~*~*~*~ Brahmacharya ~ Celibacy ...>>>! ~*~*~*~

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~ BRAHMACHARYA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE ! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

by: K.S.C. Pillai

 

Recent shocking revelations of widespread child sex abuse in a section of

the Christian church have led to a curious suggestion that the rule on

celibacy was too "harsh" for the modern age and should, therefore, be

relaxed. It is heartening that the Church leadership has rightly ignored

this suggestion and emphasized its "zero tolerance" of sex abuse by the

clergy.

 

These developments have naturally kindled interest in the role of celibacy

in a world where its practice is threatened with virtual extinction. This

article seeks to examine the issue, mainly from the Hindu point of view.

 

The Hindu scriptures - the Upanishads, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad

Gita and

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - are emphatic that total brahmacharya

(continence)

is absolutely essential if one were to lead an exclusively spiritual life.

 

Why brahmacharya?

Sex plays an important part in an average man's life. It exists at various

levels of personality. Apart from the physiological urges, sex exists

in the

mental planes as subtle attractions. Those who wish to become monks or

lead

an intense spiritual life must be prepared to renounce all

attachments, both

 

external and internal. Sex is inseparable from attachment. This is

particularly true of one's attachment to the body, or body consciousness

which is the major enemy of a spiritual aspirant. Only the deep conviction

that Brahman alone is real will help the aspirant to fight this uphill

task.

He will have to bring under control all sense perceptions that run

like wild

horses. This calls for tremendous discipline and an iron will for which

continence in thought, word and deed is absolutely essential.

 

The Chandogya Upanishad says, "Only those who (observe) brahmacharya will

attain to Brahman (Supreme Reality). For them there is freedom to act as

they wish in all the worlds.Now, what people call yajna (sacrifice),

that is

really brahmacharya. What people call worship (Ishta), that is really

brahmacharya. What people call Vedic sacrifice, that is really

brahmacharya.

For only through brahmacharya does one understand the Atman (the Self).

(8.4.3, 8.5.1-2)

 

The Prasnopnishad stresses the same point. When six highly evolved

aspirants

approach sage Pippalada seeking the Highest Brahman, the Rishi tells

them,

"Stay here another year observing austerity, brahmacharya and faith. Then

you may ask questions as you please and, if I know, I will surely explain

all to you." (1.2)

 

Srimad Bhagavatam has this to say, "The highest form of tapas

(austerity) is

the abstinence from sexuality and not in the performance of body-torturing

rites. Heroism lies in the conquest of one's sensual~lustful nature

and not in mere

combativeness. And Truth is seeing God in everything and not mere factual

speech." (1.11.18.43)

 

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna exhorts spiritual aspirants to be

"fearless, serene, restrained in mind and established in the vow of

continence" and meditate on Him to reach the goal. (6.14). He says that a

person aspiring to enter the "Imperishable Principle" should lead a

life of

continence and asceticism. Such a person is assured of liberation at the

time of death. (8.11-12).

 

Sri Krishna also warns about the pitfalls of progressive degeneration

if one

does not control lust and anger. "It is lust, it is anger, born of

Rajoguna, insatiable and prompting man to great sin. Know this to be the

enemy in man's spiritual life. .Knowledge is overcast by this eternal

foe of

the aspirant after knowledge. Therefore, controlling the senses at the

beginning itself, slay this foul enemy, the destroyer of all knowledge and

realization." (3.37-41)

Purity of mind

Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, places brahmacharya high on the

requirements

for spiritual realization along with purity of body and mind for which he

prescribes a comprehensive scheme of spiritual disciplines. Continence, he

says, is chastity in word, thought and deed. To be freed frem the idea of

sex is to achieve purity of heart. Sex is inseparable from attachment;

attachment is an obstacle to spiritual knowledge. (2.30). Patanjali

emphasizes that the disciplines he has outlined form the basic rule of

conduct of an aspirant. "They must be practised without any

reservations as

to time, place, purpose or caste rules." (2.29). Patanjali also

prescribes

counter-measures to combat thoughts that distract one from the path of

Yoga,

i.e. thoughts of anger, desire and delusion should be countered with

thoughts of love, generosity and truth. (2.33).

 

Sri Ramakrishna was uncompromising on the need for celibacy for

God-realization. He used to tell devotees, "To be able to realize God, one

must practise absolute continence. Sages like Sukadeva are examples of an

'urdhvareta' (a person of unbroken and complete continence). Their

chastity

was absolutely unbroken.A man controlling the seminal fluid for twelve

years

develops a special power. He grows a new inner nerve called the nerve of

memory. Through that nerve he remembers all, he understands all.When a man

succeeds in the conservation of his sexual energy, his intellect reflects

the image of Brahman. The man who carries this image of Brahman in his

heart

is able to accomplish everything - he will succeed wonderfully in whatever

action he engages himself."

 

Like the Bhagavatam, Sri Ramakrishna advised his householder disciples to

lead a normal life while practising self-control. The Bhagavatam says,

'The

householder, too, should practise, in a way suited to his station in life,

such virtues as continence, austerity, freedom from passion,

contentment and

friendship to all." Sri Ramakrishna used to tell householders to live like

brother and sister after begetting two children. But with monks or

aspirants, he was very firm. He told an aspirant, "If you want to realize

God, you will have to be a brahmachari. Without practising

brahmacharya, one

cannot concentrate steadily on God. From brahmacharya comes intellectual

conviction and then comes faith in the power of Brahman. Without this

faith

, one cannot feel that he is living in Brahman. Practise japam (repetition

of the holy mantra) and meditation day and night. This is the way one can

get rid of attachment to lust and gold."

 

On another occasion Sri Ramakrishna said, "A sannyasi must absolutely

renounce woman. He must not look even at the picture of a woman. He must

keep himself away from a woman even if she is a devotee of God."

Higher form of energy

Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna's chief disciple and founder of the

Ramakrishna Order of Sannyasins, has laid great stress on

brahmacharya. He

used to tell his disciples, "Brahmacharya should be like a fire

tingling in

your veins."

 

In his Raja Yoga, the Swami explains that through brahmacharya sex

energy is

converted into a higher form of psychic energy called 'ojas.'(Ojas,

literally meaning the 'illuminating' or 'bright' is the highest form of

energy in the human body. In the spiritual aspirant who constantly

practises

continence and purity, other forms of energy are transmuted into ojas and

stored in the brain, expressing as spiritual and intellectual power). He

says, "The yogis say that part of the human energy which is expressed

as sex

energy, in sexual thought, when checked and controlled easily becomes

changed into ojas, and as the Muladhara (lowest of the six centers of

consciousness) guides these, the yogi pays particular attention to that

centre. He tries to take up all his sexual energy and convert it into

ojas.

It is only the chaste man or woman who can make the ojas rise and store it

in the brain; that is why chastity has always been considered the highest

virtue. A man feels that if he is unchaste, spirituality goes away, he

loses

mental vigour and moral stamina. That is why in all the religious

orders in

the world which have produced spiritual giants you always find absolute

chastity insisted upon. That is why the monks came into existence,

giving up

marriage. There must be perfect chastity in thought, word and deed;

without

it the practice of Raja Yoga is dangerous, and may lead to insanity. If

people practise Raja Yoga and at the same time lead an impure life,

how can

they expect to become yogis?"

 

Swami Brahmananda, "spiritual son" of Sri Ramakrishna and first

President of

the Ramakrishna Order, says, "Without strict brahmacharya, it is not

possible for any one to hold fast to great ideals. To secure the full

development and vitality of the body, brain and mind, brahmacharya is

essential. Those who observe strict brahmacharya develop a strong

memory and

a rremarkable capacity for understanding."

Sankara's advice

In his celebrated work "Vivekachudamani," Sri Sankaracharya, one of the

brightest stars in the philosophical and religious firmament of India, has

this advice for spiritual aspirants: "If, indeed, thou hast a craving for

liberation, shun sense-objects from a good distance as thou wouldst do

poison, and always cultivate carefully the nectar-like virtues of

contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straight-forwardness, calmness and

self-control."

 

Though this article looks at the Hindu point of view, it should be added

that continence is an article of faith with all major religions of the

world. Swami Yatiswarananda, a former Vice-President of the Ramakrishna

Order, says, "In the higher forms of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism,

great stress has been laid on the observance of perfect brahmacharya in

thought, word and deed. You find it in the 'Sermon on the Mount,' in the

'Vinaya Pitaka' of Buddhism and in the Upanishads, in the Gita and in the

Bhagavatam. A socially accepted form of moral life alone is not

enough for

a spiritual aspirant. He must attain perfection in moral virtues,

especially chastity. He must totally control his sex instinct."

 

Swami Yatiswarananda, who spent almost two decades preaching Vedanta in

Europe and the United States (1933-50), has some penetrating comments

on the

conditions in the West, which sound almost prophetic. In his

'Meditation and

Spiritual Life' he says, "The trouble in the West is that the spiritual

ideal there has been lowered very much and dragged down to the plane

of mere

morals. Nobody bothers about direct superconscious realization.Moral

life is

not spiritual life. Conventional morality alone is not enough for higher

spiritual experience. A thorough overhauling of personality is needed.

This

is the gist of Christ's 'Sermon on the Mount.' The religion that Christ

taught was essentially a religion for the monk. Something of the

self-denial

and discipline of the monastic way of life is essential for every

spiritual

aspirant, even if he is a householder, if he wants to gain some genuine

spiritual experience. Protestantism, by discarding celibacy and

monasticism,

has done a great harm to the spiritual tradition of the West."

 

Ends. Celibacy.doc. 02.07.02 (1740w)

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RamakrishnaVedantaSannyasini, Celestial Merlyn

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