Brahmacharya - Part 1

Without perfect Brahmacharya you cannot have substantial spiritual progress. There is no half-measure in the spiritual path. Control the body first. Then purify your thoughts through prayer, Japa, Kirtan, Vichara and meditation. Make a firm resolve “I will be a perfect Brahmachari from today.” May the Lord give you spiritual strength to resist temptation and kill lust!

Importance

Brahmacharya—that is the Divine world. It is the sum and substance of Yoga. Through Avidya that is forgotten. It is the supreme Yoga that Lord Krishna emphasises repeatedly in His Immortal Song—the Gita. In Chapter VI, Sloka 14, it is very clearly stated that the vow of Brahmacharya is necessary for meditation (Brahmachari vrate sthitah).

Again in Chapter XVII Sloka 14, He says that Brahmacharya is one of the austerities of the body (sarira tapas). Now we have one of the most important statements made in the Gita, that Yatis practise Brahmacharya in order to attain the goal, spoken of by the knowers of Veda (Chapter VIII Sloka 11). This is taken from Katha Upanishad (Chapter II Mantra 15). There Yama says to Nachiketas that the life of Brahmacharya is necessary to reach the goal: “That whose form and essential nature all the Vedas declare; in order to attain which they prescribe austerities; desiring to know which the great ones observe Brahmacharya; that symbol will briefly tell thee, it is OM.”

Change The Angle Of Vision

For a scientist a woman is a mass of electrons. For a Vaiseshic philosopher of Rishi Kanada’s school of thought, she is a conglomeration of atoms, Paramanu. Dvianu, Trianu (two atoms, three atoms). For a tiger she is a prey. For the passionate husband she is an object of enjoyment. For a crying child she is an affectionate mother, who will give it milk, sweets, and other comforts. For a jealous sister or sister-in-law she is an enemy. For a Viveki or Vairagi (a man of discrimination and dispassionate nature) she is a combination of flesh, bone, urine, faecal matter, wool, pus, perspiration, blood, phlegm, etc. For a full-blown Jnani she is Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman. “Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma”—All is Brahman only. Name and forms are only mental creations like snake in the rope or man in the post.

Change the mental attitude (Bhava). You will have heaven on earth. You will be established in Brahmacharya. This is an important method for becoming a true Brahmachari. See Atman in all women. Reject all names and forms and take only the underlying essence—Asti-Bhati-Priya or Sat-Chit-Ananda. All names and forms are unreal, like the shadow, water in the mirage, blueness in the sky.

Mantras or Formulae

1. I am all Purity (Suddhoham) OM OM OM
2. Sexless Atman I am OM OM OM
3. There is neither lust nor sexual Vasana in Atman or Brahman OM OM OM
4. Lust is a mental Vikara; I am Sakshi of this modification OM OM OM
5. I am Asanga OM OM OM
6. My will is pure, strong and irresistible OM OM OM
7. I am fully established in physical and mental Brahmacharya now OM OM OM
8. I am feeling the purity now OM OM OM
Sit alone in your meditation room in Padma, Siddha, Svastika or Sukha Asana. Close your eyes. Slowly repeat again and again the above formulae mentally. Also let the mind dwell on the significance of the formulae. Saturate the mind with the above ideas. Your heart, mind, intellect and soul should feel the purity. Have the word image OM Purity clearly before the mind. Visualise the mental image. Your whole system, flesh, blood, bone, nerves, cells, molecules, atoms and electrons should powerfully vibrate with the above ideas.

You can have a sitting at night also. This is general meditation for Self-realisation. Sit for ten minutes. Increase the period to half an hour. Keep up the Bhava during work also. Write down on a piece of paper in bold types OM PURITY six times. Keep the paper in your pocket. Read it several times during the course of the day. Fix it in a prominent place in your house. Remember daily the Brahmachari-Saints like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Dayananda and their powerful actions.

Think about the multifarious advantages of Brahmacharya and disadvantages of impure life. Never leave the practice. Be regular and systematic. Gradually you will become purer and purer and ultimately you will become an Urdhvareta Yogi. Be patient.

From - Yoga in Daily Life