Saints and Brahamcharya
Question
Hello,
Brahamahcarya bring benefices both physical and mental according to you but why so many masters, saints , sages suffered many ills and many times had weak bodies and short life span? Brahamcharya is supposed to prolong life.
For example, Ramana Maharshi, many monks and lamas in Tibet who look very weak, almost starved or dull. Same thing could be say about christian monks and others. This is one thing i dont understand. Where is the benefice of brahamcharya such as strenght, luster and all what is said in texts about it? If those practicing it are like this then it tells us something different. DO they practice brahamcharya?
Answer
An hunter aims an arrow at a deer and releases it from the bow. Will the arrow change its course if he now wishes otherwise? Will it go elsewhere if he repents the next second for his action? No. Once shot from the bow, the arrow will hit its target without fail. The hunter has no more control over it.
One's actions are like an arrow. Once done, the doer loses control over its effect. The action will bear its resulting fruit. The resulting karma has accrued. Good or bad, one has to face it. The effect of one's past karma is called 'Prarabdha'. It cannot be side stepped. If the Jiva which is now a saint has a karmic debt from past actions that require ill health or some related problem for working out, it undergoes the same. The laws of karma are impartial, be it for a common man or a saint.
In the same way, following a healthy lifestyle is conducive to good health. However, people sometimes fall ill despite doing so. Why is it? In reply, it is to be said that there are factors in play, which are working despite the actions conducive to healthy life. That factor is 'Karma' or the result of past actions which one has to work out.
Therefore, one has to perform good deeds, selflessly and avoid the bad, for he alone has to later bear the fruit, good or bad.
Saints are generally in their last physical incarnation on the earthly plane. So the cumulative of karma performed before enlightenment, dating back to eons has to be finally worked out and got rid of forever. The saint accepts this reality and watches it silently, holding on to the self.
ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)