There are many things that have been written about celibacy as a result there is a lot of misconception about the same. We will now discuss a little bit about what exactly celibacy is, how it is practiced and what are the advantages of doing it. It is a state when one does not get married as a result they don’t involve in any sexual activity or desire. This is mostly associated with a religious vow or a sacred pledge. These people are very closely associated with religion and they promise to themselves and the religious bodies that they are involved with that they will never indulge in any sexual activity. It is a state of supreme sacrifice. It is found in almost all religion across the world. That makes it even more powerful as a practice.

The concept is that sexual desires are impure and they distract the minds of the devotee as a result they are not able to concentrate in the religious practice. This gives a complete peace of mind. It is like a path to salvation. The great Gautama Buddha left his married life and his son, in order to attain moksha the divine enlightment. It is believed that the state of celibacy makes your mind free of any unwanted desires and feelings. It is an absolute pure state of mind that only few people can attain. It is like dedicating your life only to god and the divine force. However, the belief is that if you are married you cannot follow this as sex in marriage is very essential. Islam is the only religion that does not promote celibacy. Nevertheless, it strictly prohibits extramarital sex and also sex before marriage. These are considered to be the greatest sins of all.

It can be also looked at as a positive sex life. People vow to refrain from marriage, masturbation and sexual reunion with any person. They tend to life that is absolutely untouched by any of these desires. It was very seriously followed in the ancient times. The priest who followed this was highly respected. However, with time the practice is not that strong anymore. Many people now a day’s don’t take such vows anymore. Some in spite of taking these vows still indulge in sexual activities and involve in great sin. Many big ashrams in India including some big names have a list of such scandals associated with them.

Considering the benefits of celibacy and the spirituality that is associated with it many young people are trying to follow it for some time. Just to feel the divine forces. It is not an easy state of mind to attain. It is a state where you don’t get attracted to any one sexually and you also don’t entertain sexual advances. It is more difficult for men to follow this. Another popular misconception is that women are not associated with celibacy. It is absolutely not true. In the ancient times and even today women actively follow celibacy. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the sexual desires of women are less compared to men as a result they don’t get carried away much and they can follow it better.

In Hindu scriptures the life of a man is divided into four parts that is spanning for twenty five years each. In the first half of twenty five years every man is supposed to perform Brahmacharya. Meaning they will maintain celibacy and not get indulged in any form of sexual activity or desire. They will plan their future learn some skills that will help them to earn later in life. After twenty five years of their life is completed they can indulge in grihastashram and get married and start a family of their own.

This is more or less a summary about celibacy. I hope this will help you to understand the practice better and understand why exactly people all across the world try to follow it in different religion. In Hinduism it is called Brahmacharya. It is equally popular in Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism.  Each religion has a different name for it. It is not forced on anyone. It is absolutely a personal choice and if anyone in any form breaks this vow they are considered to be sinner and are condemned for many lives. This is exactly why one has to be very sure before they decide to follow celibacy and vow to never get married.