Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.17.25
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyMaintaining the Vow of Celibacy
“One observing the vow of celibate brahmacārī life should never pass semen. If the semen by chance spills out by itself, the brahmacārī should immediately take bath in water, control his breath by prāṇāyāma and chant the Gāyatrī mantra.”
What the purport teaches
- A student observing celibate brahmacārī life should never deliberately discharge semen.
- If semen spills out by itself, the brahmacārī should immediately bathe in water.
- The prescribed response also includes controlling the breath by prāṇāyāma and chanting the Gāyatrī mantra.
Try this today
Reread the verse and identify its distinction between maintaining a vow and responding to an involuntary occurrence.
Ask yourself
What does this prescribed response teach you about returning steadily to your discipline?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.