There is a very wrong understanding of the word 'Brahmachari' in our present day society. Who is a Brahmachari? Brahmachari is not just one who is a celibate. I can restrain myself from sex and marriage and still not be a Brahmachari.

Brahmachari is that person who has chosen the path of Brahmacharya. What is Brahmacharya? Brahmacharya is composed of two words, "Brahma" + "Char". Brahma means the 'Absolute Reality' and Char means 'to move.' So, a Brahmachari is that person who is moving towards the Absolute Reality day and night. Celibacy is just one part of Brahmachari, not the whole. In fact, celibacy is a byproduct of the process of Brahmachari. Celibacy is an automatic effortless byproduct of the path of Brahmacharya. In modern society when people think of Brahmachari, they only think about a person who doesn't do sex and who is an unmarried person. This is not the whole truth. The main important thing behind Brahmachari is that the person is engaged very intensely on knowing Brahma (The Absolute Reality). And this includes a total renunciation from worldly affairs.

In Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Maharsi Patanjali doesn't describe what Brahmachari means but he describes that by becoming Brahmachari one attains great vigor and strength. In yogic culture, the yogis have discovered that there is an intimate relation between Mind, Semen, and Prana (Energy). When you control one, the other two are automatically controlled. For example, if you control the mind, the other two, semen and prana are automatically controlled. If you control semen, the other two, mind and energy are automatically controlled. So, to move towards Brahma (the Absolute), one needs a great deal of spiritual energy and this energy is called "Ojas" in Sanskrit. When semen is controlled, this energy is converted into spiritual energy called Ojas through the process of sex sublimation. So, yogis and sannyasins who are seeking God become Brahmachari because through brahmacharya, they gain ojas. Brahmacharya also includes refraining oneself from sexual thoughts. It also means daily study of Vedic scriptures. It also means daily study of the field. Now, what is this field? In Bhagavad Gita, lord Krishna talks immensely about this field. This field is the human body in individual level, and the entire cosmos in cosmic level. The closest field for you to study is this human body. So, Brahmacharya starts with knowing the sensations of your own body. And then moving gradually towards cosmic body (know as Virat Purusha) and then finally knowing that there is no such thing as individual body and cosmic body independent of each other. Then, a complete silence is experienced. Brahmacharya is this process of moving towards the absolute silence.

Please, don't connect Modi, Sushil, and modern day politicians with the pure idea of Brahmacharya. True knowledge only comes from direct experience. Just wearing a yellow and an orange rob around your body doesn't make you a Brahmachari, and also just becoming a celibate doesn't make one a Brahmachari.