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- Jan 9Srivats,All this misses my main point -- the Ashram was an ancient place of the ASCETIC.No matter how else it is defined -- whether for the Aged Sage, or the Young Royal, the key to every Ashram was always the ASCETIC -- Self-abnegation -- Self-denial.Clearly, for many Mystics, Self-denial is the very essence of Ecstasy. It is famous that for some Ascetic Victory, that some Divinity would bestow a Boon on the Sage.The fact that the Sage would always get his power by the ASCETIC is the moral of almost every Hindu story I have read.My own theory -- my own formula -- is that Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness" is directly associated with the concept of the ASCETIC. The terms are in Hegel's text.To Stephen Cowley I repeat that there is surely a Religious component to Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness," even though it isn't Christian.I''m not saying that it is Hindu -- yet I do affirm that Hinduism is the oldest Religion in the world today -- and that Hinduism is the closest relative we have to the polytheistic Religions that flourished for thousands of years before the appearance of Abraham (2000 BC, or from Moses, ca. 1250 BC, and their famous Monotheism.In any case -- the notion of the ASCETIC, whether for a Divine Boon or for Military Power, always involves Self-denial -- and this is what Hegel means by "Unhappy Consciousness." It means Self-denial. It means Self-abnegation. This approach to Hegel's text is new insofar as it challenges the canon of the past century.Yet the 20th century canon about Hegel is so full of flaws that nobody can count them.Regards,--Paul Trejo-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On Wednesday, January 9, 2019, 12:13:40 AM CST, R Srivatsan r.srivats@... [hegel] <hegel@yahoogroups.com> wrote:There are two meanings of the word ashrama, or ashram. One is a retreat, the other is a term describing the four stages of life.See here for the retreat meaning.See here about ashrama as part of varnashrama dharma (the Hindu way of life).You might want to read Patrick Olivelle if you want to understand the second sense better.
SrivatsOn Wed, Jan 9, 2019 at 10:53 AM R Srivatsan <r.srivats@...> wrote:The ancient priest was part of the Varna system. One of the four castes, the brahmins had a priestly function. They were supposed to minister to the needs of the people. But they also during historical periods became powerful secular ministers.The sage or more precisely rishi was one who relinquished the social bond of the Varna system and went to live outside the limits of communal habitation.The priest had a socially defined function. The rishi was not so defined.Srivats - << Previous post in topic Next post in topic >>