I have been waiting for someone to answer me this question when I was at home complete unaware of what Isha foundation is and what it does.
I still remember I have thought once about it around 3-4 years back and I felt it is a long journey to cover. A sense of disappointment had come back then because of this long waiting period.
But I needed to understand it was not an ice cream but Brahmacharya so there must be more to it.
So finally I happened to be here in the ashram and many people kept asking me about the brahmacharya but I myself never had any idea about that.
Here and there I found a few articles around the same topic but not sure whether they are true or not. I also knew that I could not ask the same to anyone because this sounds very childish.
One problem in life the next moment one person thinks I will be a brahmachari.
It doesn’t work that way. The biggest aspect of a Brahmacharya is the person is joyful by his own nature. He doesn’t need an external stimuli to experience joy within. They are not pleasure seeker because they are not outward bounded. They know the life happen from withing and that is where they look for joy.
This is the fundamental aspects of being a Brahmachari. This person becomes inward. That doesn’t mean he leaves everything it simply means he stops using anything external for his internal wellbeing. He may ride a car, he may ride a bike, he may travel in a flight. He may talk, he may sing. Not necessarily for himself. If he uses anything external for himself then the person is out of the path.
That is why it is said, ” My brahmacharya is not that fragile that it I ride a bike it will fall of”
But there is a risk.
bevause this damn body doesn’t listen. That is why a safe environment is needed. One can easily slip away with the necessary sadhana and support for this path. That is why they need a certain level of care. They needed to be in a certain level of protected environment at the same time they are left free so that they could do the necessary things that should be done.
Coming back to how to become brahmachari.
finally I got the official introduction of this process how does it work. They don’t talk about this in the Sadhanapada or in any other programs for that matter.
This is the path that opens up once you reached to the end of the previous journey. Now that we are starting the last phase of this journey they gave an introduction to Brahmacharya.
The process is simple.
- One can become Poornanga
- Wait for a Year
- Do under 33 Sadhana
- Then once assured about the choice they can apply for it
It has a Physical form that one need to fill it up. To get the form one need to reach out to the brahmachari under whom they are working, general team lead. The permission required for the people who wants to go to underr 33 program and permission is always granted only thing is one need to ask at the right time.
- The form then will be accepted
- Then they will go through the various factors
- Individual to individual these things will vary.
- They will give you guidelines to be
- There will be a waiting period.
Two things that I grast from the conversation was about the clothing and eating. If one is still need too many clothes or feels like going to restuarants.
Even if someone feels very serious about the process, they don’t allow right away and ask them to utilise this one year as a Poornanga to see, reflect and take some time to make decisions instead of doing it hurry.
If you are qualified for under 33 Sadhana then that is must before Brahmacharya. For that also one has to wait for a year. Poornanga need to go through certain processes to qualify for the same process and the most interesting things that was Sadhguru himself initiate them personally if I have heard correct.
Thwre are no such things as if one is older than 33 won’t get the chance to become brahmachari.
I feel sometimes confused about the age if someone wants to come but he or she is not very young then will help be allowed so the official answer to that was “there are no such age limit”
There are 100s of applications are coming every year but only 5-6 are being choosen.
For Sadhguru the brahmachari are loose. It means they can be anything. Since there is no sense of identity they can take any shape. If is not about since the are brahmachari they are having no identifybut since they have no sense of identity they were choosen to become brahmachari.
Sadhguru says that one must choose the either path. either marry or brahmachari. Only a few people who can stay unmarried and not become a brahmacharya. It is a tough place to be, so unless he ask you to do so, you better choose one.
So, people started writing to Sadhguru for this which again creates distrubance and hence we are asked to not to do so. Definitely that means none of us are ready to stay in the middle. If he has to say it he will say it. For rest of the people they should marry. Because the necessary process are given forth and one can go through them to filter out no need to write to Sadhguru and make him go through your life story so that he could know and Lett you what you should do in your life.
This won’t sound to me like Sadhguru would be doing.
About marriage, we may have a negative connotation as a spiritual seekers but if we can accept the fact that we are planning a game without the ball. We will simply play the game enjoy, have support but never accept that the ball is true. If ever one person brings a ball then it’s best that the ball should be kept aside for sometime.
because you must understand thare are not one ball but twoballs. It is easy to play your own ball but monotonous, you get bored. So we need a partner, now you have two people but two balls, terrible situation. That why the best relationship play with one ball. The broken relationship are because of two ball. And the best aspects of all is playing with no balls.
It is possible as long as you are ready to not take things seriously and act throughout the time. Second, you are not compromising on your spiritual effort. That would work.
They don’t appreciate romantic relationship in the ashram because a relationship without commitment can’t be used as a support for spiritual growth, it will be entanglement. And people who are married are here as full time. His own daughter got married. Essentially if you are doing whatever needed in the society and still your priority is yoga then Ashram is always for you.
How many years will be the waiting period? There were no official answer but 3 years minimum is the observed answer.
What if they reject? You know what to do next. It’s not something that you keep fighting for. If you are ready you will get it if you don’t qualify better you don’t go.
There is a say that you may feel sorry that you didn’t get to go IIT but if you go to IIT without really qualifying then, it is going to be a hell for next 4 years. Here atleast you can strive but there is no striving.
Personally for me one thing is clear is that, Either marriage or Brahmacharya no inbetween situation. I am now 26 so I must spend this two years with under 33 Sadhana and that would give me enough clarity.
In my perspective Brahmacharya is the way but just like I was confused about Poornanga and now that I took it I feel good about it. Same thing it is. Once I take, I will fell good about the choice and my life will be different.
Towards the end I asked,” If there is mock there?” Everyone laughed because we all went through it and it was indeed a tough process.