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Thread: Practice of Brahmacharya

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    Post Practice of Brahmacharya

    Namaste all.
    At http://www.yoga-age.com/modern/brahp...#_Toc441556933 you may find the whole book "Practice of Brahmacharya" of Swami Sivananda.
    I hope that this book will interest you.
    Regards,
    Orlando.

  2. #2
    Smaran
    Sraban
    kirtan
    kaeli
    Gujjya Bhasanag
    Sankalpa
    Chesta
    Moithun

    8 limbs of brahmacharya

    I fail daily in all of them - don't even know the meaning of some

  3. #3
    wait those are eight levels not being in brahmacharya. failing in them means I'm a brahmachari.so I sated the other way round.All righty then -

    I pass in most and start failing towards the end.
    Do I get some credit any way?

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    Re: Practice of Brahmacharya

    Swami Sivananda has written a number of articles on practice of brahmacharya. As for the "Techniques of Sex Sublimation" check this link:

    http://www.atmajyoti.org/sw_techniqu...ublimation.asp

    This article has links to the other ones.

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    Wink Re: Practice of Brahmacharya

    Quote Originally Posted by Singhi Kaya
    wait those are eight levels not being in brahmacharya. failing in them means I'm a brahmachari.so I sated the other way round.All righty then -

    I pass in most and start failing towards the end.
    Do I get some credit any way?
    Ur mistake is very symbolic . Since there are two ways of interpreting the meaning of brahmacharya in its practical application (not in essence of course).

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    Re: Practice of Brahmacharya

    Quote Originally Posted by MysticalGypsi View Post
    Wow! That is one intense, conservative article. It parallels some fundamentalist Christian churches but for different spiritual tenets. I found some of the wording of that a little disturbing but overall agree with the worldly vs. eternal pursuits.

    A question:

    How did Hanuman become a Mahavir? It is with this weapon of Brahmacharya that he acquired unsurpassable strength and valour.

    What is a Mahavir?
    Namaste MG,

    Yeah, I see what you mean about the article.

    In any case, Mahavir = maha (great) + vira (hero). It is one of the common epithets of Hanuman. Hanuman is the great hero in the Ramayana (aside from Rama of course). He is also a brahmachari, who has conquered worldliness and lower nature, and is fully established in His higher nature, the ideal devotee, the ideal jnani. But, how does the term Mahavir apply to brahmacharya? Take a look at the following:

    Excerpted from: The Nature of Man according to Hinduism
    By Swami Brahmeshananda
    Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math

    Conquest of internal nature

    … as civilization progressed, humankind searched within and found that there is also an internal nature -- the mind. Mind has its desires, ambitions and weaknesses. Man can become greedy, angry, and in the fit of anger and greed, he can do evil deeds which might cause suffering to himself and others. It was realized that to conquer our mind is far more difficult than the conquest of external foes. So, man started finding a way to conquer the internal nature. The religious way is essentially the method of the conquest of the internal nature or the mind. A person who fully conquers his passions, desires, likes and dislikes, aversions and attachment, even his love for life and fear of death, such a man in India is called Mahavir, the great conqueror. Such a person is worshipped as a God because he or she has manifest the divinity within fully. [Source]
    OM Shanti,
    A.



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    Re: Practice of Brahmacharya

    Namaste MG,
    Quote Originally Posted by “MG”
    Thanks for responding. I try to google the words before I ask the forum, but sometimes I cannot find the word or the definition does not seem to match.
    I would highly recommend to you Hinduism’s Online Lexicon. The lexicon is not exhaustive, but the definitions are clear and concise.

    I found this definition on the net, is it accurate?:
    jnani one who knows; one who is a knower of Truth
    Yes. Jnana = knowledge (usually not in the ordinary sense, but divine sense, the Truth), and jnani is a person who embodies jnana, the knower of Truth.

    He mentions turning sexual energy into spiritual energy and I really just do not get this at all. Are there any other articles on this, explaining it in more detail?
    Many times you’ll hear gurus say this. The strongest guidelines written by monks are for other monks and aspirants. They will also have some guidelines for lay-followers. Hinduism gives us four purusharthas – the four rights - dharma, artha (material gain), kama (sex and love), and moksha (liberation). Those who become renunciant monks give up artha and kama.

    For those of us who are lay-followers, I think what they mean is that sexuality shouldn’t be the guiding force … which it is for most of us humans. It’s not that sex or sexuality is bad or hindering, per se. Only if it becomes the force which guides your every thought and behavior, then it is obstructive and counter-productive to spiritual growth. There’s a story about a Vaishnava saint called Tulsidas.

    Tulsidas was an orphan, but educated under a guru when he was young and apparently mastered the teachings. Once his education was over, he was married to a young woman called Ratnavali. Once he was married, sexuality became his only guiding force. The story goes that he would never let Ratnavali go anywhere, not even to visit her parents. Then one day, Ratnavali decided to go visit her parents without telling her husband. When Tulsidas found out, he was infuriated; he couldn’t go a night without her. He decided to go and fetch her. It was monsoon season, the rains were coming down hard, the river was flooded and he could find no boats-men to bring him across the river. He decided to risk it. He swam against the strong current and luckily made it across. When he reached Ratnavali’s parents house, Ratnavali looks at him with dismay and says: “you fool, if only you were guided by love and devotion to the Lord as much as your infatuation with me, you would have become a realized being by now.” At that point, he comes to a realization, he decides to spend the rest of his life in service and devotion to the Lord. Tulsidas went on to become a great saint and wrote a devotional version of the Ramayana called Ramacharitamanas.
    He is talking about through meditation and study and focused thought? Or something mystical that you ask God to do?
    Both I think .

    Regards,
    A.



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    Re: Practice of Brahmacharya

    Quote Originally Posted by MysticalGypsi View Post
    Many thanks for the dictionary. I also subscribed to the daily emails on that site. A good way to start reading verses.
    Yeah, I get those emails everyday too. I've been reading them for more than a year now. So, it's my second go-around with the emails . If you're interested, we can start a thread in the Shaiva subforum and discuss the lessons as questions arise. Maybe there are others on this forum who get those emails too.

    Regards.
    A.



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    Re: Practice of Brahmacharya

    Excellent resource book that I just read and highly recommend - it can be read online, downloaded, etc.

    http://brahmacharya-celibacy.blogspot.com/

    Please feel free to post comments on this book. I would greatly appreciate PM's from fellow bramhacharya or aspirants to discuss available resources that may not be appropriate to list here.

    Om Namah Shivaya!

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