śrī-gajendra uvāca
oṁ namo bhagavate tasmai
yata etac cid-ātmakam
puruṣāyādi-bījāya
pareśāyābhidhīmahi

yasminn idaṁ yataś cedaṁ
yenedaṁ ya idaṁ svayam
yo ’smāt parasmāc ca paras
taṁ prapadye svayambhuvam

yaḥ svātmanīdaṁ nija-māyayārpitaṁ
kvacid vibhātaṁ kva ca tat tirohitam
aviddha-dṛk sākṣy ubhayaṁ tad īkṣate
sa ātma-mūlo ’vatu māṁ parāt-paraḥ

kālena pañcatvam iteṣu kṛtsnaśo
lokeṣu pāleṣu ca sarva-hetuṣu
tamas tadāsīd gahanaṁ gabhīraṁ
yas tasya pāre ’bhivirājate vibhuḥ

na yasya devā ṛṣayaḥ padaṁ vidur
jantuḥ punaḥ ko ’rhati gantum īritum
yathā naṭasyākṛtibhir viceṣṭato
duratyayānukramaṇaḥ sa māvatu

didṛkṣavo yasya padaṁ sumaṅgalaṁ
vimukta-saṅgā munayaḥ susādhavaḥ
caranty aloka-vratam avraṇaṁ vane
bhūtātma-bhūtāḥ suhṛdaḥ sa me gatiḥ
(Srimad Bhagavatam 8.3.2-7)

Susādhu—great sages and tyakta-saṅga—renunciates who see all living beings equally, suhṛd-who are friendly to everyone and who flawlessly practice the vows of Brahmacharya in the forest, desire to have Darshan of the All-Auspicious Lotus Feet of the Supreme Lord. May that same Supreme Lord be my shelter. Vishvanath Chakravarty Thakur, in the mood of Gajendra says, “The Supreme Lord is inconceivable, no one can know Him by his own strength then how can I sing His glories? Even the great sages and Brahma and Rudra, who are the topmost demigods, they also get illusioned, then how can I sing His glories?” This Shloka has appeared to answer this question as follows.

One can sing Lord’s glories if one is susādhava—who is highly elevated in spiritual consciousness, tyakta-saṅga—who is completely disinfected of material conditions, bhūta-ātma-bhūtāḥ—who is equal to all living entities and suhṛda—who is a friend to everyone. The great sages with the desire to see the All-Auspicious lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, flawlessly practice in the forest the vows of Brahmacharya. What is the meaning of Brahmacharya? To hold the semen. Virtue of celibacy. Once we went to Assam with Guruji. There five boys came to Guruji and said, “We are trying to observe the vow of Brahmacharya, we have come to you to get instructions in this regard.” Guruji sent them to me. I thought even I couldn’t be a true Brahmachari so how can I guide them? But Guruji sent them me so I have to follow the order of Guruji. So I told them, “Brahmachari means, who can hold his semen? (Virya). By wearing Kopin or the clothes of Brahmachari outside one cannot become actual Brahmachari.

karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya
ya āste manasā smaran
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā
mithyācāraḥ sa ucyate
(Srimad Bhagavad Gita 3.6)

“One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.”

Just by externally restraining the senses of action or wearing Kopin, one cannot hold semen. If one’s mind is constantly dwelling on sense objects then he is actually associating with those sense objects,

dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ
saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ
kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ
sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo
buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati
(Srimad Bhagavad Gita 2.62-63)

When we contemplate about sense objects, we develop an attachment for them and desires arise in our heart to get them. But when there are any obstacles in getting them then we shall become furious. From anger, complete delusion arises, we become bewildered and even forget our mother, father or even our Guru. We do not even hesitate to perform any abominable act. So Brahmacharya should not be external. Brahmacharya means to serve the Supreme Lord.

When one becomes averse to the Supreme Lord, he becomes entangled in misconception of self. And when one considers himself a body, due to this bodily misconception, desire for sense gratification arises.

This happens due to ignorance. For example, in the dark one may mistake a snake as a rope and if he tries to catch hold of it then snake may bite him. Or in another case one may become frightened by misunderstanding a rope with a snake. But in the light one can clearly see whether it is a snake or a rope. In the same way when one becomes averse to the Supreme Lord, ignorance arises, due to ignorance misconception of self and due to that, material desires arise and to fulfil those desires one may behave improperly or engage in sinful activities. So the root cause of the sinful activities is aversion to the Supreme Lord. One should worship the Supreme Lord under the shelter of a Guru. And the service to Guru is the real Brahmacharya. It is known as Bhagavat-vrata. There is no other way or means.

ye vai bhagavatā proktā
upāyā hy ātma-labdhaye
añjaḥ puṁsām aviduṣāṁ
viddhi bhāgavatān hi tān
(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.34)