Grihastha Ashrama (25 to 50 years) Householder (married life
with children and attendant duties
in the world). This
ashrama is the period of fulfilling
the duties of the immanent.
Most people marry, have children and live a family life with its attendant
engagement in the world.
Children endow marriage with social responsibilities. Husband and wife are seen as co-partners in their spiritual progress, and the family provides a training ground for the practice of unselfishness. Healthy householders are the foundation of a good society and by discharging their duties as teachers, soldiers, merchants, scientists, manual workers or whatever vocation suits their nature, they acquire wealth and enjoy the pleasures and suffer the pains of a natural life. By adhering to the path of righteousness (dharma), the individuals grow in wisdom.
Children endow marriage with social responsibilities. Husband and wife are seen as co-partners in their spiritual progress, and the family provides a training ground for the practice of unselfishness. Healthy householders are the foundation of a good society and by discharging their duties as teachers, soldiers, merchants, scientists, manual workers or whatever vocation suits their nature, they acquire wealth and enjoy the pleasures and suffer the pains of a natural life. By adhering to the path of righteousness (dharma), the individuals grow in wisdom.
One must acknowledge though that in this
ancient view of life, all of life is always in cooperation with the sacred -
attention to the world is not, as in modern times, a life of alienation from
the sacred and indulgence in sensual excess but the world becomes a pathway to realization of the sacred through a disciplined, creative endeavour.
