aapat sannyasa

[Vivek Anand Ganesan]

Many thanks to ShrI Ravisankar for his explanation and reference.

Actually, Apat sannyAsam came about while I was reading BhagavatpAda's
biography ( I don't quite remember which one ).  Based on the context,
I understood it as a special kind of SannyAsam, where the aspirant
is a BrahmachArin and accepts SannyAsam.  But, while I was reading ShrI
RAmAnujAcharyA's biography ( published by RK Math ), the word cropped
up
again.  This time the meaning was more like "sudden" sannyAsam.
So, naturally I was confused.

Further more, I would like to know a few things about SannyAsam.
a) Since SannyAsam is the "fourth" Ashram, does one automatically
   "enter" SannyAsam after the "third" Ashram or is it a voluntary act
   which alone entitles one to be a SannyAsin?
    The reason I ask is because of the "popular" understanding of the
   Ashrams as quarters of one's life.  So, it would seem that the
fourth
   quarter would follow the third.  But, based on the qualifications
   required to "enter" SannyAsam, the above contention seems absurd.

b) Are there different criterions to "enter" SannyAsam from the
   different Ashrams?  Because, the duties of the different Ashrams
   vary, do they not?  A BrahmachArin is answerable only to his
parents.
  But, a grihasthya is also answerable to his wife :-) and his
children.
  So, is it required to get their permission as well?

Thanks,

-Vivek.

=====

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