Ashrama and Ananda

Ashrams as a retreat for spiritual seekers have been described in scriptures. Accordingly, those interested in spiritual development can leave the humdrum of busy life and go to ashrams and seek the guidance of a teacher. Normally, the life of a person passes through childhood (balya), youth (youvana), Middle age which he /she spends as a householder, and old age (vruddhapya). Childhood is spent in studies and play, where as, the life in youth and middle age is spent in some avocation, job and earning a livelihood. In old age, one is left to take care of oneself either in an ashram or an old age home, if there is no body to take care of at home. Thus, life is not easy for anybody at any stage since it is full of uncertainties. The elders have found some easy way to spend old age in mathas or ashrama and it is this retreat we are dealing with here. 

  An ashrama is supposed to be headed by a learned person who can guide people- organising lectures on spirituality and teaching yoga. Some people collect funds and build  ashrams in secluded places for this purposes, as also provide food and shelter to visitors. This system of providing some retreat for spiritual development is one of the greatest contributions of our society to the needy, especially the elders, poor, and the helpless.

   Thread ceremony (upanayanam) is celebrated and children are given some training in study of scriptures after eight years of age (among the brahmins). They are advised to maintain strict celibacy (which of course, is not strictly enforced these days!). Much of this time of  childhood stage II (8 to 16 years) and youth goes in studies and learning some job. The early system of Gurukuls do not exist today.  When we come to old age, the ashrams definitely serve some good purpose. However, it is not easy to build and run an ashram; the organisation and management of ashram itself becomes a big business, a burden, a problem for those who want to retreat from worldly life. Ashrams, these days have become centres of abuse and scams due to selfish and unscrupulous people who do not abide by rules of morals and ethics. 

  The head of an ashram is normally a  swamy, teacher, or a sanyasi. This person is expected to be a learned person in spiritual texts, renunciate worldly life and work in the interest of people who seek spiritual development. But, these days, it is difficult to find such divine souls; great learned renunciates are hard to find. Hence, the quality of ashrams has deteriorated. A person who has experience life and realized the futility of mundane existence only comes to this highest life of a sanyas. Such a person gives up his name, and function of gruhasta (householder) and thereby really qualifies for the ascetic life (through study of scriptures, practice of yoga, etc). 

  The paradox of the situation is that ordinary people do not understand this level of existence of great teachers, sanyasins. Ego, ahankar, comes in the way of accepting another person as a swami/teacher/guru. Moreover, ordinary people are so accustomed to sensuous life that they do not show interest in spiritual studies. It is almost a pastime for some people, and it has become a fashion to spend some time in ashrams. For most of the people, there is no real interest in spiritual development, let alone seek mukti, moksha.
   The real purpose of setting up an ashram is thus defeated and most of the existing ones are just a misnomer, utmost a business centre these days!
  But nobody can deny the need for good ashrams and the need for spiritual development.