The Atma transcends all the worlds. It is uncontaminated. He who is aware of only the Atma is ever in bliss. The Brahmacharya stage is an important step for attaining atmic wisdom.Yajnas, Fasts and other vows are also equally helpful. (UV, p. 57)
Brahmacharya is the foundation for the other stages in life: Grihastha (house-holder), Vanaprastha (recluse) and Sannyasa (renunciant). (D3 , p. 84)
Brahmacharya means leading a life of pure thoughts, pure actions and pure aspirations. Unfortunately today people tend to regard Brahmacharya as living somehow in an unmarried state. The term Brahmacharya carries within it its sacred import. Brahmacharya means whatever thoughts we entertain we undertake, they should all be filled with the consciousness of Brahman (the Supreme Omnipresent Divine). Conducting ourselves with the awareness that the Divine is present everywhere is ‘Brahmacharya.’
The basic characteristic of Brahmacharya is that one should be full of pure thoughts, all actions of one should be sacred and one should be engaged in selfless service. Brahmacharya is not confined to the early years of one’s boyhood and adolescence. Brahmacharya is a state that is implied in all the three other stages of life also (Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa). The base is Brahmacharya. The second stage or storey is that of Grihastha (the householder). The third is Vanaprastha (retirement to the forest). The fourth is Sannyasa (complete renunciation of all attachments). Brahmacharya is present in all three other stages like an undercurrent: Brahmacharya in the Brahmacharya state, Brahmacharya in the Grihastha state, Brahmacharya in the Vanaprastha and Brahmacharya in the Sannyasa states. In all four stages, Brahmacharya is immanent in equal measure. It signifies purity in all the stages. Only when there is purity, Brahmacharya has any meaning.
In the sacred human birth, to lead a life filled with pure thoughts and pure actions is characterised as Brahmacharya. So the real meaning of Brahmacharya is not confined to the corporeal discipline of celibacy attached to it in the physical sense, but it implies recognition of the Divinity inherent in man and leading a life based on that recognition. Therefore, for the life of the householder, the recluse and the renunciant, Brahmacharya is the foundation.
The entire human existence should be sanctified by observing Brahmacharya. This implies that, by practising purity and recognising the Omnipresent Divinity, one should regulate one’s daily life by spreading purity and sacredness everywhere. Purity of mind, purity of Citta (consciousness), purity of the heart and purity in action – this four-fold purity constitutes Brahmacharya. Whatever you do, you must act with the same sense that it is an offering to the Divine. This is the real significance of Brahmacharya.
Brahmacharya is the primary requisite for developing pure thoughts and performing pure actions. Moreover, in practising Brahmacharya, it is essential to cultivate sacred thoughts. The heart should be filled with sacred feelings. You must eschew from your mind any thought of causing harm to anyone. Only then, the life that starts with Annamaya (food-filled) will culminate in Anandamaya (a blissful life. (SSS Vol.21, pp. 96-99)