Getting Yoga Ready (4) -Brahmacharya

As we saw in this earlier post about what it is that we are aiming to achieve by all these disciplines, let's move on to reflect about brahmacharya.  The word brahmacharya literally means "going after Brahman (Supreme Reality, Self, God)". If I aim to go in search of God, it is absolutely essential that I MUST purify the mind. So, let us see a little bit about the mind.

What is the mind?

The mind is an equipment or a vehicle of the self or the soul, just like the body. While the physical body is gross, the mind is extremely subtle. The power of the mind resides in its subtlety. I can't perceive my mind through the sense organs -I can't see it, touch it, taste it, smell it or hear it with my physical ear. But, the mind is powered by these exact sense organs. In the sense, the mind is the repository of ALL the perceptions that are gathered through our sense organs. The sense organs collect all the data about this physical world and submits it to the mind. Depending on our mental make up, we perceive these inputs and accordingly respond with our organs of action (hands, legs, tongue). And again, by the very act of action, we again gather more perception, that is again perceived by the mind and again, the action is carried out -a continuous cycle. The action need not necessarily mean physical action. Even thoughts, opinions, emotions, judgements. likes, dislikes -all these are actions too.

The nature of the sense organs is to travel out -to seek out their pleasures. It is the nature of the tongue to hanker behind tasty food or juicy gossip. It is the nature of the eye to seek pleasure in all kinds of visual stimulation. The nose leads the body on a leash to all sorts of pleasing smells. The skin settles down only when the environment is comfortable, it aches for pleasure derived from sensual contact. The more the senses crave for satisfaction, the more the mind becomes restless. The mind bloats from all the sensory inputs that it is receiving. It loses all its subtlety and becomes a big fat gross equipment that slowly starts becoming inefficient and faulty. It becomes a slave to the sense organs, instead of intelligently ruling over them. Life gets wasted in pursuit of sensory pleasures, with no inclination or motivation to pursue the highest truth. And even if by any chance a glimmer of inclination arises to search for God, the mind is not tuned to grasp the Truth.

Restraining the senses:

Hence, if I want to know my self, it becomes essential that I tune the equipment called my mind faultlessly. It has to remain extremely subtle and pure (again, pure mind is the one that is free of thoughts). So how do I tune this mind? Obviously, by controlling my senses. I don't hanker behind sense pleasures. I practice moderation in everything. And this is called brahmacharya -the restraint of senses. But, the restraint should be done intelligently. I can't all of a sudden start eating satvic food twice a day when I have been having 4 full meals full of spice all my life. I can't become a celibate overnight, when I have been indulging for so long. If I use my will power to suppress all these sensory desires, it will only blow up like a volcano and I will also be blown away into pieces in the explosion.

So, what is the alternative? I have to find a substitute first, and then slowly withdraw my senses from going outside in search of pleasure and make them go inward in search of the self. This slow withdrawal of senses from seeking pleasures outside is the practice of brahmacharya. What substitutes can I give? This is where we follow any path of purification of mind -bhakti, gnyana, karma and raja yoga. Our age old practices of devotion to God, serving others selflessly, doing all our actions with a sense of detachment, studying the scriptures, fulfilling our duties, practicing a moderate way of life, meditation -all these practices are the pillars that support brahmacharya.

This is also why the first stage of a human life is called the brahmacharya. This age, between 3-25 years, is the age when the individual focuses on studies and spends in the pursuit of knowledge. To effectively understand what is being taught, the mind must be very keen and sharp and subtle. The only way to keep the mind subtle is to not indulge in sensory pleasures. And with this subtle mind, one can progress in his quest of knowing the most subtle and all pervading Brahman or the self.

Om...peace...peace...peace!