chaturmas - moving ashrams

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Well coming to Chaturmas – it’s the period to go within and get connected to self. Why is this period selected by Rishis for this type of acts? Simple! It’s rainy season. So outdoor activities become difficult. Next, since marriages and such functions are not performed, people have more time in hand. Staying at home because of weather – should be properly utilised and hence such of activities that can be performed at home and easily.

Rishis, seers, sages and Brahmans who were teachers would with their students do ‘Deshatan’ (journeying through the length and breath of the Bharatavarsha (India as it was called in those days!). The classes were taught as they would be walking – enroute. They were classed as “moving Ashrams”. A Guru with all his shishyas (disciples) would start the journey at around 4am after completing their morning routine and after performing ‘Agnihotra’. A group of 10-12 students would walk behind a senior student who would be teaching the group allotted to him. Since everything was taught orally, everyone would be chanting and walking, learning in groups.  Imagine such groups being taught various subjects depending upon their abilities to learn – somewhat like classes. One thing was each could learn at his pace. This was headed by the Guru. Many such descriptions are found in Mahabharata of Guru Vyasa’s moving ashrams and how they were welcomed by the locales and their needs met by them. 

They would walk till 8am and eat whatever was offered by the people of the village that they happened to cross at that time. The people in the village would be informed well in advance and they would be ready with all the requirements. Guru with his shishya’s would eat, talk to villagers, guide them, help them in their conflicts if any, heal any sick person and would continue walking from 9.30-10 am onwards. They would stop only around 12.30-1 pm for lunch. This again was provided either by the locales or the kind depending upon the place that they reached. After doing “afternoon sandhya” and after having lunch all would rest till around 3pm. At around 3pm – no they never had tea/biscuit, they would continue walking till 5-6pm. At 6pm they would make tents and do sandhya (evening Agnihotra & Pooja) have dinner (those days dinner would be completed before sunset. This is one of the traditions that jains follow even today. Staunch or religious jains even today follow this tradition even in marriages. Their reception is completed before sunset. It is very good for health and the obesity can be kept at bay if one eats before sunset and takes nothing till 4am next day. 10-12 hrs of fasting at night keeps cholesterol level at check and diabetes can be totally avoided by just following this food habit.

Coming to our ‘Moving Ashrams’ or ‘Ashrams on move’ all students would gather around the Guru and he would clear all their doubts etc till 9pm. They would retire to get up at 3am next day. And the routine would be same.

In rainy season, it would be very difficult to do this. Hence, they would rest in one of the capital for 4 months and teach the local students and the princes various vidya and the kings would be every so eager to cater to such ashrams. These were called as “rainy retrests”.

Even jains and Buddhist monks or other sanyasis would find they couldn’t be safe during travels in such season and that fulfilling their needs also took most of their time and energy and hence preferred to stay in one place. 

Thus, we have climatic, religious, social reasons for following these rituals during Chaturmas.

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