Brahmcharya

Acquirement of control over the senses has been the first and a very far-reaching principle of spiritual training. It is the first step and it goes very far. There are five sense organs-4e ear, the eye, the nose, the tongue and the skin. Hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch - these are the five sense-objects. In a sense, our life comprises only the life of the senses. Man derives pleasure from the senses and lives on.

One hears the sound, sees the form, smells the fragrance, relishes the taste and experiences contact. Apart from these, life does not seem to have any meaning. The question arises as to what is brahmcharya. There are many kinds of strange notions about it. Containment of the sense of touch alone has been accepted by some to be brahmcharya. However, brahmcharya in the true sense of the word is not mere restraining of the sense of touch, but control over all the five senses, further combined with the containment of doubt, and control over memory and thinking.

The disciplining of the mind and the senses constitutes brahmcharya. In another ancient and very comprehensive sense, brahmcharya means that which has acquired a foothold in Brahma, the eternal spirit - that is brahmcharya. Brahma also means 'knowledge; it means 'God', and it also means 'stay in a gurukul'. As a matter of fact, brahmchari or brahmcharya was initially related to 'staying in a gurukul. ‘He who lived in a gurukul, or who followed the routine prevalent there, was a brahmchari, and his conduct and living constituted brahmcharya. A special conduct was prescribed for the residents of the gurukul - control of the senses and of the mind. However, our concept of brahmcharya is mostly confined to the restraining of the sense of touch. But how is one to exercise such restraint? All the senses are linked with one- another.

It is not possible to exercise any control over one parti­cular sense in isolation, disregarding the other senses. If you have no control over the tongue, or over the eye, you cannot have any control over the sense of touch. Provocations come to us through the sense organs. Each relish has its source of stimulation. When the enduring and the fleeting emotions relating to a sense are all active, it is not possible to control that sense. And, as mentioned before, all the senses are related. The two among these - the tongue and the skin are deeply interlinked. There is a profound relationship between brahmcharya and the sense of taste, the pleasure derived there from. From the point of view of physical science, the sense of taste and the sense of touch are inter­connected rather intimately. If you can control the one, you also control the other.

No extra effort is required. In the absence of any control over the tongue, over the pleasure derived from taste, all talk of acquiring control over the sense of touch is pointless. Non-violence is connected with the body, but it is not the demand of the body. Truth, non-theft, renunciation are all related to thought and the brain. But brahmcharya alone is related both to the body and the mind. It is a physical as well as a mental requisite. According to an older theory, the very discharge of the semen marks a negation of brahmcharya. According to this theory, the semen need not lapse; it is sublimated; and that is what makes a brahmchari - an upward movement of the semen, not downward. It does not seem to make much sense to me. In the course of time, the meaning of certain words changes beyond recognition, and there is danger in accepting the conventional meaning. We are in many ways highly conventional. We accept every tradition beyond question. We do not want to experience the truth for ourselves. The desire to probe the depths, to arrive at the root of things, is scarce.

From the physiological point of view there is no nerve or duct through which the semen may go up. From the complex of sexual glands there is no path leading upward for the semen to ascend. The word 'urdhavrata' implied one who could elevate the vital life force. The vital electric current of life can go up as well as go down. This electricity can inform the entire physical organism. However, as far as semen is concerned, there is no path leading upward. Originally, the word 'virya' (translated here as semen) meant force, power. The confounding of three different words (shukra, virya, and retus) into one connotation that of semen has caused much confusion. Actually, they have different connotations.

It is said that the falling of a drop (meaning the discharge of semen) is death and its accumulation the source of life. The Hindi word bindu (meaning a drop) came to mean semen itself, and thus created a great deal of confusion. If mere semen-discharge meant death, then no man would be alive today. It does not make sense. Actually by bindu was meant the vital life force, the electricity of vital power. When the vital electricity of the brain oozes out, it results in death because the fundamental basis of life is the brain and the live-electricity contained within it. All over the body, cells die and new cells come into being.

The brain is the only part of the body where the cells, once destroyed, cannot be recreated. The brain is the greatest factor in ensuring our security, the brain and the vital power in it. It is necessary to understand that with the birth of the sexual urge, the brain is greatly excited. This very excitement has in it an element of danger. The more tranquil the brain is, the more potent a man becomes, and the more agitated or excited the brain is, the weaker he grows. It is on this score that brahmcharya is violated. Some people get worried because of semen discharge. According to them, a man suffering a night emission is no brahmchari, which sounds very strange. Some people are greatly perplexed. And yet here there is nothing to worry about.

If the discharge of semen takes place on account of carnal passion or excitement, it is one thing-it should not occur too often­ - but the semen is naturally forced out if the glands containing it are too full - this is not something to worry about. Undue worry is a waste of energy. As to the question of becoming a brahmchari, it is difficult to be completely celibate. The common people fulfil their sexual urge and life goes on. But, there are some who want to control this urge, and are able to do it. The only problem is that of excess. Too much sexual indulgence can prove to be dangerous in so far as it destroys a man's powers.