Patience is the basis for communication of pious people, and society formed on such basis is called varnashrama-dharma. What does this term mean? Varnas are different social classes:
1) monks (priests) – brahmanas,
2) rulers and warrior – kshatriyas,
3) farmers and merchants – vayshyas,
4) laborers and servants – shudras.
Ashramas are also divided into four categories but they refer to different stages of life of the same individual. These stages are the following:
1) learning process – brahmacharya- ashram,
2) householder life – grihastha-ashram,
3) partial renunciation – vanaprastha-ashram,
4) full renunciation – sannyasa.
1) Learning. The Aryan system started education at the age of five. In the process of learning, one received the Vedic system of values, studied the essence of the material nature and its structure, developed the deep knowledge of laws of gunas of the material nature and, mostly important, formed the correct impression of the meaning and value of life which later became the basis for patience. The knowledge was transferred verbally and carriers of any knowledge held a very high position in society.
2) Householder life. Ahead of this stage of life, one carefully analyzed own desires. If the Vedic knowledge contributed to understanding the worldliness of this world, then right away a brahmachari accepted renunciation and the life style suitable for this stage. Such persons were called naishtiki brahmachari, i.e. ones who never ejaculated semen. These persons are special, strict, renounced and their meaning of life is only to comprehend the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and own relationships with Him. Naishtiki brahmacharis take sannyasa (renouncement). The presence of this ashram is very important for society. There are just very few renounced persons but they ensure the purity of the spiritual knowledge by means of their own realization. The spiritual knowledge at its highest level always assumes renunciation from this world and restoration of the spiritual consciousness. Very rare persons are able to follow this way till the end. A sannyasi is not the one who just reads spiritual literature, learns it by heart and declaims it before the unsuspecting public earning cheap glory. A sannyasi practices the spiritual knowledge in full renunciation from worldly fuss and really restores the lost connection with the Lord. Having proved the truth of the Vedic statements by own experience, sannyasis keep the spiritual knowledge without deviations. The purity of knowledge creates a real connection to the spiritual world, the connection which is the source of the strength of society. When society (nation) has no ascetics, it lacks the divine power and it is doomed to follow the path of sin, ignorance and suffering. Being sannyasi-conscious, the Aryans showed a special respectful attitude for them. The respectful attitude for all social classes was the characteristic feature of the Aryan society, but recanted persons were specially honored. When varnashrama-dharma is destroyed, there appear pseudo-recanted persons who are engaged only in “work” for their prosperity and glory hiding behind the recanted status. The great Aryan Bhaktivinoda told that there was nothing worse in this world than a religious hypocrite (a recanted person) who used that position only to get the material gain (money, fame, authority).