Ashrama

Also spelled  Asrama,  Sanskrit  Asrama,   in Hinduism, any of the four spiritual abodes, or stages of life, through which the “twice-born” Hindu ideally will pass. The stages are those of (1) the student (brahmacari), marked by chastity, devotion and obedience to one's teacher; (2) the householder (grihastha), requiring marriage, the begetting of sons, working to sustain one's family and to help support priests and holy men,