brahmacharya · noun — the first (student) ashrama in Hindu culture in which a person is dedicated to the quest for self-realization. It carries an Arena rating of 1499, earned across 60 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, brahmacharya ranks #937 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #1,469 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,781 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words, #3,279 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say.
Why “brahmacharya” is a great word
BRAHMACHARYA — [Noun] The first of the four classical Hindu life stages, a period of disciplined celibacy and devoted study under a guru in pursuit of sacred knowledge. From Sanskrit ब्रह्मचर्य (brahmacarya), from ब्रह्मन् (brahman, "ultimate reality, sacred knowledge") + चर्य (carya, "conduct, way of life"). Unlike sannyasa, which denotes the final, renunciant stage of ascetic detachment, or mere celibacy, a general abstention from sexual activity, brahmacharya is the holistic, formative discipline of a student's entire being. It is the predawn chill of memorizing Vedic hymns, the clean austerity of a simple diet and robe, and the focused quiet of a mind learning to turn inward—a conscious ordering of youth to forge a vessel capable of holding truth.
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Etymology
From Sanskrit ब्रह्मचर्य (brahma-cárya).
noun
- The first (student) ashrama in Hindu culture in which a person is dedicated to the quest for self-realization.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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