[Advaita-l] brahmacharya in Raja yoga abhyAsa and advaita anushtAna

[Praveen R. Bhat]

Hari Om, Gopalji,

Across many commentaries/ translations, especially by Advaiti teachers,
brahmacarya is interpreted as being in brahman. However, in PYS,
brahmacarya being included in the basic a~Nga, even after discounting the
fact that PYS has a dualistic ending, it has to necessarily be interpreted
as celibacy. One who is in brahma needs no sAdhana otherwise, let alone
AsanA onwards.

As Vidyasankarji said, not following brahmacarya is giving into
dehAtmabuddhi, the grossest of all forms. With subtlest of the subtlest as
the goal, one can't be indulging in the grossest of all expressions. IMHO,
its improper to use the loaded meaning of brahmacarya in PYS, all the more
so because its still bahira~Nga, pre-pratyAhAra.

gurupAdukArpaNamastu,
--Praveen R. Bhat
/* Through what should one know That owing to which all this is known!
[Br.Up. 4.5.15] */


On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 10:48 PM, Gopal <gopal.gopinath at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Recently a locally renowned yoga teacher made  a statement during his
> lecture that in the *abhyAsa *of Patanjali's yoga sutra aphorisms, *
> brahmacharya* is only the  "hopeful attitude to see Brahman everywhere or
> walk in the world with the knowledge/attitude that everything is Brahman"
> and not the traditional interpretation of celibacy.
>