The Āśrama

The spiritual impetus in training is asrama. The asrama system is arranged in four stages of life in order for one to reach spiritual perfection. The first stage is brahmacarya. Brahmacarya means student life or education with the spiritual master. According to the asrama system, at five years of age a boy goes to live at the guru-kula, or the place of the guru. There, in order to understand spiritual life, all students serve as menial servants of the guru. This way is advised by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.34): "Just try to know the truth by approaching a self-realized spiritual master with all submission and with inquiries and render service unto him. Such a learned spiritual master initiates knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." By performing this service unto a pure devotee, the brahmacari is making direct service contact with God. Because such pure devotees or spiritual masters have as their only business to spread Krsna consciousness and devotional service, to come in contact with them is like an iron rod's coming in contact with fire-the rod eventually acts like fire itself. Lord Caitanya taught that we should become a servant of the servant of the servant 100 times removed-the more faith in the chain of disciplic succession, the better is the service unto Krsna Himself. The brahmacari is trained to be celibate and temperate and to follow the scriptural injunctions for purification of consciousness. Many great personalities from the Vedic literatures, such as Sahkara, Narada, the Kumaras, Bhisma, and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, remained unmarried brahmacaris throughout life and devoted their full time to the cause of Krsna. Moreover, one must enter brahmacari training, even if he is to be later married, so that he can learn the principles of restraint. Spiritual life has as its goal the cessation of the round of birth and death in this material world and transferal to the eternal, blissful spiritual world. According to Bhagavad-gita, we are wandering through thousands of species of life, always forgetting Krsna, thinking that we are God, the enjoyer, the center, the Lord. So there is no way out of this material condition except hearing from a spiritual master what our actual position is: that we are eternal parts and parcels of God. Then we must act accordingly. This practice of brahmacarya inculcates in one the desire for Krsna because it restrains the sensual propensities which are the cause of our bondage to the material world.

Sex life, being the apex of pleasure in the material world, is therefore the number one reason for our staying in bondage. Nowadays so many so-called yogis and rsis have come with their teachings, but they are actually enjoyers of the world in the name of yoga, as their teaching does not demand that one practice brahmacarya. Sex indulgence is not recommended in any standard process of yoga meditation or devotional service. Spiritual life means that I am trying to show God my love for Him, not that I am trying to increase my sex enjoyment.