Power of Brahmacharya | Is Sexual Abstinence Old-Fashioned or the Sensible Thing to Do? (Part 1)

Power of Brahmacharya | Is Sexual Abstinence Old-Fashioned or the Sensible Thing to Do? (Part 1)

Power of Brahmacharya – Quotes by Swami Vivekananda and Swami Sivananda - “Brahmacharya” is the vow of celibacy in thought, word and deed. The chaste brain has tremendous energy and gigantic will-power. How did Hanuman become a Mahavir (the most brave)? It is with this weapon of Brahmacharya that he acquired unsurpassable strength and valour. The valour and greatness of emperor Prithviraj was due to the strength of Brahmacharya. The great Bhishma, the grandfather of Pandavas and Kauravas conquered death by Brahmacharya.

These days “unrestrained sex” has become the motto of the Indian media.

“Sexual freedom” is being promoted as a mantra on almost all major media platforms ranging from Bollywood movies, to TV serials, to newspapers. All are busy encouraging the youth to break out of tradition, to become promiscuous and indulge in unrestrained sexual activities, especially before marriage.

The motive of the media organizations, of course is plain and simple greed. Sex sells, and ensures viewer eyeballs and profits. However in what direction is this taking our country?

Swami Vivekananda has given the poignant answer:

“Chastity is the life of a nation. Do you not find in history that the first death-sign of a nation has been unchastity? When that has entered, the end of the race is in sight.”

Energetic youth are the hope and future of any country. But when our youth choose to waste their precious mental and physical energies indulging in promiscuous behavior, when young women and men are saddled with the burden of unwanted pregnancies and early onset of adulthood, then from where are they going to find the strength within them to take the country forward – to solve the larger problems of poverty, hunger, environmental decay, illiteracy etc. that face India?

Excessive Intercourse Dissipates “Prana” and Imbalances the Mind

The Rishis of Vedanta have emphasized that one of the greatest channels through which the vital spiritual energy or “prana” gets dissipated is through intercourse.

This prana is the energy that fuels not just the body but also the mind. In fact it is the subtle vibrations of prana which are responsible for producing thoughts in our mind.

So what happens when the pranic energy in the body is wasted through excessive intercourse and lustful imaginations?

Then the mind sapped of its vital energy source, becomes enormously weakened and this weakness manifests itself as lack of will-power, as lack of courage, in feelings of nervousness, fear, anxiety, negative thoughts and other mental disturbances.

Thus the media’s self-centered preoccupation with momentary satisfactions associated with the temporary physical body, comes at the heavy cost of injuring a young person’s mind. (Upon death, the soul leaves the physical body clothed in the mind. Since the SAME mind travels with our soul from birth to birth, therefore it is extremely important to cultivate a strong, iron-willed mind, as it will assist us in our future lives as well.)

It was for this reason that the Rishis of ancient India, required the youth in their Gurukuls (institutes of learning) to practice strict brahmacharya – or complete sexual abstinence in thoughts, words and deeds. Only then could the young cultivate highly focused, strong and controlled minds.

As Swami Sivananda has explained in his book Practice of Brahmacharya:

“Even a little self-restraint or a little practice of continence gives inner strength and peace of mind. It invigorates the mind and nerves. It helps to conserve physical and mental energy. It augments memory, will-force and brain-power. It bestows tremendous strength, vigour and vitality.

It gives power to face the difficulties in the daily battle of life. The special virtues of endurance and bravery are intimately connected with the cultivation of chastity.

A perfect celibate can move the world, can stop the ocean-waves like Lord Jesus, can blow up mountains, can command nature and the five elements like Jnana Dev. There is nothing in the three worlds that cannot be achieved by him. All Siddhis (supernatural powers) roll under his feet.”

Another example of such a perfect celibate was Swami Vivekananda, who too was endowed with many extraordinary powers. One of these powers was that of a tremendous memory.

The practice of strict brahmacharya all his life had endowed Swamiji with the Siddhi (power) that let him read many books in an extremely short period of time. Unlike ordinary people who read a book, word by word, Swamiji read them paragraph by paragraph.

So great were his concentration, attention and memory that in one reading alone he could memorize 10 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica!

Om Namah Shivay