Abstract
This article explores the relationship between Gandhi's experiments with brahmacarya and his first satyāgraha struggle in South Africa（1906-1914）. Many previous
works have interpreted Gandhi's satyāgraha struggle as a mere nonviolent strategy, disregarding
the significance of his experiments with brahmacarya behind the struggle. A few
recent works, however, have pointed out that there might have been a crucial connection
between the two, but by no means did they demonstrate such an interrelation. In this article,
I comparatively analyze Gandhi's five Gujarātī texts, namely, Dakṣiṇ Āphrikānā
Satyāgrahano Itihās, Ātmakathā, Gāndhījīno Akṣardeh, Hind Svarāj and the Gujarātī columns
in Indian Opinion, where Gandhi scrappily wrote about the various causal links between
satyāgraha and brahmacarya. In so doing, I first show that Gandhi abruptly encountered
a psycho-spiritual experience that "śakti" arose inside his body while taking the
"pledge" (pratijñā, kasam) of the satāygraha struggle in the 1906 mass meeting in Johannesburg.
Secondly, by examining Gandhi's "Secret Chapter" ("Guhya Prakaraṇ
") on brahmacarya published in 1913, I reveal how the proto-yogic practice of semen-retention (vīryasaṇgrah) was intimately related to his prior psycho-spiritual experience, which he had
undergone while taking the "pledge." Although Gandhi became wary of an increase of his
"sexual desire" (viṣaynī icchā, kām), the practice of semen-retention was still reckoned by
Gandhi to be the most important part of his experiments with brahmacarya; it was believed
to provide a fundamental psycho-physical strength for the satyāgraha struggle.
