15.09.2016 ►JAINA ►Special Newsletter - Das Lakshana Day 10

By practising celibacy one can fulfil all other vows - chastity, tapas (penance), vinaya (humility), samyama (self-restraint), forgiveness, self-protection and detachment.

- Bhagwan Mahavir

Brahmacharya is a word with a very wide scope. It means maintaining physical purity by assuming the strict aspect of celibacy. (Brahma) means soul, which is chaste, enlightened, eternal and blissful. To become fully engrossed in soul is Brahmacharya - celibacy. The vow of chastity is an ornament of a man and a woman both; it is a garland woven by auspicious virtues and is a gateway to heaven. Chastity is the most precious jewel of a lady. "The impenetrable fence which protects a woman is her virtue of celibacy; no other fence can safeguard her as well."

Observance of chastity keeps the body healthy and free from sickness; and it develops the mind i.e., sharpens the intelligence. All people honor a chaste person in this world. Non-observance of chastity sometimes make one suffers from many types of miseries in this world; also, he or she is destined to go to hell in the next births. An unchaste person always lives awe-stricken lest his/her immoral deeds should come to limelight.

The root of self-restraint or abstention from sensual pleasures is good conduct; and both self-restraint and good conduct are dependent on chastity. The persons who realize the need and glory of celibacy in human life come to know the significance of self-restraint and good conduct very well. The capability of sustaining the life force in the body is celibacy. It alone generates vitality, radiance and luster in the body.