As has already been pointed out, the preservation of our vitality is impossible without pure air, pure water, pure and wholesome food, as well as pure thoughts. So vital indeed is the relation between our health and the life that we lead that we can never be perfectly healthy unless we lead a clean life. The earnest man who, forgetting the errors of the past, begins to live a life of purity will be able to reap the fruit of it straightway. Those who have practised true Brahmacharya even for a short period will have seen how their body and mind improve steadily in strength and power, and they will not, at any cost, be willing to part with this treasure. I have myself been guilty of lapses even after having fully understood the value of Brahmacharya, and have, of course, paid dearly for it. I am filled with shame and remorse [Pg 79] when I think of the terrible contrast between my condition before and after these lapses. But from the errors of the past I have now learnt to preserve this treasure in tact, and I fully hope, with God’s grace, to continue to preserve it in the future; for I have in my own person, witnessed the inestimable benefits of Brahmacharya. I was married early in life, and had become the father of children as a mere youth. When, at length, I awoke to the reality of my situation, I found myself sunk in the lowest depths of degradation. I shall consider myself amply rewarded for writing these pages if at least a single reader is able to take warning from my failings and experiences, and to profit thereby. Many people have told me (and I also believe it) that I am full of energy and enthusiasm, and that my mind is by so means weak; some even accuse me of rashness. There is disease in my body as well as in my mind; nevertheless, when compared with my friends, I may call myself perfectly healthy and strong. If even after twenty years of sensual enjoyment, I have been able to reach this state, how much better should I have been if only I had kept myself pure during those twenty years as well? It is my full conviction that, if only I had lived a life of Brahmacharya all through, my energy and enthusiasm would have been a thousandfold greater and I should have been [Pg 80] able to devote them all to the furtherance of my country’s cause as of my own. If this can be affirmed of an ordinary man like myself, how much more wonderful must be the gain in power,—physical, mental, as well as moral—that unbroken Brahmacharya can bring to us!