Celibacy - The true path to God Realisation - Brahmacharya

It is a matter of common observation that people in general do not really understand the importance of Brahmacharya. Now-a-days at religious centres and in discourses people are advised, even exhorted, to renounce attachments and not to be greedy. But no mention of continence is made at all, and even if it happens to be mentioned it is only secondarily, as if it is meant to be observed by recluses only. Violation of Brahmacharya and indulgence in sex gratification has ceased to be included among the five well-known vices of man. But, no one can deny that sex-lust is one of the main causes of so many of the predicaments in our daily lives, in society and in matters of business, administration, financial etc. Failure to observe Brahmacharya according to the tenets of spiritual knowledge blocks an aspirant's progress in the sphere of spirituality. It is true that while praising God they call Him the uplifter of the fallen, but they do not make efforts to abandon this degrading vice in order to become pure by observing continence. It is true that they admit that lust, anger and greed are the gateways to hell, but they do not do anything to keep away from the gateway of hell and enter the gates of heaven by observing Brahmacharya.

Possibly, all this is due to the fact that they have no clear idea of how great is the loss that sex-lust causes and how great is the gain resulting from chastity. They do not at all know that this vice is plundering all their treasures, nor ever think that if they observed Brahmacharya during the few years left to them now, they could have all heavenly joy. But the truth that they can have the keys of heavenly bliss and render themselves worthy of God's love through observance of Brahmacharya has not yet dawned on them.

This book has been written to bring out the gains resulting from observance of continence and the losses due to lust. I have expounded the importance of Brahmacharya not only from the standpoint of spirituality in daily life but also from the social and the economic points of view, besides presenting opinions of experts on biology, physiology and medicine.

In the early chapters I have stated the points of view of monks, saints, devotees, Āchāryās, Rishis etc., so that religious minded seekers find inspiration therein. Reference, though not detailed, has been made to psychology on this topic, besides mention of certain historical examples to illustrate the fact that this vice has razed to the ground great personages, countries and cultures.

It has been observed that some people relying on the science of biology regard sexual gratification as natural, while others go so far as to declare that it is a law of Nature, a law in force from times beyond memory and applicable to the world as created by God. There are those who consider it to be one of the invaluable natural impulses from the psychological point of view, and consider it harmful to renounce it. Still others regard sexual desires as love, without which life becomes uninteresting and sapless. There is yet another class of people who often ask how the world can go on if this vice was given up. An extraordinary instance is of those who are setting limits to sexual gratification but are opposed to its total prohibition in this case. I have presented all these divergent views and tried to remove the misconceptions embodied in them rationally and even scientifically and that is the special purpose, and, consequently, the usefulness of this book.

In fact, I wished to throw light on other subjects, as, for instance, on the common view that even the deities could not maintain chastity, so much so that 'Shankar too lost his heart once and that Shri Krishna had a large troupe of queens' all this only to bring home forcefully to the common man that these are just fictions. Being beyond the limits of the available space, this subject has not been dealt with, though referred to only slightly.

The point of view, enjoining on man to observe Brahmacharya as expounded in this book, is based on the methods revealed to us by the Supreme Father, the Supreme Soul, Who is all Grace and to Whom you and we and all of us are immensely beholden.