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Re: The words maTham and ASramam.

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Visu9 • November 30, 2002 


/Om namO nArAyaNAya |

/namaskArams to all.

An /AShram by definition of the meaning attached to it is self-sufficient with labor attached to it. That is, the /AShram must have a garden for flowers, an orchard for fruits, and grazeland and provisions for the cattle and animals. 

This is true even of the four /Ashrams, where the definition is loosened to allow for making a living by direct labor. Labor is not necessarily manual, but exertion and effort. 

Even in the case of a /brahma/caryaH, it is necesasry for the young person to do chores to earn his or her living. 

The main characteristic of an /AShram is the preservation of the individuality of the person or persons living there. Each one makes a direct contribution. 

A /matam on the other hand is a system of public orientation. No labor is required per se. It is a system of beliefs and canons including /yamA and /niyamA that are prescribed or encouraged. 

In modern times Mahatma Gandhi implemened the philosophy of the /AShrams. His ideas for independence had been experimented in a small scale in his /AShrams Tolstoy Farm and
Phoenix Farm in South Africa. His problem was how to convert those ideas into the public domain; that is, from small scale research into manufaturing on a large scale. As we know, it is no mean task.

That brings out another comparison between the two concepts. /Ashrams are research stations experimenting with public good on a small scale to convert the successful ideas to /matam. 

The more /Ashrams suvcceed, the better a counry will be. And Gandhiji was very successful in /Warda and /Sabarmati Ashrams. 

/vantanam.

Visu


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