We have another reader question by Omkar,
Okay, I have heard that practicing Brahmacharya is blissful and helps to explore depths of spirituality. But I’m confused about how to practice Brahmacharya as a student.
I am not saying that I want to be a “Akhand Brahmachari” or any hermit meditating in Himalayas but I want to gain some benefit from practicing it, so I can experience bliss as well as I’ll be better at learning, studying, thinking and memorizing.Please share your wisdom with us on Brahmacharya.
- Disclaimer #1: Married men should refrain from following these principles.
- Disclaimer #2: I have not succeeded completely on all the principles so far,so my understanding of this practice is not complete yet.
- Disclaimer #3: These tips and suggestions do not apply to women.
Here are few things you can do to practice Brahmacharya, without having to live the life of a hermit.
1. Do not masturbate.
It is difficult. If you have the habit of masturbating everyday or multiple times a week, this is going to be extremely difficult. Try to sleep with another male member, do not sleep alone. Do not use pillows and abandon a soft bed. Sleep on the floor with one bedsheet and no pillows.
The first few weeks will be extremely hard and you will fail many, many times. It is natural. Do not be ashamed, this is your bodily need and this is how nature has built your system. Women have their system on auto pilot mode but yours is not in auto pilot and self controlled. Hence, try to attain self control, slowly. Refrain from the flow of semen and try to avoid masturbation as far as it is practicable. You will experience the ecstasy slowly. The feeling will come after you have retained semen at a stretch for 12-15 days. After this time, you can let it flow out (it should flow out naturally while you are sleeping). But do not do it in your consciousness. The natural flow will reduce overtime, after a few months.
After two weeks of retaining semen, it will become extremely hard to retain the volume of semen inside your body. This is the time when you can let it flow out and reboot the cycle (make a note in the calendar). Gradually, you can increase this to 3 weeks, then 4 weeks and so on.
2. Take a bath before sleeping.
Taking a bath ensures that your body temperature is regulated and this lowers sexual appetite. The heat produced near the scrotum of your body is regulated which ensures you do not have sexual urge. Your reproductive organ enters a passive state after bath and you should try to sleep immediately after taking the bath, to ensure that you do not get the urge to masturbate or have sex at all.
3. Do not watch pornography or obscene videos.
Refrain from seeing any pornography or obscene videos on internet. No movies, no television – since these days the media is flooded with obscenity. No newspapers, magazines or anything which shows women in a vulgar and obscene way.
4. Do not ogle at women
If you have the company of female friends in workplace or school, reduce the contact. Do not ogle towards a woman’s breasts or her body (a man’s natural urge is to ogle but this is the test a Yogi must pass). If you happen to see a woman who is very beautiful and seductive, please move away. The more you ogle, the more sexual thoughts you will have which will distract your mind. The trick here is to control your own mind and repel any form of feminine contact, as far as it is practicable. If you have a female friend who is very fond of your company, tell her to maintain distance and talk only when it is required. Your eyes will automatically try to scan a woman who is very attractive, that is how nature has programmed your brain. The moment you see an attractive woman, turn away.
5. Do not wear tight undergarments.
If you wear tight undergarments, the reproductive area of your body does not get sufficient air and ventilation. Tight undergarments also amplify sexual urge inside your body, because your reproductive organ is always kept in a condensed environment without any natural cooling mechanism. Hence, abandon tight undergarments and start wearing shorts that have a lot of natural ventilation. Indian system introduced Dhoti and Lungi to advocate this part.
6. Repel Erection
The male reproductive organ gets erections around 10-15 times a day. This is normal. There is nothing that you can do about it, so don’t think that just because you are getting an erection, you are having sexual thoughts. It is the body that is trying to overpower your mind and is trying to convince you to reproduce.
You need to repel this action. When you get an erection, lie down on your back, cross your legs and breathe slowly. Drink lots of water and fluids shortly after. Morning erections can be repelled by practicing Yoga, but it will take years to achieve that state. What you can do is immediately take a bath after waking up and go for a morning walk outside your house to deviate your mind. Walking briskly will also mitigate erections.
Reflex erections occur when a man is nervous, angry, excited or sees a female whom he endures for sex. This is a sudden erection which comes from nowhere and overpowers you. The moment you get a reflex erection, get a hold of your ear with cross arms. You need to touch your left ear with right arm and right ear with left and then drag them in opposite directions. This will cause some nervous stimuli and the reflex erection will be taken care of.
7. Abaondon Animal protein, Nicotine, Alchohol
Specially Eggs. The more eggs you eat, the more sexual urge you will have. There should be total avoidance of animal protein in any form and to any degree whatsoever, and this includes dairy products. Eat a diet that is free from all animal protein and fat, dairy products, sugar, and caffeine. Abstain totally from nicotine and alcohol.
8. Completely submerge yourself in your work (Tapasya)
If you are working, completely focus on your work and do not think about women, sex, lust and other things. If you are a student, think about your study and study alone. Immerse yourself in “Tapasya”, that way your mind will be focussed on the Karma and useless thoughts will not disturb you.
9. Find solitude, meditate
Live alone. Cut down on useless friends and embrace solitude. Spend more time with yourself and read some good books that purifies your mind. Regularly seek the company of wise men and seek wisdom from them. This could mean chatting with old shopkeepers on a grocery store and asking them your doubts. You should find the company of men who have passed their age of sexual activity, seek wisdom from them.
Meditate for 15-20 minutes a day, either before going to work or after coming home.
There are many more techniques for achieving Brahmacharya but they are extremely difficult and cannot be practiced living a daily life which involves working or studying. That said, if you follow the above stated techniques religiously, it should take anywhere around 8 months to a year when you will begin to master Brahmacharya. You will see lesser occurrences of semen flowing out of your body and this will reduce to only once or twice in every two weeks. This is the state when you will start realizing the benefits of storing semen inside your body and the ecstasy that a man feels. It is an amazing feeling when you start to discover your true capacity and the power of Celibacy.
Benefits of following Brahmacharya
Here are a few things I have observed
- You will wake up at exactly the same time every morning, no matter what.
- You will need little sleep. Also, it will take less time for you to fall asleep or even to wake up. The lethargy that we feel after completing sleep will be gone.
- You will be free from FEAR of any form. Fear of failure, fear of loss, tension, stress and anxiety will be gone.
- You will be more energetic and strong.
- You will be able to remember things precisely. Attention to detail will improve. You will be able to recollect past dialogues with friends or family members very easily.
- You will become more attractive and it will reflect in your face and personality. However, don’t do this to attract a partner, then you violate the norm and defeat the purpose in the first place.
- You will speak less and listen more. Moreover, you will speak quality things and rubbish talk will be gone.
- Your thoughts will improve. You will be able to think through a difficult situation and will be able to analyze the consequences better, without getting nervous. Your foresight will improve and you will be more rational in terms of thinking.
- You will start to enjoy solitude. You will slowly fall in love with your own company and will repel the company of friends. You will slowly move away from chaos (party, movies, gatherings) and start to cherish being a loner.