Practical Hints on Practising Brahmacharya:

• Keep away from bad habits such as smoking, drinking, drugs, etc., which excite the nervous system and stimulate sexual desire.
• Maintain internal (of mind) and external (of body) cleanliness.
• Get up in the Brahma Muhurata (starts 96 minutes before sunrise, and ends 48 minutes before sunrise; it is the second last muhurata before sunrise. So, if we suppose the time of sunrise at 6:00 a.m. someday, brahma muhurata would be from 4:24 a.m. to 5:11 a.m.), and do some meditation and prayer after bathing. This habit will help in increasing your satva, which is indispensable for the practice of Brahmacharya.
• Be moderate in everything. Over-exertion – mental as well as physical – should be avoided.
• You must have heard this famous proverb “It is better to be alone than in bad company.” Idle gossip and indecent talk leads to distractions of mind. Therefore, keep yourself away from such useless gossip.
• If free mixing with the opposite sex gives rise to your lustful thoughts causing sexual excitement in your mind, it is better to keep away from such associations.
• Our Ahara (food) should be pure, if we want to purify our mind. Here one thing should be kept in mind, ahara or food does not only mean the intake that we take from mouth, but as Sri Sankracharya observed: whatever we take in through our sense organs is ahara. So, we should see, hear, smell, taste, and touch only that which is conducive to the purification of our mind.
• Always talk about elevating topics, listen to lofty subjects; and entertain only noble and sublime thoughts in your mind. Sublime thoughts are the food for mind.
• Be in the company of noble persons and whenever possible associate with holy men.
• Keep away from circumstances that will sexually excite you. At least turn away your eyes and ears in such situations.
• Observe fasts from time to time. Fasting at regular intervals is an unfailing step to subdue passion.
• Regular practice of moderate pranayama (breathing exercise) must be made a habit. Pranayama is an effective measure in regulating mind.
• Think about the filth with which this body is filled, the fragility and vulnerability of this body; it will help in detaching the mind from the body. When one truly feels disgust for his body (through discrimination and thought), he/she also losses attraction towards other people’s bodies.
• Be humble and give up pride. Humility and modesty are the prerequisites for the practice of Brahmacharya.
• Do not compare yourself with worldly people or with those who are the puppets of passion, but rather compare yourself with great souls if you want to succeed on this path.
• Despite all the above measures, there is possibility of one being duped by his/her mind; such is the power of lust. But despair not; the most effective way to succeed in the practice of Brahmacharya is to fervently and earnestly pray to the lord (perhaps your Ishta Devta). God is omnipotent, omniscient, almighty, and the ocean of mercy. Strict observance of Brahmacharya might be an arduous and herculean task for us, but for the all powerful God it is not so. He is capable of ameliorating even the most lustful creatures in no time. What is required is praying to him with a sincere heart full of love for him, by repeating the divine name again and again. There is immense power in sincere prayers done with the core of the heart and it is the safest and infallible way to succeed in fulfilling such a superhuman task as observance of absolute and unbroken Brahmacharya.