SAMNYASIN, SAMNYASA – The renunciate stage of life
The four life stages (asrama-dharma) are viewed by many scholars as joining the Vedic model of three life stages of the Aryas (“the noble ones,” who were twice- born) with a fourth stage, that of renunciation, which developed outside of the Aryan or Brahmanical tradition. The renunciation movement spanned such diverse movements as Buddhist and Jains, Ajivikas and indigenous ascetics (munis, yogis, and the like), as well as some anti-Brahmanical Aryas, those who produced the earliest elements of the Upanishads. But the genius of the Brah- manical tradition was its … Continue reading