Yoga on brahmacarya

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This below is from the book "Six Systems of Vedic Philosophy (Nyaya,

Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta)" compiled by HH Suhotra

Swami, fifth chapter entitled "Yoga: Self-Discipline for Self-Realization".

 

 

Brahmacarya.

 

Brahmacarya literally means 'to act in Brahman.' One whose life's

actions are always executed in the consciousness of 'I am not the body' is

called a brahmacari. The word brahmacarya is commonly translated as 'sexual

abstinence,' but celibacy is only a partial explanation of this word. Sexual

continence in itself is not the goal; the goal is to control the senses in

order to achieve deeper levels of inner awareness. Patanjala Yoga takes

brahmacarya in a wider sense to mean selectively performing only those

activities that are helpful in achieving the highest goal of life.

 

Brahmacarya is possible only when the mind is free from all sensuous

desires, especially the sexual urge, which is the most powerful and which

can be most destructive if not directed and channeled properly. Illicit

sexual activity dissipates vital energy that is to be utilized for the

attainment of higher consciousness. For achieving this goal, the Yoga system

advises one to organize all his sensory forces and to utilize them in a

proper and beneficial way. It teaches control of sensual cravings in order

to attain that inner peace and happiness that is greater than all transient

bodily pleasures.

 

Uncontrolled senses weaken the mind, and a weakened mind has no

capacity to concentrate in one direction or on one object. A person with a

mind weakened by lust fails to think properly, to speak properly, or to act

properly. For higher attainment, one therefore has to withdraw his energies

from the petty charms and temptations of sensory objects and convert the

flow of the life force toward higher consciousness.