The Complete Guide to Brahmacharya: The Benefit of Control and Continence

brahmacharya

An Introduction to brahmacharya/celibacy: what it is, its benefits, and how to learn more

Brahmacharya: Continence; self-restraint on all levels; discipline; dwelling in Brahman.
–from A Brief Sanskrit Glossary

In this Guide, discover these articles to learn about how to maintain brahmacharya, its benefits, and its vital importance for the yogi:

What Is Brahmacharya?

“Brahmacharya is restraint of the sex organ and other senses,” says Vyasa. From this we see that brahmacharya has a twofold nature: control and continence. An understanding of these aspects of brahmacharya is essential for the aspiring yogi.

Control

The Benefits of Brahmacharya — “Benefits of Brahmacharya” is available as a free PDF in our eLibrary, as well as a paperback and ebook at Amazon and other online bookstores.

Spirit has two aspects: consciousness and energy. Consciousness is constant, whereas energy is cyclic. It is the movement of energy that produces (and is) our experience of relativity, and it is the development of energy that is the process of evolution.

Therefore the conservation and application of energy is the main determinant of success or failure in spiritual endeavor. Diffusion and dissipation of energy always weakens us.

Hence brahmacharya is a vital element of Yoga, without which we cannot successfully pursue the greater life of Higher Consciousness.

Basically, brahmacharya is conservation and mastery of all the energy systems and powers of our being. This is especially true in relation to negative emotions, for tremendous energy is expended through lust, anger, greed, envy, hatred, resentment, depression, fear, obsession, and the rest. Further, they are both the causes and the symptoms of losing self-control, a major aspect of brahmacharya.

Positive emotions on the other hand actually enhance and raise our energy and physical levels. The cultivation of (true) love, compassion, generosity, cheerfulness, friendliness, and suchlike make us stronger and calmer–essential aspects of brahmacharya.

It is noteworthy that the word “virtue” is derived from the Latin word virtus–power–which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word virya, which means both power and strength.

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Continence

Sexuality is usually considered the main focus of brahmacharya because it has such a powerful grip and influence on the human being. It is considered that if sex is mastered, all the senses will be mastered as well. There is simply no way to convince those addicted to and enslaved by sex that continence is supreme wisdom. But a few facts can be meaningful to the sincere seeker.

The life of the senses stifles the life of the spirit by carrying away the discrimination of the intellect, as Krishna says:

“When the mind is led about by the wandering senses, it carries away the understanding like the wind carries away a ship on the waters.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:67)

The basic life-force, the prana, is dissipated through any intense activity of the senses, thus weakening the inner being.

But sexual indulgence is incalculably more destructive of consciousness than any other form of sense experience, for it expends the life-force to a degree far, far beyond that of other sense experiences. Both body and mind are depleted through sexual activity.

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The Benefits of Brahmacharya

“On being firmly established in brahmacharya, vigor [virya] is gained.” (Yoga Sutra 2:37)

Virya is not ordinary physical strength, but an almost supernatural power that manifests as strength of body, mind, and spirit. When through brahmacharya the yogi’s normal bodily power is conserved, a marvellous alchemical change takes place, augmenting and transmuting his energies to a level unknown to others. The truth that those who keep their bodily energies intact can accomplish whatever they will has been demonstrated for thousands of years by celibates of all lands and spiritual traditions.

Swami Chidananda says this:

Brahmacharya or celibacy is a rational process of preserving and conserving precious energy so that it can be utilized in other very essential and indispensable functions. And if it is preserved like this, it can be converted, just as tangible, gross water is converted into subtle steam. Then it can do wonders. A river may not have much power in it by itself. You may be easily able to row or swim across it. But, if it is dammed up and its waters conserved, then it has the power, when properly channelled, to turn huge turbines and produce electricity. The hot sun, even in summer, does not normally cause a fire, but if you concentrate its rays through a lens, those rays will immediately burn whatever they are focused on. That is what celibacy actually is.

Brahmacharya in the Bhagavad Gita

Swami Sivananda, in his book The Practice of Brahmacharya, says the following:

Brahmacharya is a divine word. It is the sum and substance of yoga. Through avidya, this is forgotten. The importance of brahmacharya was emphasized by our great Rishis. It is the supreme yoga, which Lord Krishna emphasizes repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter Six, sloka fourteen, it is very clearly stated that the vow of brahmacharya is necessary for meditation: Brahmacharivrate Sthitah.

With mind quieted, banishing fear, firm in the brahmachari’s vow, controlling the mind, with thoughts fixed on me, steadfast, he should sit, devoted to me. Always disciplining himself thus, the yogi whose mind is subdued goes to the supreme peace of nirvana, and attains to union with me. (Bhagavad Gita 6:14-15)

In Chapter Seventeen, sloka fourteen, He says that brahmacharya is one of the requisites for the austerity of the body. Now, we have another statement made in Chapter Eight, sloka eleven, that yogis practice brahmacharya in order to attain the goal spoken of by the knowers of the Vedas. A similar statement is also found in the Kathopanishad.

The Physical and Energetic Effects of Brahmacharya

Swami Yatishwarananda in Continence and Its Creative Power has a large collection of medical evidence on the benefits of continence, including the following:

That continence is not detrimental and impossible but absolutely necessary and perfectly possible is evident from the following medical testimonies of the eminent authorities on this subject:

“The sexual instinct,” says Oesterlen, Professor at Tubingen University, “is not so blindly all-powerful that it cannot be controlled, and even subjugated entirely, by moral strength and reason. The young man, like the young woman, should learn to control himself until the proper time. He must know that robust health and ever-renewed vigor will be the reward of this voluntary sacrifice. One cannot repeat too often that abstinence and the most absolute purity are perfectly compatible with the laws of physiology and morality, and that sexual indulgence is no more justified by physiology and psychology than by morality and religion.”

“The example of the best and noblest among men,” says Sir Lionel Beale, Professor at the Royal College in London, “has at all times proved that the most imperious of instincts can be effectively resisted by a strong and serious will, and by sufficient care as to manner of life and occupation. Sexual abstinence has never yet hurt any man when it has been observed, not only through exterior restrictive causes, but as a voluntary rule of conduct. Virginity, in fine, is not too hard to observe, provided that it is the physical expression of a certain state of mind. Chastity implies, not only continence, but also purity of sentiments, the energy which is the result of deep convictions.”

“All causes of sexual disturbance,” says the Swiss psychologist Forel, “increase the intensity of desire. By avoiding these provocations it becomes less sensitive, and the desire gradually diminishes. The idea is current among young people that continence is something abnormal and impossible and yet the many who observe it prove that chastity can be practiced without prejudice to the health.”

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What Next?

Brahmacharya is not a theory to be admired from a distance, nor merely a moral discipline imposed from outside. It is a conscious redirection of life-force toward the highest aim of human existence: Self-realization.

Without mastery of energy, meditation remains unstable. Without control of the senses, discrimination becomes clouded. Without conservation of inner power, the higher states described in the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita remain distant ideals.

For the sincere seeker, brahmacharya is not repression, but refinement. It is not denial, but transmutation. It is not loss, but gain.

If you wish to understand how to practice brahmacharya in daily life, begin with:

The practical disciplines outlined in Twelve Pointers for Maintaining Brahmacharya
The classical instruction found in The Practice of Brahmacharya
The deeper philosophical context presented in The Foundations of Yoga

Study them carefully and apply what you learn.

Brahmacharya is not attained in a day — but every sincere effort strengthens the will, clarifies the mind, and gathers the energies needed for the realization of the Self.