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svat · 2018-06-26 · Original thread
(Noticing this thread because of a search for "Sanskrit" on HN.)

On the one hand, it is good that you are thinking about these things, and trying to articulate your current thoughts. Good luck to you. On the other hand, in order to gain enough certainty about your thinking to be able to confidently recommend it to other people, you should probably discuss this with people more advanced in the path of yoga, and consider thoughtfully their differences.

Flipping to a random page in your document, I see:

> 5. Yama - Brahmacharya

> The literal meaning of the word Brahmacharya is unmarried.

Now, that is not the literal meaning, in either the etymological (yoga) or colloquial (rūdhi) sense. If I open a book on Yoga I highly recommend — The Sacred Tradition of Yoga (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611801729 , https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/1611801729/ , https://www.shambhala.com/the-yoga-journey.html) — this is what it says on Page 116 under Brahmacarya:

> In Saṃskṛta, Brahma is “Eternal Truth”, and carya means “movement”. Brahmacarya literally means “moving towards the Eternal Truth”. […] Sometimes brahmacarya is incorrectly translated as control of sexuality, or celibacy. White it has a relationship to celibacy, it is not the same. True brahmacarya is the discipline of keeping the body and mind attuned for Realization.

Etc. (There are 14 pages devoted to Brahmacarya; the book main covers Yama and Niyama, but always in light of the full context of yoga.)

Good luck to you. Please consider reading other sources as well, and seeking the ideas of people well-versed in both yoga and Sanskrit — you don't have to agree with everything, but consider it, and something may spark more useful inputs for you.

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