RELIGST 3L03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Sannyasa, Brahmacharya, Vanaprastha
6 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Legal traditions attempt to define how people should live their lives. They are sequenced, first you live an engaged life and then when your duties of your engaged life (sacrifice, marriage, offspring) are complete, you can renounce the world generally towards the end of your life. Brahmacarya (student) - vedic study in the house of a teacher (celibate): ages 0-25. Grhastha (householder) marriage, children and sacrifice. Vanaprastha (forest dweller) retirement to the forest: when hair goes grey or you have grandchildren, like retiring to a cottage. Samnyasa (renunciate) ascetic life aimed at moksa or spiritual liberation. Varna: class, the four classes are priest (brahmins), warrior (hsatriyas), merchant (varsyas), serf (sudras) *men of upper 3 classes are twice borns . Dharma: social obligation dependent on class, age, and gender. Duty of a brahman is sacrifice, the duty of a king is to sponsor sacrifice (not obligated to perform them)
