Brahmacharya

(“going after Brahman”) In its most traditional sense, this word refers to the
lifestyle of a young man belonging to a
particular class during his life as a student (brahmacharin). This period is the
first of the four ashramas (“stages of
life”) of a twice-born man, that is, a
man born into one of three groups in
Indian society: brahmin, kshatriya, or
vaishya. Such men are eligible to
receive the adolescent religious initiation known as the “second birth.” His
life as a student will then commence,
and he will move into his guru’s household and study the sacred texts, the
Vedas. This is conceived as a period of
intense study, religious practice, and an
austere lifestyle marked by the restraint
of desires, for which the hallmark is
celibacy. Although the model of the
four ashramas is largely archaic in modern times, the word brahmacharya still
connotes this sort of austere religious
lifestyle, and it is often used as a synonym for celibacy.