Samskaras, Varnas,Stations in Life

The duties of the individuals are so naturally practised that many do not seem to know what they are all about. Hinduism demarcated the Life of an Individual into Four parts. They are Brahmacharya,The Celibate, The Grihastha,The Married, The Vanaprastha,The Retired and Sanyasa, the Renounced. During the Brahmacharya the individual is made to learn all the aspects of the Vedas, not merely the Ascetic aspects but also the mans of livelihood which come under the Vedas.Thetse include Archery,Politics,Grammar,Linguistics,Agriculture, Trade Craft,Astronomy,Astrology. During the grihastha period, one performs the Duties enjoined on the House holder, which includes Social Service. In Vanaprastha, one retires int he true sense of the term by non-interference and by meditation. In Sanyasa, Man relinquishes all belongings and concentrates on Liberation. Basic Rites to be performed by an individual are indicated for each stage. These Samskaras are applicable to all Varnas, all people except the Sudras( Sudras meaning and duties will be dealt with in a separate blog). Varnas are determined on the basis of Dispositions or Natural tendencies. There are Forty Samskaras . There is a controversy that there are only Fourteen Samskaras. The resources are from the Smriti , ancient texts and regular practices followed by the Hindus. One good source is the book Forty Samskaras by Sri. Srivatsa V.Somadeva Sarma,which has been approved by Kanchi Periyavar. The Publishers are Sri Surabhi Sadhabdi Publications, Lakeview Road, West Mambalam,Chennai 600033( opposite TNSC Bank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83sk%C4%81ra