I'm on a 546 day streak right now. 546 days is almost 1 year and 6 months. I reached this streak by following the process below.
Chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra daily. On some days I chant it for only half an hour but on some days I go up to 2 hours. But I make it a point to chant it for at least 10 minutes daily and on most days I reach half an hour. The Hare Krishna mahamantra is -
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
I follow these 4 regulative principles while chanting -
1. No meat eating - hard to follow in western countries but if you must eat meat, do not eat beef at any cost. Eat other kinds of meat. Goat is the least harmful kind of meat so try to make do with that. Again, the preferred way is to avoid all kinds of meat and eggs altogether. That's the regulative principle.
EDIT : Why no meat eating? Not only is it most sinful to kill another living entity for the pleasure of the tongue (Bhagavada Gita), meat also increases the lust and sexual desire in the body and the mind. So one is bound to relapse if they indulge in meat eating.
2. No intoxicants - No drugs, no cigarettes, no tea, no coffee, no chocolate, no alcohol, no substances of any kind.
3. No gambling. Try to walk on the path of truth. No need to lie unecessarily. Lying is a sinful activity which puts a spiritual burden upon us and makes us heavier.
4. No illicit sex (no PMO - porn, masturbation, orgasm, no adult activities with women, no sexual intercourse).
EDIT : Brahmacharya means pure celibacy. That requires total avoidance of all sexual activities. However if one is married there is a slight allowance. One can engage in sexual intercourse but only for the purpose of producing a child. Not for wanton enjoyment. Once they have as many children as they desired they have to stop indulging in sex life.
There is quite literally volumes more to be said about on this matter. Srila Prabhupada has written more than 80 books on the subject of Krishna Consciousness. But this is the basic process and if one follows it one can atleast achieve perfect brahmacharya (celibacy in thought, word, and deed).
You can approach it as a mantra meditation to achieve peace and tranquillity and control over the mind, not necessarily as a way to worship Krishna.
The effects of chanting this mahamantra are multifarious. Thoughts become cleaner and more pure, memory becomes sharper, determination grows incredibly strong, intelligence becomes fixed and concentrated, fearlessness comes etc.
Another thing I used to do was to read about the benefits of Brahmacharya very often to remind me of the rewards and keep me motivated to strive towards their attainment. I have made a list of the benefits here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Semenretention/comments/lolxze/some_benefits_of_brahmacharya_celibacy_in_thought/ .
If anyone is interested in this process and wants to go deeper and see what lies beyond Brahmacharya feel free to message me. I do voicecalls with people on Telegram on the weekends.
