Why should I be practicing celibacy (brahmacharya)? Why should I choose a celibate life?

When you conquer the King, you get everything; his army, kingdom and power. You get his whole army. You cannot conquer the King if you try to conquer the army. Similarly, once you conquer this ‘King’ of sexuality, you get the power and authority over everything. In the same way, if you win over sexuality and sexual impulses, by practicing celibacy, then you win over the world. You no longer remain dependent on anything in the world. This is because in reality, celibacy is the king of the body. So in order to attain ultimate liberation, you need to practice celibacy.

Param Pujya Dadashri explains the science behind why one should practice celibacy in His own words:

Questioner: For what benefits should one practice brahmacharya?

Dadashri: If you get hurt here on this arm and you start bleeding, why do you do everything to stop the bleeding? What is the benefit?

Questioner: We do not bleed excessively.

Dadashri: What would happen if you do bleed excessively?

Questioner: The body will become weak.

Dadashri: So it is with abrahmacharya (incontinence of sexual impulses), the body becomes weak. All the diseases in the body are due to abrahmacharya. Yogurt is not the end product of milk. Yogurt is converted to cream, which is finally converted to butter. Similarly, all that you eat and drink, the air you breathe, results in a final product, which is the essence of the body. Brahmacharya is the ultimate essence of this complex of intake and output, this living body.

There are two things in this world that one should not waste. One is money and the other is semen. All the money in this world is going down the drain. It should not be used for oneself. Money should not be misused and one should practice brahmacharya as much as possible. The ultimate extract of our nourishment is semen and it is dissipated and lost in sex. There are certain nerves in the body that help preserve semen and this in turn protects the body. Therefore, brahmacharya should be preserved as much as possible. 

The practice of Brahmacharya (Celibacy) has innumerable benefits, let us have a look at some of them: 

• A person practicing brahmacharya is able to harness the power of the mind, body and speech. This means that they are able to accomplish anything.
• Concentration and grasping power increases.
• If brahmacharya is preserved for a few years with the right control, then the semen energy rises. After that, one will retain the spiritual essence of any of these scriptures and books. Otherwise, it is not easy to retain this essence. You will forget as soon as you read something. 
• Virya (semen) is the ultimate essence of all the essence of the food we eat. It is an extract. If this ‘extract’ remains properly preserved, one can attain the Self easily, and the pains of the world, all bodily pains will not come, no other pains will come either. 
• Where there is no sexual interaction, there is no clash. The history of friction ceases where sex ceases.
• No matter what obstacles come forth in your life, you are able to remain stable and deal with the situation at hand.
• By practicing brahmacharya, you will be able to follow your vows and commitments. There is ease of further progress in all directions.
• Immunity power increases and as a result the body remains healthy. It will have no difficulty at all. It will not produce any defects at all.
• Anger-pride-deceit-greed will gradually decrease.
• Will power (manobad) increases, which means that you can do anything you set your mind to.
• Energy of the Self (Atma virya) arises, as one practices brahmacharya. There is nothing more valuable than the energy of the Self.
• The attribute in which one possesses a silent aura of sternness and purity arises.
• Aura of radiance due to celibacy arises.
• Your inner faculty of knowledge and vision becomes pure so your inner inclinations do not go towards worldly things.
• Absolute Knowledge (Keval Gnan) can only be attained by practicing celibacy.