II. Sādhana Pāda · Fruits of the restraints (2.35–2.39)
2.38 · The Full Jar
When chastity is established, vigour is gained.
Word by word
- brahmacarya
- chastity; literally, moving in brahman
- pratiṣṭhāyām
- when firmly established
- vīrya
- vigour, strength
- lābhaḥ
- gain
Where it fits
Fourth in the order of 2.30: chastity brings vigour. Vyāsa adds that the yogi who has gained it can then pass knowledge to students (Woods p. 187), so the fruit serves teaching as well as the practitioner. Non-possessiveness completes the restraints (2.39).
Reading
Brahmacarya literally means conduct in brahman, and its fruit is vīrya, vigour or strength. Vyāsa defines it on 2.30 as control of the sexual organ. Many teachers today also read it more widely, as not squandering vital energy, in sex but also in compulsions of every kind. Vyāsa adds that the one who gains this vigour, once perfected, can pass knowledge on to students. Either way, the claim is the same: energy conserved becomes strength.
Vyāsa
“By gaining it, the yogi develops qualities that nothing can obstruct. And once perfected, he is able to instil knowledge in his students.”
Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 187.
Practice
Find one place your energy leaks: late nights, scrolling, gossip. Close it for one day and notice how your vigour changes.
A question to sit with
Where is your energy leaking?
Where commentators disagree
What is the vīrya, 'vigour', gained through brahmacarya?
- Vyāsa
- By gaining it the yogin increases his unhindered qualities, and when perfected he is able to pass his understanding on to his pupils. (Woods 1914, p. 187)
- Vācaspati Miśra
- Vīrya is power. The unhindered qualities are powers such as becoming minute, and what the perfected yogin passes on is his understanding of the aids to yoga. (Woods 1914, p. 187)
- Bhoja
- Continence is the preserving of manly vigour; when it is complete, vigour grows great in body, senses and mind. (Tatya 1885, p. 81; Mitra 1883, wisdomlib on 2.38)