Expert: Dhananjay - 1/21/2012

Question
Namaste Dhananjay, I hope you are in good health.

My question is not directly related to Brahmacharya.

I have started observing Brahmacharya and I do feel it helps my concentration. I genuinely study to please my Guru and I want to give the best I can to him and God. But sometimes I lose complete focus on what matters and what does not. I do not get great grades, and other people who do no observe Brahamacharya get higher marks. I do not understand this. Why is this?  I know education is not all about marks but that has become the only medium to show your intelligence these days. It's sad. I study Mechanical engineering and since you have studied engineering also could you provide me some study tips? How one should study? How to develop one's memory? How to study a topic like thermodynamics? I struggle with that the most at the moment.

Answer
1. Practicing a few months or a year of Brahmacharya and expecting drastic improvements is like planting a sapling and expecting it to become a fruit bearing tree in a few months time. It takes many years of unbroken Brahmacharya with Yogic practices, God-devotion and meditation to see 'notable' differences between the Brahmachari and the non-Brahmachari. The initial period may not show perceptible differences in all. Why? Because one has lead many decades and innumerable past births of 'Abrahmacharya' (incontinence) and only a few months of Brahmacharya. So till then, one has to be patient.

2. The method of proper study is the same for all kinds of subjects, be they spiritual or material. It involves 3 steps:
A. Absorbing the essence of the theoretical aspect
B. Applying it in practice
C. Realizing it.

Unfortunately, application and realization on the practical plane are absent or very scarce in modern education. Hence students find it tough to understand the concept and perform. The only way out would be to learn the practical aspect of the subject (wherever possible) and realize the knowledge in actuality.

ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)