYA (studentship), grihastha (householder stage),
VANAPRASTHA (entering the forest), and SANNYASI
(mendicancy). Usually, one was permitted to leave
household life after one had seen one’s grandchil-
dren. During the vanaprastha stage of life, which
ordained austerities in the forest or wildlands, one
could optionally be accompanied by one’s wife, as
long as chastity was maintained.
Further reading: Irina Glushkova and Anne Feldhaus,
House and Home in Maharashtra (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1998); Patrick Olivelle, The Asrama
System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious
Institution (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993);
———, Manu’s Code: A Critical Edition and Transla-
tion of the Manava-Dharmasastra (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2005); ———, trans., Sannyasa Upa-
nishads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).Ashtanga Yoga
Ashtanga (eight-limbed) Yoga is the system
devised by PATANJALI, author of the YOGA SUTRA.
As the name implies, eight practices are involved,
divided into two groups. The five outer practices
are YAMA, niyama, ASANA, PRANAYAMA, and pratya-
hara; the three inward-oriented practices are dha-
rana, dhyana, and SAMADHI.
Ashtanga Yoga involved a sitting yoga, some-
times called raja yoga, focused on the breath.
As one watched the breath, one developed ways
of concentrating and eventually controlling the
mind. The ultimate goal, as in all yogas, was lib-
eration from birth and rebirth, but in the practice
of Patanjali, the specific effort was to free the self
(PURUSHA) from its false attachment to the phe-
nomenal world, or PRAKRITI.
ASANAS, or postures, play a central role in the
systems of Ashtanga Yoga that are disseminated
today, but in the Yoga Sutras themselves, “sitting,”
or “asana” is simply one of the eight “limbs.”
Many of the postures known today may have been
later additions to the practice or may have devel-
oped through separate practices that later merged
with the Patanjali school. There are strong resem-
blances between the practices found in Patanjali
and those of the Buddhist Pali canon, although
the practice postures were never an important
component in Buddhism.Further reading: S. N. Dasgupta, The History of Indian
Philosophy, Vol. 1, The Kapila and the Patanjaal Sam-K 50 ashram