Is Brahmacharism the Right Way to Spiritual Perfection?

All asceticism and abstinence from things that truly benefit the earthly body are wrong. Suppression of the natural instincts of the body only bring about a weakening, which appears to be strength, but which only leads to a false sense of spiritual development. It is not without reason that God has endowed this physical body with certain desires, which must be fulfilled in order to prevent any harm to it.

Man would certainly not want to disregard the necessity to empty the bowels and quench his thirst, if he wishes to remain healthy. Therefore, why must he disregard the urge to procreate or enjoy a decent meal if this urge arises within him and can be fulfilled within quite natural limits?

We must learn to recognise that the spirit or atman is completely distinct from the physical body. The body has its needs and the spirit has its needs, and because of the difference in the species, these needs are not the same. The spirit must simply use the body for the time that is given to it to develop. Therefore, there is certainly a need to develop a level of self-control. But this self-control must be kept in balance and must not be to the detriment of the body, otherwise a crime is committed against the body!

In such a case, the ascetic will need to return in another life to experience what he suppressed in his previous life. Very often, this is not an easy experience, as he will then return in a body that has much greater desire than his previous one! This leads to bitter pain, when he tries to develop self-control yet again, because the resistance offered by the body is much more powerful this time. In some cases, those ascetics who had tried so hard to suppress their sexual desires eventually returned as persons with a much greatly aggravated instinct. Today, they frequent brothels and other such pleasure-haunts, while at the same time recognising their own depravity, until eventually despairing and giving up all hope. It need not have been so, if this delusion did not exist, that brahmacharism and asceticism alone lead to the state of "Brahman".

The right path to perfection lies in genuine acts of love, which is why Christ taught, "Love thy neighbour as thyself!" Only through this giving up of oneself does the maturing take place, because it is driven by the inner spiritual core, the atman. Eventually, the process gradually leads to a natural level of self-control over the physical body and its desires, but in no way are its desires suppressed. Only the artificial stimulation, induced by the brain and thought-processses, ceases to exist. This is the only way, in these dark times, to spiritual perfection.