Those devotees desirous of learning the origin of Chaturmaysa and the important role a grihastha has to play in hosting sanyasis and serving them would be glad to know that the practice dates back centuries. Chaturmaysa is the four months of vrata, when even sanyasis are permitted to remain in one place, which finds references in the Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad, said Dr. Sudha Seshayyan in a discourse. Typically, sanyasis should spend only one day in a village, since desire might raise its head and nullify his asceticism. He should be a wanderer on earth with no fixed desires. He may live for one day in a village, two days in a hamlet, three days in a town, and five days in a city. The only time he is permitted to stay for four months is when it is raining, a system that continues to be practiced by our saints to this day.
During varsha ritu, when the sky is dense with clouds and heavy rainfall occurs, a sanyasi is permitted to stay for months at a stretch in one place. Apart from the difficulty posed by the rain to mobility, walking might pose harm to small creatures like crabs and rodents which come out of their dwellings during this period. Forced to stay in one place, a symbiotic relationship develops between the sanyasis and grihasthas. The sanyasi becomes the Acharya and the ordinary man burdened by concerns for his family and material concerns, becomes the sishya. During this Chaturmasya, the acharyas hold discourses, dispense scriptural knowledge, dispel doubts in the minds of the devotee. The mutual coexistence also helps the grihastha control his indriyas by following food restrictions. It is also Vishnu’s favourite time, as He takes rest during this phase.Â
