Ashrama (stage) in the context of "Vānaprastha"

Brahmacharya (/ˌbrɑːməˈtʃɑːrjə/; Sanskrit: brahmacarya Devanagari: ब्रह्मचर्य) is the concept within Indian religions that literally means "conduct consistent with Brahman" or "on the path of Brahman". Brahmacharya, a discipline of controlling the senses, is seen as a way to liberation. Though sexual restraint is a part of brahmacharya, brahmacharya encompasses all striving toward a passionless state.

In one context, brahmacharya is the first of four ashrama (age-based stages) of a human life. The brahmacharya (bachelor student) stage of life – from childhood up to twenty-five years of age – was focused on education and included the practice of celibacy. In this context, it connotes chastity during the student stage of life for the purposes of learning from a guru (teacher), and during later stages of life for the purposes of attaining spiritual liberation or moksha.

Sannyasa (Sanskrit: संन्यास, romanized: saṃnyāsa), sometimes spelled sanyasa, is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as ashramas, the first three being brahmacharya (celibate student), grihastha (householder) and vanaprastha (forest dweller, retired). Sannyasa is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young brahmacharis have the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits.

Sannyasa, a form of asceticism marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is characterized by a state of uninterest in and detachment from material life, with the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits. An individual in Sanyasa is known as a sannyasi (male) or sannyasini (female) in Hinduism. Sannyasa shares similarities with the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, and the sannyasi and sannyasini share similarity with the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis of Buddhism.

Dharmaśāstra (Sanskrit: धर्मशास्त्र) are Sanskrit Puranic Smriti texts on law and conduct, and refer to treatises (śāstras) on Dharma. Like the Dharmasūtras which are based upon the Vedas, these texts are also elaborate law commentaries based on the Vedas, and evolved from Dharmasutras. There are many Dharmaśāstras, variously estimated to number from 18 to over 100. Each of these texts exists in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to the 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.

The textual corpus of Dharmaśāstra were composed in poetic verse, and are part of the Hindu Smritis, constituting divergent commentaries and treatises on ethics particularly duties, and responsibilities to oneself and family as well as those required as a member of society. The texts include discussion of ashrama (stages of life), varna (social classes), purushartha (proper goals of life), personal virtues and duties such as ahimsa (non-violence) against all living beings, rules of just war, and other topics.

Sadhu (Sanskrit: साधु, IAST: sādhu (male), sādhvī or sādhvīne (female), also spelled saddhu) is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternatively referred to as yogi, sannyasi or vairagi.

Sādhu means one who follows a path of sadhana (spiritual discipline). Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. A sādhu's life is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth), the fourth and final aśrama (stage of life), through meditation and contemplation of Brahman. Sādhus often wear simple clothing, such as saffron-coloured clothing in Hinduism and white or nothing in Jainism, symbolising their sannyāsa (renunciation of worldly possessions). A female mendicant in Hinduism and Jainism is often called a sadhvi, or in some texts as aryika.