By
SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION
First Edition: 1934
Eighth Edition: 1980
First Revised Edition: 1988
Second Reprint: 1993
(5000 Copies)
World Wide Web (WWW) Edition : 1997
Website: http://www.divinelifesociety.org/
This WWW reprint is for free distribution
© The Divine Life Trust Society
ISBN 81-7052-067-3
Published By
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. Shivanandanagar—249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal,
Himalayas, India.
CONTENTS
Instincts and appetites form a part of all life on earth. Sense impulses
and biological urges are common to animal and man alike. Sex is one
of the prominent, most important and absolutely essential aspects of
human, animal as well as plant life. Sex is an integral part of life—human,
animal and plant. While this aspect of life is regulated by nature in
plants and by instinct in animals, in man it is left to his common-sense,
intelligence and his developed reason to control and regulate the same.
The vast and ancient scriptures of the world offer human society specific
rules and regulations in this respect. With regard to India, as a nation,
our forefathers followed the do’s and don’ts of the Dharma
Sastras in meticulous detail and this, in large measure, contributed
to their health, longevity and spiritual welfare.
But alas, in the present-day world, and more particularly among the
educated class, in all walks of society and in all age groups, norms
of conduct laid down by the scriptures are flouted with so much impunity
that we see, all around us, the number of physical, mental and moral
wrecks increasing every day. One reason for this sad state of affairs
is modern man’s ignorance of his own scriptural treasures.
Swami Sivananda came on the Indian scene, in the early thirties, to
blast this ignorance of the people by offering the hoary wisdom of the
ancients through the media of his simple English writings. It is well
known that spiritual treatises apart, the great Master, whose love for
mankind knew no bounds, wrote a number of books concerning health, hygiene
and medicine. One such book was "Practice of Brahmacharya"
which dealt mostly with the subject of celibacy, and where celibacy
was not possible, a regulated sex life. This book has been popular with
the public.
This apart, the Swamiji’s thoughts on the subject of sex and sex
sublimation are also to be seen here and there spread over his voluminous
writings. In the present volume, all of Swamiji’s thoughts and
instructions on the subject of sex and celibacy have been gathered up
from "Practice of Brahmacharya" and elsewhere, and thoroughly
edited, with a view to offering the public, and especially to the younger
generation, a working guide to the vital subject of sex sublimation.
This has been done as an act of loving service to modern youth who are
often left groping in the dark by an irresponsible society. These days
we often hear about "juvenile delinquency," but this juvenile
delinquency itself is the result of adult irresponsibility. The youth
of the world craves for guidance which is often not forthcoming from
the parents, teachers or society.
It is hoped that this book of holy Master Swami Sivananda will fill
the above-mentioned lacuna and offer the youth of the world the knowledge
and guidance which they so richly deserve in a vital area which affects
their physical, mental, ethical and spiritual well-being.
We pray that the blessings of the holy Master may pour on all those
who may chance to go through the following pages and open up a new chapter
in their lives. May all be healthy, happy and spiritually blessed. Loka
Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu!
8th September, 1988.
—THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
O loving Lord of Compassion! Hey Prabhu! The Soul of my soul, the Life
of my life, the Mind of my mind, the Ear of my ears, Light of lights,
Sun of suns! Give light and purity. Let me get established in physical
and mental Brahmacharya. Let me be pure in thoughts, word and deed.
Give me strength to control my Indriyas (senses) and observe the Brahmacharya
Vrata. Protect me from all sorts of temptations of this world. Let all
my Indriyas be ever engaged in Thy sweet service.
Wipe out the sexual Samskaras (impressions) and Vasanas (subtle desires).
Annihilate lust from my mind. Make me a true Brahmachari, Sadachari
and Oordhvareta Yogi. Let me be chaste in my look. Let me always walk
in the path of righteousness. Make me as pure as Swami Vivekananda,
Swami Dayananda, Bhishma Pitamaha, Hanuman or Lakshmana. Forgive. Forgive
all my Aparadhas (offenses). I am Thine. I am Thine. Trahi, Trahi. Protect,
protect. Prachodayat, Prachodayat. Enlighten, enlighten. Guide me. Om.
Om. Om.
Dedicated to the Youth of the World
|
There is a great illusion in front of man. It troubles him in the form
of woman. There is a great illusion in front of woman. It troubles her
in the form of man.
Go wherever you like—Amsterdam, London or New York. Analyze this
world of phenomenal experience. You will find only two things—sex
and ego.
The sex instinct is the greatest urge in human life. Sex energy or
lust is the most deep-rooted instinct in man. Sex energy entirely fills
the mind, intellect, Prana, senses and the whole body. It is the oldest
of the factors that have gone into the constitution of the human being.
A man has a thousand and one desires. But the central strong desire
is the sexual desire. The fundamental desire is the urge for a mate.
All hang on this central basic desire. The desire for money, the desire
for a son, the desire for property, the desire for houses, the desire
for cattle and other desires come later on.
Because the whole creation of this universe is to be kept up, God has
made the sexual desire very, very powerful. Otherwise, many Jivanmuktas
would have cropped up quite easily, just as graduates from universities.
It is easy to get university qualifications. It demands a little money,
memory, intelligence and a little strain. But it is an uphill climb
to obliterate the sexual impulse. He who has completely eradicated lust
and is established in mental Brahmacharya is Brahman or God Himself.
This world is nothing but sex and ego. Ego is the chief thing. It is
the basis. Sex hangs on the ego. If the ego is destroyed by Vichara
or enquiry of "Who am I?", the sex idea takes to its heels
by itself. Man, master of his destiny, has lost his divine glory and
has become a slave, a tool, in the hands of sex and ego on account of
ignorance. Sex and ego are the products of Avidya or nescience. The
dawn of knowledge of the Self annihilates these two enemies of Atman,
the two dacoits who are plundering the helpless, ignorant, little, false
Jiva, the illusory "I".
Man has degraded himself to a great degree by becoming the puppet of
passion. Alas! He has become an imitative machine. He has lost his power
of discrimination. He has sunk into the most abject form of slavery.
What a sad state! What a lamentable plight indeed! If he wishes to regain
his lost divine state and Brahmic glory, his whole being must be transformed,
his sex desire must be completely transmuted by sublime divine thoughts
and regular meditation. Transmutation of the sex desire is a very potent,
efficacious and satisfactory way to realize eternal bliss.
Passion reigns supreme in all parts of the world. The minds of people
are filled with sexual thoughts. The world is all sexy. The whole world
is under a tremendous sexual intoxication. All are deluded and move
in the world with perverted intellects. No thought of God. No talk of
God. It is all fashion, restaurants, hotels, dinners, dances, races
and cinema. Their life ends in eating, drinking and procreating. That
is all.
Passion has introduced new fashions not only in London, Paris and Lahore,
but even in Madras amongst the Brahmin girls of orthodox families who
apply Cherry Blossom Powder and Hazeline Snow to their faces, instead
of the sacred turmeric powder, and dress their hair like the French
girls. This sort of vile imitation has crept into the mind of our boys
and girls in India. The sacred percepts and teachings of our ancient
sages and Rishis have been totally ignored. What a lamentable state!
They will accept anything as true only if a Johnson or a Russel brings
something by way of the theory of evolution, motion, atom, relativity
or transcendentalism. Shameful indeed! Their brains are all clogged
with foreign particles. They do not have the brain to absorb anything
good in others. There is a miserable degeneration in the present young
men and women in India. This is the age when they cannot walk even a
short distance without a Rickshaw, a car, a tram, a bicycle or a carriage.
What an awful artificial life! Bobbing of the hair amongst the ladies
in India has become a severe epidemic and has invaded the whole of India.
This is all due to the mischief of passion and greed.
Young men of the present day indiscriminately imitate the West and
this results in their own ruin. Men are swayed by lust. They lose their
sense of righteousness, and of time and place. They never discriminate
between right and wrong. They lose all sense of shame.
Read the history of the crimes—robbery, rapes, kidnapping, assaults,
murders—that come up for trial before the Sessions Courts. Lust
is at the root of all this. It may be lust for money or lust for carnal
pleasure. Lust ruins life, lustre, strength, vitality, memory, wealth,
fame, holiness, peace, wisdom and devotion.
Man, with his boasted intellect, has to learn lessons from birds and
animals. Even animals have more self-control than men. It is only the
so-called man who has degraded himself much by indulgence. At the heat
of sexual excitement, he repeats the same ignoble act again and again.
He has not a bit of self-control. He is an absolute slave to passion.
He is a puppet in the hands of passion. Like rabbits he procreates and
brings forth countless children to swell up the numbers of beggars in
the world. Lions, elephants, bulls and other powerful animals have better
self-control than men. Lions cohabit only once in a year. After conception,
the female animals will never allow the male animals to approach them
till the young ones are weaned and they themselves become healthy and
strong. Man only violates the laws of nature and consequently suffers
from innumerable diseases. He has degenerated to a level far lower than
that of animals in this respect.
As a king is no king without a treasury, subjects and an army, as a
flower is no flower without fragrance, as a river is no river without
water, so also, a man is no man without Brahmacharya. Ahara, Nidra,
Bhaya and Maithuna—food, sleep, fear and copulation—are common
to both animals and men. That which differentiates a man from an animal
is Dharma, Viveka and Vichara Sakti. Jnana and Vichara can be secured
only by the preservation of Veerya. If a man has not got these qualifications,
he should really be reckoned as a veritable animal only.
If lust, which is the source of all enjoyments in this world, ceases,
then all worldly bondage, which has its substratum in the mind, will
cease. Even the most virulent poison is no poison when compared to lust.
The former defiles one body only, whereas the latter adulterates many
bodies in successive births. You are a slave of passions and desires,
emotions and attractions. When are you going to rise up from this miserable
state? Those persons, who, in spite of the knowledge of the non-existence
of happiness, both in the past and in the present, in the baneful objects
of the world, do yet entangle themselves in them with their thoughts
clinging to them, deserve the appellation of an ass, if not a worse
one. If you do not possess Viveka, if you do not try your best for salvation,
if you spend your lifetime in eating, drinking and sleeping, you are
a horizontal being only, having to learn some lessons from those animals,
which possess far more self-restraint.
The sexual degradation that has overtaken mankind today is due directly
to the fact that people have assumed that there is a natural "sexual
instinct" in human beings. It is not so. The natural instinct is
the procreative one. If men and women restrict sexual indulgence to
mere procreation, then that itself is observance of Brahmacharya. As
this is found to be impossible in the vast majority of cases, total
abstinence is enjoined on those who seek the higher values of life.
As far as the Sadhaka of burning Mumukshutva is concerned, celibacy
is a sine qua non, as he cannot afford to waste his vital energy
at all.
The gratification of every worldly desire is sinful; the flesh should
be the abject slave of the spirit intent upon divine things. Man was
created for a life of spiritual communion with God, but he yielded to
the seduction of evil demons who availed themselves of the sensuous
side of his nature to draw him away from the contemplation of the divine
and lead him to the earthly life. Moral goodness, therefore, consists
in renouncing all sensuous pleasures, in separating from the world through
discrimination and dispassion, in living solely after the spirit, in
imitating the perfection and purity of God. Sensuality is inconsistent
with wisdom and holiness. The great business of life is to avoid impurity.
Real culture is the establishment of perfect physical and mental Brahmacharya.
Real culture is the realization of the identity of the individual soul
with the Supreme Soul through direct experience. For a passionate worldly-minded
man, the terms Self-realization, God, Self, Vairagya, renunciation,
death and burial ground are very revolting and terrifying, because he
is attached to objects. The terms singing, dancing, talks about women
and so on are very pleasing.
The attraction for objects will gradually vanish if one begins to think
seriously of the unreal nature of the world. People are burnt by the
fire of lust. All measures that are calculated to eradicate this dire
disease should be initiated and put through. All people should be made
fully conversant with the different methods that will help them to root
out the dire enemy lust. If they fail in one method, they can take recourse
to another. Lust is a brutal instinct in unregenerated men. One should
be ashamed to repeat again and again the sensual acts when one is fully
aware that the goal of life is Self-realization through the attainment
of purity and the practice of constant meditation. An objector may say
that these topics should not be dealt with openly, but should rather
be talked about secretly. This is wrong. What is the use of hiding things?
Hiding a thing is a sin.
In these days of modern culture and new civilization, in this era of
scientific advancement, these lines may not be relished by some people.
They may remark that some of the terms are jarring, revolting, offending
and indecent and will not suit the people of refined tastes. They are
entirely mistaken. These lines will produce a very deep impression in
the minds of thirsting aspirants who are longing for liberation. Their
minds will be entirely changed. There is no real spiritual culture amongst
the people of modern society. Etiquette is mere show. Everywhere you
can see much show, hypocrisy, pretended politeness, meaningless formalities
and conventions. Nothing emanates from the core of the heart. People
lack sincerity and integrity. The utterances of the Mahavakyas of the
sages and the valuable teachings of the scriptures will not produce
any impression in the minds of passionate, worldly-minded persons. They
will be like seeds thrown in rocky soil. They will be like pearls thrown
before swine.
If one clearly understands the serious damage that comes through an
impure life and determines to attain the goal of life by leading a pure
life, he must keep his mind busily engaged in divine thoughts, concentration,
meditation, study and service of humanity.
Lack of spiritual Sadhana is the main cause for all sexual attractions.
Mere theoretical abstention from sensuality will not bring you good
results. You must mercilessly cut off all formalities in social life
and lead a pious life freed from the business of bodily existence. Leniency
to internal lower tendencies will land you in the region of suffering.
Excuse will be of no use in this respect. You must be sincere in your
quest for the sublime life of spirituality. Half-heartedness will leave
you in your old state of misery.
Wake up, friends, from this mire of illusory Samsara now. Passion has
wrought great havoc in you as you are drowned in Avidya. How many millions
of fathers, mothers, wives and sons you have had in previous births!
This body is full of impurities. What a shame it is to embrace this
filthy body! It is mere foolishness only. Give up Moha for this body.
Also, give up identification with this body by meditating upon the glory
of the Suddha Atman. Give up worship of the body. Worshippers of the
body are Asuras and Rakshasas.
My dear brothers! Remember that you are not this perishable body of
flesh and bones. You are the immortal, all pervading, Sat-Chit-Ananda
Atman. Thou art Atman. Thou art living truth. Thou art Brahman. Thou
art absolute consciousness. You can attain this supreme state only by
leading a life of true Brahmacharya. The spirit of Brahmacharya must
pervade your entire life and all your actions.
People talk of Brahmacharya, but practical men are rare indeed. A life
of continence is really beset with difficulties. But the path becomes
smooth for a man of iron determination, patience and perseverance. We
want real, practical men in the field, men who are practical Brahmacharis,
men who can impress people by their strong physique, ideal lives, noble
character and spiritual strength. Mere idle talk is of no use whatsoever.
We have had enough of idle talkers in the field and on the platforms.
Let some practical men come forward and lead the youngsters by their
exemplary, lives and spiritual aura. Let me remind you once more! Example
is better than precept.
The average life of mankind has shrunk to forty years as against the
natural hundred years. Every well-wisher of the country must think over
this most disgraceful and disastrous state of affairs very carefully
and apply the proper remedies in time. The future well-being of the
country rests entirely on the youth. It is the duty of the Sannyasins,
saints, teachers, professors and parents to reintroduce the life of
celibacy in youngsters. I pray that the educational authorities and
the elders will pay their special attention to this vital subject of
Brahmacharya for the uplift of the future generation. Training of the
youth means nation-building.
The future well-being of India rests entirely on Brahmacharya and Brahmacharya
alone. It is the duty of Sannyasins and Yogis to train students in Brahmacharya,
to teach Asana and Pranayama and disseminate the knowledge of Atman
far and wide. They can do a lot in improving the situation as they are
whole-time men. They should come out of their caves and Kutirs for Loka-Sangraha.
If our motherland wants to rise high in the scale of nations, her children,
both male and female, should study the important subject of Brahmacharya
in all its bearings, understand its supreme importance and observe the
great Vrata strictly.
In conclusion, I fervently pray, with folded hands, that you all should
sincerely struggle hard to control passion—the enemy of peace and
prosperity—by Sadhana. A true Brahmachari is the real mighty emperor
of this world. My silent adorations to all Brahmacharins! Glory unto
them!
May you be seated firm as the Mahameru in your Satchidananda Svarupa
without any impure, lustful thought! May God bless the aspirants with
strength and energy for keeping up Brahmacharya! May you, with a pure,
stainless mind, unintermittently be in the cognition of your Atmic Reality!
May you, without worldly desires and ambition, rest in That which ever
is in the midst of the enjoyer and the enjoyed!
May the divine splendour shine in your face! May the divine flame grow
brighter in you all! May the divine power and peace abide in you for
ever! Om Santi! Santi! Santi!
Man wishes to have children to maintain the race or line. This is the
reproductive instinct. The desire to copulate proceeds from this sexual
instinct. The strength of the sexual desire depends upon the sexual
impulse.
According to the Gita, impulse is Vegam or force. Lord Krishna
says, "He who is able to endure here on earth, before he is liberated
from the body, the force born of desire and passion, he is harmonised,
he is a happy man".
Impulse is a mighty force. It exerts influence on the mind. It is a
force suddenly communicated to the mind.
Just as petrol or steam moves the engine, the instincts and impulses
move this body. The instincts are the prime movers of all human activities.
They give a push to the body and move the Indriyas to action. The instincts
create habits. The instinctive impulses supply the driving power by
which all mental activities are kept up. These impulses are mental forces.
They operate through the mind and the intellect. They mould the life
of a man. The mystery of life lies in them.
The attraction towards women in men is born of Rajas. That unknown
attraction and happiness in their company is the seed of the sex impulse.
This attraction, which is like a bubble in the beginning, later on assumes
the form of a formidable, uncontrollable wave of strong passion or sexual
appetite. Beware. Generate the spiritual wave of devotion through Japa,
Satsanga, meditation and Vichara and kill this attraction in the bud.
You must understand the psychological working of the sex impulse. When
there are itches on the body, mere scratching of them is a pleasure.
The sex impulse is only a nervous itching. The satisfaction of this
impulse begets a delusive pleasure, but it has a disastrous effect on
the spiritual well-being of the person.
Lust is powerful. It carries a flowery bow equipped with five arrows,
namely, Mohana, Stambhana, Unmadana, Soshana and Tapana—fascination,
stupefaction, intoxication, emaciation and burning. One arrow causes
fascination in young men when they see a beautiful form. Another arrests
their attention. The third intoxicates them. The fourth arrow causes
intense attraction towards the form. The fifth arrow inflames and burns
their heart. It pierces their cardiac chambers deeply. No one on this
earth, nay, in all the three worlds, has the power to resist the potential
influence of these arrows. These arrows pierced even the heart of Lord
Siva and many Rishis of yore. These arrows induced even Indra to molest
Ahalya. Cupid directly shoots an arrow through the bewitching eyebrows
and piercing glances of a young lady with tender waist, rosy cheeks
and red lips. Moonlit night, scents and perfumes, flowers and garlands,
sandal-paste, meat and liquor, theatres and novels are his mighty weapons
to delude the passionate young men. Reason and discrimination take to
their heels the moment their hearts are filled with burning passion.
They all become absolutely blind. Cupid makes intellectual persons,
great orators, ministers and research scholars, doctors and barristers,
as pleasure deer or pet dogs in the laps of young ladies. Reason has
temporarily taken its seat in the dry intellect of a learned pundit
or a professor. He has no real stamina. Cupid knows his strength. Cupid
reigns supreme everywhere. He penetrates the hearts of all. He knows
how to tickle their nerves. Within the twinkling of an eye he destroys
reason, discrimination and understanding by simply inflaming the passion
of young men.
Even in dreams Cupid has full sway, even when all the Indriyas are
silent. Ladies are his infallible agents! They are always at his beck
and call. Cupid operates through their smiles, bewitching glances and
sweet words, through their melodious songs and ball dances. Young girls
work quickly the ruin of men and can disturb the peace of even the minds
of sages. Cupid can make the nervous system of Brahmacharins quiver
in the delirium of imaginary pleasure even when they think of the pictures
of young, beautiful ladies, even when they hear the gentle sounds of
their bracelets and anklets, even when they think of their blooming
faces. What to speak of touch then?
A sexual act produces a Samskara or impression in the subconscious
mind or Chitta. This Samskara raises a Vritti or thought-wave in the
mind and the Vritti again causes a Samskara. Enjoyment thickens the
Vasanas. Through memory and imagination, a revival of the sexual desire
comes in.
Remembrance of the image of a woman unsettles the mind. When a tiger
has once tasted human blood, it always runs to kill human beings. It
becomes a man-eater. Even so, when the mind has once tasted sexual pleasures,
it always runs after women.
From the bed of Samskaras and Vasanas in the mind emanates Kalpana
or imagination through Smriti or memory. Then comes attachment. Along
with imagination, emotion and impulse manifest. Emotion and impulse
exist side by side. Then comes sexual irritation—craving and burning
in the mind and throughout the body. The irritation and burning in the
mind percolate into the physical body, just as the water inside a pot
percolates into the surface of the pot. If you are very vigilant, you
can drive off the bad imagination in the very beginning itself and avert
the impending danger. Even if you allow the thief imagination to enter
the first gate, keep a careful watch at the second gate when the sexual
irritation manifests. You can stop the burning now. You can stop also,
easily, the strong sexual impulse from being transmitted to the Indriya
itself. Draw the sex energy up towards the brain through Uddiyana and
Kumbhaka. Divert the mind. Chant ‘Om’ or any other Mantra
with concentration. Pray, meditate. If you still find it difficult to
control the mind, immediately seek Satsanga and do not remain alone.
When the strong impulse manifests suddenly and is transmitted to the
organ, you forget everything and become blind. You become a prey to
lust. Later on you repent.
Even in a blind man who is a celibate who has not seen the face of
a woman, the sexual impulse is very strong. Why? This is due to the
force of Samskaras or impressions of previous births that are embedded
in the subconscious mind. Whatever you do, whatever you think, are all
lodged or printed or indelibly impressed in the layers of the Chitta
or subconscious mind. These impressions can be burnt or obliterated
only by the dawn of knowledge of Atman or the Supreme Self. When the
sexual Vasana fills the whole mind and body, the Samskaras assume the
form of big Vrittis or waves and torment the poor blind man.
It is easy to control the conscious mind. But it is very difficult
to control the subconscious mind. You may be a Sannyasi. You may be
a moral man. Mark how the mind behaves or conducts itself in dreams.
You begin to steal in dreams. You commit adultery in dreams. The sex
impulses, ambitions and low desires are all ingrained in you and deep-rooted
in the subconscious mind. Destroy the subconscious mind and its Samskaras
through Vichara, Brahma-Bhavana and meditation on ‘Om’ and
its meaning. A man who is established in mental Brahmacharya can never
have even a single thought of evil in dreams. He can never have a bad
dream. There is a lack of Vichara or Viveka in dream. That is the reason
why you get bad dreams, even though you are pure in the Jagrat state
through the power of Viveka and Vichara.
An aspirant complains: "As I continue meditation, layer after
layer of impurities keep rising from the subconscious mind. Sometimes
they are so strong and formidable that I am bewildered as to how to
check them. I am not perfectly established in truth and in Brahmacharya.
The old habits of lust and of speaking lies are still lurking in me.
Lust is troubling me vigorously. The very idea of women agitates my
mind. My mind is so sensitive that I am not able to hear or think of
them. As soon as the thought comes in the mind, my Sadhana gets disturbed,
and also, the peace of the whole day is spoiled. I advise my mind, coax
it, frighten it, but it is of no avail. My mind revolts. I do not know
how to control this passion. Irritability, egoism, anger, greed, hatred
and attachment are still lurking in me. Lust is my chief enemy and it
is a very strong one too. I request you to be kind enough to advise
me as to how to destroy it".
When the impurities emerge from the subconscious mind and come to the
surface of the conscious mind with formidable force, do not try to resist
them. Repeat your Ishta Mantra. Do not think of your defects or evil
qualities much. It is enough if you introspect and find out your defects.
Do not try to attack the evil qualities. Then they will show their long
faces. Develop positive virtues. Do not worry yourself often: "I
have got so many defects and weaknesses". Cultivate Sattvic virtues.
Through meditation, and by the development of positive qualities, through
the Pratipaksha Bhavana method, all the negative qualities will die
by themselves. This is the right method.
You may become old, your hair may turn gray, but your mind is ever
young. The capacity may vanish, but the craving remains even when you
have reached advanced senility. Cravings are the real seeds of birth.
These craving-seeds give rise to Sankalpa and action. The wheel of Samsara
is kept revolving by these cravings. Nip them in the bud. Then only
will you be safe. You will get Moksha. Brahma-Bhavana, Brahma-Chintana,
meditation on ‘Om’ and devotion will root out these craving-seeds
which are laid deep. You will have to dig them out properly in various
corners and burn them beyond resurrection. Then only your efforts will
bear the fruit of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
One student writes to me: "The impure flesh and skin appear to
me as very pure and good. I am very lustful. I try to develop mentally
the Bhava of mother in all women. I prostrate before a lady mentally,
thinking that she is an image of Goddess Kali, and yet my mind is extremely
lustful. What shall I do now? I desire again and again to have a glimpse
of a beautiful lady". Obviously, Vairagya and discrimination have
not dawned in his mind even a bit. The old vicious Samskaras and Vasanas
are very powerful.
Even a pure Brahmachari will be troubled in the beginning by curiosity.
He will be curious to know and feel what sort of happiness the sexual
enjoyment will give. He thinks sometimes: " Let me have the carnal
knowledge of a woman once. Then I will be able to root out this sexual
impulse and desire completely. This sexual curiosity is troubling me
very much". Mind wants to delude this Brahmachari. Maya havocs
through curiosity. Curiosity is transmuted into a strong desire. Enjoyment
cannot bring satisfaction of a desire. The wise way is to kill the strong
wave of curiosity by Vichara or enquiry about that pure sexless Atman,
by totally eradicating the sexual desire through constant meditation,
and by thinking over the glory of Brahmacharya and the defects of an
impure life.
The sight of a young beautiful girl produces in a passionate young
man attraction and agitation in the mind, piercing of the heart and
serious intoxication. If these symptoms are absent in a man, then it
is a sign to denote that he is established in Brahmacharya. The sight
of the pairing or mating of birds and animals, or the sight of the bare
body of a lady, should not produce the least agitation in the mind.
If a feeling arises in the mind of a Brahmachari for the company of
a woman during times of ailment, if there is a strong desire to be in
her company, if there is a desire to talk, play and joke with her, if
there is a desire to look at young beautiful girls, if the look is unholy
and unchaste, and if there is a desire in the mind when there is pain
in the body for touch by the hands of females, remember that lust is
still lurking in his mind. There is deep sexual craving. This should
be destroyed. The old thief is still hiding. Such a Brahmachari must
be very careful. He is still within the danger zone. He has not attained
the state of purity. Even in dreams there should not arise in the mind
any craving for the touch of a female and the company of a woman. One’s
purity can be gauged by one’s experiences in dream. If one is entirely
free from any sexual thought in dreams, he has reached the climax of
purity. Self-analysis and introspection are indispensable requisites
to determine the state of one’s mind.
A Jnani will have no wet dreams. He who is established in Brahmacharya
will not get even a single bad dream. Dream serves as a criterion to
judge our mental state or the degree of our mental purity. If you do
not get impure dreams, you are growing in purity.
The very idea of sex should vanish from the mind. Sukadeva had this
experience. Suka did not marry. He left his home and roamed about the
world at large, stark naked. The separation was very painful for his
father, Vyasa. Vyasa went out in search of his son. While he passed
by a tank, the Apsaras, who were freely indulging in play, felt ashamed
and put on their clothes hastily. Vyasa said, "Very strange indeed!
I am old. I am putting on clothes. But when my son passed this way naked,
you kept quiet, you remained unmoved". The Apsaras replied, "O
venerable sage, thy son knows not man and woman, but thou knowest".
You will have to search out carefully this dire enemy, lust that lies
hidden in the various corners of your heart. Just as the fox hides itself
within the bush, so also, this lust hides itself in the substratum and
corners of the mind. You can detect its presence only if you are vigilant.
Intense self-examination is very necessary. Just as powerful enemies
can be conquered only if you attack them from all sides, so also, you
can keep the powerful senses under control only if you attack them from
all sides, from within and from without, from above and from beneath.
The senses are very turbulent. The powerful virus that causes syphilis
is attacked on all sides by the doctor by various contrivances such
as inunction or local rubbing, injection, mixture and powder. So also,
the senses must be controlled by various methods such as fasting, restriction
in diet, Pranayama, Japa, Kirtan, meditation, Vichara or enquiry of
"Who am I?", Pratyahara or abstraction, Dama or self-restraint,
Asanas, Bandhas, Mudras, thought-control and destruction of Vasanas.
Safeguard yourself against the error of foolishly imagining that you
have succeeded in getting rid of lust by the mere fact of having lived
a single life for a number of years or experiencing a little feeling
of serenity or purity. You must not labour under the delusion that you
have eradicated lust completely by adjusting the diet a bit, by practising
Pranayama and by doing a little Japa, and that you have nothing more
to do. Temptation or Mara may overcome you at any moment. Eternal vigilance
and rigorous Sadhana are very essential. You cannot attain perfect Brahmacharya
by limited effort. Just as a machine-gun is necessary to kill a powerful
enemy, so also, constant, vigorous, powerful Sadhana is necessary to
annihilate this powerful enemy, lust. You must not be puffed up with
pride for your little achievement in celibacy. If you are put to test,
you will hopelessly fail. You must be ever conscious of your shortcomings
and you must constantly strive to get rid of them. The highest effort
is necessary. Then only you will have sanguine success in this direction.
It is easy to tame a wild tiger or a lion or an elephant. It is easy
to play with the cobra. It is easy to walk over the fire. It is easy
to devour fire and drink the waters of the ocean. It is easy to uproot
the Himalayas. It is easy to get victory in the battlefield. But, it
is difficult to eradicate lust. Right from the earlier stages of evolution
through the ages, the instinctive urge for reproduction and multiplication
has been kept up only by the power of lust. Therefore, despite all efforts
at controlling and subduing it, the power tries to manifest itself forcibly
and overwhelm the Sadhaka or aspirant.
All the same, you need not despair even a bit. Have faith in God, in
His Name and His grace. Lust cannot be completely rooted out of the
mind except by the grace of the Lord. You are bound to succeed if you
have faith in Him. You can destroy lust in the twinkling of an eye.
The Lord makes a dumb man speak and a lame man ascend a steep hill.
Mere human effort alone will not suffice. The divine grace is needed.
God helps those who help themselves. If you do total self-surrender,
Mother Herself does the Sadhana.
Regular meditation and Japa of a Mantra, Sattvic diet, Satsanga, practice
of Pranayama, Sirsha and Sarvanga Asanas, study of religious books,
Vichara and seclusion for three months on the banks of any holy river
will entirely annihilate lust, however powerful the old Samskaras and
Vasanas may be. The positive always overcomes the negative. You need
not be discouraged at any rate. Plunge yourself seriously in meditation,
kill this Mara, and come out victorious in the struggle. Shine as a
brilliant Yogi. Thou art ever-pure Atman. Feel this, O Viswaranjan!
Sexual impulses can, with difficulty, be controlled. A rebellion of
the sexual impulses takes place when you attempt to control them. Constant
Japa and meditation for a long period are necessary to direct the sex
energy into the spiritual channel. Complete sublimation of the sexual
energy into Ojas Sakti is necessary. Then only you are perfectly safe.
Then only you will be established in Samadhi, as Rasasvad will entirely
vanish. Extreme patience, constant vigilance, perseverance and rigorous
Sadhana are necessary to eradicate the sexual impulses and attain perfect
purity in thought, word and deed.
Brahmacharya or purity can be attained only through constant striving.
It cannot be achieved in a day or a week. Lust is doubtless very powerful.
It is your deadly enemy. But your most powerful friend is the Name of
the Lord. It will destroy lust from its very root. So, always recite
and sing, "Ram, Ram, Ram".
Yogic practices, meditation and so on will attenuate or thin out the
sexual desire to a very great extent. But, Self-realization alone can
completely destroy or burn the sexual desire and the Samskaras in
toto. As the Bhagavadgita rightly points out, "The objects
of the senses turn away from the abstinent man leaving the longing behind,
but this longing also turns away after he attains Self-realization".
Sex urge is a creative force. Unless you are inspired by spiritual
ideals, it is difficult to keep the sexual instinct in check. Direct
the sex energy to the higher spiritual channel. It will be sublimated.
It will be transformed into divine energy. Complete eradication of lust,
however, cannot be done through personal effort. It can be accomplished
only by God’s grace.
Passion is a very strong desire. A mild desire becomes a strong passion
by frequent repetition or frequent enjoyment.
In a broad sense, passion means any strong desire. There is passion
for service to the country in patriots. There is passion for God-realization
in first-class aspirants. In some people, there is a strong passion
for novel-reading. There is passion for reading religious books. But
generally, in common parlance, passion means lust or a strong sexual
appetite. This is a physical craving for sexual or carnal gratification.
When any sexual act is repeated very often, the desire becomes very
keen and strong. The sexual instinct or the reproductive instinct in
man involuntarily prompts him to engage in sexual acts for the preservation
of his species.
Passion is the instinctive urge for externalisation through self-preservation
and self-multiplication. It is the diversifying power, which is directly
opposed to the force that moves towards the integration of being.
Passion is an effect or product of Avidya. It is a negative Vikara
in the mind. Atman is ever-pure. Atman is Vimala or Nirmala or Nirvikara.
It is Nitya-Suddha. Avidya Sakti has taken the form of passion for keeping
up the Lila of the Lord. You will find in the Chandipath or Durga
Saptasati:
Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Kamarupena Samsthita
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
It means: "I bow to that Devi who has taken the form of passion
in all these beings".
Even Brahma, the Creator, does not know the exact seat wherein passion
lies. In the Bhagavadgita, you will find it mentioned that the senses,
the mind and the Buddhi are the seats of passion. The Pranamaya Kosa
or the vital sheath is another seat. Desire is all-pervading in the
body. Every cell, every atom, every molecule, every electron is surcharged
with passion. There are undercurrents, cross-currents, inter-currents
and submarine currents in the mighty ocean of passion. You must completely
annihilate each one of them. You must completely destroy passion in
all places.
Passion is a Vritti or modification that arises from the mind-lake
when the Rajo-Guna predominates. Rajasic food such as meat, fish and
eggs, Rajasic dress and the Rajasic way of living, scents, novel-reading,
cinema, talk on sensual things, bad company, liquor, intoxicants of
all description, tobacco—all these excite passion.
Passion is in a seed state in young boys and girls. It does not give
them any trouble. Just as the tree is latent in the seed, so also, passion
is in a seed state in the minds of children. In old men and women, passion
gets suppressed. It cannot do any havoc. It is only in young men and
women who have reached adolescence that this passion becomes troublesome.
Men and women become slaves to passion. They become helpless.
There is not much difference in sex between a male and a female, a
boy and a girl, when they are very young. When they attain puberty,
there is a drastic change. Feelings, gestures, body, gait, talk, look,
movements, voice, qualities and demeanour change altogether.
The whole mango tree—with all its branches, leaves and fruits—is
contained in a subtle form in the seed. It takes time for manifestation.
Even so, the Vasana of lust lurks in the mind when you are a boy, manifests
at eighteen, fills the whole body at twenty-five, works havoc from twenty-five
to forty-five and then gradually declines. Various forms of wrong-doing
and mischief are committed by human beings between twenty-five and forty-five.
This is the most critical period of life.
In a Jnani, the sexual craving is entirely eradicated. In a Sadhaka,
it remains well controlled. In a householder, when not controlled, it
does havoc. It exists in him in its fully expanded state. He cannot
resist it. He yields to it helplessly on account of his weak will and
lack of firm resolution.
In a Jnani or a sage, no sensual thoughts will crop up in the mind.
There will not he any difference in feeling when he sees a beautiful
young girl, a child or an old lady. He will see the one underlying,
eternal, immortal Self in a female and a male. He will not have any
difference of feeling when he touches a book, a log of wood, a piece
of stone and the body of a female. There is no idea of sex in a Jnani.
Such must be the condition of mind of a man who is established in Brahmacharya.
In an aspirant, there will be occasional sexual thoughts, but they
are kept under check. They cannot do any havoc in him.
A passionate householder, however, becomes a prey to sexual thoughts.
A passionate man of the world wants the constant company of his wife.
The idea of sex is ingrained in him. It is very powerful. He wants everything
to be done by his wife. Then only he is pleased. This is simply due
to passion. After the death of his wife, he never relishes his food,
even when it is prepared by expert cooks. Such persons are thoroughly
unfit for the spiritual line. When a man feels disgust for the company
of a woman and cannot tolerate her company, it is a sign to show the
awakening of Vairagya in him.
If you keep lemon juice or tamarind juice in a golden cup, it is not
spoiled or tainted. If you keep it in a brass or a copper vessel, it
gets spoiled and becomes poisonous. Even so, if there are some Vishaya
Vrittis or sensual thoughts in the pure mind of a person who practices
constant meditation, they will not pollute the man and induce Vikara
or passionate excitement. But if there are sensual thoughts in persons
with impure minds, they cause immediate excitement in them when they
come across sensual objects.
In the vast majority of persons, the sexual craving is very intense.
They have got extreme sexual hankering. In some, the sexual desire occasionally
comes, but passes off quickly. There is mere agitation only, of a simple
nature in the mind. By the proper method of spiritual Sadhana, this
also can be completely eradicated.
Though a lady appears to be gentle and soft, yet she becomes rude,
rough and distinctly masculine when she becomes angry. The feminine
grace vanishes when she comes under the influence of wrath, indignation,
fury and resentment. Have you ever seen women fighting in the streets?
Women are more jealous than men. They have more Moha and passion also.
They are eight times more passionate than men. Women have more power
of endurance. They are more emotional. Males are more rational.
Though females are more passionate, yet they have more power of restraint
than males. After enticing men, they keep quiet. The real culprit is
man only. He is aggressive. It is he who tastes the ‘forbidden
fruit’ first. He is active. He goes out of control and loses his
intellect, power of understanding and judgement when he is under the
grip of passion and becomes the sporting lap-dog of woman. When once
man falls into the trap or net spread out by woman, there is no escape
for him.
Woman is passive. She only tempts and deludes man. She inflames and
excites the heart of man. She smiles and glances and then keeps quiet.
She waits. But man is the aggressor. He is the real culprit.
Man is the worst culprit. He is the real seducer. He is the aggressor.
He is the violator. All women would have become Miras, Madalasas and
Sulabhas had it not been for this vilest nature of man. He must be corrected
and moulded first. He has not got so much self-restraint as women have.
Women are eight times more passionate than men, but possess eight times
more strength of control over the sexual impulses or the sexual urge.
This is the weakness of man, though he may be physically and intellectually
more powerful than a woman.
Women flatter, coax and cajole you. They are experts in the art of
blandishment. They have made you a slave by their winning expressions,
actions, youthful charm, coquettish glances, gestures and smile. A considerable
portion of your life has been wasted pursuing the phantoms of flesh.
Women appear charming only for a short time, but turn destructive of
health and happiness soon after. Beware of these temptresses who entangle
you by their blandishments. Pass your remaining days at least on the
holy banks of the Ganga in silent Japa and meditation.
The scorpion has the venom in its tail, the cobra in its fangs, the
mosquito in its saliva and the scandal-monger in his tongue. Woman has
poisoned arrows in her eyes. She sends the message of passion to the
lustful youth and pierces their heart through the poisoned arrows that
dart from her piercing glances. But, she cannot do any harm to a Viveki
who is always on the alert and who sees the Doshas of a woman and who
knows the Sat-Chit-Ananda, pure nature of Atman.
There are tongues and telegraphic instruments in the eyes of young
passionate ladies. They send their love shafts and love messages through
their smiling glances to passionate young men and thereby allure and
bewitch them. Those young men who have no discrimination are excited
by these love messages and become a prey to lust. ‘They become
pleasure-deer or sporting lap-dogs of ladies, though they possess academic
education and hold high position and title. What a shame! Reason, will,
intellect vanish altogether. O aspirants! Do not be very familiar with
any woman. You should not sacrifice a noble ideal of life for the sake
of pleasing a bewitching woman. Think of the composition of the body.
Keep the mental image of the dead body of a woman or a skeleton whenever
passion troubles you. You will slowly gain strength to subdue the passion.
Vairagya will slowly dawn. The cause for attraction towards women is
the presence of Vasanas or subtle desires in the mind. Wipe them out.
There will be no attraction. Those who have renounced women and money
have really renounced the world.
Sex is the distinction between male and female. It is a mental creation.
It is a Kalpana or imagination. There is no sex in the five elements
of which the body is composed. The human body is nothing but a combination
of the five elements. How, then, has the sex idea come? The sex idea
is illusory. It is a trick of the mind. It is jugglery of Maya. It is
a notion. The sex-idea is deep-rooted. Man can never think that he is
a female. A female can never think that she is a male.
For a liberated sage, this world is full of Brahman only. For a passionate
man, this world is full of woman. He falls in love with a wooden post
if it is wrapped in a silken gown or a beautiful cloth with attractive
borders and a petticoat. Passion is a terrible curse. When a man is
under the influence of passion, excitement and the sex impulse or force
destroy his understanding and reason, overwhelm his mind and make him
utterly helpless.
A householder who has rightly understood the magnitude of the sufferings
of Samsara tries to get rid of the Samsaric life. Whereas, a bachelor
full of passion imagines that he is very miserable on account of the
absence of a wife and children and tries to get married. This is Maya.
This is a mental trick. Beware.
A passionate bachelor is ever thinking: "When can I live with
a young wife?" A dispassionate householder in whom Viveka has dawned
is ever thinking: "When can I disentangle myself from the clutches
of my wife and retire into the forests for contemplation on Atman?"
You must think over the difference.
Thousands of young graduates and young doctors come to me with earthen
pots in their hands, attired in orange-coloured robes, in quest of caves
in Uttarakashi and Gangotri for deep meditation and practice of Pranayama.
And some young research students in science and some Rajakumars go to
Punjab and Kashmir in silk suits with stiff collars and ties in search
of girls for marriage. Is there pleasure or pain in this world? If there
is pleasure, why do the young educated men retire into forests? If there
is pain, why do young men run after wealth, women and position? Mysterious
is Maya! Mysterious is Moha! Try to understand the riddle of life and
the riddle of the universe.
Maya havocs through the imagination of the mind. Woman is not beautiful,
but the imagination is beautiful. Sugar is not sweet, but the imagination
is sweet. Food is not palatable, but the imagination is palatable. Man
is not weak, but the imagination is weak. Understand the nature of Maya
and mind and become wise. Curb this imagination of the mind by Vichara
or right thinking and rest in Brahman wherein there is neither imagination
nor thought.
Beauty and ugliness are false imaginations of the mind. Mind itself
is a false illusory product. Conceptions of the mind also must therefore
be false. They are all like a mirage in the desert. What is beautiful
for you is ugly for another. Beauty and ugliness are relative terms.
Beauty is only a mental concept. It is only a mental projection. It
is only a civilized man who talks much of the symmetry of form, good
features, graceful gait, elegance of manners and graceful form. An African
Negro has no idea of all these things. Real beauty is in the Self only.
Beauty resides in the mind and not in the objects. Mango is not sweet;
the idea of mango is sweet. It is all Vritti. It is all mental deception,
mental conception, mental creation, mental Srishti. Destroy the Vritti;
beauty vanishes. The husband stretches his own idea of beauty in his
ugly wife and finds her very beautiful through passion. Shakespeare
has rightly expressed this in his "Mid-summer-Night’s Dream":
"Cupid is painted blind. It finds Helen’s beauty in the brow
of Egypt".
The Indriyas and the mind delude you at every moment. They are your
real enemies. Beauty is a product of mental creation. Beauty is a product
of the imagination. An ugly woman appears very beautiful only in the
eyes of her husband. Where is the beauty, my dear friends, in the wrinkled
skin of an old woman? Where is the beauty when your wife is bedridden?
Where is the beauty when your wife gets angry? Where is the beauty in
the dead body of a woman? The beauty in the face is a mere reflection.
The real undecaying Beauty of beauties—the fountain of beauties—can
be found in the Atman only. You have ignored the substance and caught
hold of a broken piece of glass. What a serious blunder have you committed
by your impure thoughts, impure mind, impure Buddhi and impure way of
living! Have you realized your mistake? Will you open your eyes at least
now?
A beautiful wife is very charming. She is very sweet when she is young,
when she smiles, when she puts on beautiful dress, when she sings and
plays on the piano or the violin, when she dances in the ballroom. But
she is horrible to look at when she loses her temper, when she quarrels
with her husband for not getting silk sarees and gold necklace, when
she suffers from acute abdominal colic or some such disease and when
she becomes old.
For a few years Nature bestows on woman her gift of special beauty,
charm and elegance in order that she may capture the hearts of men.
Beauty is skin-deep only. It will soon fade, the hair will become gray
and the skin will soon be filled with wrinkles. The tailor, the weaver,
the embroiderer, the toilet maker and the goldsmith make us beautiful
for a few seconds. Man, in his excitement, infatuation and delusion,
forgets this point. This is Maya. Never trust this Maya. Beware. O man,
wake up! Find out the Beauty of beauties, which is within you, which
is your innermost Self. O woman! Sing like Mira and merge in Mira’s
Girdhar Nagar.
Have you ever paused and considered what constitutes the basic’
ladies who excite lust in you? A bundle of bones, flesh, blood, urine,
faecal matter, pus, perspiration, phlegm and other dirt! Will you allow
such a bundle to become the master of your thoughts? Will you exchange
your birthright of eternal peace and happiness for such a fleeting,
filthy mess of pottage? Shame on you! Were your will, your reason and
your discrimination given to you only for such an inglorious end? Have
you not heard and seen that physical beauty is only skin-deep and at
the mercy of every passing accident, illness and year?
Poets have exaggerated the beauty of ladies. They are misguided persons
who put young men on the wrong path. Descriptions like "damsels
with bewitching eyes", "face like the moon", "rosy
cheeks and honeyed lips" are false and imaginary. Where is the
beauty in the dead body, in old women, in sick ladies? Where is the
beauty when a lady is infuriated? You are aware of this and yet you
cling to their bodies! Are you not confirmed fools! This is due to the
force of Maya. How mysterious is the power of Maya and Moha! The beauty
of a woman is false, artificial and decaying. Real beauty is undecaying
and eternal. The Atman is the source of all beauties. His beauty is
everlasting and undecaying. It is ornaments, silken clothing with fanciful
borders, dressing of the hair with golden hairpins, flowers, application
of powder to their faces, lipstick to the lips and unguent to their
eyes that lend a temporary decoration and artificial glittering to the
women. Deprive them of their face powders, their ornaments and gaudy
dress, and ask them to wear a simple white cloth without any border.
Where is the beauty now? The beauty of the skin is a delusion only.
Poets describe in their fanciful, passionate moods that honey flows
from the lips of a young, beautiful lady. Is this really true? What
do you actually see? The stinking pus from the sockets of the teeth
that are affected with dreadful pyorrhoea, the nasty and abdominal sputum
from the throat, and foul saliva dribbling on the lips at night—do
you call all this as honey and nectar? And yet, the passionate, lustful
and sex-intoxicated man swallows these filthy excretions when he is
under the sway of excitement! Is there anything more revolting than
this? Are not these poets culpable, when they have given such a false
description, when they have caused great havoc and damage to passionate
young men?
Behind the shining skin there is the raw flesh. Behind the smiles of
a young lady are hidden frown and anger. Behind the rosy lips lie germs
of diseases. Behind the gentleness and kind words are hidden harsh words
and abuses. Life is fleeting and uncertain, O passionate man! Realize
the beauty of the Atman in the heart. The body is the abode for diseases.
The net of affection in this world is strengthened by long indulgence.
It has entwined its thick knotted twine around your neck.
Minus skin, minus dress, minus ornaments, woman is nothing. Just imagine
for a moment that her skin is removed. You will have to stand by her
side with a long stick to drive away crows and vultures. Physical beauty
is superficial, illusory and fading. It is skin-deep. Do not be deluded
by external appearances. It is the jugglery of Maya. Go to the source,
Atman, the beauty of beauties, the everlasting beauty.
Sexual pleasure is an illusion. It is Bhranti Sukha. It is no real
happiness at all. It is mere nerve tickling. All worldly pleasures appear
as nectar in the beginning. They become poison in the end. Reflect well,
O Saumya, my beloved son! Do not be led away by impulses and passion.
Nobody has been benefited in this world by this Maya. People weep in
the end. Ask any grown-up householder whether he finds even an iota
of happiness in this world.
The fly runs towards the fire or lamp thinking that it is a flower
and gets burnt up. Even so, the passionate man runs towards a false
beautiful form thinking that he can get there the real happiness and
gets himself burnt up in the fire of lust.
Just as the silkworm entangles itself in its self-woven cocoon, so
also, you have entangled yourself in the meshes of your own desires.
Tear the meshes by the knife of dispassion and soar high in the realm
of eternal peace on the wings of devotion and knowledge.
A passionate man is a real blind man. Though he may be an intellectual
man, he becomes blind when he is under the sway of sexual excitement.
His intellect proves to be of no use when he suffers from this kind
of blindness. Pitiable is his lot! Satsanga, prayer, Japa, enquiry and
meditation will eradicate this dire disease and bestow on him the eye
of wisdom.
There is no sex in the elements. There is mind in the body, which is
made up of these elements. There is Kalpana in the mind. And that Kalpana
or desire for lust is sex desire. If you kill this mind, which is a
bundle of desires, you kill lust and everything. Kill that Kalpana.
You will have no lust then. You have killed lust.
The sex idea is a mental creation. The whole Maya or Avidya is nothing
but the body-idea or the sex idea. The whole spiritual Sadhana is calculated
to destroy this one idea. The extinction of this one idea alone is Moksha!
The most devitalising and demoralizing of pleasures is the sex pleasure.
Sensual enjoyment is attended with various defects. It is attended with
various sorts of sins, pains, weaknesses, attachments, slave mentality,
weak will, severe exertion and struggle, craving and mental restlessness.
Worldly persons never come to their proper senses although they get
severe knocks, kicks and blows from different corners. The strolling
street dog never stops from visiting the houses even though it is pelted
with stones every time.
Eminent doctors of the West say that various kinds of diseases arise
from the loss of semen, particularly in young age. There appear boils
on the body, acne or eruptions on the face, blue lines around the eyes,
absence of beard, sunken eyes, pale face with anaemia, loss of memory,
loss of eye-sight, shortsightedness, discharge of semen along with urine,
enlargement of the testes, pain in the testes, debility, drowsiness,
laziness, gloominess, palpitation of the heart, dyspnoea or difficulty
in breathing, phthisis, pain in the back, loins, head and joints, weak
kidneys, passing urine in sleep, fickle-mindedness, lack of thinking
power, bad dreams, wet dreams and restlessness of mind.
Mark carefully the evil after-effects that follow the loss of seminal
energy! Persons are physically, mentally and morally debilitated by
wasting the seminal power on so many occasions for nothing. The body
and the mind refuse to work energetically. There is physical and mental
lethargy. You experience much exhaustion and weakness. You will have
to take recourse to drinking milk, to eating fruits and aphrodisiac
confections, to make good the loss of energy. Remember that these things
can never, never repair the loss completely. Once lost is lost for ever.
You will have to drag on a dreary, cheerless existence. Bodily and mental
strength gets diminished day by day.
Those who have lost much of their Veerya become very irritable. Little
things upset their minds. Those who have not observed the vow of celibacy
become the slaves of anger, jealousy, laziness and fear. If you have
not got your senses under control, you venture to do foolish acts which
even children will not dare to do.
He who has wasted the vital energy becomes easily irritable, loses
his balance of mind and gets into a state of explosive fury for trifling
things. When a man becomes furious, he behaves improperly. He does not
know what he is exactly doing as he loses his power of reasoning and
discrimination. He will do anything he likes. He will insult even his
parents, Guru and respectable persons. It behoves, therefore, that the
aspirant who is trying to develop good behaviour must preserve the vital
energy. Preservation of this divine energy leads to the attainment of
strong will-power, good behaviour, spiritual exaltation, and Sreyas
or Moksha eventually.
Excessive sexual intercourse drains the energy enormously. Young men
do not realize the value of the vital fluid. They waste this dynamic
energy by immoderate copulation. Their nerves are tickled much. They
become intoxicated. What a serious blunder they commit! It is a crime
that demands capital punishment. They are slayers of Atman. When this
energy is once wasted, it can never be recouped by any other means.
It is the most powerful energy in the world. One sexual act shatters
completely the brain and the nervous system. People foolishly imagine
that they can recover the lost energy by taking milk, almonds and Makaradhvaja.
This is a mistake. You must try your level best to preserve every drop
although you are a married man. Self-realization is the goal.
The energy that is wasted during one sexual intercourse is tantamount
to the energy that is spent in physical labour for ten days or the energy
that is utilized in mental work for three days. Mark how precious is
the vital fluid, semen! Do not waste this energy. Preserve it with great
care. You will have wonderful vitality. When Veerya is not used, it
is all transmuted into Ojas Sakti or spiritual energy and stored up
in the brain. Western doctors know little of this salient point. Most
of your ailments are due to excessive seminal wastage.
A sexual act shatters the nervous system. The whole nervous system
is shaken or agitated during the act. There is excessive loss of energy.
More energy is wasted during coition. But it is not so when emission
occurs during the dreaming state. In a wet dream, it may be the outflow
of the prostatic juice only. Even if there is loss of the vital fluid,
there is not much draining. The actual essence does not come out during
wet dreams. It is only the watery prostatic juice with a little semen
that is discharged during nocturnal pollutions. When nocturnal emission
takes place, the mind which was working in the inner astral body suddenly
enters the physical body vehemently in an agitated condition. That is
the reason why emission takes place suddenly.
The night discharge may not stimulate the sexual desire. But a voluntary
copulation, in the case of a sincere aspirant is highly detrimental
to his spiritual progress. The Samskara created by the act will be very
deep; and it will intensify or strengthen the force of the previous
Samskaras that are already imbedded in the subconscious mind and will
stimulate the sexual desire. It will be like pouring ghee in the fire
that is slowly getting extinguished. The task of obliterating this new
Samskara will be an uphill work. You should completely give up copulation.
This mind will try to delude you in a variety of ways by giving wrong
counsel. Be on the alert. Do not hear its voice, but try to hear the
voice of the conscience or the voice of the soul or the voice of discrimination.
A good lot of energy is wasted during copulation. Bad memory, premature
old age, impotence, various sorts of eye diseases and various nervous
diseases are attributable to the heavy loss of this vital fluid. It
is greatly shocking indeed to see many of our youth walking with tottering
steps, with pale, bloodless faces owing to loss of this vital fluid,
instead of jumping hither and thither with agile, nimble steps with
vigour and vitality like the squirrel. Some people are so passionate
and weak that even the thought or sight or touch of a woman causes discharge
of semen. Pitiable is their lot!
What do we see in these days? Boys and girls, men and women, are drowned
in the ocean of impure thoughts, lustful desires and little sensual
pleasures. It is highly deplorable indeed. It is really shocking to
hear the stories of some of these boys. Many college boys have personally
come to me and narrated their pitiable lives of gloom and depression
brought about by heavy loss of semen resulting from unnatural means.
Their power of discrimination has been lost owing to sexual excitement
and lustful intoxication. Why do you lose the energy that is gained
in many weeks and months for the sake of the little, momentary sensual
pleasure?
My dear brothers! The vital energy, the Veerya that supports your life,
which is the Prana of Pranas, which shines in your sparkling eyes, which
beams in your shining cheeks, is a great treasure for you. Remember
this point well. Veerya is the quintessence of blood. One drop of semen
is manufactured out of forty drops of blood. Mark here how valuable
this fluid is!
A tree draws the essence or Rasa from the earth. This essence is circulated
throughout the tree, its twigs, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits.
The shining colours and life in the leaves, flowers and fruits are due
to this Rasa. Similarly, the Veerya that is manufactured by the cells
of the testes out of blood gives colour and vitality to the human body
and its different organs.
According to Ayurveda, semen is the last Dhatu that is formed out of
food. Out of food is manufactured chyle. Out of chyle comes blood. Out
of blood comes flesh. Out of flesh comes fat. Out of fat comes bone.
Out of bone comes marrow. Out of marrow comes semen. These are the Sapta
Dhatus or the seven Dhatus that support this life and body. Mark here
how precious is semen! It is the last essence. It is the Essence of
essences. The Veerya comes out of the very marrow that lies concealed
inside the bones.
There are three divisions in each Dhatu. Semen nourishes the physical
body, the heart and the intellect. Only that man who uses the physical
body, the heart and the intellect can have perfect Brahmacharya. A wrestler
who uses his physical body only, but keeps the intellect and the heart
undeveloped, cannot expect to have full Brahmacharya. He can have Brahmacharya
of the body only, but not of the mind and the heart. The semen that
belongs to the heart and the mind will certainly flow out. If an aspirant
does only Japa and meditation, if he does not develop the heart, and
if he does not practice physical exercise, he will have only mental
Brahmacharya. The portion of the semen, which goes to nourish the heart
and the body, will flow out. But an advanced Yogi who dives deep in
meditation will have full Brahmacharya even if he does not take physical
exercise.
Semen is the quintessence of food or blood. One drop of semen in manufactured
out of forty drops of blood according to modern medical science. According
to Ayurveda, it is elaborated out of eighty drops of blood. The two
testes or seeds that are located in the scrotal bag are called secretory
glands. The cells of these testes have been endowed with the peculiar
property of secreting semen from the blood. Just as bees collect honey
in the honeycomb drop by drop, so also, the cells of the testes collect
semen drop by drop from the blood. Then this fluid is taken by the two
ducts or tubes to the vesiculae seminalis. Under excitement, it is thrown
out by special ducts, called ejaculatory ducts, into the urethra where
it is mixed with the prostatic juice.
Semen is found in a subtle state in all the cells of the body. Just
as sugar is all-pervading in the sugar-cane, butter in milk, so also,
semen is pervading the whole body. Just as the butter milk is thin after
the butter is removed, so also, semen is thinned by its wastage. The
more the wastage of semen the more is the weakness. In the Yoga Sastras
it is said:
Maranam Bindu Patanat,
Jivanam Bindu Rakshanat.
Falling of semen brings death; preservation of semen gives life. Semen
is the real vitality in men. It is the hidden treasure in man. It imparts
Brahma-Tejas to the face and strength to the intellect.
Eminent European medical men also support the statement of the Yogins
of India. Dr. Nicole says: "It is a medical and physiological fact
that the best blood in the body goes to form the elements of reproduction
in both the sexes. In a pure and orderly life, this matter is reabsorbed.
It goes back into circulation ready to form the finest brain, nerve
and muscular tissues. This vital fluid of man carried back and diffused
through his system makes him manly, strong, brave and heroic. If wasted,
it leaves him effeminate, weak and physically debilitated and prone
to sexual irritation and disordered function, a wretched nervous system,
epilepsy, and various other diseases and death. The suspension of the
use of the generative organs is attended with a notable increase of
bodily and mental and spiritual vigour."
If the spermatic secretion in men is continuous, it must either be
expelled or be reabsorbed. As a result of the most patient and persevering
scientific investigations, it has been found that whenever the seminal
secretions are conserved and thereby reabsorbed into the system, it
goes towards enriching the blood and strengthening the brain. Dr. Dio
Louis thinks that the conservation of this element is essential to strength
of body, vigour of mind and keenness of intellect. Another writer, Dr.
E.P. Miller, says: "All waste of spermatic secretions, whether
voluntary or involuntary, is a direct waste of the life force. It is
almost universally conceded that the choicest element of the blood enters
into the composition of the spermatic secretion. If these conclusions
are correct, then it follows that a chaste life is essential to man’s
well-being."
Mind, Prana and Veerya are the three links of one chain. They are the
three pillars of the edifice of Jivatma. Destroy one pillar—mind,
Prana or Veerya—and the whole building will fall to pieces.
Mind, Prana and Veerya are one. By controlling the mind, you can control
Prana and semen. By controlling Prana you can control the mind and semen.
By controlling semen, you can control the mind and Prana.
Mind, Prana and Veerya are under the one Sambandha or connection or
circuit. If the mind is controlled, Prana and Veerya are controlled
automatically. He who suspends or restrains Prana restrains also the
working of the mind and the movement of the Veerya. Again, if the Veerya
is controlled, and if it is made to flow upwards into the brain by pure
thoughts and the practice of Viparita Karani Mudras such as Sarvangasana
and Sirshasana and Pranayama, the mind and the Prana are automatically
controlled.
The mind is set in motion or rendered active by two things—the
vibration of Prana and the Vasanas or subtle desires. Where the mind
is absorbed, there the Prana is restrained; and where the Prana is fixed,
there the mind also is absorbed. Mind and Prana are intimate companions,
like a man and his shadow. If the mind and the Prana are not restrained,
all the organs of sensation and action keep actively engaged in their
respective functions.
When a man is excited by passion, the Prana is set in motion. Then
the whole body obeys the dictate of the mind just as a soldier obeys
the command of his commander. The vital air or Prana moves the internal
sap or semen. The semen is put into motion. It falls downwards, just
as the clouds burst into rain water, just as the fruits, flowers and
leaves of the trees drop down by the force of the blowing winds.
If the Veerya is lost, Prana gets unsteady. Prana is agitated. The
man becomes nervous. Then the mind also cannot work properly. The man
becomes fickle-minded. There is mental weakness.
If the Prana is rendered steady, the mind also becomes steady. If the
Veerya is steady, the mind also is steady. If the Veerya is steady,
the mind also is steady. If the Drishti or vision is steady, the mind
also becomes steady. Therefore, control the Prana, the Veerya and the
Drishti.
God is Rasa. Raso Vai Sah. Rasa is Veerya, the vital fluid or
semen. You can get eternal bliss by the attainment of Rasa or Veerya
only. Rasohyevayam Labdhva Anandi Bhavati.
Grasp fully the importance and value of this vital essence of life.
Veerya is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is God. Veerya is Sita.
Veerya is Radha. Veerya is Durga. Veerya is God in motion. Veerya is
dynamic Will. Veerya is Atma-Bal. Veerya is God’s Vibhuti. The
Lord says in the Gita: "Paurusham Nrishu. I am the seed
or virility in men". Veerya is the essence of life, thought, intelligence
and consciousness. Therefore, preserve this vital fluid very, very carefully,
my dear readers!
Brahmacharya literally means Achara or conduct that leads to the realization
of Brahman or one’s own Self. It means the control of semen, the
study of the Vedas and contemplation on God. The technical meaning of
Brahmacharya is self-restraint, particularly mastery of perfect control
over the sexual organ or freedom from lust in thought, word and deed.
Strict abstinence is not merely from sexual intercourse, but also from
auto-erotic manifestations, from homosexual acts and from all perverse
sexual practices. It must further involve a permanent abstention from
indulgence in erotic imagination and voluptuous reverie. All sorts of
sex anomalies and evil habits of various sorts like masturbation and
sodomy must be completely eradicated. They bring about a total breakdown
of the nervous system and immense misery.
Brahmacharya is purity in thought, word and deed. It is celibacy and
continence. Brahmacharya is the vow of celibacy. The term ‘celibacy’
is from the Latin ‘caelebs’, meaning unmarried or single,
and signifies the state of living unmarried. But Brahmacharya is not
mere bachelorhood. It includes the control, not only of the sex or reproductive
Indriya, but also of all other Indriyas in thought, word and deed. This
is the definition of Brahmacharya in a broad sense of the term. The
door to Nirvana or perfection is complete Brahmacharya. Complete celibacy
is the master-key to open the realms of Elysian bliss. The avenue to
the abode of supreme peace begins from Brahmacharya or purity.
Brahmacharya is absolute freedom from sexual desires and thoughts.
A real Brahmachari will not feel any difference in touching a woman,
a piece of paper or a block of wood. Brahmacharya is meant for both
men and women. Bhishma, Hanuman, Lakshman, Mira Bai, Sulabha and Gargi
were all established in Brahmacharya.
Mere control of the animal passion will not constitute Brahmacharya.
This is incomplete Brahmacharya. You must control all the organs—the
ears that want to hear lustful stories, the lustful eye that wants to
see objects that excite passion, the tongue that wants to taste exciting
things and the skin that wants to touch exciting objects.
To look lustfully is adultery of the eyes; to hear anything that excites
passion is adultery of the ears; to speak anything that excites passion
is adultery of the tongue.
You should carefully avoid the eight kinds of enjoyment, namely, Darshan
or looking at women with passionate resolve, Sparshan or touching them,
Keli or play, Kirtan or praising the qualities of the other sex, Guhya-Bhashan
or talking in private, Sankalpa or determination, Adhyavasaya or nearing
the other sex with the desire for gratification and Kriyanivritti or
the actual sexual act. These eight kinds of enjoyment are eight kinds
of breaks, so to say, in the current of Akhanda Brahmacharya practice.
You must avoid these eight interruptions with great care, sincere exertion
and vigilant circumspection. Only he who is free from all these breaks
can be called a true Brahmachari. A real Brahmachari should ruthlessly
avoid all these eight breaks.
A Brahmachari should avoid looking at a woman with lustful eyes. He
should not have the desire to touch her or go near her with evil intention.
He should not play, cut jokes or converse with her. He should not praise
a woman’s qualities within himself or before his friends. He should
not speak to a woman in secrecy. He should not think of women at all.
He should not have a carnal desire to have sexual enjoyment. A Brahmachari
should, without fail, avoid sexual intercourse. If he breaks any of
the above rules, he violates the vow of Brahmacharya.
Though the first seven kinds of Maithuna do not cause the actual loss
of semen, yet the semen is separated from the blood and it tries to
escape when opportunity arises, either in dreams or in other ways. In
the first seven kinds, man enjoys mentally.
Aspirants should not indulge in talk about sex. They should not think
about ladies. Bring the image of your Ishta Devata into your mind if
the thought of a woman crops up. Repeat the Mantra vigorously.
Lustful look, lustful thinking, wet dreams are all failures or breaks
in Brahmacharya. Be chaste in your look. Give up Drishti Dosha or lustful
look. A lustful look itself is a break in Brahmacharya. There is internal
discharge. Veerya is separated from the system.
See Mother Kali in all women. Cultivate sublime, divine thoughts. Do
Japa and meditation regularly. You will be established in Brahmacharya.
It is very necessary that you should be pure in mind if you wish to
be a Brahmachari. Mental Brahmacharya is more important. You may succeed
in physical Brahmacharya, but you must succeed in mental Brahmacharya
also. That state of mind wherein no single sexual thought enters the
mind is termed mental Brahmacharya. If thoughts are impure, the sex
impulse will be very strong. Brahmacharya depends upon regulating the
whole course of life.
When you cannot control the lustful thoughts, at least control the
physical body. Physical Brahmacharya must be strictly practiced at first.
Control the body when the sex impulse troubles you. Mental purity or
mental Brahmacharya will gradually manifest.
Surely it is better to control the Karma Indriyas at least than to
indulge actually in sensual pleasures. Gradually the thoughts will be
purified if you persist in your Japa and meditation. Eventually there
will be direct control of the mind also.
A sexual act, a sexual contact, revives all bad ideas and gives them
a new lease of life. Therefore, the body should be controlled first.
Physical Brahmacharya must be maintained first. Then only you can achieve
mental purity and mental Brahmacharya.
You may be able to stop copulation for months and years, but there
should not be any sexual craving or attraction for women. Evil thoughts
also should not arise when you look at a woman, when you are in the
company of women. If you succeed in this direction, then you are established
in perfect Brahmacharya. You have crossed the danger zone.
Thought is the real action. An evil desire is tantamount to adultery.
The desire is more than the act. But, there is a great deal of difference
between the actual shooting of a man and thinking to shoot a man, between
actual copulation and thinking to have intercourse with a woman. Philosophically
speaking, thinking to shoot a man or thinking to have copulation is
the real act.
Even if there is a single impure sexual thought in the mind, you can
hardly expect to have strict mental Brahmacharya. You cannot then be
termed as Oordhvaretas or one in whom the seminal energy flows upwards
towards the brain for being stored up as Ojas Sakti. There is a tendency
for the semen to flow downwards even if there is a single impure thought.
The state of mental Brahmacharya must be kept up even amidst temptations
and sickness. Then only you are safe. The senses begin to revolt during
times of ailment and also when you come in contact with sense objects.
If thoughts of a lustful nature manifest in your mind, it is due to
hidden passion. The cunning diplomatic mind seeks silent gratification
by looking at a lady and talking to her. Mental Maithunam takes place
secretly or unconsciously. The force that drags you is hidden passion.
The sex energy has not been sublimated thoroughly. The vital being
or Pranamava Kosa has not been regenerated and purified perfectly. This
is the reason why impure thoughts enter your mind. Do more Japa and
meditation. Do selfless service in some form for the society. You will
soon attain purity.
Learn to cleanse your mind with the water of purity or celibacy, with
the soap of divine love. How can you expect to become pure internally
by merely washing the body with soap and water? Internal purity is more
important than external purity.
Continue the life of Brahmacharya. Herein lies your spiritual progress
and realization. Do not give a new lease of life to this dire enemy
lust by repetition of the sinful act.
Keep the mind fully occupied. Intense musing on the objects of sense
does more harm to the inner spiritual life than actual sense-gratification.
If the mind is not rendered pure by Sadhana, mere mortification of the
external senses will not produce the desired effect. Although the external
senses are mortified, their internal counterparts, which are still energetic
and vigorous, revenge upon the mind and produce intense mental disturbance
and wild imagination.
It is the mind that really does all actions. A desire arises in your
mind and then you think. Then you proceed to act. The determination
of the mind is put into action. First there is Sankalpa or thought and
then comes action. Therefore, do not allow the sexual thoughts to enter
the mind.
No space is empty at any time. This is the law of nature. If one thing
is removed from a place, immediately another comes in to take its place.
The same law holds good in the case of the inner mental world also.
Therefore, it is necessary to entertain sublime divine thoughts to replace
evil thoughts. As you think, so you become. This is the immutable psychological
law. The vicious mind is gradually divinised by entertaining divine
thoughts.
There is always a complaint amongst men that they do not get good success
in Brahmacharya despite their earnest efforts and sincere practices.
They get unnecessarily alarmed and discouraged. It is a mistake. There
is a thermometric registration in the spiritual realm also. It is very
subtle. The spiritual thermometer registers or indicates the advancement
in mental purity even to the minutest degree. You want a Visuddha Buddhi
or pure intellect to comprehend the degree of purity. Intense Sadhana,
burning Vairagya and burning Mumukshutva or desire for liberation bring
on the highest degree of mental purity quickly.
Even if anyone repeats the Gayatri or the Pranava for just half an
hour, the spiritual thermometer registers at once a minute degree of
Brahmacharya or purity. You are unable to note it on account of your
Malina Buddhi or impure intellect. Do Sadhana regularly for one or two
years and then compare your state of mind with that of the previous
year. You will surely find a vast change. You will experience or feel
more calmness, more purity, more inner moral force or strength. There
is no doubt of this. Because the old vicious Samskaras are very powerful,
it takes some time for mental purification. You need not be discouraged.
Nil desperandum. Never despair. You have to fight against the
Samskaras of Anadi Kala or beginningless time. Therefore, a great deal
of exertion is needed.
There cannot be any language without vowels. You cannot draw a picture
without a canvas or a wall. You cannot write anything without paper.
Even so, you cannot have health and spiritual life without Brahmacharya.
Brahmacharya brings material progress and psychic advancement. It is
the basis for morality. It is the basis for eternal life. It is a spring
flower that exhales immortality from its petals. It is the substratum
for a life of peace in Atman. It is the firm support for Brahma-Nishtha,
which is eagerly longed for by sages, aspirants and Yogic students.
It is the shield for waging war against the internal Asuras—lust,
anger and greed. It serves as a gateway to the bliss beyond. It opens
the door of Moksha. It contributes to perennial joy, to the uninterrupted
and undecaying bliss. Even Rishis, Devas, Gandharvas and Kinnaras serve
at the feet of a true Brahmachari. Even Isvara applies to his forehead
the dust of the feet of a genuine celibate. Brahmacharya is the only
key to open the Sushumna and awaken Kundalini. It brings glory, fame,
virtue and Mana-Pratishtha. The eight Siddhis and the nine Riddhis roll
under the feet of the true celibate. They are ever ready to obey his
command. The Lord of Death flees from him. Who can describe the magnanimity,
majesty and glory of a true Brahmachari!
Brahmacharyena Tapasa Deva Mrityumupagnata. The Vedas declare
that by Brahmacharya and penance the Devas have conquered death. How
did Hanuman become a Mahavir? It is with this weapon of Brahmacharya
that he acquired unsurpassable strength and valour. The great Bhishma,
the grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, conquered death by
Brahmacharya. It is only Lakshman, the ideal Brahmachari, who put down
Meghanada, the man of inestimable prowess, the conqueror of the three
worlds, the son of Ravana. Even Lord Rama could not face him. It is
through the force of Brahmacharya that Lakshman was able to defeat that
invincible Meghanada. The valour and greatness of emperor Prithviraj
was due to the strength of Brahmacharya. There is nothing in the three
worlds that cannot be attained by a Brahmachari. The Rishis of yore
knew fully well the value of Brahmacharya and that is the reason why
they sang in beautiful verses about the glory of Brahmacharya.
Just as the oil comes up in a wick and burns with glowing light, so
also, the Veerya or semen flows up by the practice of Yoga Sadhana and
is converted into Tejas or Ojas. The Brahmachari shines with Brahmic
aura in his face. Brahmacharya is the bright light that shines in the
house of the human body. It is the blossomed flower of life around which
the bees of strength, patience, knowledge, purity and Dhriti wander
about humming hither and thither. In other words, he who observes Brahmacharya
will be endowed with the above qualities. The scriptures declare emphatically:
"Ayustejo Balam Veeryam Prajna Sreescha Yashastatha
Punyamcha Sat-Priyatvamcha Vardhate Brahmacharyaya"
By the practice of Brahmacharya, longevity, glory, strength, vigour,
knowledge, wealth, undying fame, virtues and devotion to the truth increase.
Pure air, pure water, wholesome food, physical exercise, outdoor games,
walking with brisk steps, rowing, swimming, light games like tennis—all
contribute to the maintenance of good health, strength and a high standard
of vitality. There are indeed many ways to gain health and strength.
These ways are doubtless indispensably requisite. But, Brahmacharya
is the most important of all. Without Brahmacharya, all your exercises
are nothing. It is the master-key for opening the realms of health and
happiness. It is the corner-stone of the edifice of bliss and unalloyed
felicity. It is the only specific that keeps up true manliness.
The preservation of semen is the secret of health and longevity, and
of all success in the physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual planes.
He who has even a little bit of Brahmacharya will tide over a crisis
of any disease very easily. If it takes a month for an ordinary man
for recovery, this man will be completely all right in a week.
The Srutis declare a full life or age of one hundred years for a man.
This you can attain only by the establishment of Brahmacharya. There
are instances of men who have attained longevity and intellectual powers
despite their loose, immoral ways. But they would have been still more
powerful and brilliant had they possessed a good character and continence
as well.
After Dhanvantari had taught all the details about Ayurveda to his
disciples, they enquired about the keynote of this medical science.
The Master replied, "I tell you that Brahmacharya is truly a precious
jewel. It is the one most effective medicine—nectar indeed—which
destroys diseases, decay and death. For attaining peace, brightness,
memory, knowledge, health and Self-realization, one should observe Brahmacharya,
which is the highest Dharma. Brahmacharya is the highest knowledge;
Brahmacharya is the greatest strength. Of the nature of Brahmacharya
is verily this Atman and in Brahmacharya It resides. Saluting Brahmacharya
first, the cases beyond cure, I cure. Aye, Brahmacharya can undo all
the inauspicious signs."
Practice of Brahmacharya gives good health, inner strength, peace of
mind and long life. It invigorates the mind and the nerves. It helps
to conserve physical and mental energy. It augments memory, will force
and brain power. It bestows tremendous strength, vigour and vitality.
Strength and fortitude are obtained.
The eye is the window of the mind. If the mind is pure and calm, the
eye also is calm and steady. He who is established in Brahmacharya will
have lustrous eyes, a sweet voice and a beautiful complexion.
By the establishment of continence, vigour is obtained. The Yogi gets
Siddhi or perfection by attaining perfect mental and physical Brahmacharya.
Brahmacharya helps him in gaining divine knowledge and other Siddhis.
When there is purity, the rays of the mind are not dissipated. Focussing
of the mind becomes easy. Concentration and purity go together. Although
a sage talks a few words only, a deep impression is produced in the
minds of the hearers. This is due to his Ojas Sakti, which is conserved
by the preservation of semen and its transmutation.
A true Brahmachari in thought, word and deed has wonderful thought-power.
He can move the world. If you develop strict celibacy, Vichara Sakti
and Dharana Sakti will develop. Vichara Sakti is the power of enquiry.
Dharan’a Sakti is the power of grasping and holding the Truth.
If a man persistently refuses to yield to his lower nature and remains
a strict celibate, the seminal energy is deflected upwards to the brain
and is stored up as Ojas Sakti. Thereby the power of the intellect is
intensified to a remarkable degree. The intellect becomes sharp and
clear by continence. Continence increases infinitely the power of retentive
memory. The strict celibate has keen and acute memory even in old age.
A man who has the power of Brahmacharya can turn out immense mental,
physical and intellectual work. He has a magnetic aura around his face.
He can influence people by speaking just a few words or even by his
very presence. He can control anger and move the whole world. Look at
Mahatma Gandhi! He had acquired this power by constant and careful practice
of Ahimsa, Satyam and Brahmacharya—non-violence, truth and celibacy.
He influenced the world through this power alone. Through Brahmacharya
and Brahmacharya alone can you get physical, mental and spiritual advancement
in life.
It is worth repeating that a true Brahmachari possesses tremendous
energy, a clear brain, gigantic will-power, bold understanding, retentive
memory and good Vichara Sakti. Swami Dayananda stopped the carnage of
a Maharaja. He broke the sword with his hands. This was due to his power
of Brahmacharya. Jesus, Sankara, Jnana Deva and Samarth Ramdas were
all Brahmacharins.
Have you realized, my dear friends, the importance of Brahmacharya?
Have you recognised, my dear brothers, the true significance and glory
of Brahmacharya? How can you expect to be strong and healthy if the
energy that is acquired through various means with great difficulty
and at great price is wasted daily? It is impossible to be strong and
healthy unless males and females, boys and girls, try their level best
to keep up Brahmacharya or the vow of celibacy.
Even among electrons, there are bachelor electrons and married electrons.
Married electrons manifest in pairs. Bachelor electrons exist singly.
It is these bachelor electrons only that create magnetic force. The
power of Brahmacharya is seen in electrons also. Friend, will you learn
some lessons from these electrons? Will you practice Brahmacharya and
develop power and spiritual force? Nature is your best teacher and spiritual
guide.
Through Brahmacharya get over the miseries of mundane life and attain
health, strength, peace of mind, endurance, bravery, material progress,
psychic advancement and immortality. One who has a perfect control over
the sexual energy attains powers unobtainable by any other means. Therefore,
dissipate not thy energy in sensual pleasures. Conserve thy energy.
Do noble deeds and practice meditation. You will soon become a superman.
You will commune with God and attain Divinity.
Brahmacharya is a divine word. It is the sum and substance of Yoga.
Through Avidya, this is forgotten. The importance of Brahmacharya was
emphasised by our great Rishis. It is the supreme Yoga, which Lord Krishna
emphasises repeatedly in His "Immortal Song". In Chapter VI,
Sloka 14, it is very clearly stated that the vow of Brahmacharya is
necessary for meditation: Brahmacharivrate Sthitah. In Chapter
XVII, Sloka 14, He says that Brahmacharya is one of the requisites for
the austerity of the body. Now, we have another statement made in Chapter
VIII, Sloka 11, that Yogis practice Brahmacharya in order to attain
the goal spoken of by the Knowers of the Vedas. A similar statement
is also found in the Kathopanishad.
In the Raja Yoga of Patanjali Maharshi also, Yama is the first step.
Yama is the practice of Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha—non-killing,
truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-receiving of gifts. Among
these Brahmacharya is the most important.
In Jnana Yoga too, Dama or self-control is the foundation for the student.
In the Mahabharata again, you will find, in the Santi Parva: "Many
are the branches of Dharma, but Dama is the basis of them all’.
Brahmacharya is the vital subject for those who want success in material
or spiritual life. Without it, a man is absolutely unfit for worldly
activities as well as for spiritual practices.
Down the ages, the highest stress has been laid on Brahmacharya or
sexual abstinence in every religion. Throughout folklore runs the idea
that second-sight and the vision of the supernatural are especially,
if not solely, the privilege of the celibates. Westermack favours the
explanation that pollution destroys holiness. A tribe on the Rio Negro
enjoined celibacy upon their Shamans, because they believed that medicine
would prove ineffectual if administered by a married man.
Lambichus states that the gods do not hear him who invokes them if
he is impure from sexual connections. In Islam, strict continence is
required on the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is required for the Hebrew congregation
during the theophany at Sinai and before entering the temple. Ancient
India, Egypt and Greece enforced the rule that the worshipper must abstain
from intercourse during and before worship. In Christianity, continence
was required as a preparation for both baptism and Eucharist.
The highest type of Christian was a celibate. Christian teachers praised
celibacy, and marriage came to be, in their eyes, only a secondary good
for those who were unable to serve continence. The bishops of the Greek
Church are always celibates, being chosen from the monks.
The monk, who lowers himself to touch a woman’s person with corrupt
thoughts, while he clasps her hand or clasps her hair or touches one
part or another of her body, brings shame and degradation on the order.
The present ordination vow is to abstain from all sexual intercourse
as long as life shall last.
The Jains force on their Munis the rule to abstain from all sexual
relations; not to discuss topics relating to women, not to contemplate
the forms of women. Lust is thus condemned: "Of the myriad vices,
lust is the worst."
There are other rules subsidiary to this, forbidding all actions of
an unchaste kind, especially any act or word which might either lead
to a breach of the principal rule or give rise to an impression that
it was not being strictly observed.
A Bhikshu is not to sleep in any place where a woman is present, or
to preach the sacred doctrine in more than five or six words to a woman
unless a grown-up man be present, or to exhort the sisters unless specially
deputed to do so, or to journey along the same route with a woman. On
his round for alms, he is to be properly clad and he is to walk with
downcast eyes. He is not to accept a robe from any woman not related
to him, except under specified conditions. He is not to sit in a secluded
place with a woman, much less to touch or speak to her with impure intent.
The Buddhist "Order of Mendicants" was governed by the 227
rules of the Patimokha. Of these, the first four were of specific gravity.
A breach of any one of the four rules involved expulsion from the order;
and they were, therefore, called the Parajika or the rules as to acts
involving defeat.
The first rule says: "Whatsoever Bhikshu—who has taken upon
himself the system of self-training and rule of life, and has not thereafter
withdrawn from the training or declared his inability to keep the rule—shall
have carnal knowledge of any living thing, down even to an animal, he
has fallen into defeat, he is no longer in communion". "Withdrawn
from the training" was the technical expression for throwing off
the robes, retiring from the order, and returning to the world, a step
which any member of the order was at liberty to take at any time.
Numa was said to have instituted the "Order of Vestal Virgins".
They remained unmarried for thirty years. Burial alive was the penalty
for breaking the vow of chastity. The Virgins were distinguished by
extraordinary influence and personal dignity. They were treated with
marks of respect usually accorded to royalty; thus, on the streets,
they were preceded by a lictor and the highest magistrates made way
for them. They enjoyed sometimes the exceptional privilege of riding
in a carriage; at public games, a place of honour was assigned to them.
And after death they, like the imperators, were allowed to be buried
within the city, because they were above the laws. They enjoyed the
royal privilege of mercy, for if they met a criminal on his way to execution,
his life was spared.
In the large colony of Tibetans at Darjeeling, several hundreds of
the men doing coolies’ work are ex-lamas who fled from Tibet, with
their paramours or singly, in order to escape the severe penalties attaching
to their breach of celibacy. The delinquent is denounced, and if caught,
is subject to corporal chastisement in public, as well as to a heavy
fine and expulsion from the order in disgrace.
The Peruvian "Virgins of the Sun"—a type of priests—were
punished with living burial if detected in misconduct.
Brahmacharya is a sine qua non of spiritual life. It is a great
desideratum. It is of vital importance. Without perfect Brahmacharya,
you cannot have substantial spiritual progress.
Abstinence or continence is the corner-stone on which the pedestal
of Moksha stands. If the corner-stone is not very strong, the superstructure
will fall down when there is heavy rain. Even so, if you are not established
in Brahmacharya, if your mind is agitated by evil thoughts, you will
fall down. You cannot reach the summit of the ladder of Yoga or the
highest Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
There is no hope for you to have Self-realization or Knowledge of the
Self if you are not well established in Brahmacharya. Brahmacharya is
the master-key to open the realms of eternal bliss. Brahmacharya is
the very foundation of Yoga. Just as a house that is built on a rotten
foundation will surely fall down, so also, you will fall down from your
meditation if you have laid no proper foundation, namely, the attainment
of perfect Brahmacharya. You may meditate for, a period of twelve years,
and yet, you will have no success in Samadhi if you have not destroyed
the subtle lust or the craving-seed that lingers in the innermost recesses
of your heart.
Brahmacharya is the basis for the attainment of Kaya Siddhi. Complete
celibacy must be observed. This is of paramount importance. By the practice
of Yoga the semen becomes transmuted into Ojas Sakti. The Yogi will
have a perfect body. There will be charm and grace in his movements.
He can live as long as he likes. This is also known as Iccha Mrityu
or death at will.
The practice of Brahmacharya is the most important qualification for
the spiritual aspirant, no matter what his chosen path may be—Karma
Yoga, Upasana, Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga or Vedanta. The discipline of complete
abstinence is demanded from all aspirants. A true Brahmachari only can
cultivate Bhakti. A true Brahmachari only can practice Yoga. A true
Brahmachari only can acquire Jnana. Without Brahmacharya, no spiritual
progress is possible.
Lust deals a deadly blow to the spiritual calibre of man. It is not
possible for you to enter the spiritual path that leads to union with
God unless and until you control lust and become established in Brahmacharya.
As long as lust smells sweet in your nostrils, you cannot entertain
sublime, divine thoughts in your mind. That man in whom the sex idea
is deep-rooted can never dream of understanding Vedanta and realising
Brahman even within Sata Koti Janma, even within one hundred crores
of births. Truth cannot dwell where passion lives.
Sexual indulgence is a great obstacle in the spiritual path. It bars
spiritual practices definitely. The sexual urge must be controlled by
entertaining sublime thoughts and regular meditation. There must be
complete sublimation of the sexual energy. Then only the aspirant is
absolutely safe. The total annihilation of the sexual desire is the
ultimate spiritual ideal.
Sex attraction, sexual thoughts and sexual urge are the three great
obstacles in the path of God-realization. Even if the sexual urge vanishes,
the sex attraction remains for a long time and troubles the aspirants.
Sex attraction is very, very powerful. Sex attraction binds one to this
world. Each cell in the body of a male or a female is surcharged with
the sex element. The mind and the senses are filled with sex juice.
Man cannot remain without looking at a woman, without talking to her.
He derives pleasure in the company of a woman. Woman also cannot remain
without looking at a man, without talking to him. She derives pleasure
in the company of a man. That is the reason why he or she finds it extremely
difficult to annihilate the sex attraction. Sex attraction cannot be
destroyed without the grace of the Lord. No human effort can eradicate
in toto this mighty force of sex attraction.
The organ of sight does great mischief. Destroy the lustful look, the
adultery of the eye. Try to see God in all faces. Again and again generate
the currents of dispassion, discrimination and enquiry. Eventually you
will be established in Brahman or the Eternal. Again and again generate
sublime divine thoughts and increase your Japa and meditation. The sexual
thought will be annihilated.
Of what avail is knowledge of the arts and sciences, of what avail
is reputation or titles, of what avail is repetition of the Lord’s
Name or meditation or enquiry of "Who am I?", if you become
a slave of lust? Control this strong urge first by the rigorous penance
of sense-control. Before you take to advanced meditation, first become
at least a strict physical celibate. Then endeavour to have perfection
in mental chastity.
Amongst you all, there may be a hidden Shakespeare or a Kalidasa, a
hidden Wordsworth or a Valmiki, a potential saint, a St. Xavier, an
Akhanda Brahmachari like Bhishma Pitamaha, a Hanuman or a Lakshman,
a Visvamitra or a Vasishtha, a great scientist like Dr. J.C. Bose or
Raman, a Yogi like Jnana Deva or Gorakhnath, a philosopher like Sankara
or Ramanuja, a Bhakta like Tulsidas, Ramdas or Eknath.
Awaken, then, your hidden faculties, potential energies of all description,
through Brahmacharya and attain God-consciousness quickly and get over
the miseries of this mundane life with its concomitant evils of birth,
death and sorrow.
Blessed is the Brahmachari who has taken the vow of celibacy till the
end of life. Twice blessed is that Brahmachari who is sincerely struggling
to destroy lust and attain perfect purity. Thrice blessed is that Brahmachari
who has completely rooted out lust and has attained Self-realization.
Glory be to such exalted Brahmacharins! They are veritable gods on earth.
May their blessings be upon you all.
It is beyond all doubt that a life of Brahmacharya is glorious and
marvellous. At the same time, a life of moderation in the household
life is equally good and helpful for spiritual growth. Both have their
own advantages. You must have great strength to tread the path either
way.
Varnashrama Dharma is practically extinct now. Everyone is a Vaisya
or a Bania with greed for accumulation of wealth by hook or by crook,
by begging, borrowing or stealing. Almost all Brahmins and Kshatriyas
are Banias or Vaisyas only. There is no real Brahmin or Kshatriya in
these days. They want money anyhow. They do not attempt to practice
the Dharmas of their caste or order of life. This is the fundamental
cause for the downfall of man. If the householder discharges strictly
the duties of his stage of life, if he is an ideal Grihasthi, there
is no necessity for taking Sannyasa. The swelling up in the number of
Sannyasins at the present moment is due to the failure of the householders
in the discharge of their duties. The life of an ideal householder is
as much difficult and rigid as that of an ideal Sannyasin. Pravritti
Marga or the path of Karma Yoga is as much difficult and rigid as that
of Nivritti Marga or the path of renunciation.
If a man leads a life of celibacy even in his householder’s life
and has copulation occasionally for the sake of progeny only, he can
bring forth healthy, intelligent, strong, beautiful and self-sacrificing
children. The ascetics and savants of ancient India, when married, used
to follow this excellent rule very carefully and also used to teach,
by practice and precept, how to lead the life of a Brahmachari even
as a householder. Our ancestors indeed followed the ascetics in creating
progeny for the defence of the motherland and for other ennobling works
of the nation. Those who have read Srimad Bhagavata know the lives of
Devahuti, daughter of Manu, and her husband Kardama Rishi. Kapila Muni,
founder of the Sankhya philosophy, was born of Devahuti after Kardama
Rishi visited her once to give her a son. Parasara visited Matsyagandhi
to bring forth Sri Vyasa, founder of the Vedanta philosophy.
Great Rishis of yore were married, but they did not lead the life of
passion and lust. Their life of Grihasthashram was a life of Dharma
only. If it is not possible for you to emulate them to the very letter,
you will have to keep their lives before you as landmarks, as an ideal
for emulating, and you must tread the path of Truth. Grihasthashram
is not a life of lust and loose living. It is a strict life of selfless
service, of Dharma pure and simple, of charity, goodness, kindness,
self-help, and all that is good and all that is helpful to humanity.
If you can live such a life, the life of a Grihasthi is as good as the
life of a Sannyasin.
Lead a well-regulated, moderate married life. Even as a householder
you can be a Brahmachari, by sticking to the principles of Grihastha
Dharma, by moderation and regular worship of God. Marriage should not
in any way lead you downwards in your spiritual path. You should keep
the spiritual fire ever blazing. You should make your wife also understand
the real glory of a spiritual life. If both of you observe Brahmacharya
for sometime and then avoid excesses, she will give birth to robust
children who will be the pride of the country. Conserved energy can
be used for higher spiritual purposes. Prevention of frequent maternity
will preserve your wife’s health too.
Brahmacharya in Grihasthashrama is absolute moderation in sexual intercourse.
Householders are allowed to visit their wives once in a month at the
proper time without the idea of sexual enjoyment just to get progeny
to keep up the line. This is also Brahmacharya Vrata. They are also
Brahmacharins.
Householders should ask their wives also to observe fasts and to do
Japa, meditation and other practices, which will enable them to keep
up this Brahmacharya Vrata. They should train their wives also in the
study of the Gita, the Upanishads, the Bhagavata and the Ramayana and
in diet regulation.
If you want to practice Brahmacharya, think and feel that your wife
is your sister. Destroy the idea of husband and wife and develop the
idea of brother and sister. You both will develop pure and strong love,
because the impurity of lust will be removed. Talk to your wife always
on spiritual matters. Narrate to her stories from the Mahabharata, the
Bhagavata. Sit with her on holidays and read some religious book. Gradually
her mind will be changed. She will take interest and delight in spiritual
practices. Put this into practice if you want to get rid of the miseries
of Samsara and enjoy the eternal bliss of the Soul.
Young men of the present day imitate Westerners in taking their wives
always with them when they go out. This practice creates a strong habit
in men for having the company of women at all times. A little separation
brings a great deal of pain and suffering. Many get a shock when they
lose their wives. Further, it becomes very difficult for them to take
a vow of celibacy even for a month. Poor, miserable weaklings! Spiritual
bankrupts! Try to be away from your partners in life as much as you
can. Talk little with them. Be serious. Do not laugh or joke with them.
Go along for an evening walk. What did your wise forefathers do? Assimilate
from the West only what is good. Vile imitation in fashion, style, dress
and food is dangerous.
As soon as a son is born to you, your wife becomes your mother, because
you yourself are born as the son. A son is nothing but the energy of
the father. Change the mental attitude. Serve your wife as the World
Mother. Start spiritual Sadhana. Destroy passion. Every morning, as
soon as you get up from bed, touch your wife’s feet and prostrate
before her taking her for Kali or the World Mother. Do not feel ashamed.
This practice will remove the idea of ‘wife’ from your mind.
If you cannot do the prostration physically, at least do it mentally.
As soon as a child is born, man must give up lust. He must observe
celibacy. He must treat his wife as his own mother. When once this thought
is brought foremost in the mind, how can he, even when the child dies,
change his mental outlook and think of his wife with a lustful look?
This is a great Sadhana for the householder. If a child is not born,
it is not advisable to marry a second wife. Both husband and wife may
then pursue the spiritual path jointly, observing celibacy.
Says Manu: "The first-born child is born of Dharma and the rest
of Kama or lust. The sexual act for mere pleasure is not justifiable".
Thirsty aspirants who are treading the path of Self-realization, who
are householders above forty years of age, should give up contact with
their partners in life. Because, a sexual contact revives all bad ideas
and gives them a new lease of life. Marriage should now be considered
a God-ordained holy alliance of two souls for the complete divinization
of their nature and for realising the goal of life—God-realization—through
a well-ordered Dharmic Grihastha life. The husband and the wife should,
from now on, observe perfect physical Brahmacharya, if they want rapid
spiritual progress and Self-realization in this very birth. There are
no half-way measures in the spiritual path.
Are you a householder above forty years of age? Then, you must become
a perfect Brahmachari now. Your wife also must observe fast on Ekadasi.
Do not say now, "Swamiji, what can I do? I am a householder".
This is a lame excuse. How long do you want to remain as a passionate
householder? Is it till the end of life? Is there not a nobler mission
in life than eating, sleeping and procreating? Do you not want to enjoy
the eternal bliss of the Self? You have tasted enough of the mundane
pleasures. You have passed the stage of a householder. I can excuse
you if you are a young man, but not now. Now get ready for the stage
of Vanaprastha and mental Sannyasa while remaining in the world. Colour
your heart first. This will be a noble life indeed. Prepare yourself.
Discipline the mind. Real Sannyasa is mental non-attachment. Real Sannyasa
is destruction of Vasanas, ‘I-ness’, ‘mine-ness’,
selfishness and Moha for children, body, wife and property. You need
not retire into the Himalayan caves. Attain the above state of mind.
Live in the world with family and children amidst peace and plenty.
Be in the world, but be out of the world. Give up worldliness. This
is real Sannyasa. This is what I really want. Then you will become a
King of kings. I am shouting at the top of my voice like this for many
years, but only very few persons follow my teaching.
A good wife, a worthy jewel, is the materialisation of the Lord’s
infinite grace for one who treads the Pravritti Marga. Harmony in every
walk of life is a rare gift of the Lord to a couple. Each partner should
be to the other a true companion in every sense of the term. Grihastha
Ashrama is a safe rung in the ladder of evolution to Godhead. Follow
the scriptural laws and enjoy infinite bliss. True union can be established
on the spiritual basis. Both of you should aspire to realize the common
goal of life—God-realization. When the couples who live around
you vie with one another in materialism, and in their individual capacity,
to drag each other down, both of you should compete with each other
in advancing rapidly in spiritual Sadhana. What a novel competition!
What a blessing it is to have such a competitor as the life-partner!
An aspirant writes: "I would like to know whether the same theory
regarding the formation of Veerya and loss of the same holds good in
the case of women also. Are they actually affected to the same extent
as men?" The question is an important and pertinent one. Yes, indulgence
in the sexual act is exhausting to the female system and a drain upon
the vitality as in man. The nervous strain it imposes on the system
is very great indeed.
The female gonads, the ovaries corresponding to the testes in the males,
produce, develop and mature precious, vital force like semen. This is
the ovum. Though the woman does not actually lose this out of her body,
as in the case of semen in man, yet, due to the sexual act, it leaves
the ovaries and is taken up in the process of conception to form the
embryo. And one knows only too well what a strain and drain on strength
child-bearing is to a woman. Repeated depletion of this force and the
strain of childbirth makes wrecks of healthy ladies, and works havoc
with their strength, beauty and grace as well as their youth and mental
power. Eyes lose the lustre and sparkle that are indicative of the inner
forces.
The intense sensuous excitement of the act shatters the nervous system
and causes debility too. Their system being more delicate and high-strung,
females are often more affected than men.
Women should preserve their precious vital force. The ovum and the
hormones secreted by the ovaries are very essential for the maximum
physical and mental well-being of women.
Women also should observe the vow of celibacy. They also can remain
as Naishthic Brahmacharinis like Mirabai and devote themselves to the
service and devotion of God. Or they can do Brahma-Vichara like Gargi
and Sulabha. They will be styled as Brahma-Vicharinis, enquirers of
Brahman, if they adopt this path.
Grihastha-Dharminis or householders among women should observe Pativrata-Dharma
or the vow of chastity and should keep Savitri, Anasuya, as their ideal.
They should see Lord Krishna in their husbands and realize God, like
Laila in Majnu. They also can practice all the Kriyas such as Asanas
and Pranayamas. They should do vigorous Sankirtan, Japa and prayer daily
in their houses. Through Bhakti, they can easily destroy passion, because
by nature they are devotional.
Many women of yore had done miraculous deeds and shown to the world
the power of chastity. Nalayini, by the power of chastity, stopped the
rising of the sun to save her husbands’s life. Anasuya turned the
Trimurtis—Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara—into babies when they
wanted Nirvana Bhiksha. It is through the power of chastity only that
she was able to turn the great deities into babies. Savitri brought
back the life of Satyavan, her husband, from the noose of Yama, by her
chastity. Such is the power of chastity or Brahmacharya. Women who lead
an ideal householder’s life with chastity can also become like
Anasuya, Nalayini or Savitri.
In olden days, there were Brahmacharinis in India. They were Brahmavadinis;
they discoursed on Brahman. They did not wish to lead the life of Grihastha-Dharminis
devoted to a householder’s duties. They served the Rishis and sages
in their hermitages and did Brahma-Vichara or enquiry of Brahman. King
Janasruti placed his daughter at the service of Rishi Raikva. You will
find this in the Chhandogya Upanishad.
Sulabha was a very learned lady. She was born in a royal family. She
was a Brahmacharini. She was instructed in the religion of emancipation.
She observed the practice of asceticism. She was firm in the practices
that belonged to the mode of life she led. She was steady in her vows.
She never uttered a word without reflecting on its propriety. She was
a Yogini. She led the life of a Sannyasini. She appeared before Janaka
in his court and had a great discussion with him on Brahma-Vidya or
the Science of the Self.
Gargi was also a Brahmacharini. She also was a highly cultured lady.
She also had a lengthy discussion with Yajnavalkya on Brahma-Vidya.
The dialogue between them comes in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
In Europe also there were many women who were celibate and who dedicated
their lives entirely to severe austerity, prayer and meditation. They
had their own hermitages. In India, even at the present moment, there
are educated women who lead the life of Brahmacharinis. They do not
wish to marry. This is due to the force of good Samskaras of previous
births. They give education to the girls in schools. They give free
tuition privately to poor girls and train them in sewing and other household
works. They study religious books and practice meditation in the morning
and in the evening. They do Kirtan. They keep a daily spiritual diary.
They conduct Satsanga classes and Kirtan among women. They train girls
in the practice of Asanas and Pranayama. They give discourses on the
Gita and the Upanishads. They deliver lectures on the religious subjects
in English, Sanskrit and Hindi. During holidays and on important occasions,
they hold religious conferences for ladies on a grand scale for mass
spiritual awakening.
Sometimes they visit nearby villages and distribute medicines freely
to the poor. They are equipped with the knowledge of first-aid, homoeopathy,
allopathy and the bio-chemical system of medicine. They are trained
in nursing the sick. There is a highly educated Brahmacharini, who is
well-versed in Sanskrit, English and Hindi, who is the head of an institution
for girls. She maintains a free private school also for poor girls at
her own expense. This is a very noble service indeed.
Such girls and women are really a blessing to India. They lead a life
of purity and self-sacrifice. They enjoy bliss, prosperity and renown
here and will also attain the immortal abode of supreme peace hereafter.
India is in need of more Brahmacharinis of this description who can
dedicate their lives to service, meditation and prayer.
There was a Maharani in the erstwhile United Provinces who wore simple
dress, ate simple food, served Sadhus and poor people and always lived
amongst Sannyasins. She had a sound knowledge of the scriptures and
she did regular meditation and prayer. She observed Mouna or the vow
of silence for months together and spent some time in seclusion and
ruled her state also.
There is an educated woman who is an M.B.B.S. Her husband is holding
a good position. She treats the patients freely. She does not charge
any fees for visiting. She does very good service to the society. She
is not a job hunter. She is free from greed. She does medical service
for the purification of her heart. She regards medical service of the
poor people as worship of God. She looks after the house and serves
her husband. She studies religious books and spends sometime in meditation,
worship and prayer. She is an ideal woman who leads a glorious and pious
life.
The world is in dire need of such ideal women. I wish that the world
may abound with such glorious women. I do not condemn women. I do not
oppose giving them education and freedom. I have the highest veneration
for women. I adore them as Devis or goddesses. But, I am not in favour
of such freedom for women as will ruin them. I am in favour of such
education and culture as will make them - immortal and glorious, as
will make them ideal women like Sulabha, Mira and Maitreyi, like Savitri
and Damayanti. This is what I want. This is what everybody would like.
Loose life is not perfect freedom. Some women of India have ruined
themselves by taking advantage of this false freedom. There is no limit
to the freedom, which the so-called educated woman enjoys now. This
freedom has caused many homes to be wrecked. It has created disorders
in society. It has brought shame on many respectable families. The girls,
in their insatiable craving for freedom, have overstepped the limit
and lost that priceless possession which the women of the past could
keep untarnished.
By mixing with men freely, woman loses her dignity, modesty, feminine
grace, and the sanctity of her person and character. A woman who mixes
freely with men cannot preserve her chastity for long. There can be,
and there have been, exceptions. A woman who mixes with men freely in
public life and yet remains pure must be certainly superhuman. An ordinary
woman with her natural passion will soon succumb. Human nature will
fulfil itself.
What is there in a woman’s life if her purity is lost? She is
only a living corpse if there is no purity, although she may be rolling
in wealth and moving in high circles in society. Promiscuous mixing
will lead to disastrous results. Even Rishis and Yogins who are clad
in rags, who live on roots in seclusion, will be pulled down by the
dark forces of nature if they are careless. Then what to speak of women
who eat daily dainties and sweetmeats, who are clad in perfumed velvet
and silk with lace borders, who are given to too much mixing, who do
not lead a life of self-control, who have no religious training and
discipline, who have no idea of the inner life and the religion of emancipation?
O wise reader! I leave this for your own consideration, reflection,
cogitation and deliberation.
Women should not do anything that can bring dishonour or infamy on
them and their family, and a blot on their character. Without character,
a man or a woman is considered as dead while living. Women should be
very careful and cautious when they move in society. They should avoid
too much talking, too much mixing, guffaw and giggling. They should
always walk in a dignified manner and not with the swinging of the hips.
They should never look at men with a flitting gesture. Clothes should
not be too tight or revealing. Abandon make-up.
O Devis! Do not waste your lives in fashion and passion. Open your
eyes. Walk in the path of righteousness. Preserve your Pativrata Dharma.
See Divinity in your husband. Study the Gita, the Upanishads, Bhagavata
and Ramayana. Become good Grihastha-Dharminis and Brahma-Vicharinis.
Bring forth many Gourangas. The destiny of the world is entirely in
your hands. You are holding the master-key of the world. Open the door
of Elysian bliss. Bring Vaikuntha in your home. Train your children
in the spiritual path. Sow the spiritual seed when they are young.
O Devis of the world! Should you not strive for the higher life, the
grand, the sublime, the only real life in the Soul? Is it sufficient
if you are satisfied with the petty material necessities of life on
earth? Do you remember what Maitreyi said to Yajnavalkya? "What
shall I do with the wealth of this whole world if thereby I would not
become immortal?" said she to her husband. How many ladies of this
world will be bold enough to assert this wise saying of the Upanishadic
ideal of a woman?
To chain themselves with the bondage of Samsara is not the birthright
of the mothers and sisters of the world. To get stuck up in family,
children and relatives is not the ideal of courageous and discriminative
women. Every mother of the world should realize her responsibility to
awaken herself, her children, her family and her husband, to the true
light, and splendour of spiritual life. What a glorious mother was Madalasa!
Did she ask her children to study up to the post-graduate examination,
and then seek for some employment? "Suddhosi, Buddhosi, Niranjanosi,
Samsara Maya Parivarjitosi—You are pure, you are consciousness,
you are taintless, you are devoid of the Maya of Samsara"—such
was the Advaitic instruction which Madalasa gave to her children when
she rocked them in the cradle. How many mothers of the present-day world
have got the fortune to teach their children such profound knowledge?
On the other hand, the present-day mothers would try to crush the spiritual
tendency of their children even if it is found in them in a microscopic
state! What a sad and pitiable condition! Wake up, O mothers, sisters!
Wake up from your deep sleep. Recognise your responsibility. Spiritualise
yourselves. Spiritualise your children. Spiritualise even your husbands,
for you are the makers of the family! Remember how Chudala illumined
her husband. You are the makers of the nations! You are the builders
of the world! Therefore, spiritualise yourselves. Assert in yourselves
the spirit of Sulabha, Maitreyi, Gargi. Do not be cowardly. Come out
of your fleshy homes—the homes of delusion, the homes of vanity!
Be you all real Sannyasinis and bring real glory, real greatness, for
that is real boldness and courage, that is real wisdom and understanding.
A woman is not a woman if she is devoid of spiritual fire in her, if
she is ignorant of a higher life in the Soul. A woman’s duty is
not merely family; her duty is also to transcend the family. Her duty
does not lie in sans, bangles, jackets, powders and scents. Her duty
does not lie in getting employment for her children. Her duty is also
concerned with the Self, the Atman, the Brahman. Such a woman is a real
symbol of God. She is to be adored, she is to be worshipped!
If you compare the present system of education with our ancient Gurukul
system, there is a wide gulf between the two. In the first place, the
present system of education is very costly. The moral side of education
is absolutely ignored at the present moment. Every student in the Gurukul
was pure. Every student, had perfect moral training. This was the predominating
feature of ancient culture. Every student had a knowledge of Pranayama,
Mantra Yoga, Asanas, the code of morals, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata
and the Upanishads. Every student possessed humility, self-restraint,
obedience, a spirit of service and self-sacrifice, good demeanour, politeness,
a courteous nature, and last but not the least, a desire to acquire
Atma-Jnana.
The college students of the present day do not possess any of the above
virtues at all. Self-control is a thing unknown to them. Luxurious living
and self-indulgence begin from their very boyhood. Arrogance, impertinence
and disobedience are deep-rooted in them. They have become confirmed
atheists and rank materialists. Many are ashamed to say that they believe
in the existence of God. They have no knowledge of Brahmacharya and
self-control. Fashionable dress, undesirable food, bad company, frequent
attendance at the theatres, and the cinema, and applying Western manners
and customs have rendered them weak and passionate. Brahma-Vidya, Atma-Jnana,
Vairagya, the wealth of Moksha and Atmic peace and bliss are quite foreign
to them.
Fashion, style, epicureanism, gluttony and luxury have occupied their
minds. It is very pitiable to hear the life-history of some of the college
students. In the ancient Gurukul, boys were healthy and strong and lived
long. It has indeed been detected that the health of the students has
deteriorated throughout India. Moreover, the vices and bad practices
that are ruining their health are on the increase. There is no ethical
culture in modern schools and colleges. In the present system, the moral
side of education is absolutely ignored.
Modern civilization has enfeebled our boys and girls. They lead an
artificial life. Children beget children. There is racial degeneration.
The cinema has become a curse. It excites passion and emotion. Nowadays,
in the cinema, vulgar scenes and immoral plays are enacted even when
they show stories from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Again I have
to reiterate with force that the present system of education in India
needs a thorough drastic overhauling immediately.
Any system of education, which is not based on the principles of Brahmacharya,
and has not in its curriculum a compulsory study of Sanskrit literature,
will not be good for the Hindus. It is bound to fail! Those who are
responsible for giving them a proper system of education are ignorant
on this important point; and hence the numerous unfortunate experiments
in education.
Professors of some colleges insist on the students putting on fashionable
dress. They even dislike students who wear clean but simple clothing.
A great pity! Cleanliness is one thing and fashion is another thing.
The so-called ‘fashion’ takes root in worldliness and sensuality.
Cleanliness of life is very necessary for physical and spiritual growth.
Boys and girls suffer in silence on account of ignorance, on account
of misuse of bodily parts which constitutes a definite drain upon the
vitality. This retards normal mental and physical progress. When ‘the
human system is deprived of its natural secretions, there must be a
corresponding decline in nervous energy. This is the reason why functional
disorders develop. The number of wrecks is increasing.
Young boys suffer from anaemia, bad memory and debility. They have
to discontinue their studies. Diseases are increasing. Thousands of
injections have come into the pharmacy, hospitals and dispensaries.
Thousands of doctors have opened their clinics and shops. Yet, misery
is increasing day by day. People do not get success in their enterprises
and business. What is the reason for this? The reason is not far to
seek. It is because of wastage of the vital force or semen through evil
habits and immoderate sexual intercourse. It is because of an unclean
mind and an unclean body.
A great and onerous duty rests with the teachers and professors of
schools and colleges to train the students in the path of Sadachara
or right conduct and to mould their character properly. Brahmacharya
includes character-building or right moulding of character. They say
that knowledge is power. But I assert boldly, with great assurance and
practical experience, that character is power and that character is
far superior to knowledge even.
Every one of you should endeavour your level best to mould your character
properly. Your whole life and your success in life depend entirely upon
the formation of your character. All the great persons in this world
have achieved their greatness through character and character alone.
The brilliant luminaries of the world have won their laurels of fame,
reputation and honour through character and character alone.
The teachers themselves should be strictly moral and pure. They should
be endowed with ethical perfection. Otherwise, it will be like the blind
leading the blind. Before taking to the profession of a teacher, every
teacher should feel the high responsibility of his position in the educational
line. Mere intellectual achievement in the art of delivering dry lectures
will not suffice. This alone will not adorn a professor.
When students reach the age of maturity, certain growths and changes
take place in the physical body. The voice changes. New emotions and
sentiments arise. Naturally, the youngsters become curious. They consult
the street boys. They get ill advised. They ruin their health by vile
habits. A clear knowledge of sexual health, hygiene and Brahmacharya,
of how to attain longevity and how to control passion, should be imparted
to them. Parents should teach their children the various stories from
the Mahabharata and the Ramayana that relate to Brahmacharya and right
conduct.
Parents should advise their children, often and often, on the subject
of Brahmacharya. This is their imperative duty. Candid talks to the
boys and girls are very necessary when they begin to show signs of puberty.
It is no use beating about the bush. Matters that relate to sex should
not be kept hidden. It will be only false modesty if the parents feel
shy to talk to their children on this important subject. Silence will
only excite the curiosity of the adolescent children. Whereas, if they
can understand these things clearly in time, surely they will not be
misguided by evil companions and they will not develop bad habits.
Teachers and parents should give proper instructions to the boys and
girls as to how they should lead a clean life of Brahmacharya. They
should get rid of their false sense of modesty and shame. They are a
good deal responsible for the ignorance of the boys and girls. There
has been more suffering caused by ignorance of these matters than by
anything else. You are paying the price of ignorance, of the false modesty
that matters of sex and sexual physiology should not be discussed. The
teachers and parents should diligently watch the conduct of the youngsters
and clearly impress on their mind the vital importance of a clean life
of Brahmacharya and the dangers of an unclean life. Pamphlets on Brahmacharya
should be freely distributed to them.
Magic lantern demonstrations on the subject of Brahmacharya, on the
lives of Brahmacharins of yore, on the stories of the Mahabharata and
the Ramayana, should be regularly conducted in the schools and colleges.
This will be a great help in elevating and inspiring the students to
a high moral standard.
O teachers and professors! Wake up now! Train the students in the path
of Brahmacharya and righteousness and morality. Make them true Brahmacharins.
Do not neglect this divine work. You are morally responsible for this
onerous task. This is your Yoga. You can have Self-realization if you
take up this work in right earnest. Be true and sincere. Open your eyes
now. Explain to the boys and the girls the importance of Brahmacharya
and instruct them in the various methods by which they can preserve
the Veerya, the soul-force or Atma-Sakti that is hidden in them.
Teachers who have disciplined themselves first should hold private
talks with students and give them regular practical lessons on Brahmacharya.
Rev. H. Packenham Walsh, who was principal of the S.RG. College, Tiruchirappali,
a few decades ago, and who later became a bishop, used to hold regular
talks with his students on the subject of Brahmacharya and self-control.
The future destiny of the world rests entirely with the teachers and
students. If the teachers train their students in the right direction,
in the path of righteousness, the world will be filled with ideal citizens,
Yogis and Jivanmuktas, who will radiate light, peace, bliss and joy
everywhere.
Blessed is he who truly endeavours in making his students true Brahmacharins.
Twice blessed is he who tries to become a real Brahmachari. May the
blessings of Lord Krishna be upon them. Glory to the teachers, professors
and students.
13. SOME IDEAL BRAHMACHARINS
Hanuman was born of Anjana from Pavana, the wind-god. He was named
Hanuman after the name of the city Hanuman over which his maternal uncle
Parti Surya ruled. Hanuman’s body was as hard as stone. So, Anjana
named him Vajranga. He is also known by the name Mahavir or mightiest
hero, because he exhibited several heroic feats. His other names are
Balabhima and Maruti.
The world has not yet seen, and will not see in the future also, a
mighty hero like Sri Hanuman. During his lifetime he worked wonders
and exhibited superhuman feats of strength and valour. He has left behind
him a name which, as long as the world lasts, will continue to wield
a mighty influence over the minds of millions of people.
Hanuman is one of the seven Chiranjivis. He is the only learned scholar
who knows the nine Vyakaranas or sciences of granunar. He learnt the
Sastras from the sun-god. He is the personification of Brahmacharya.
He is the wisest of the wise, the strongest of the strong and the bravest
of the brave. He is the Sakti or energy of Rudra. He who meditates on
Hanuman and repeats his name attains power, strength, glory, prosperity
and success in life. Hanuman is worshipped in all parts of India, particularly
in Maharashtra.
Hanuman had the power to assume any form he liked, to swell his body
to an enormous extent and to reduce it to the length of a thumb-nail.
His strength was superhuman. He was the terror of the Rakshasas or demons.
He was well-versed in the four Vedas and other sacred book’s. His
valour, wisdom, knowledge of the scriptures and superhuman strength
attracted everybody who came near him. He had extraordinary skill in
warfare.
Hanuman was the chosen messenger, warrior and servant of Sri Rama.
He was a votary and devotee of Lord Rama. Rama was his all-in-all. He
lived to serve Rama. He lived in Rama. He lived for Rama. He was a minister
and intimate friend of Sugriva.
Hanuman was born on the morning of the 8th of the lunar month, Chaitra,
on the most blessed day, Tuesday. From his very birth, Hanuman exhibited
extraordinary physical strength and worked many miracles. When he was
a child, he jumped up at the sun and caught hold of him to eat. All
the gods were very much troubled. They came with folded hands to the
child and humbly entreated him to release the sun. The child set free
the sun at their request.
A Rishi pronounced a curse on. Hanuman for his wrong action that he
would remain unconscious of his great strength and prowess till he met
Sri Rama and served Him with devotion. Hanuman saw Sri Rama for the
first time in Kishkinda. Sri Rama and Lakshmana came there in the course
of their search for Sita whom Ravana had carried away. As soon as Hanuman
beheld Sri Rama, he became quite conscious of his own strength and power.
Hanuman burnt the whole of Lanka and brought news of Sita to Rama.
In the great war between Rama and Ravana, Hanuman killed many heroes
of the Rakshasa army. He did many superhuman acts. Carrying a big mountain
and other great activities were nothing for Hanuman. All those were
due to the power of Brahmacharya.
When the great war was over, Vibhishana was installed on the throne
of Lanka. The time of banishment was over. Sri Rama, Lakshmana, Sita
and Hanuman sat on the Pushpaka Vimana or aeroplane and reached Ayodhya
in time. The coronation ceremony of Lord Rama was celebrated with great
eclat and pomp. Sita presented a necklace of pearls to Hanuman.
Glory to Hanuman, the blessed devotee of Lord Rama. Glory, glory to
Sri Anjaneya, the mighty hero, undaunted warrior and learned Brahmachari,
the like of whom the world has not yet seen and will not see in all
time to come.
May we derive inspiration from Hanuman’s ideal life of Brahmacharya!
May His blessings be upon you all. Let us sing His glory:
Jaya Siya Ram Jaya Jaya Siya Ram
Jaya Hanuman Jaya Jaya Hanuman
Jaya Siya Ram Jaya Jaya Siya Ram
Jaya Hanuman Jaya Jaya Hanuman
Lakshmana, the son of Dasaratha by his second queen Sumitra, was the
younger brother of Sri Rama. He was an Avatara of Adisesha. He was the
constant companion of Rama both in pleasure and in pain. Rama and Lakshmana
lived, dined, played and studied together. One could not bear the separation
of the other. Lakshmana was a loving servant also of Sri Rama. He carried
out Sri Rama’s commands to the very letter. He lived in perfect
obedience to Sri Rama.
Lakshmana had pure and untainted brotherly love. His object of life
was service to his elder brother. Obedience to the commands of his brother
was the motto of his life. He would not do anything without getting
Rama’s permission. He regarded Sri Rama as his God, Guru, father
and mother. He followed Rama as a shadow.
He was quite unselfish at heart. He abandoned all the comforts of a
royal life willingly only for the company of his brother. He served
Rama’s cause in all possible ways. He made Rama’s cause his
own. He sacrificed every personal consideration on the altar of brotherly
love. Sri Rama was his all-in-all. Lakshmana could relinquish anything,
his life even, for the sakc of Rama. He abandoned in a moment his mother,
his wife and his royal comforts to follow Sri Rama and Sita in exile.
What a magnanimous soul! What a great Tyagi he was! Here is an unprecedented
example, in the history of the whole world, of a disinterested, noble
and devoted soul who lived only to serve his brother. That is the reason
why the readers of Ramayana eulogize Lakshmana for his pure and unique
love towards his brother. Some eulogize Bharata, while others speak
very highly of Hanuman, but Lakshmana was in no way inferior to Bharata
or Hanuman.
Lakshmana followed Sri Rama for the long period of fourteen years though
he was perfectly aware of the dangers of the forest. He accompanied
Rama with his bow and arrow, though his help was not required by Visvamitra.
It was all due to his devotion and love towards his brother Sri Rama.
Sri Rama also had intense love for Lakshmana. When Lakshmana fell down
unconscious by the fatal arrow of Meghanada, Rama’s heart was broken.
He wept bitterly. He made a determination not to revisit Ayodhya when
he lost his dear brother. He said, "A wife like Sita can be had,
but a real devoted brother of the type of Lakshmana cannot be had again.
The world is nothing for me without my brother."
Lakshmana was pure in thought, word and deed. He led the life of an
ideal Brahmachari during the fourteen years of exile. He never looked
at the face or body of Sita. His eyes were ever directed towards her
lotus-like feet only. When Sugriva brought Sita’s cloak and jewels—which,
while she was being carried away, she had allowed to fall on the earth,
seeing the monkeys on the mountain—Rama showed them to Lakshmana
and asked whether he recognized them. Lakshmana said:
Naham Janami Keyure Naham Janami Kankane
Nupura Eva Janami Nityam Padabhivandanat
"I do not recognise the bracelets or ear-rings; I know only the
anklets, for I worshipped her feet alone." See how Lakshmana revered
Sita as mother or Goddess.
Meghanada, the son of Ravana, had conquered even Indra, the lord of
gods. By virtue of this victory, Meghanada also came to be known as
Indrajit. He had a boon of being invincible to all except to one who
could abstain from all sorts of sensual enjoyments as least for a full
fourteen years. He was unconquerable. But Lakshmana destroyed him by
the power of his purity, by the power of Brahmacharya.
O Lakshmana! We shall ever sing thy glory and repeat, "Ram
Lakshman Janaki, Jai Bolo Hanuman Ki!" Introduce us to our
beloved Lord Rama, thy dear brother and master. Help us also in holding
communion with Lord Rama. O Lakshmana! Be ever merciful to those neophyte
Sadhakas who grope in the darkness of ignorance! Teach us the secret
of success and help us in becoming staunch celibates till the end of
our lives. Once again, salutations to thee, O Lakshmana, the darling
of Sumitra and the apple of Sri Rama’s eyes!
Bhishma’s father was Santanu, who was the ruler of Hastinapura.
His mother was Ganga Devi. His early name was Devavrata. He was an incarnation
of Vasu Devata.
One day Santanu went into the forests, close to the banks of the Yamuna,
for hunting. He came across a handsome maiden. He said to her, "Who
are you? What are you doing here?" She replied, "I am the
daughter of Dasaraja, the fisher-chief. My name is Satyavati. I am engaged
at his command in rowing the boat for taking passengers across the river".
King Santanu wanted to marry her. He went to Dasaraja and asked his
consent. The fisher-chief replied, "I am quite willing to give
my daughter to you in marriage. But, first, I want you to give me a
promise".
The king replied, "O Dasaraja, what is that? I will certainly
do what lies in my power". The fisher-chief said, "The son
born of my daughter should succeed you".
Santanu did not wish to give this pledge to the fisher-chief, because
his valiant and intelligent son Devavrata, whom he loved intensely,
would have to abandon the throne. He would no longer be the heir apparent.
But the fire of love for the maiden burnt him. He was in a great dilemma.
He grew pale and did not take any interest in the affairs of the state.
He opened his heart to the chief minister whom he trusted, but the
latter was not able to advise him in the matter. Santanu tried to conceal
his love for the maiden from his son Devavrata.
Devavrata was wise and was very strong. He suspected something and
thought that his father was unhappy. He said to his father, "O
beloved father! You are prosperous. You have got everything. There should
be no cause for your anxiety. Why are you cheerless now? You are losing
your vigour and strength. Kindly let me know the reason for your grief.
I am ever ready to do what lies in my power to remove it."
The king replied, "O beloved Devavrata! You are my only son. If
any calamity falls on you, I will become sonless. I will be deprived
of heaven. You are equal to a hundred sons. Therefore, I do not want
to marry again. But one son is no son according to the words of the
Rishis. These thoughts are troubling me in my mind".
Thereupon, Devavrata, accompanied by the old minister and many respectable
Kshatriya chiefs, went to Dasaraja and pleaded on behalf of his father.
He asked him to give his daughter to his father in marriage.
The fisher-chief replied, "O amiable prince! I have already told
your father about the condition on which I can give, my daughter in
marriage to him".
Devavrata said, "O fisher-chief! I make a solemn declaration now
that the son that may be born of this girl shall succeed my father to
the throne. I shall do all that you wish".
The fisher-chief said, "I highly appreciate your noble character
and high ideal. But your sons may expel my daughter’s son at any
time at their sweet will. I entertain a grave doubt on this point".
Devavrata prayed, "O Truth! Dwell in me for ever. Come and pervade
my whole being! Give me inner strength to stick to the vow of perfect
celibacy that I am going to take now in the presence of these people!".
He then resolutely said to the fisher-chief, "O Dasaraja! Listen
to what I say. From today, I shall lead a life of strict Naishthika
Brahmacharya till the end of my life. All the women of the world are
my mothers. I am the most devoted and loyal subject of the King of Hastinapura.
If I die sonless, I shall yet attain the abode of eternal bliss and
immortality".
From heaven at that time, the celestial damsels, the gods and the assemblage
of sages showered flowers on him and said, "This is verily Bhishma,
the Terrible!".
The fisher-chief said, "O prince! I am quite ready now to give
my daughter in marriage to your father". Thereupon, the fisherman
and his daughter accompanied Devavrata to the palace of Santanu. The
old minister informed the king about all that had happened. The monarchs
who assembled in the hall greatly appreciated the extraordinary spirit
of self-sacrifice and renunciation of Devavrata and said, "Devavrata
is really Bhishma, the Terrible". Since then, Devavrata bore the
name of Bhishma. King Santanu was immensely pleased with the noble conduct
of his son and conferred upon him the boon of death at will. He said,
"May the gods protect you! Death shall never come to you as long
as you wish to live".
What an exalted soul! This noble example is an unprecedented one in
the history of the world. No one save Bhishma, on the surface of this
earth, had made such a great sacrifice for the sake of filial duty at
such a young age. Bhishma’s filial duty and piety might very well
be compared to that of Lord Rama.
Bhishma was very firm, in his principles. He was absolutely free from
the slightest tinge of selfishness. He was an embodiment of self-denial
and self-sacrifice. His power of endurance and patience in all the difficult
trials he met with, were marvellous and unprecedented. He was matchless
in fortitude and courage. All men honoured him. All the Kshatriya chiefs
paid their homage to him. He was a mighty Yogi and a sage. He was above
body consciousness. He rested in his own Satchidananda Svarupa. That
is the reason why he was peaceful and serene even though he was pierced
by sharp arrows all over his body. Lying on the bed of sharp arrows
which was as soft as a bed of flowers to him, he gave wonderful discourses
on political, philosophical, religious, social and moral subjects to
Yudhishthira. Have you ever heard of anyone, save Bhishma, in the history
of the world, who was able to give lofty and sublime discourses on his
deathbed? Bhishma laid his life for others. He lived to serve and elevate
others. The noble life led by the high-souled Bhishma of mighty will-force
still inspires sterling virtues in those who study his discourses in
the Santi Parva. Bhishma died long, long ago, but his voice in the Santi
Parva and his ideal and exalted life awaken slumbering people to action,
righteousness, duty and enquiry, rigorous Tapas and meditation, to this
day.
Glory to Bhishma, whose exemplary life of Brahmacharya inspires our
hearts even today and elevates our minds to magnanimous heights of divine
glory and splendour.
In the Practice of Brahmacharya, what is wanted is elimination of lust,
but not suppression. Suppression of the sex urge is not eradication.
You can never be free of that which is suppressed. The suppressed sex
desire will attack you again and again and will produce wet dreams,
irritability and restlessness of mind.
Repression or suppression of the sexual desire will not help you much.
If lust is suppressed, it will again manifest with redoubled force when
a suitable opportunity arises, when the will becomes weak, when Vairagya
wanes, when there is slackening in meditation or Yogic Sadhana, when
you become weak owing to an attack of disease.
Do not try to run away from women. Then Maya will chase you terribly.
Try to see the Self in all forms and repeat the formula "Om
Ek Sat-Chit-Ananda Atma" very often. Remember that Atman is
sexless. Mental repetition of this formula will give you strength.
Ignorant people adopt foolish methods to kill the Indriyas. They fail
eventually. Many foolish aspirants amputate the organ of reproduction.
They think that lust can be eradicated by such a procedure. What a great
foolish act! Lust is in the mind. If the mind is subdued, what can this
external fleshy organ do? Some swallow tons of nux vomica to kill this
organ. They fail in their attempts to be centred in Brahmacharya. The
state of their mind remains the same, though they become impotent by
taking nux vomica.
What is wanted is a judicious control of the Indriyas. The Indriyas
should not be allowed to run riot in sensual grooves. They should not
be allowed to throw us ruthlessly into the deep pit of worldliness,
like the turbulent horse carrying away the rider wherever it likes.
Brahmacharya means control, but not suppression, of the sex desire
or sex force. The mind should be rendered pure by meditation, Japa,
Kirtan and prayer. If the mind is filled with sublime divine thoughts
by meditation, Japa, prayer and study of holy scriptures, the sex desire
will be devitalised or de-energised by the withdrawal of the mind. The
mind also will be thinned out.
The sexual energy must be transmuted into spiritual energy or Ojas
Sakti by the practice of Japa, prayer, meditation, study of religious
books, Pranayama and Asanas. You must develop devotion and a burning
desire for liberation. You must constantly meditate on the pure, immortal,
sexless, bodiless, desireless Atman. Then only the sexual desire will
be annihilated.
If the sexual energy is transmuted into Ojas or spiritual energy by
pure thoughts, it is called sex sublimation in western psychology. Sublimation
is not a matter of suppression or repression, but a positive, dynamic,
conversion process. It is the process of controlling the sex energy,
conserving it, then diverting it into higher channels, and finally,
converting it into spiritual energy or Ojas Sakti. The material energy
is changed into spiritual energy, just as heat is changed into light
and electricity. Just as a chemical substance is sublimated or purified
by raising the substance through heat into vapour which again is condensed
into solid form, so also, the sexual energy is purified and changed
into divine energy by spiritual Sadhana.
Ojas is spiritual energy that is stored up in the brain. By entertaining
sublime, soul-elevating thoughts of the Self or Atman, by meditation,
Japa, worship and Pranayama, the sexual energy can be transmuted into
Ojas Sakti and stored up in the brain. This stored up energy can then
be utilised for divine contemplation and spiritual pursuits.
Anger and muscular energy can also be transmuted into Ojas. A man who
has a great deal of Ojas in his brain can turn out immense mental work.
He is very intelligent. He has lustrous eyes and a magnetic aura in
his face. He can influence people by speaking a few words. A short speech
of his produces a tremendous impression on the minds of the hearers.
His speech is thrilling. He has an awe-inspiring personality. Sri Sankara,
an Akhanda Brahmachari, worked wonders through his power of Ojas. He
did Digvijaya and held controversies and heated debates in different
parts of India with learned scholars through his power of Ojas. A Yogi
always directs his attention to the accumulation of this divine energy
by unbroken chastity.
In Yoga, it is called Oordhvaretas. An Oordhvareta Yogi is one in whom
the seminal energy has flown upwards into the brain as Ojas Sakti. There
is now no possibility of the semen going downwards by sexual excitement.
According to Yogic science, semen exists in a subtle form throughout
the whole body. It is found in a subtle state in all the cells of the
body. It is withdrawn and elaborated into a gross form in the sexual
organ under the influence of the sexual will and sexual excitement.
An Oordhvareta Yogi not only converts the semen into Ojas, but checks
through his Yogic power, through purity in thought, word and deed, the
very formation of semen by the secretary cells of the testes or seeds.
This is a great secret. Allopaths believe that even in an Oordhvareta
Yogi, the formation of semen goes on incessantly and that the fluid
is reabsorbed into the blood. This is a mistake. They do not understand
the inner Yogic secrets and mysteries. They are in the dark. Their Drishti
or vision is concerned with the gross things of the universe. The Yogi
penetrates into the subtle hidden nature of things through Yogic Chakshu
or the inner vision of wisdom. The Yogi gets control over the astral
nature of semen and thereby prevents the formation of the very fluid
itself.
The body of a man who is truly an Oordhvaretas has the scent of a lotus.
A man who is not a Brahmachari, in whom gross semen is formed, may,
on the other hand, smell like a buck goat. The semen dries up in those
who practice Pranayama seriously. The semen-energy ascends up to the
brain. It is stored up as Ojas Sakti or spiritual energy and comes back
as Amrita or nectar.
The process of sex sublimation is extremely difficult. It demands constant
and protracted Sadhana and perfect discipline. That Yogi who has achieved
perfect sublimation has perfect control over lust. Complete sublimation
is achieved through ceaseless meditation on Atman and Self-realization.
That Yogi or Jnani who has attained the highest Nirvikalpa Samadhi,
in whom the seeds of Samskaras are fried in toto, can claim to be a
perfect Oordhvaretas or one who has complete sex sublimation. There
is no fear of his downfall. He is perfectly safe. He will be absolutely
free from impurity. This stage is a very high stage. A microscopic minority
only have attained this sublime exalted state. Sankara, Dattatreya,
Jnana Deva of Alandi and others reached this stage.
There is another sect called "Dhiryaretas", or those persons,
who, previously a prey to lustful thoughts and deviated from Brahmacharya,
later take to the practice of strict celibacy. Such a person, if he
practices strict celibacy for twelve years, can acquire superhuman powers.
Medha Nadi or Buddhi Nadi is formed in him. By means of this, he can
have retentive memory of anything as long as he lives, and he will be
in a position to learn all kinds of subjects.
By observance of unbroken Brahmacharya in thought, word and deed for
a period of full twelve years, one is bestowed even with the vision
of God, if one aspires for it. He can solve the most abstruse and complicated
problems easily. But, this kind of observance should commence before
the thirty-second or the thirty-fourth year.
That Yogi who has disciplined himself through ceaseless protracted
Sadhana, continuous meditation, Pranayama and Atmic Vichara, the practice
of Sama, Dama, Yama and Niyama, is also safe, although he has not attained
the stage of perfect sex sublimation. Women will hold no attraction
for him. He has thinned out his mind. The mind is starved to death.
It cannot raise its hood. It cannot hiss.
The process of sex sublimation is very difficult, and yet, it is most
necessary for the aspirant in the spiritual path. It is the most important
qualification for the Sadhaka, be he in the path of Karma Yoga, Upasana,
Raja Yoga or Vedanta. It is a fundamental prerequisite for an aspirant.
If one has this qualification or merit, all other merits will come and
cling to him. All good qualities will come by themselves. You must achieve
this at any cost. You will surely attempt this in future births. But
why not now?
The total annihilation of the sexual desire is the ultimate spiritual
ideal. Complete sublimation alone will make you free. But, perfect sublimation
can hardly be achieved within a day or two. It demands continuous struggle
with patience and perseverance for some time. Even the householders
should keep the above ideal before them and try to realize it gradually.
If the state of perfect sublimation is attained, there will be purity
in thought, word and deed. No sexual thought will enter the mind at
any time.
It is through constant Vichara and Brahma-Bhavana that the mind has
to be weaned from lustful thoughts and tendencies. You must remove not
only the sexual craving and the sexual impulses, but also the sex attraction.
Think of the miseries that you get from a married life with its various
entanglements and bondage. Make the mind understand by repeated autosuggestion
and hammering that sexual pleasure is false, worthless, illusory and
full of pain. Place before the mind the advantages, bliss, power and
knowledge of a spiritual life. Make it understand that the exalted,
eternal life is in the immortal Atman. When it hears constantly these
suggestions, it will slowly leave off its old habits. The attraction
for sex will slowly die. Then only real sex sublimation will take place.
Then only you will become an Oordhvareta Yogi.
There are two kinds of force in the mind, namely, hostile or antagonistic
force and friendly or favourable force. Passion is a hostile force that
drags you down. Pure reason is a favourable force that elevates you
and transmutes you into Divinity. Develop, therefore, my child, pure
reason to get unalloyed bliss and supreme Brahmic knowledge. Passion
will die by itself.
Sex sublimation is within your reach if you wish to attain it. The
path is quite clear, straight and easy if you understand it and if you
apply yourself with patience, perseverance, determination and strong
will, if you practice discipline of the Indriyas, right conduct, right
thinking, right acting, regular meditation, assertion, auto-suggestion
and enquiry of "Who am I?". Atman is sexless. Atman is Nirvikara.
Feel this. Can there be any trace of lust or impurity in the etemal,
pure Atman?
Glory to those Yogis who have attained Oordhvaretas or full sex sublimation
and who are resting in their own Svarupa! May we all practice perfect
celibacy through the practice of Sama, Dama, Viveka, Vichara, Vairagya,
Pranayama, Japa and Dhyana and reach the goal of life! May the Indweller
of our hearts grant us spiritual strength to control the Indriyas and
the mind! May we all become full Oordhvareta Yogis like Sankara and
Jnana Dev of yore! May their blessings be upon us all!
It is quite possible for a man to practice celibacy while remaining
in the world, albeit there are various sorts of temptations and distractions.
Many have achieved this in times of yore. There are many even at the
present moment also. A well disciplined life, a Sattvic and moderate
diet, study of religious scriptures, Satsanga, Japa, Dhyana, Pranayama,
daily introspection and enquiry, self-analysis and self-correction,
Sadachara, practice of Yama and Niyama, physical, verbal and mental
Tapas in accordance with the teachings of the Seventeenth Chapter of
the Gita—all will pave a long way in the attainment of this end.
People have an irregular, unrighteous, immoderate, irreligious, undisciplined
life. Hence they suffer, and fail in the achievement of the goal of
life. Just as the elephant throws sand on its own head, so also, they
themselves bring difficulties and troubles on their own heads on account
of their foolishness.
Those who practice Brahmacharya generally complain that they get mental
fatigue owing to continence. This is only a deception of the mind. You
get sometimes a pseudo-hunger, whereas, when you actually sit for dinner,
you have no real good appetite and you do not take any food. So also,
there is a false mental fatigue. If you observe Brahmacharya, you will
have immense mental strength. You will not be able to feel it always.
You will manifest it when the occasion arises, in the same way as a
wrestler manifests his physical strength in the arena, though he feels
as normal man in ordinary times.
Continence is not harmful. It conserves energy. It gives immense strength
and peace. Sexual indulgence leads to moral and spiritual bankruptcy,
premature death, and loss of faculties, talents and capacities.
The practice of celibacy is not attended with any danger or any dire
disease or undesirable result such as the various sorts of complex which
are wrongly attributed to it by the Western psychologists. They have
no practical knowledge of the subject on hand. They have got a wrong,
ill-founded imagination that the ungratified sex energy assumes in disguise
the various forms of complex such as the touch phobia. The complex is
due to some other causes. It is a morbid state of mind due to excessive
jealousy, hatred, anger, worry and depression brought about by various
causes.
On the contrary, even a little self-restraint or a little practice
of continence is an ideal pick-me-up. It gives inner strength and peace
of mind. It invigorates the mind and nerves. It helps to conserve physical
and mental energy. It augments memory, will-force and brain-power. It
bestows tremendous strength, vigour and vitality. It renovates the system
or constitution, rebuilds the cells and tissues, energises digestion
and gives power to face the difficulties in the daily battle of life.
The special virtues of endurance and bravery are intimately connected
with the cultivation of chastity. A perfect celibate can move the world,
can stop the ocean-waves like Lord Jesus, can blow up mountains, can
command nature and the five elements like Jnana Dev. There is nothing
in the three worlds that cannot be achieved by him. All Siddhis and
Riddhis roll under his feet.
Some ignorant people say: "It is not right to check passion. We
must not go against nature. Why has God created young beautiful women?
There must be some sense, in His creation. We should enjoy them and
procreate as many as possible. We should keep up the progeny of the
line. If all people become Sannyasins and go to forests, what will become
of this world? It will come to an end. If we check passion, we will
get disease. We must get plenty of children. There is happiness in the
house when we have abundant children. The happiness of married life
cannot be described in words. It is the be-all and end-all of life.
I do not like Vairagya, Tyaga, Sannyasa and Nivritti." This is
their crude philosophy. They are the direct descendants of Charvaka
and Virochana. They are life-members of the Epicurean school of thought.
Gluttonism is their goal of life. They have a very large following.
They are friends of Satan. Admirable is their philosophy!
When they lose their property, wife and children, when they suffer
from, an incurable disease, they will say, "O God, free me from
this horrible disease. Forgive me my sins. I am a great sinner."
Passion should be checked at all costs. Not a single disease comes
by checking passion. On the contrary, you will get immense power, joy
and peace. There are also effective methods to control passion. One
should reach Atman, which is beyond nature, by going against nature.
Just as a fish swims upstream against the current in a river, so also,
you will have to move against the worldly currents of evil forces. Then
alone can you have Self-realization. Passion is an evil force; and it
should be checked if you want to enjoy undecaying Atmic bliss. Sexual
pleasure is no pleasure at all. It is a mental delusion. It is attended
with dangers, pain, fear, exertion and disgust. If you know Yoga or
the science of Atman, you can very easily control the dire malady, which
is passion. God wants you to enjoy the bliss of Atman, which can be
had by renouncing all these pleasures of this world. These beautiful
women and wealth are the instruments of Maya to delude you and entrap
you into her nets. If you wish to remain always as a worldly man with
low thoughts, debasing desires, you can by all means do so. You are
at perfect liberty. You can marry three hundred and fifty wives and
procreate as many children. Nobody can check you. But you will soon
find that this world cannot give you the satisfaction you want, because
all objects are conditioned in time, space and causation. There are
death, disease, old age, cares, worries and anxieties, fear, loss, disappointment
failure, abuse, heat, cold, snake-bites, scorpion-stings, earthquakes
and accidents. You cannot at all find rest of mind even for a single
second. As your mind is filled with passion and impurity, your understanding
is clouded and your intellect is perverted now. You are not able to
understand the illusory nature of the universe and the ever-lasting
bliss of Atman.
Passion can be effectively checked. There are potent methods. After
checking passion, you will enjoy real bliss from within—from Atman.
All men cannot become Sannyasins. They have various ties and attachments.
They are passionate and cannot, therefore, leave the world. They are
pinned to their wives, children and property. Your proposition is wholly
wrong. It is Asambhava. It is impossible. Have you ever heard in the
annals of the world’s history that this world became vacant as
all men became Sannyasins? Then, why do you bring in this absurd proposition?
This is an ingenious trick of your mind to support your foolish arguments
and satanic philosophy, which has passion and sexual gratification as
its important tenets. Do not talk like this in future. This exposes
your foolishness and passionate nature. Do not bother yourself about
this world. Mind your own business. God is all-powerful. Even if this
world is completely evacuated when all people retire to the forests,
God will immediately create crores of people by mere willing, within
the twinkling of an eye. This is not your look-out. Find out methods
to eradicate your passion.
Marriage cannot be taken as an indispensable factor in everyone’s
life. Rather, a true aspirant should definitely keep himself far, far
away from the fetters of a married life. For him, marriage constitutes
a curse; while at the same time, for a man of a lustful disposition
for whom it is extremely difficult to get over carnal passions, it is
a sort of a fence and a protecting vault to his moral recklessness.
Marriage is, therefore, prescribed for those—and it applies to
the majority of mankind—who are not yet ready for a life of absolute
self-restraint and thus is to be regarded by them as a sacrament, and
certainly not as a licence to self-indulgence.
Every one born in this world need not necessarily marry. Marriage is
meant to regulate one’s life in the world. But for the institution
of marriage in society, life would become irregular and beastly. But,
where there is no passion in the heart, where the desire for God is
strong, where there is a longing for spiritual pursuits, marriage is
not compulsory. Such a man can lead a Naishthik Brahmachari’s life.
Parents should not force marriage on their sons. They should not stamp
out the spiritual Samskaras of their children. Many young men in whom
there is a spiritual awakening write to me in pitiable words: "Dear
Swamiji, my heart throbs for higher spiritual things. I have no interest
in worldly matters. The surroundings are not favourable. I am entangled
in the meshes of marriage. My parents forced me, much against my will,
to marry. I had to please my old parents. They threatened me in various
ways. I now weep. What shall I do now?" Young boys, who have no
idea of this world and this life, are married when they are eight or
ten years of age. We see children begetting children. There are child-mothers.
A boy of about eighteen has three children. What a horrible state of
affairs! Early marriages have wrought early loss of semen. There is
physical and mental degeneration. There is no longevity. All are short-lived.
Frequent child-bearing destroys the health of women and brings in a
host of other ailments.
You have adopted various habits from the West in matters relating to
dress and fashion. You have become a creature of vile imitation. They,
in the West, do not marry unless they are able to maintain a family
decently. They have got more self-restraint. They first secure a decent
station in life, earn money, save something and then only think of marriage.
If they have not got sufficient money, they remain bachelors throughout
their lives. They do not want to bring forth beggars into this world
just in the same manner as you do. He who has understood the magnitude
of human suffering in this world will never dare to bring forth a single
child from the womb of a woman.
The love between husband and wife is mainly physical, selfish and hypocritical.
It is not constant. It is of an ephemeral and changing nature. It is
carnal passion only. It is sexual appetite. It is tinged with lower
emotions. It is of bestial nature. It is finite. But divine love is
infinite, pure, all-pervading and everlasting. There is no question
of divorce here.
In reality, there is no internal union between husband and wife in
the vast majority of cases. Savitri and Satyavan, Atri and Anasuya are
very, very rare in these days. As husbands and wives are externally
united only for selfish ends, there is only some show of smile and external
love. It is all mere show only.
As there is no real union in their heart of hearts, there is always
some kind of friction and rupture, wry faces and hot words, in every
house. If the husband does not take his wife to the cinema, there will
be fighting in the house. Can you call this real love? It is mercenary,
commercial business. On account of lust, men have lost their integrity,
independence and dignity. They have become the slaves of women. What
a pitiable spectacle you see! The key is with the wife, and even for
two rupees, the husband has to stretch his hands to her. Still he says,
under delusion and intoxication of passion, "I have a sweet, loving
wife. She is really a Mira! She can be really worshipped!"
In mercenary love, there cannot be any real happiness between the two,
the lover and the beloved. If the husband is in a dying condition, the
wife takes the bank passbook and walks to her mother’s house quietly.
If the husband loses his job for some time, the wife shows wry faces,
speaks harsh words and does not serve him properly with any love. This
is selfish love. There is no real affection from the core of the heart.
So there is always quarrel, fighting and Asanti in the house. Husbands
and wives are not really united. They pull on anyhow, dragging a dreary,
cheerless existence.
Passion is not love at all. It is an animal instinct. It is carnal
love. It is of a beastly nature. It is shifting. If the wife loses her
beauty on account of some incurable malady, she gets divorced and the
husband marries a second wife. This state of affairs is going on in
the world.
A husband loves his wife not for the sake of his wife, but for the
sake of his own self. He is selfish. He expects sensual pleasure from
her. If leprosy or smallpox destroys her beauty, his love for her ceases.
When the wife dies, the husband is drowned in sorrow, not because of
the loss of his loving partner in life, but because he cannot get sexual
pleasure now.
When your wife is young and beautiful, you admire her curly hair, rosy
cheeks, fine nose, shining skin and silvery teeth. When she loses her
beauty on account of some chronic incurable malady, she no longer holds
any attraction for you. You marry a second wife. Had you loved your
first wife with Atma-Bhav, had you a comprehensive understanding that
the Self in you and in your wife was the same, your love for her would
have been pure, unselfish, lasting, undecaying and unchanging. Just
as you love old sugar-candy or old rice the more, so also, you would
love your wife more and more, even when she becomes old, as you have
Atma-Bhav through Jnana. Jnana only will intensify Prem and make it
lasting.
Physical love is animalism. Love of the body or skin is passion. It
is passion exalted and refined. It is gross and sensual. Passion for
the flesh or body is not pure or real love. It is only Moha or infatuation
born of ignorance. You do wicked deeds and kill your soul on account
of this passion.
Even our sisters of ill fame show for some time abundant love, sweet
smile and honeyed words towards their customers. This they do as long
as they can extract money. Can you call this love and real happiness?
Just tell me frankly. There is cunningness, diplomacy, crookedness and
hypocrisy here. There is no element of sacrifice in this love.
It is only for passionate people that the Grihastha Ashram or householder’s
life is prescribed, because they cannot control their lust. If one is
born with sufficient spiritual Samskaras, inborn Viveka and Vairagya,
like Sankara or Sadasiva Brahman, he will not enter the Grihashtha Ashram.
He will at once take to Naishthik Brahmacharya and then embrace Sannyasa.
The Srutis also endorse this. Says the Jabala Upanishad: "Renounce
the world on the very day you get Vairagya".
To some, marriage hinders the spiritual progress; to others, it helps.
For Raja Bhartrihari, it was a hindrance; for saint Tukaram, it was
a help. Man reaches the same goal in the long run. Let the run be the
shortest. Let the short cut be preferred to the long walk. That is what
man always wants.
A life of celibacy is a hundred times better than the life of a Grihasthi.
I believe in celibacy, for it is the thing that unfolds the hidden power
in man. Brahmacharya is the straight road to God-realization; marriage
is a serpentine route. The former is more preferable than the latter,
but man takes to the latter route on account of his lower passions.
The realization of the Self, however, is not denied even to a Grihasthi
just because he has the burden of a family on his shoulders. Saint Tukaram
was married twice and had children; yet, he reached Vaikuntha in a Vimana
or an aerial car. If your outlook on worldly life is simple, true and
honest, if your would-be partner is one who is pious and one who will
obey you in all matters, there is no harm in marrying. But if the married
life is more likely to prove burden, a curse on one, why should one
marry and entangle oneself in chains that can never be cut asunder?
If you want to observe strict celibacy, do not marry. Do not allow
yourself to be duped by saying, "I will observe strict celibacy
after marriage." Afterwards it will offer you its own arguments
for giving up this vow of celibacy. Your Dharma is to realize God.
You had enough of sense and sex gratification in all your previous
bodies of various animals. Animal life is meant for satisfaction of
the lower appetites of sex and tongue, but human life is meant for a
higher purpose. Why do you, oh man, burn the sandalwood tree for serving
the purpose of charcoal? This human life is very precious, envied even
by the gods. One life lost means one golden opportunity to become God
is lost.
Sensual pleasure is tantalizing. As long as a person does not possess
the object of desire, so long there is enchantment. After obtaining
possession of the object, he finds that he is entangled in it. The bachelor
thinks of his marriage day in and day out, but enjoyment does not, and
cannot, bring satisfaction to him. Far from it, it only aggravates and
intensifies the desire and makes the mind more restless through passion
and craving. He realizes that he is in imprisonment. This is Mayaic
jugglery. This world is full of temptations.
You cannot get bliss in the objects of the world. It is only materialistic
poison. Further, marriage is a lifelong imprisonment. It is the greatest
bondage of the earth. The bachelor who was once free is the yoke and
his hands and feet are chained. This is the experience of all married
people, invariably as it were. Therefore, do not marry if you can help
it. Escape will be difficult after marriage. Realize the glory of a
life in the spiritual path and the great difficulties, anxieties, worries
and troubles of a married life. Develop intense Vairagya. Assert your
birthright of God-consciousness. Art thou not Brahman itself in truth?
A wife is a sharp knife to cut the life of the husband. If the gold
necklace and Benares silk sarees are not supplied, the wife frowns at
the husband. The husband cannot get his food at the proper time. The
wife lies down in bed under the false pretext of acute abdominal colic.
You can see this spectacle in your own house and daily experience. Indeed
I need not tell you much. Therefore, be wedded to Santi and have Vairagya,
the worthy son, and Viveka, the magnanimous daughter and eat the delicious
divine fruit of Atma-Jnana, which can make you immortal.
A wife is only a luxury. It is not an absolute necessity. Every householder
is weeping after marriage. He says: "My son is ailing from typhoid.
My second daughter is to be married. I have debts to clear. My wife
is worrying me to purchase a gold necklace. My eldest son-in-law died
recently".
Do not marry. Do not marry. Do not marry. Escape will be difficult
after marriage. Marriage is the greatest bondage. Woman is a source
of constant vexation and trouble. What did Buddha, Pattinattu Swami,
Bhartrihari and Gopichand do? Did they not live in peace and comfort
without a woman?
Lust is the greatest enemy on earth. It devours a man. A great deal
of depression follows the sexual act. You have to exert a lot in earning
money to please your wife and satisfy her wants and luxuries. You commit
various sorts of sins in acquiring money. You mentally share her pains
and sorrows and the pains and miseries of your children as well. You
have to worry in a thousand and one ways in running the family. As two
minds cannot agree, there will always be quarrels in the house. You
have to unnecessarily multiply your wants and responsibilities. Your
intellect gets spoiled. On account of heavy loss of the seminal fluid,
you will suffer from diseases, depression, weakness and loss of vitality.
Consequently, you will have an early death. Therefore, become an Akhanda
Brahmachari or a lifelong celibate. Free yourself from all miseries,
worries and troubles.
In the presence of light, you cannot have darkness. In the presence
of sensual pleasures, Atmic bliss cannot exist. Worldlings want sensual
pleasures and Atmic bliss at the same time, in one and the same cup.
This is an absolute impossibility. They cannot renounce worldly, sensual
pleasures. They cannot have real Vairagya in their heart of hearts.
They will talk a lot. Worldly men imagine that they are happy because
they get a few ginger biscuits, some money and woman. What more is wanted
for them, poor creatures? More beggars are brought forth into the world
through lust. All worldly pleasures appear as nectar in the beginning,
but become virulent poison in the end. When one gets entangled in married
life, he can hardly break the different ties of Moha. Therefore, give
up clinging to this illusory life. Be fearless. Control the Indriyas
and the mind. You will develop Vairagya. You will be perfectly established
in Brahmacharya.
If you can remain as an Akhanda Brahmachari, an unbroken celibate,
for a period of twelve years, you will realize God immediately without
any further Sadhana. You will have achieved the goal of life. Mark the
word ‘Akhanda’.
Seminal energy is a potent Sakti. Semen is Brahman Itself. A Brahmachari
who has practiced unbroken celibacy for full twelve years will attain
to the Nirvikalpa state the moment he hears the Mahavakya, "Tat
Tvam Asi", because his mind will be extremely pure, strong
and one-pointed.
An Akhanda Brahmachari, who, for a period of twelve years, has not
allowed even a drop of semen to come out, will enter into Samadhi without
any effort. Prana and mind are under his perfect control. Bala Brahmacharya
is a synonymous term for Akhanda Brahmacharya. An Akhanda Brahmachari
has strong Dharana Sakti, Smriti Sakti and Vichara Sakti—power
of grasping, retentive memory and power of enquiry. He need not practice
Manana and Nididhyasana, reflection and meditation. If he hears the
Mahavakya even once, he will at once achieve Self-realization. His intellect
is pure, and his understanding is extremely clear. Akhanda Brahmacharins
are very, very rare; but there are some. You also can become an Akhanda
Brahmachari if you attempt in right earnest.
You will have to be very careful of reaction. The Indriyas that are
put under restraint for some months, or one or two years, become rebellious
if you are not always vigilant and careful. They revolt and drag you
out when opportunities arise. Some people who observe Brahmacharya for
one or two years become more passionate and waste the energy considerably
in the end. Some become incorrigible moral wrecks also.
Mere matted hair and application of ashes to the forehead and the body
cannot make one an Akhanda Brahmachari. That Brahmachari who has controlled
the physical body and the physical Indriyas, but who constantly dwells
on sexual thoughts, is a confirmed hypocrite. He should never be trusted.
He may become a menace at any time.
Do not be too familiar with anybody. Familiarity breeds contempt. Do
not multiply friends. Do not court friendship with women. Do not also
be very familiar with them. Familiarity with women will eventually end
in your destruction. Never, never forget this point. Friends are your
real foes.
Do not mix with members of the opposite sex. Maya works through undercurrents
so stealthily that you may not be aware of your actual downfall. The
sexual Vasana will assume an aggravated form suddenly without a moment’s
notice. You will commit adultery and then repent. Then your character
and fame will vanish. Dishonour is more than death. There is no crime
more heinous than this. There is no Prayaschitta for this. So beware.
Be cautious.
Bhagavan Dattatreya has compared woman to a burning pit of fire and
man to a pot of ghee. When the latter comes in contact with the former,
it perishes. Therefore, abandon her.
If you happen to live in a Dharmashala or public inn, if there is a
single woman in your neighbouring room, leave the place at once. You
do not know what will happen. It is always advisable to leave the danger
zone immediately, however strong you may be through the practice of
Tapas and meditation. Do not expose yourself to temptation.
Do not test your spiritual strength and purity when you are a beginner
on the spiritual path. Do not rush into evil associations when you are
a spiritual neophyte to show that you have the courage to face sin and
impurity. It will be a serious mistake. You will be running into a grave
danger. You will have a quick downfall. A small fire will be very easily
extinguished by a heap of dust.
You should remain far away from women in the beginning of your practices.
After you are perfectly moulded and well established in Brahmacharya,
you can test your strength by moving with ladies very cautiously for
some time. If your mind is very pure then also, if there is no sex idea,
if the mind ceases to act through the practice of Uparati, Sama and
Dama, remember that you have gained real spiritual strength and made
considerable progress in your Sadhana. You are safe now. You should
not stop your Sadhana thinking that you are a Jitendriya Yogi. If you
stop it, you will have a hopeless fall.
Even advanced aspirants who have made great progress in Yoga should
be very careful. They should not freely mix with women. They should
not foolishly imagine that they have become great adepts in Yoga. A
great saint of repute had a downfall. He freely mixed with women and
made women-disciples, whom he allowed to massage his legs. As the sex
energy was not completely sublimated and turned into Ojas, as lust was
lurking in a subtle form in his mind, he became a victim to passion.
He lost his reputation. The sexual desire was only suppressed in him,
and when a suitable opportunity came, it again assumed a grave form.
He had no strength or will power to resist the temptation.
Another great soul, who was regarded by his disciples as an Avatar,
became a Yoga-Bhrashta. He also freely mixed with ladies and committed
a serious lapse. He became a prey to lust. What a sad misfortune! Aspirants
climb with great difficulty by the ladder of Yoga and they are irrecoverably
lost for ever on account of their carelessness and spiritual pride.
The presence of, or recollection of, a woman usually excites unholy
ideas in the minds of recluses who have abandoned this world and devoted
themselves to spiritual exercises and thus deprives them of the fruit
of their austerity. It is very difficult to understand the presence
of subtle lust in the minds of others, particularly in spiritual recluses,
though the look, tone, gestures, gait and behaviour may give a clue.
Note carefully how Raja Bhartrihari had cried during his Sadhana stage:
"O my Lord! I left my wife, my territory. I live on leaves, fruits
and roots. The earth is my sofa. The blue sky is my canopy. The quarters
are my clothes. Yet, my passion has not left me." Such is the power
of passion.
Jerome writes to the virgin Eustochium about his struggle for abstinence
and the power of lust: "Oh, how many times when in the desert,
in that vast solitude which, burnt by the heat of the sun, offers but
a horrible dwelling to monks, I imagined I was among the delights of
Rome! I was alone. My limbs were covered by a wretched sack and my skin
was as black as the Ethiopian’s. Every day I wept and groaned,
and if I was unwillingly overcome by sleep, my lean body lay on the
bare earth. I say nothing of my food and drink, for in the desert, even
invalids have no drink but cold water. Well, I who out of fear of hell
had condemned myself to this prison, companion of scorpions and wild
beasts, often seemed in imagination among a band of girls. My face was
pale with fasting and my mind within my frigid body was burning with
desire; the fire of lust would still flame up in a body that already
seemed to be dead." Such is the power of lust.
The mind is the seed of the world. It is the mind that creates this
world. There is no world quite apart from the mind. The images of all
objects are contained in the mind. The mind plays with these images
when it cannot get the objects and does great havoc. If you constantly
think of the image of the Lord, the images of objects will die by themselves.
God places some temptations before the aspirant to test his spiritual
strength. He gives him also strength to conquer the temptations. The
strongest temptation in this world is lust. All the saints passed through
temptations. Temptations are profitable. People are instructed and strengthened.
Even Buddha was tested for his mental purity. He had to face temptations
of every sort. He had to face Mara. It was only then, and not till then,
that he had illumination under the Bodhi tree in Gaya. Satan tempted
Jesus in a variety of ways. Passion is very powerful. Many aspirants
fail in the tests. One has to be very careful. The aspirant will have
to develop a very high standard of mental purity. Then alone he will
be able to stand the test. God will place the aspirants in very unfavourable
surroundings to test them. They will be tempted by young girls. Name
and fame bring the householders in close contact with the aspirants.
Women begin to worship them. They become their disciples. Gradually
the aspirants get a nasty downfall. Instances are many. Aspirants should
hide themselves and pass for quite ordinary people. They should not
show their Chamatkaras.
Although Rishi Visvamitra was practising severe austerities, he was
carried away by his turbulent senses when he came across the celestial
nymph sent by Indra to disturb his Tapas. If Visvamitra and Parasara
who were living on leaves, air and water were victims of lust, what
should be the fate of worldly people who are living on rich food? If
they can control their passion, the Vindhya mountain will float on the
ocean, fire will burn downwards.
The sex instinct is most powerful. The sex urge is formidable. It may
conceal itself in underground compartments in the mind and assail you
when you are not vigilant. It will attack you with redoubled force.
Visvamitra fell a victim of Menaka. Another great Rishi became a prey
to Rambha. Jaimini got excited by false woman Masa. A powerful Rishi
was excited by the sight of the mating of a fish. A householder aspirant
carried away even his Guru’s wife. Many aspirants are not aware
of this secret urge, a treacherous enemy. They think that they are quite
safe and pure. When they are put to test, they become hopeless victims.
Always remain alone, meditate and slay this urge.
Money and woman shine more brightly than God for an ignorant, passionate
man. Maya is powerful. Adam fell on account of one loose moment. Eve
tempted on account of one desire. The forbidden fruit will ripen before
the human eyes in no time. A post will look like the illustrious Deva
and make you bow in utter submission before it. Beware of Maya and its
meshes. The chains of gold can be cut asunder, but not the silken meshes
of Maya. A single unguarded moment is sufficient to capsize the whole
casket of pearls, down into the dark abyss of passion and lust.
The moss that is momentarily displaced in a tank resumes its original
position in the twinkling of an eye. Similarly, Maya envelops even the
wise, if they are careless even for a minute. Therefore, sleepless vigilance
is necessary in the spiritual path. The proverb goes: "There is
many a slip between the cup and the lip." Before you begin to eat
the fruit of wisdom, the monkey Maya will snatch it away from your hand.
Even if you swallow it, it may get stuck to your throat. Therefore you
will have to be ever vigilant and careful till you attain Bhuma or the
highest realization. You should not stop your Sadhana falsely thinking
that you have reached the goal.
He who lives in seclusion is more exposed to temptations and danger.
He will have to be very careful and vigilant. The mind will be tempted
to do anything as there is nobody to witness its evil action. All suppressed
evil Vrittis will be waiting for an opportunity to attack him with redoubled
force. He is just like a man who is put in a big bag with a tiger, a
serpent and a bear. The enemies anger, lust and greed will take you
unawares. When you walk alone in the spiritual path, they will attack
you like the thieves who attack a lonely passenger in the dense forest.
Therefore, be always in the company of the wise. Do not go astray.
A gentleman who has given up smoking and drinking wants to practice
Brahmacharya, though married. His wife has no objection, but he himself
finds this discipline hard; especially, the trouble seems to be in the
control of the sense of sight. "The street is my chief enemy",
he said to me recently. This means that the eyes are attracted by well-dressed
ladies.
Another aspirant says, "While I practiced vigorously Pranayama,
Japa and meditation, my mind was not polluted even if I saw half-nude
young ladies. But when I left the practice, I was not able, to control
my sight and I was attracted by well-dressed ladies in the streets and
half-nude pictures pasted in front of picture-houses. The sea-beach
and Mall Road are my enemies."
Those who practice Brahmacharya should control the sexual gazing impulse.
This kind of impulse is a great menace, as it stimulates curiosity and
sexual desire. Vasanas grow from lustful look.
Looking at a woman will create a desire to talk to her. Talking to
a woman will create a desire to touch her. Eventually you will have
an impure mind and will fall a victim. Therefore, never look at a woman.
Never talk to a woman in privacy. Do not be familiar with any woman.
There is no harm in looking at a beautiful object; but you will have
to develop the Divine Bhav. You will have to feel that everything is
a manifestation of God. Purify your thoughts and feelings. Purity is
Brahman. Thou art pure in essence. Thou art an embodiment of purity,
O Ram. Repeat mentally the formula, "Suddhoham, Suddhoham. I am
purity, I am purity", and attain that state of pristine, matchless
purity.
You have no lustful look when you see your mother or sister although
they are beautiful, well-dressed and decorated with ornaments and flowers.
You look at them with affection and pure love. This is Suddha Bhavana.
There are no lustful ideas. You will have to develop such a pure love
or Bhavana when you look at other women also. If there is impurity behind
the gaze, it tantamounts to adultery. Looking at a woman with a lustful
heart is tantamount to sexual enjoyment. It is one form of Maithunam.
That is the reason why Lord Jesus says, "If you have a lustful
look at a woman, you have already committed adultery in your heart."
There is no harm in looking at a woman, but you must have a perfectly
chaste look. You must have Atma-Bhav. When you look at a young lady,
you can think within yourself: "Prostrations unto Thee, O Mother.
Thou art an image or manifestation of Mother Kali. Do not tempt. Do
not allure me. I have understood now the secret of Maya and her creation.
Who has created these forms? There is an omnipotent, all-pervading and
all-merciful Creator behind these names and forms. This is all decaying,
false beauty. The Creator or God is Beauty of beauties. He is an embodiment
of undecaying beauty. He is the fountain-head of beauty. Let me realize
this Beauty of beauties through meditation." You will have to cultivate
feelings of devotion, admiration and awe when you look at an alluring
form by remembering the Creator of that form. Then you will not be tempted.
If you are a student of Vedanta, think and feel: "Everything is
Self only. The names and forms are illusory. They are Mayaic pictures.
They have no independent existence apart from the Self."
If one should not look at a woman, how did the Rishis of yore impart
Atma-Jnana to ladies? Why did they keep them in their constant company
for service?
The dictum, "Do not look even at the picture of a woman",
is for passionate people who have no self-control. Yajnavalkya taught
Atma-Vidya to his wife Maitreyi. Raikva had the daughter of King Janasruti
to serve him. He was a Naishthik Brahmachari.
Even in a Jivanmukta or a liberated sage, the eyes will move towards
the objects through the force of habit. But, he can withdraw them completely
and make them mere empty sockets if he wills. When he sees a woman,
he does not see her outside himself. He sees the whole world within
himself. He feels that the woman is his own Self. He has no sex idea.
There are no evil thoughts in his mind. He feels no sexual attraction
towards her. Whereas, a worldly man sees the woman outside himself.
He entertains lustful thoughts. He has no idea of Self. He is attracted
towards her. This is the difference between the vision of a Jnani and
that of a worldly man. There is no harm in looking at women, but you
must not entertain evil thoughts.
There is no harm in looking at a beautiful woman. You can admire the
beauty of a girl just as you admire the beauty of a rose, the beauty
of the sea, the stars or any other natural scenery. Think that the beauty
of your wife belongs to Nature and Nature’s Lord, Isvar. Whenever
you see a lady, put this question to your mind: "Who is the creator
of this beautiful form?" At once, a sense of wonder, a sense of
admiration and a sense of devotion will arise in your mind. It is only
when you dart a lustful, unchaste look at a woman that you commit sin.
You commit adultery at heart. Only when you entertain lustful thoughts,
bondage and misery come.
The beauty that you perceive in the faces of the ladies is the beauty
of the Lord. You can have admiration in this manner. There is no harm
in so doing.
Woman is a symbol of beauty. She is a symbol of power. She talks to
you in the language of silence: "I am a representative of Adi Sakti.
See God in me. See Mother Kali in me. Realize God in and through me.
Worship God as an embodiment of beauty. Adore Him as an embodiment of
power. Recognise His omnipotence." Again and again think that the
beauty of the face is the beauty of the Lord. Godly feeling will arise
in you when you look at a woman. Study the Tenth Chapter of the Gita,
Vibhuti Yoga, again and again.
Impure thoughts that arise at the sight of a woman will gradually vanish
when you grow in purity through regular Japa and meditation. It takes
some time to destroy the old vicious Samskaras and overhaul the mental
factory. Again and again raise pure counter-thoughts in the mind. Bring
up the image of the Lord. Again and again try to feel Atma in women
by forgetting the sex idea and create disgust in your mind by an analysis
of the parts of which the body is composed.
Whenever the mind runs towards attractive women with lustful thoughts,
have a definite clear-cut photo in the mind of the flesh, bone, urine,
faecal matter and perspiration of which women are composed. This will
induce disgust and Vairagya in the mind. You will never again commit
the sin of unchaste look at a woman. It takes some time, no doubt. Ladies
also can practice the foregoing method and keep a mental picture of
men in just the same way.
You should develop not only disgust in your mind, but also fear in
order to get rid of the sex idea. Are you not extremely frightened when
a cobra comes in front of you? This must be the state of your mind when
lustful thoughts enter your mind. Then only the sex attraction will
gradually die.
Inflict self-punishment if the mind runs towards women with lustful
ideas. Give up night meals. Do twenty Malas more of Japa. Always wear
a Kaupin or Langoti.
Do not look at a woman with an evil eye. If she is old, treat her as
your mother; if she is young, as your sister; and if very young, as
your child. You may fail to develop the Bhav that all women are your
mothers and sisters a hundred and one times. It does not matter. Stick
to your practice tenaciously. You are bound to succeed eventually.
When you walk on the road, do not look hither and thither like a monkey.
Look at the tip of your right big toe and walk gently with a Gambhir
attitude. Or look at the ground and walk. This is a great help in maintaining
Brahmacharya. You can look at the tip of the nose also.
O child of the Immortal Essence! Thou hast walked for a long time with
lustful eyes. Apply the collyrium of discrimination and the pigment
of Vichar. You will have a new magnanimous vision. The whole world will
appear to you as a mass of crystallised bliss. You will find no evil,
no ugliness.
There is no denying, however, that lust is a powerful force to overcome.
Somebody asked Raja Yudhishthira, "O Yudhishthira, when you look
at your mother Kunti, is your look absolutely chaste?" Yudhishthira
replied, "I cannot say that my look is entirely pure." Such
is the force of lust.
You may say outwardly: "I regard her as my mother. I consider
her as my sister." Though you may not do anything outwardly on
account of religious fear or Loka-Lajja, mentally you are not what you
should be. The mind will run in wrong directions. It will be doing havoc
silently. Various kinds of evil thoughts and desires will arise in your
mind. Desire or thought is more than the act. When you are put to test
silently, you will fail hopelessly. You will not be able to have physical
control even.
There is nothing, however, that a Sadhaka cannot achieve if he sets
his mind to it. The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory of
success. Try, try, try again. Train yourself not to look at a woman
for some time. If you are unable to do this and find your looks straying
up to a woman with lustful purpose, raise in your mind the image of
a corpse or a skeleton or wrinkled, diseased old woman and keep it till
you are filled with disgust. This will enable you to succeed finally
in subduing passion. At the same time, take refuge in Devi’s lotus-feet.
Pray to Her constantly for strength to withstand and conquer the onslaughts
of passion. Look upon every woman as Sri Devi Herself and do mental
prostration to her at sight, repeating, "Om Sri Durga Devyai Namah."
By vigilant and constant Sadhana like the above, you can gradually eradicate
the powerful enemy.
Diet plays a prominent part in keeping up Brahmacharya. Purity of food
brings in purity of mind. That power which connects the body and the
mind is present in the food that we take. Various kinds of food have
varying effects on the mind. There are certain kinds of food that make
the mind and the body very strong and steady. So it is absolutely essential
that we should take pure and Sattvic food. Food has a very close connection
with Brahmacharya. If proper attention is given to the purity of the
food that we take, Brahmacharya becomes quite easy.
The influence of foodstuffs on the brain cells, emotion and passion
is remarkable. There are different compartments in the brain and each
food produces its own effect on each compartment and on the general
system. A confection of sparrow produces an aphrodisiac effect. It directly
stimulates the reproductive organs. Garlic, onions, meat, fish and eggs
stimulate passion. Mark how elephants and cows that live on grass are
quiet and peaceful and how tigers and other carnivorous animals that
live on meat are turbulent and ferocious. Instinct or the voice from
within will guide you in the selection of articles of diet that are
conducive to the keeping up of Brahmacharya. You can also consult some
elderly and experienced persons.
Cheru, Havis Annam, milk, wheat, barley, bread, ghee, butter, dried
ginger, green gram, potatoes, dates, plantains, curd, almonds and fruits
are all Sattvic articles of food. Cheru is a mixture of boiled white
rice, ghee, white sugar and milk. Havis Annam is also a similar preparation.
This is very useful for spiritual aspirants. Milk is a perfect food
by itself, containing as it does, the different nutritive constituents
in a well balanced proportion. This is an ideal food for Yogins and
Brahmacharins. Fruits are great energy producers. Bananas, grapes, sweet
oranges, apples, pomegranates and mangoes are wholesome and nutritious.
Dry fruits such as grapes, raisins, dates and figs, sweet fresh fruits
such as bananas, mangoes, Sapotas, melons, limes, pineapples, apples,
wood apples and sweet pomegranates, sugar and sugar-candy, honey, sago,
arrowroot, milk, butter and ghee of cows, tender coconut water, coconut,
almonds, pistachio nuts, Toor Dhal, Ragi, barley, maize, wheat, rice
of red paddy whose bran is only partly removed and rice of good smell
or sweet taste, and all preparations from any of these grains, and white
pumpkin are Sattvic articles for keeping up Brahmacharya.
Highly seasoned dishes, hot curries, Chutnies, chillies, meat, fish,
eggs, tobacco, liquor, sour articles, oil of all kinds, garlic, onions,
bitter things, sour curd, stale food, acids, astringents, pungent stuffs,
roasted things, over-ripe and unripe fruits, heavy vegetables and salt
are not at all beneficial. Onions and garlic are worse than meat.
Salt is the worst enemy. Too much salt excites passion. Even if you
do not take salt separately, the system will derive the necessary quantity
of salt from other foodstuffs. All foodstuffs contain salt. Giving up
of salt helps you in controlling the tongue and thereby the mind and
all the other Indriyas.
All kinds of peas and beans, both fresh and fried, black grain, Bengal
gram, horse gram, sprouted grains, mustard, all sorts of chillies, asafoetida,
lentils, brinjals, lady’s finger, cucumbers, Malabar nightshades,
both white and red, bamboo shoots, papaw fruit, drumsticks, all varieties
of gourd such as white gourd, snake gourd and squash gourd, radish,
leeks, mushrooms of all kinds, things fried in oil or ghee, pickles
of all sorts, fried rice, sesame seeds, tea, coffee, cocoa, all kinds
of vegetables, leaves, roots, fruits and foodstuffs that create wind
or indigestion, grief, pain or costiveness or other sickness, pastry
preparations, foods that are dry and burning, foods that are bitter,
sour, saline, over-hot and pungent, tobacco and its preparations, foods
and drinks containing liquor or narcotic drugs such as opium and bhang,
food preparations which are stale or have become cold subsequent to
their removal from the hearth or which have lost their natural taste,
smell, colour or form, or which are remnants after being eaten away
by other persons, animals, birds or insects, or which contain dust,
hair, straw or other rubbish, and milk of buffalo, goat or sheep should
be avoided as they are either Rajasic or Tamasic by nature. Lemon juice,
rock salt, ginger and white pepper can be used in moderation.
Mitahara is moderation in food. Take wholesome Sattvic food half-stomachful.
Fill a quarter with pure water. Allow the remaining part free. This
is Mitahara. Brahmacharins should always take Mitahara only. They should
be very careful about their night diet. They should never overload the
stomach at night. Overloading is the direct cause for nocturnal emissions.
A glutton can never dream of becoming a Brahmachari. Control of tongue
is a sine qua non if you want to control lust, if you want to
observe the vow of Brahmacharya. The tongue must be controlled first.
Then it will be easy to control the passion. There is intimate connection
between the tongue and the organ of generation. Tongue is an organ of
knowledge. It is born of the Sattvic portion of the water-Tanmatra.
The organ of generation is an organ of action. It is born of the Rajasic
portion of the water-Tanmatra. They are sister organs as the source
is the same. If the tongue is stimulated with Rajasic food, at once
the reproductive organ also gets excited. There should be selection
and restriction in diet. The food of a Brahmachari must be simple, bland,
spiceless, non-irritating and non-stimulating. Moderation in food is
very necessary. Stuffing the stomach is highly deleterious. Fruits are
highly beneficial. You should take food only when you are really hungry.
The stomach will deceive you sometimes. You may have false hunger. When
you sit for taking meals, you will have no appetite and no relish. Dietetic
restrictions and fasting are very useful auxiliaries in controlling
the camel mind and in the attainment of Brahmacharya. You should not
ignore them or make light of them on any account.
Fasting controls passion. Fasting destroys sexual excitement. It calms
the emotions. It controls the Indriyas also. Passionate young men and
ladies should take recourse to occasional fasting. It will prove highly
beneficial. Fasting is a great Tapas. It purifies the mind. It destroys
a great multitude of sins. Shastras prescribe Chandrayana Vrata, Krichara
Vrata, Ekadasi Vrata and Pradosha Vrata for the purification of the
mind. Fasting controls particularly the tongue, which is your deadly
enemy. When you fast, do not allow the mind to think of delicious dishes,
because then you will not derive much benefit. Fasting overhauls the
respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems. It destroys
all the impurities of the body and all sorts of poisons. It eliminates
uric acid deposits. Just as impure gold is rendered pure by melting
it in the crucible again and again, so also, the impure mind is rendered
purer and purer by fasting again and again. Young, robust Brahmacharins
should observe fasting whenever passion troubles them. You will have
very good meditation during fasting, as the mind is calm. The chief
object in fasting is to practice Dhyana rigorously during that period
as all the Indriyas are calm. You will have to withdraw all the Indriyas
and fix the mind on God. Pray to God for guiding you and throwing a
flood of light on the path. Say with Bhav: "O God! Prachodayat,
Prachodayat. Guide me, guide me. Trahi, Trahi. Protect me protect me.
I am Thine, my Lord!" You will get purity, light, strength and
knowledge. Fasting is one of the ten canons of Yoga.
Avoid excessive fasting. It will produce weakness. Use your commonsense.
Those who are not able to observe a full fast can fast for nine or twelve
hours and can take milk and fruits in the evening or at night.
During fasting, the internal digestive organs such as the stomach,
the liver and the pancreas take rest. Epicureans, gluttons and those
who are tireless eaters do not allow rest for these organs even for
a few minutes. Hence, these organs get diseased soon. Diabetes, albuminuria,
dyspepsia and hepatitis are all due to overfeeding. After all, man wants
very little on this earth. Ninety per cent of the people in this world
take more food than what is absolutely necessary for the body. Overeating
has become their habit. All diseases take their origin in overeating.
An occasional complete fast is a great desideratum for all to keep up
good health, relieve the internal organs and maintain Brahmacharya.
Diseases that are pronounced incurable by allopaths and homoeopaths
are cured by fasting. Fasting develops will-power. It increases the
power of endurance. Manu, the Hindu law-giver, prescribes in his code
the remedy of fasting for removal of the five capital sins also.
It is better to drink a large quantity of water, either tepid or cold,
according to temperament and inclination, during fasting. It will flush
out the kidneys and remove the poison and all sorts of impurities in
the body. In Hatha Yoga it is termed as Gata-Suddhi or purification
of the flesh-pot, the physical body. You can add half a teaspoonful
of soda bicarbonate to the water. Those who fast for two or three days
should not break their fast with any solid food. They should take some
kind of fruit juice, either sweet orange juice or pomegranate juice.
They should sip the juice slowly. You can take an enema daily during
fasting.
Fast for a day to start with. Then slowly increase the number of days
according to your strength and capacity. In the beginning you may feel
a slight weakness. The first day may be very tiring. You will feel real
Ananda, bliss, on the second or the third day. The body will be very,
very light. You can turn out more mental work during fasting. Those
who are in the habit of fasting will rejoice. On the first day, the
mind will tempt you in a variety of ways to eat something or the other.
Stand firm. Be bold. Curb the mind at once when it hisses or raises
its hood. Do more Japa of Gayatri or any Mantra during fasting. Fasting
is more a spiritual Kriya than a physical Kriya from the viewpoint of
health. You will have to utilise the fasting days for higher spiritual
purposes and in the contemplation of God. Always entertain thoughts
of God. Dive deep into the problems of life such as the why and the
wherefore of the universe. Enquire: "Who am I? What is this Atman
or Brahman? What are the ways and means to attain Knowledge of God?
How to approach Him?" Then realize your Nijananda state and rest
in purity for ever and ever.
My dear brothers! Will you start the fasting Tapasya from the very
second you read these lines?
Peace be unto all beings!
Many young men are troubled by wet dreams or nocturnal emissions and
spermatorrhoea. This dire disease, spermatorrhoea, has eaten away the
very core of the heart of many brilliant youth, who were once very promising
students during the beginning stages of their educational career. This
terrible scourge has sapped the vitality or the very essence of many
students and even grown-up people and has made them physical, moral
and spiritual bankrupts. This deadly curse has stunted the growth of
many young people and made them bemoan their past ignorant, vicious
habits. This wretched malady has blighted the hopes of many a young
person and brought despair, gloom, shattered health and dilapidated
constitution.
I receive numerous letters of pathetic tales of dissipated, lost youth.
The recent trend in the increase of vulgar, cheap and aphrodisiac literature
and obscene films, both Indian and Western, had added to the miseries
of misguided youth. Loss of the vital energy creates great fear in their
mind. The body becomes weak, memory fails, the face becomes ugly and
the young man is not able to remedy his pitiable condition due to shame.
But there is no cause for despair. Even if a few of the hints in the
following pages are observed, he will develop the correct attitude to
life and will lead a disciplined spiritual life and ultimately attain
supreme bliss.
Spermatorrhoea is involuntary seminal discharge. Nocturnal discharge,
night pollution, Svapna-Dosha, wet dream are all synonymous terms. Ayurvedic
doctors call this disease Sukra-Megha. This is due to the evil habits
in youth. In severe cases, discharges occur in daytime also. The patient
passes semen along with urine during micturition. If there is occasional
discharge, you need not be alarmed a bit. This may be due to heat in
the body, or the pressure of loaded bowels or bladder on the seminal
bags. This is not a pathological condition.
Night pollution is of two kinds, namely, physiological pollution and
pathological pollution. In physiological pollution, you will be refreshed.
You should not be afraid of this act. You should not mind if the discharge
of semen is very occasional. You need not worry about it. This is also
a slight flushing of the apparatus or a periodical cleansing through
a slight overflow from the reservoir in which the semen is stored up.
This act may not be attended with evil thoughts. The person may not
be aware of the act during the night. Whereas, in pathological pollution,
the act is accompanied by sexual thoughts. Depression follows. There
is irritability, languishment, laziness, inability to work and concentrate.
Occasional discharges are of no consequence, but frequent nocturnal
pollutions cause depression of spirits, debility, dyspepsia, low spirits,
loss of memory, severe pain in the back, headache, burning of the eyes,
drowsiness and burning sensation at urination or during the flow of
semen. The semen becomes very thin.
Wet dreams and spermatorrhoea may be due to various causes like constipation,
a loaded stomach, irritation-producing or wind-producing food, impure
thoughts and long self-abuse done in ignorance.
Seminal weakness, nocturnal emissions, lascivious dreams and all other
effects of an immoral life will surely lead one to a miserable state
of living if not checked by proper medicines. But these medicines cannot
produce a permanent cure. One can get temporary relief during the time
one takes the medicine. Even doctors of the West admit that such medicines
cannot effect a permanent cure. The moment the medicine is discontinued,
the patient will find his disease all the worse. In some cases, the
patient becomes impotent by the use of drugs. The only effective permanent
cure can be had through the system of ancient Yoga. Nasti Yogat Param
Balam. There is no strength higher than that of Yoga. The different
methods given in this book will enable you to get success if practiced
regularly.
Do not be carried away by the pompous advertisements made by quacks
and charlatans. Lead a simple natural life. You will become all right
soon. Do not spend any money in buying the so-called patent medicines
and specifics. They are worthless. Quacks try to exploit the credulous
and the ignorant. Do not go to the doctors. Endeavour to qualify yourself
as your own doctor. Understand the laws of nature, the principles of
hygiene and health. Do not tresspass against the laws of health.
Avoid all kinds of self-abuse. They drain away your vital energy and
leave you like a dead man or like the sugar-cane from which the juice
has been extracted. Veerya is indeed a priceless possession. Do not
waste it for the sake of a momentary excitement and sensation.
Give up the evil habit at once. You will be entirely ruined if you
continue the practice. Open your eyes. Wake up now. Become wise. Shun
evil company. Do not cut jokes with women. Practice chaste look. Up
to this time you were blind and ignorant. You were in the dark. You
had no idea of the disastrous effects of this evil practice. You will
lose your eyesight. You will have dimness of vision. You will have shattered
nerves.
Do not look at the reproductive Indriya. Do not also touch the generative
organ with your hands now and then. This will aggravate your Kama Vasana.
When it gets erection, do Mula Bandha and Uddiyana Bandha. Repeat ‘Om’
mentally several times with meaning. Think of purity. Do twenty Pranayamas.
The cloud of impurity will pass off soon.
Sexual excesses and outbursts of anger and hatred should be given up.
If the mind is kept cool and calm at all times, you will have wonderful
health, strength and virility. Energy is depleted by fits of anger.
The cells and tissues are filled with morbid poisonous materials when
one loses his temper and entertains deep hatred. Various sorts of physical
ailments crop up. The blood becomes hot and thin, and consequently,
night pollution results. Various sorts of nervous diseases are attributable
to excessive loss of the seminal energy and frequent fits of explosive
anger or wrath.
Most of the diseases take their origin in overeating. Observe moderation
in diet. Avoid late suppers. The evening meal should be light and eaten
before 6 or 7 p.m. If possible, take milk and fruits only at night.
No solid or liquid should be taken after sunset. When you take milk,
mix ginger essence in it. Or boil crushed ginger with milk before taking
the milk. Give up hot Chutnies, garlic, onion and pungent foodstuffs.
Hot curries, chillies and Chutnies make the semen watery and lead to
frequent wet dreams. Take bland, soothing, non-irritating simple food.
Give up smoking, liquor, tea, coffee, meat and fish.
When there is any inclination for micturition at night, immediately
get up to empty the bladder. A loaded bladder is the cause for wet dreams.
Before retiring to bed, answer the calls of nature. If there is severe
constipation and the bowels are loaded, they will press the vesiculae
seminalis, and consequently, there will be discharges at night.
To relieve constipation, the use of the enema is most essential. The
use of laxatives is not of much benefit as it creates heat in the body.
Never stop the urge to answer calls of nature. If worms are present
in the bowels, remove them by a dose of worm powder in the night and
take a purgative of castor oil the following morning. This will keep
the bowels regular.
Sometimes, the discharges take place on account of excess of heat in
the body, excess of walking or travel, eating a large quantity of sweetmeats
or chillies and salt. Give up tea, coffee, chillies, excess of sweets
and excess of sugar. Avoid dainty dishes, sauces, savouries and pastries.
Have occasional fasts, say, once a week. Do not drink even water on
those fasting days. Do not ride too much on the bicycle.
Chew pieces of the yellow variety of Harad or myrobalan very often.
When there is frequent discharge, dissolve two pinches of camphor in
a cup of milk and take it occasionally at night. Take half a seer of
milk in the early morning and half a seer at night.
Night pollution generally occurs in the fourth quarter of the night.
Those who are in the habit of getting up from bed between 3 and 4 a.m.
and doing Japa and Dhyana can never fall a victim to nocturnal pollutions.
Make it a point to get up at least at 4 a.m. regularly. Sleep on a coarse
bed. Use rough mats.
Sleep on the left side. Allow the Solar Nadi, Pingala, to work throughout
the night through the right nostril. In acute cases, sleep on the back
until recovery.
If you are a married man, sleep in a separate room. You should never
allow your wife to massage your legs at night. This is a dangerous practice.
For protecting the semen, it is essential to wear always a strip of
cloth over the private part; for, there will be no night emission and
growth of testicle. Therefore, always wear a Langoti or Kaupin or loin
cloth. You will not get inflammation or any other disease of the testicles.
This will help you in keeping up Brahmacharya. Wear a wet Kaupin at
night when you go to bed, if the disease is very troublesome.
It is befitting for a celibate to wear always wooden sandals as thereby
the semen will be conserved, eyes will be benefited, life prolonged
and holiness and lustre increased.
Practice Japa and meditation in the morning, as soon as you get up,
for an hour or two. Also, do this before sleeping at 10 p.m. This is
a great purifier. This will strengthen the mind and the nerves. This
is the best remedy. Repeat the Mantra: "Punarmamaitu Indriyam.
Let my lost strength be restored."
Pray to the sun in the early morning before sunrise: "O Lord Suryanarayana,
the eye of the world, the eye of the Virat Purusha! Give me health,
strength, vigour and vitality." Do Suryanamaskara in the early
morning. Repeat the twelve Names of the sun at sunshine: "Mitraya
Namah. Ravaye Namah. Suryaya Namah. Bhanave Namah. Khagaya Namah. Pushne
Namah. Hiranyagarbhaya Namah. Marichaye Namah. Savitre Namah. Adityaya
Namah. Bhaskaraya Namah. Arkaya Namah." Bask in the sun.
Take cold hip baths by sitting in a tub of water and keeping the legs
outside the tub. This is very invigorating and energising. A cold hip
bath tones and soothes the nerves of the genito-urinary system and stops
nocturnal discharges in an efficacious manner. This is a general nervine
tonic as well, as all the nerves are braced up.
The hip bath can be conveniently managed at home in a big zinc tub.
Aged persons and convalescents can use lukewarm water. Wipe the parts
with a dry towel and put on warm clothing.
Or stand up to your navel in a river, lake or tank for half an hour.
Repeat ‘Om’ or the Gayatri or any other Mantra. Rub the lower
part of the abdomen or belly with a coarse Turkish towel or a piece
of Khadi cloth several times. This can be practiced twice daily, morning
and evening, in the summer season.
Cold douches, spinal douches and cold shower bath are of immense use
in the practice of Brahmacharya. Shower baths can be easily installed
at home by fixing the spray apparatus to the tap.
Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Siddhasana, Sukha-Purvak Pranayama and Uddiyana
Bandha are all very effective in eradicating spermatorrhoea. Practice
them and realize the incalculable benefits. Practice deep-breathing
and Bhastrika Pranayama. Take long walks. Take part in sports.
Complete cure may take at least one to six months, according to the
intensity of the disease. If the disease is of long standing, the cure
may take a long time, as Nature’s processes are slow, though sure.
Whenever you are haunted by sensual thoughts, you should try to replace
them by holy thoughts about your favourite deity.
Let any disease be there. Ignore it. Deny it. Think and meditate on
the pure Self. Keep yourself fully occupied. Do not give room for the
mind to think of the body or the disease. This is the treatment for
any kind of disease. Sing Hari’s Name in a variety of ways. When
you are tired, take to the study of religious books. Do selfless service.
Run in the open air. Swim in the river. Remove the stones and pebbles
lying on the roads. Write down your Ishta Mantra in a notebook for one
hour.
Purify the mind by cultivating devotion to God. Do Japa and meditation.
Study spiritual books. Pray to God. Observe Brahmacharya. Do not mix
unnecessarily with women. See only the Divine Mother in them. Develop
Atrna-Bhava in all.
Avoid cinema, novels, newspapers, bad company, evil talks. Do not look
into the mirror frequently. Do not use scents or fancy clothings. Do
not attend dance or music parties. Do not look at mating of animals
and birds.
Root out love of leisure and ease. Overcome laziness and always keep
the body and mind engaged in some useful work. Keeping the mind constantly
engaged is one of the great secrets of Brahmacharya. Lead a disciplined,
rigorous life. Do not brood over the disease too much. It will pass
off. When bad thoughts appear in the mind, repeat the Name of God and
pray to Him. Ultimately, the Lord’s divine grace and helping hand
is the sure antidote for all diseases. Rely on God. Be devoted to purity
and piety. Cherish sublime thoughts. Read sacred literature. Naught
shall assail you.
This weakness will pass away. Do not be anxious, worried and depressed
over it. Depressing thoughts are dangerous. Worry will only weaken you
more. Learn lessons from the past and be benefited therefrom. Do not
brood over the past and be weakened. Change your angle of vision. Practice
enquiry. Meditate on the advantages of celibacy. Think of the lives
of Akhanda Brahmacharins like Hanuman, Bhishma and others. Think of
the evils of a sensual life—loss of health, shame, disease and
death. Cultivate discrimination. You are the child of the Lord of the
universe. The bliss is within you. There is not an iota of pleasure
in sense objects. Dissociate yourself from the body; identify yourself
with the Lord. If your mind is pure and healthy, your body too will
be pure and healthy. Therefore, forget the past and take to a new, better
life of virtue and spirituality, love of God and aspiration for the
higher divine life. Learn to find taste in divine life. Do more Sadhana
with greater intensity. You will be a completely changed and blessed
person.
You cannot have perfect celibacy unless you follow the auxiliaries.
You have to take particular care about your diet and the company that
you keep. Anything that brings impure thoughts in the mind is bad company.
Oh aspirants! Fly away from the company of worldly-minded persons. Get
away from the bustle of cities and tumultuousness of the world. Those
who talk of worldly affairs will quickly pollute you. You mind may waver
and begin to wander. You will have a downfall.
Do not read amorous novels or fiction. Do not visit the cinema and
the theatre. And do not make friendship with undesirable boys. What
you need is a complete change of your vision, your attitude towards
the other sex. Behold the Divine Mother in every woman and consider
every woman as your own mother.
First, dietary control. There is an intimate connection between self-control
and control of the palate or tongue. He who has controlled the tongue
has already controlled all the other organs.
Delicious Rajasic food excites the organ of generation. Give up meat,
fish, liquor, smoking. Meat can make a scientist, but never a philosopher,
a sage or a Sattvic Person. Meat excites the passions.
Gradually give up salt and tamarind. Salt excites passion and emotion.
Salt excites and strengthens the Indriyas. Renunciation of salt brings
in a cool condition of the mind and the nerves. It helps meditation.
You will suffer a bit in the beginning. Later on you will enjoy a saltless
diet. Practice at least for six months. In this way, you will be able
to realize your own Svarupa quickly. All that is wanted of you is sincere
and earnest effort. May Sri Krishna give you courage and strength to
tread the path of spirituality and attain the goal of life!
Do not overload your stomach at night. The night meals should be very
light. Half a litre of milk or some fruits will constitute a good regimen
or menu at night.
Both for Brahmacharya and tongue-control, take a few Tulasi leaves
early in the morning. In the evening take Neem leaves. Start with one
leaf, increase it to ten, one per day. Take ten for a couple of months;
then you can increase it to twenty. This is very good.
Obscene pictures, vulgar words, and novels which deal with love stories
excite passion and produce ignoble, mean, undesirable sentiments in
the heart. Whereas, the sight of a good picture of Lord Krishna or Lord
Rama or Lord Jesus and hearing of the sublime songs of Surdas, Tulasidas
and Thyagaraja induce noble sentiments and sincere devotion in the heart,
produce a divine thrill and tears of joy and Prem, and elevate the mind
to Bhava Samadhi instantaneously. Do you see clearly the difference
now?
What is the state of your mind when you attend a ball or nautch party
or when you read "The Mysteries of the Court of London"? What
is your state of mind when you attend the Satsanga party of Swami Jayendrapuriji
Maharaj of Benares or when you are at Rishikesh on the banks of the
Ganga in a secluded place or when you study the soul-elevating classical
Upanishads? Compare and contrast your mental states. Remember, friend,
that there is nothing so utterly ruinous to the soul as evil company.
Aspirants should shun ruthlessly all sorts of evil company. They should
not listen to the stories concerning women, the luxurious ways of rich
persons, pungent food, vehicles, politics, silken clothing, flowers,
scents and so on, because the mind gets easily excited. It will begin
to imitate the ways of luxurious persons. Desires will crop up. Attachment
will also come in.
The cinema produces an evil tendency in man. He cannot remain even
for a day without attending a show. His eyes want to see some half-nude
pictures and some kinds of colours; and his ears want a little music.
Young girls and boys become passionate when they see the actors in the
films kissing and hugging. Those who want to develop themselves in the
spiritual line should entirely shun the cinema. They should not attend
even the so-called religious films. They are not really religious films.
It is a kind of trick to attract people and collect money. What is the
spiritual calibre of the actors there? Spiritual people only can bring
out impressive stories with good morals that can elevate the minds of
the spectators.
Put an end to going to exciting films if you have got that habit. Do
not witness vulgar sensuous scenes wherever it may be. Do not indulge
in seeing naked pictures. All these tend to increase passion and deplete
Veerya. You should strictly avoid these.
Novel-reading is another evil habit. Those who are in the habit of
reading novels that deal with passion and love cannot remain even for
a single second without novel-reading. They always want their nerves
to be tickled with some sensational feelings. Novel-reading fills the
mind with base, lustful thoughts and excites passion. It is a great
enemy of peace.
Many people have started circulating libraries for distribution of
novels on a small subscription basis. They have not at all realized
how much harm they are doing to the country. It is better they chalk
out another vocation to eke out their livelihood. They spoil the minds
of young men by the distribution of these worthless novels, which help
to excite their passion. The whole atmosphere is polluted. Severe punishment
is awaiting them in the Yama Loka.
Do not read novels. They taint the mind. Novels are the chains of Western
civilization to capture the victim unaware in its glittering fetters.
Do not read those journals which excite you lower instincts.
Immoral songs produce a very bad, deep impression in the mind. Aspirants
should run away from places where vicious songs are sung.
Strive your best to divert your mind and eyes from external objects
that prompt sexual desires. Give up the sort of reading, conversation,
imagination and associations that are likely to stimulate the sexual
desire. Do not converse with those who are eager to convey irritating
news and disturb your mental poise. Live with spiritual advanced men
and stop reading all books except those that are directly spiritual.
When thoughts of lust arise in the mind, do not wrestle with them.
The best method is to ignore them. If you are not successful in doing
so, be in the company of someone who is superior to you spiritually,
who is more advanced than you spiritually. If you go into seclusion,
the mind will chase you and down you in sensual thoughts. You will lose
your balance. Be careful. The sensual thoughts will pass away with a
little vigilance.
An evil thought enters the mind and there comes an erection of the
Indriya. Is this not a marvel? Because this occurs very often, it does
not appear to you as a miracle or a marvel. You have ignored this vital
point on account of your ignorance.
Mind is a great electricity battery. It is a big dynamo indeed. It
is a powerhouse. The nerves are insulated wires to transmit the electric
currents, nerve impulses, to various organs, tissues and the extremities,
hands, legs and feet.
There is a vibration of thought in the mind owing to the vibration
of psychic Prana. This force of thought is transmitted with a tremendous
lightning speed along the nerves to the organs. The physical body is
fleshy mould prepared by the mind in accordance with the Samskaras and
Vasanas for its own experience and enjoyment. The mind sways the organs
of an undisciplined passionate man who has boisterous revolting Indriyas.
It becomes an obedient faithful servant of a trained, developed Yogi.
An ever-vigilant Brahmachari should always watch his thoughts very
carefully. He should never allow even a single bad thought to enter
the gate of the mental factory. If his mind is ever fixed on his Dhyeya
or Lakshya or object of meditation, there is no room for the entry of
an evil thought. Even if an evil thought has entered the trapdoor of
the mind, he should not allow the mind to assume a mental state with
this idea. If he falls a victim, the thought-current will be transmitted
to the physical body. Burning of the Indriyas and the physical nervous
system will follow. This is a serious condition.
The bad thought should be nipped in the bud by supplanting counter
divine thoughts. It should not be allowed to penetrate the physical
body. If your will is strong, the evil thought can be driven at once.
Pranayama, vigorous prayer, Vichara, Atmic contemplation, Saguna meditation
and Satsanga can nip the evil thoughts in the bud at the threshold of
the mental factory. The combat will be keen in the beginning. When you
become purer and purer, when your will-power develops, when you develop
more Sattva or purity and when you have a habitual meditative mood,
you will be established in physical and mental Brahmacharya. Understand
the power of thought and utilise it profitably. Understand the ways
of the mind. Learn how to use the pure will. Become a vigilant, dexterous
watchman of your thoughts. Curb them before they raise their heads out
of the mind through skill and wisdom.
It is the mind that really does all actions. A desire arises in your
mind and then you think. Then you proceed to act. The determination
of the mind is put into action. First there is Sankalpa or thought and
then comes action. Therefore, do not allow the sexual thoughts, to enter
the mind.
That which is thought of is spoken by the tongue. That which the tongue
speaks of, the organs of action do. That is the reason why it is said
in the Vedas: "Let my mind think of auspicious things." Entertain
sublime divine thoughts. The old evil sexual thought will gradually
vanish, just as the old nail in a plank goes away by inserting over
it a new nail.
The glory of Satsanga or association with the wise saints, Yogins,
Sannyasins and Mahatmas is indescribable. The glory and power of Satsanga
is described in various ways in the Bhagavata, the Ramayana and other
scriptures. Even a moment’s company with wise people is quite sufficient
to overhaul the old vicious Samskaras of worldly-minded people. The
magnetic aura, the spiritual vibrations and the powerful thought-currents
of developed adepts produce a tremendous influence on the minds of worldlings.
The personal contact of Mahatmas is a blessing in reality for worldly
persons. Service of saints purifies the minds of passionate men rapidly.
Satsanga elevates the mind to magnanimous heights. Just as a single
matchstick bums huge bundles of cotton in a few seconds, so also, the
company of saints burns all ignorance, all thoughts and Samskaras of
passion and evil actions within a short time. This is the reason why
Sankara and others have spoken so highly of Satsanga in all their books.
If you cannot get good Satsanga in your own place, you can visit places
of pilgrimage like Rishikesh, Benares, Nasik, Prayag, Haridwar. Study
of books written by realized persons will also be tantamount to Satsanga.
The only potent specific for inducing burning Vairagya and desire for
liberation is Satsanga.
One should try to get Viveka or discrimination between the real Self
and the unreal impure body. The aspirant should point out to the mind
the defects of a sexual life, namely, loss of energy, enervation of
the senses, disease, birth and death, attachment and various sorts of
miseries. He should remind himself again and again about the parts of
the body of woman—flesh, blood, bone, excreta, urine, pus and phlegm.
These ideas should be hammered into the mind repeatedly. The aspirant
should always think of the ever-pure immortal Atman and the glory of
the spiritual life, namely, the attainment of immortality, eternal bliss
and supreme peace. Gradually the mind will be weaned from looking at
a woman, however beautiful she might be. The mind will shudder to look
at a woman with an evil thought. Ladies also should undergo the above
practices to get themselves established in purity.
A Viveki does not note any difference between a male and a female.
The same Tattvas—passion, anger, greed and Moha—that are present
in a man are found in the female also. It is only a lustful man who
is filled with burning passion that finds imaginary differences. The
differences are all mental creations or Kalpita Bheda.
Nothing can tempt you in this world if you develop Vairagya, if you
subdue your Indriyas, and if you shun the unreal, impermanent sensual
enjoyments and pleasures of this fleeting world as dung, as poison.
You will have no attraction for women and other earthly objects. Lust
will be unable to take hold of you. You will have eternal peace and
infinite bliss.
Constantly remember: "Through the grace of God, I am becoming
purer and purer, every day. Pleasures come but not to stay. Mortal flesh
is only clay. Everything will pass away. Brahmacharya is the only way."
Develop Viveka and Vairagya.
Aspirants should study Bhartrihari’s "Vairagya Satakam"
and other works on Vairagya. This will induce Vairagya in the mind.
Remembrance of death and the pains of Samsara also will help you to
a considerable extent. It will not be out of place here to draw the
reader’s attention to some Buddhist monks who always keep a human
skull with them. This is to cause Vairagya in them and to remind them
of the impermanent and perishable nature of human life.
A philosopher once kept in his hands the skull of a lady and began
to philosophize thus: "O skull! Some time back you tempted me with
your shiny skin and rosy cheeks. Now, where are thy charms? Where are
those honeyed lips and lotus-like eyes now?" Thus he developed
intense Vairagya. If you analyze the different parts of the human body
and keep a picture of flesh and bones before your mind’s eye, you
will have no attachment at all for your body or the body of a female.
Why not try this method?
Remembrance of the skeleton and the dead body of a woman will induce
Vairagya in your mind. The body has come out of the filthy discharge.
It is full of impurities. In the end, it is reduced to ashes. If you
remember this, Vairagya will dawn in your mind. Attraction for women
will gradually vanish. If you place before your mind the sickly figure
of a woman or the picture of a very old woman, you will develop Vairagya.
Remember the pains of Samsara, the unreality of objects, and the bondage
that comes from attachment to wife and children. Try any method that
suits you best.
Sit down and think, calmly and honestly, what beauty there is in a
woman whose body is composed of flesh, bones, nerves, fat, marrow and
blood. Where is the beauty in the same woman when she becomes old? Look
at the condition of the eyes and the body of a woman after an attack
of fever for seven days! What is the state of her beauty? Where is the
beauty if she does not take bath for a week? The stink is abominable.
Look at the senile woman aged eighty five who is sitting at the corner,
with rotten eyes, shrunken cheeks and skin! Analyze the parts of a woman,
realize their true nature.
Woman is the greatest cause of delusion. Women are the flames of vice.
They are burning fire, which destroys man like a dry straw. They burn
from a long distance; so they are more dangerous than fire. The lovely
damsel is like a poisonous drug that destroys life by causing lustful
intoxication and clouding the power of discrimination. This mysterious
world began with woman and has woman for its sustenance. How, without
renunciation of woman, is it possible to attain the eternal bliss of
Brahman? The bodies of those handsome damsels who are so much fondled
by foolish men are taken to the cemetery after their Pranas depart.
Beasts and worms feed upon their flesh. Jackals and kites tear off their
skin. Without renunciation of woman, it is impossible to have Self-realization.
Ladies should not be offended when they read these lines. I have only
reproduced the teachings of Sankaracharya and Dattatreya. I only want
to impress upon both the sexes the force and the glory of Brahmacharya
and the evil effect of lust. I have great regard and admiration for
women.
Brahmacharya should be practiced by both men and women. Women also
can keep a mental picture of the component parts of the body of a male
in order to create in themselves disgust for the physical body of a
male and to develop Vairagya.
Mere condemning of lust is not sufficient to wean the mind from sexual
craving. Remember this point well. Lust is potent. Lust is virulent.
Lust is formidable. Lust is uncontrollable by persons of weak will.
One should be aware also of the ways of Maya, which entangle him in
her net or snare. A woman should be aware of the charms of a man which
entice her and make her a prey to man and man should be aware of the
charms of a woman which entice him and make him a prey to woman. A woman
is a temptress for man and a man is a tempter for woman. Man also has
much charm in him to entrap a woman. Man appears more beautiful in the
eyes of a woman than a woman in the eyes of a man. Man also tries to
entrap a woman by his dress, ties and bows, by his smile, outward show
of affection, glances, gestures, flowery words, various ways of dressing
his hair and other tricks.
Lust is a potent force, very difficult to be got rid of. That is the
reason why the Sastras and saints censure and condemn women in order
to create dispassion and discrimination in men and wean them from lustful
tendencies and aggressive attacks. Sri Sankara, Sri Dattatreya, Sri
Rama, Sri Tulasidas have all criticised women not out of hatred, prejudice
or dislike, but out of compassion for elevating people from the quagmire
of Samsara. Their criticism of women implies and includes criticism
of man also. Their criticism aims at weaning the minds of worldly persons
from sexual sin and creating disgust for sexual pleasure, and dispassion
for worldly objects. This is misunderstood by people.
The same scriptures and saints who censure women in one place praise
them in another. They say, "Women should be honoured. They are
Ardhanginis. They are manifestations of Sakti or the energy of the Lord.
Only those who honour women can attain prosperity." Therefore,
O women! Try to know the heart of the scriptures and the saints and
become wise.
The minds of young people are saturated with impure Samskaras and Vasanas
owing to vicious company and the false modern civilization. Even the
company or talk of a woman is quite sufficient to drag the mind into
vicious thoughts. So, I have to place before the minds of the vast majority
such a mental picture that the very company of women will do havoc.
When I say that a woman is only a leather bag, I do not hate women in
any way. It is only to produce disgust and induce Vairagya. Really,
a woman should be adored as Mother Sakti. She is the creatrix, generatrix
and nourisher of the universe. She must be revered. In India, religion
is preserved and maintained only through the devotional element in women.
Devotion is a fundamental characteristic of Hindu ladies. Hate lust,
but not women.
In the beginning, till you acquire Vairagya and Viveka, you must treat
the company of woman as poison. When you obtain Viveka and Vairagya,
then lust cannot take hold of you. You will see and realize, "Sarvam
Khalvidam Brahma. All is Brahman only." You will have Atma-Drishti.
The sex idea will then vanish.
A vow of celibacy will give you sure protection against temptation.
It is a strong weapon to attack lust. If you do not take a vow of celibacy,
the mind will tempt you at any moment. You will have no strength to
resist the temptation and you will become a sure victim. He who is weak
and effeminate is afraid of taking the vow. He brings in various excuses
and says, "Why should I be bound by a vow? My will is strong and
powerful. I can resist any sort of temptation. I am doing Upasana. I
am practising will culture." He repents in the long run. He has
no control over the senses. That man only, in whom the subtle desire
for the object to be renounced lurks in the corners of the mind, brings
in such sort of excuses. You must have right understanding, discrimination
and dispassion. Then only your renunciation will be lasting and permanent.
If your renunciation is not the outcome of discrimination and dispassion,
the mind will be simply waiting for an opportunity to get back the object
that has been renounced.
If you are weak, take a vow of celibacy for a month and then extend
it to three months. You will gain some strength now. You will be able
to prolong the period to six months. Gradually you will be able to extend
the vow to one or two or three years. Sleep separately and do vigorous
Japa, Kirtan and meditation daily. You will hate lust now. You will
experience freedom and indescribable joy. Your partner-in-life also
should do Japa, meditation and Kirtan daily.
O Mohan, you have done an unpardonable crime in breaking the vow of
celibacy. How can there be religion or spirituality where there is passion?
You are an old man. Why should you repeat shamelessly that old ignoble
act, bringing this excuse: "Old Vasanas are powerful; circumstances
are strong." Nobody will hear your answer. You will have to curb
your passion whenever it raises its hood. May Lord Siva give you strength
to control this dire enemy and to continue the spiritual Sadhana.
If you can render your will pure, strong and irresistible by eliminating
desires, by eradicating Raga-Dvesha, by reducing your wants and by practising
Titiksha, passion will die. Will is a powerful enemy of passion.
Lust takes its origin from impure resolution. Indulgence strengthens
it. When you resolutely turn away from it, it vanishes and dies.
Sit alone in your meditation room. Close your eyes. Slowly repeat again
and again the following formulae. Let the mind dwell on the significance
of the formulae also. Saturate the mind and intellect with these ideas.
Your whole system—flesh, blood, bones, nerves and cells—should
powerfully vibrate with the following ideas:
I am all-purity, Suddhoham
Sexless Atman I am
There is neither lust nor sexual Vasana in Atman
Lust is mental Vikara; I am a Sakshi of this Vikara
I am Asanga
My will is pure, strong and irresistible
I am fully established in physical and mental Brahmacharya
I am feeling the purity now |
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
Om Om Om
|
You can have a sitting at night also. Sit for ten minutes in the beginning.
Gradually increase the period to half an hour. Keep up the Bhav during
work also.
Write down on a piece of paper, in bold types, the word "Om Purity"
six times. Keep the paper in your pocket. Read it several times during
the course of the day. Fix it also in a prominent place in your house.
Have the word image "Om Purity" clearly before the mind. Remember
several times daily the Brahmachari-saints and their powerful actions.
Think over the multifarious advantages of a pure life of Brahmacharya
and the disadvantages and evils of an impure life. Never leave the practice.
Be regular and systematic. Gradually you will become purer and purer
and ultimately you will become an Oordhvareta Yogi. Be patient.
Daily feel: "Through the grace of God, I am becoming better and
better, every day, in every way". This is auto-suggestion. This
is another effective method.
You should entertain the Mother-Bhav or Isvari-Bhav or Atma-Bhav towards
females. Women also should entertain Pitha-Bhav or Isvar-Bhav or Atma-Bhav
towards males.
Sister-Bhav will not suffice. You may fail. Keeping of sister-Bhav
in man and brother-Bhav in women will not help much in the eradication
of sex attraction and impure thoughts. The sister-Bhav has deceived
and deluded many. Pure love will degenerate at any moment into passion
when one is careless and non-vigilant. Cobra-Bhav only will help the
Sadhakas to a very great extent. After cobra-Bhav comes mother-Bhav
in man and father-Bhav in women. Then lastly comes Atma-Bhav in both.
Real struggling aspirants only can realize this well, but not dry philosophers.
The cultivation of the Bhav is very difficult. You may fail to develop
the Bhav that all women are your mothers and sisters one hundred and
one times. It does not matter. Stick to your practice tenaciously. You
are bound to succeed eventually. You will have to destroy the old mind
and build a new mind. Nevertheless you will have to do it if you want
to attain immortality and eternal bliss. You will surely succeed if
you are fiery in your resolve and if you have an iron determination.
The Bhav will gradually manifest by constant practice. Soon you will
be established in that Bhav. Now you are safe.
A man or a woman should practice self-analysis and self-examination.
They should have a proper understanding of the ways in which lust operates
and plays, and the things and emotions which excite passion and the
manner in which one falls a victim to the other. Then only control of
lust is possible.
The mind will again try to do some mischief inwardly. It is very diplomatic.
It is very difficult to find out its ways and secret underground operations.
It demands a subtle intellect, and careful repeated introspection and
vigilant watch. Whenever the mental image of a woman crops up in your
mind with evil thoughts, repeat mentally, "Om Durga Devyai Namah"
and do mental prostrations. Gradually, old evil thoughts will die. Whenever
you see any woman, entertain this Bhav and repeat mentally this Mantra.
Your Drishti or look will become chaste. All women are manifestations
of the World Mother. Destroy the idea that a woman is an object of enjoyment
and substitute the idea that she is an object of worship and a manifestation
of Mother Durga or Kali.
Change the Bhav, change the mental attitude. You will have heaven on
earth. You will be established in Brahmacharya. This is an important
method for becoming a true Brahmachari. See Atman in all women. Reject
all names and forms and take only the underlying essence, Asti-Bhati-Priya
or Sat-Chit-Ananda. All names and forms are unreal. They are unreal
like shadows, water in the rnirage and blueness in the sky.
For a scientist, a woman is a mass of electrons only. For a Vaiseshika
philosopher of Rishi Kanada’s school of thought, she is a conglomeration
of atoms—Paramanu, Dvyanu, Tryanu. For a tiger, she is an object
of prey. For a passionate husband, she is an object of enjoyment. For
a crying child, she is an affectionate mother who gives milk, sweets
and other indulgences. For a jealous sister-in-law or mother-in-law,
she is an enemy. For a Viveki or a Vairagi, she is a combination of
flesh, bone, urine, faecal matter, pus, perspiration, blood and phlegm.
For a full-blown Jnani, she is Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman.
Passion will arise when you think of the body of a female. When you
are in the company of ladies, think of the one immortal pure Self of
Atman that is hidden in the bodies of the ladies. Constantly make the
endeavour. The sex idea will gradually vanish, and with it, the attraction
and lust also. This is the most potent method to eradicate passion and
the sex idea, Mentally repeat the formula, "Ek Sat-Chit-Ananda
Atman." This will lead to the annihilation of passion and to
the Vedantic realization of unity or oneness also.
There is neither sex nor sexual Vasana in Brahman. Brahman is Nitya-Suddha,
eternally pure: By constant thinking on that sexless Atman, you will
be established in Brahmacharya. This is the most powerful and effective
method. This is the best kind of Sadhana for those who know the right
technique of Vichara. But, only advanced students in the path of Jnana
Yoga can rely on the method of Brahma Vichara alone for the destruction
of passion. For the vast majority of persons, a combined method is very
congenial and healthy. When the enemies are very powerful, a combined
method of lathis, pistols, shot-guns, machine-guns, submarines, torpedoes,
bombs and poisonous gases is used for the destruction of the enemies.
So also, in the destruction of this powerful enemy, passion, a combined
method is absolutely necessary.
The regular practice of select Yogasanas and Pranayama exercises will
help considerably in one’s effort to check the sexual impulse.
Sirshasana and Sarvangasana will help you a lot in making you an Oordhvaretas.
They are also termed as Vipareeta Karani Mudras. They are specially
designed by our Rishis of yore such as Gheranda, Matsyendra and Goraksha
to make us Oordhvaretas. And by Pranayama, the mind gradually proceeds
from the gross to the subtle. It therefore exercises a wholesome check
upon sexual irritation. When some evil thought disturbs your mind, at
once take to Padmasana or Siddhasana and practice Pranayama. The thought
will leave you immediately.
Siddhasana
This Asana is highly eulogized by Yogins for the practice of Brahmacharya.
It will help one in controlling his passion and checking nocturnal discharges
and in making him an Oordhvareta Yogi. This Asana is useful for sitting
during Japa and meditation.
Place the left heel at the anus. Keep the right heel at the root of,
or just above, the generative organ. Keep the trunk, neck and head straight.
Place the hands on the right heel.
Sit for half an hour to start with and then slowly increase the period
to three hours. Sitting for three hours in one Asana is termed Asana
Jaya or mastery over Asana.
Sirshasana
This is the king of all Asanas. The advantages that are derived from
this Asana are incalculable and indescribable. This is specially designed
for stopping nocturnal discharges and helping the flow of semen towards
the brain in the form of Ojas Sakti or spiritual energy.
Spread a folded blanket on the ground. Make a finger-lock and keep
it over the blanket. Now place the top of your head between the two
hands. Slowly raise the legs up without any jerk till they become vertical.
Get the help of a wall in the beginning of your practice or ask one
of your friends to catch hold of your legs. After due practice, you
will be able to keep up balance. When the Asana is over, bring down
the legs very, very slowly. When you remain in the Asana, breathe only
through the nose.
Irregular Kumbhaka, Rechaka and Puraka—retention, exhalation and
inhalation—will make your Asana unsteady.
Do this Asana when your stomach is empty or light. Many chronic, incurable
diseases of the stomach, bowels, lungs, heart, kidneys, genito-urinary
system, ears and eyes are cured by the regular practice of this Asana.
When you find your legs tossing, retain the breath for a short time.
Then the legs will become steady.
Sarvangasana
This is an important pose, which can help you assuredly in the practice
of Brahmacharya. The digestive, circulatory and nervous systems are
at once toned up in a mysterious manner by the practice of Sirshasana
and Sarvangasana. This is no Arthavada or Rochak Sabdha or mere eulogy,
my dear friends! Practice and feel the beneficial influence yourself.
This is the best remedy for wet dreams and various other diseases. There
is a healthy glow in the eyes of the practitioner and a peculiar lustre,
charm, beauty and magnetic aura in his face.
Spread a blanket on the ground. Lie on the back quite flat. Slowly
raise the legs. Lift the trunk, hips and legs. Support the back with
the hands on either side. The whole weight of the body will now rest
on the shoulders and elbows. Keep the legs steady. Press the chin against
the chest firmly. Breathe slowly, only through the nostrils. Begin with
five minutes and try to remain in the Asana as long as you can.
Matsyasana
This must be practiced soon after Sarvangasana. It will relieve stiffness
of the neck and all crampy conditions of the cervical region caused
by long practice of Sarvangasana. This gives a natural massage to the
congested parts of the neck and shoulders. Further, it ensures that
the student derives the maximum benefits from his practice of Sarvangasana.
Sit in Padmasana over the blanket by keeping the right foot over the
left thigh and the left foot over the right thigh. Then lie flat on
the back. Stretch the head back so that the top of your head rests on
the ground firmly on one side and the buttocks only on the other, thus
making a bridge of the trunk. Place the hands over the thighs or catch
hold of the toes. You will have to give a good twist to the back. Matsyasana
is the destroyer of many diseases. This is very useful for general health
also.
Padangushthasana
Place the left heel right in the centre of the perineum—the space
between the anus and the external organ of generation. Put the whole
weight of the body on the toes, particularly the left big toe. Place
the right foot over the left thigh, near the knee. Sit carefully now,
keeping the balance. If you find it difficult to practice this Asana
independently, you can take the help of a bench or sit by the side of
a wall. Place the hands on the sides of the hips. Breathe slowly.
The perineal space is four inches in breadth. Underneath this space
lies the Veerya Nadi that carries semen from the testes. By pressing
this Nadi with the heel, the flow of semen outside is checked. A steady
practice of this Asana removes wet dreams and spermatorrhoea and makes
one an Oordhvareta Yogi. A combination of Asanas such as Sirshasana,
Sarvangasana and Siddhasana is very conducive to keeping up Brahmacharya.
Each has its own specific action. Siddhasana acts on the testes and
its cells and prevents the formation of semen. Sirshasana and Sarvangasana
help the flow of semen towards the brain. Padangushthasana acts on the
spermatic duct effectively.
Physical exercises draw the Prana out. Asanas send the Prana in. Asanas
are not only physical, but also spiritual. They help a long way in controlling
the senses, mind and body. The body, nerves and muscles are purified.
If you do Dhand and Bhaitak five hundred times a day for five years,
they will not, in any way, produce any spiritual experience. Ordinary
physical exercises develop only the superficial muscles of the body.
One can become a sandow with a beautiful physique by practising physical
exercise. But, Asanas are intended for physical as well as spiritual
development.
Spread a blanket on the floor and practice Asanas over it. Use a thin
pillow under the head when you do Sirshasana. Wear a Langoti or Kaupin
or loin-cloth when you practice Asanas. Avoid using spectacles and too
many clothes.
Those who practice Sirshasana for a long time should take some light
tiffin or a cup of milk after finishing the Asana. Be regular and systematic
in your practices. Those who practice by fits and starts will not derive
any benefit. Regularity in the practice is very necessary if one wants
to realize the maximum benefits of Asanas. Generally, people practice
for two months in the beginning with great interest and enthusiasm and
then leave off. This is a sad mistake.
Asanas should be done on an empty or light stomach or at least three
hours after food. You can advantageously combine Japa and Pranayama
during the practice of Asanas. Then it becomes real Yoga. Asanas can
be practiced on the sandy beds of rivers, open airy places, and by the
seaside also. If you practice Asanas and Pranayama in a room, see that
the room is not congested. The room should be clean and well-ventilated.
In the beginning of the practice, do each Asana for a minute or two
only and then gradually and slowly increase the period as much as you
can.
Avoid too much exertion when you do all the Yogic exercises. There
must be joy and exhilaration throughout your practices.
Here I have given you instructions for a few select Asanas that are
very useful for maintaining Brahmacharya. For detailed instructions
on nearly ninety Asanas, refer to my book "Yoga Asanas".
Press the Yoni or the space between the anus and the generative organ
with the left heel. Contract the anus. Place the right heel at the root
of the organ of generation. This is Mula Bandha.
The Apana Vayu, which does the function of ejection of excreta, has
a natural tendency to move downwards. Through the practice of Mula Bandha,
the Apana Vayu is made to move upwards by contracting the anus and forcibly
drawing it upwards. Mula Bandha is highly useful for maintaining Brahmacharya.
This is practiced during inhalation in Pranayama and during Japa and
meditation also.
Mula Bandha is a Yogic Kriya, which helps the Yogic student to take
the Apana and the sex energy upwards. The tendency of the Apana is to
flow downwards. This downward flow of Apana and the sex energy is checked
by the practice of Mula Bandha. The Yogic student sits on Siddhasana
and takes the Apana and the sex energy upwards by contracting the anus
and practising Kumbhaka or retention of breath. By long practice, the
downward seminal flow is checked and semen is sublimated or transmuted
into Ojas Sakti or spiritual energy, which helps contemplation. This
Bandha checks wet dreams and helps in maintaining Brahmacharya.
Such a beneficial Yogic practice prescribed by the Rishis and Yogis
of yore is misused by the people and misprescribed by some inexperienced,
ignorant Yogic culturists of the present day. They teach this Kriya
to the lay public to achieve their selfish ends and to have a comfortable
living. They pompously advertise that people can retain the vital fluid
for a long time and have intense sexual enjoyment for a protracted period
through this Kriya. They teach this Bandha to the rich householders.
Some of the deluded householders are allured by such statements of these
Yogic charlatans - whose goal is money-making for comfortable living
- and they take recourse to this Kriya. They indulge more on the strength
of this Kriya, lose their vitality and come to grief and destruction
in a very short period. By injudicious practice of this Kriya, the Apana
is dislocated and they get various diseases like colic, constipation
and piles.
These Yogic culturists have done intense harm to the public. Instead
of prescribing this useful Kriya of the Rishis and Yogis of yore for
the attainment of Brahmacharya, and for success in Pranayama in the
form of Brahmacharya these deluded souls have excited the householders
to become more passionate and to have more indulgence. They have brought
a slur on the science of Yoga and Yogis.
They argue: "We must move according to the modern times. People
want this. They like such Kriyas. They are benefited. They are more
happy by practising this Kriya." Wonderful philosophy indeed! This
is the philosophy of the Epicureans and the Charvakas. This is the philosophy
of Virochana. This is the philosophy of flesh.
O ignorant man! Open your eyes. Wake up from the deep slumber of ignorance.
Do not be carried away by the sweet speeches and indecent demonstrations
of these Yogic charlatans or pseudo-Gurus. You will be ruined. Give
up such practices. Preserve the vital fluid. Turn it into Ojas through
Japa, Kirtan, Pranayama, Vichara. Lead a pious life. Life is meant for
a higher purpose. Life is meant for Self-realization.
O Yogic culturists! Do not mislead people. Call yourselves as the noble
followers or disciples of the revered Rishis of olden times. Do not
prescribe these Kriyas for base ends. Be noble and magnanimous. Aim
high. Become true Yogis. Sensible and cultured people will laugh at
you if you disseminate Yogic knowledge in this manner. Give them knowledge
of the ways to maintain Brahmacharya. Make them real Yogis. People will
revere you and appreciate your selfless work.
Contract the throat. Press the chin firmly against the chest. This
is practiced at the end of Puraka and at the beginning of Kumbhaka.
Next to this comes the Uddiyana Bandha. These Bandhas are something
like three stages of one exercise.
Empty the lungs by a strong and forcible expiration. Now, contract
and forcibly draw up the intestines and also the navel towards the back
so that the abdomen rests against the back of the body high up in the
thoracic cavity.
This Bandha can be practiced in a standing posture also. In this case,
bend a little forward, resting the hands on the thighs and keeping the
legs a little apart. These three Bandhas are a good combination. The
description of Nauli Kriya can be taken as the next stage of Uddiyana
Bandha.
Nauli Kriya
Uddiyana Bandha can be done in a sitting posture also, but Nauli generally
is done while standing. Keep the right leg a foot apart from the left
and rest your hands on the thighs, thus making a slight curve of the
back. Then do Uddiyana Bandha.
Now allow the centre of the abdomen free, by contracting the left and
the right side of the abdomen. You will have all the muscles in the
centre in a vertical line. Keep it so as long as you can do it comfortably.
Do this much only for a few days.
After some practice, you should contract the right side of the abdomen
and allow the left side free. Here you will have all the muscles on
the left side only. Again, contract the left side and allow the right
side free. By having such gradual practices, you will understand how
to contract the muscles of the central, left and right sides of the
abdomen.
Now comes the final stage of Nauli Kriya. Keep the muscles in the centre.
Slowly bring them to the right side and then to the left side in a circular
way. Do this several times from the right to the left and then do it
in the reverse order, from the left to the right. You should always
turn the muscles with a circular motion, slowly. You cannot derive the
full benefits of this Kriya when you do not do it slowly and gradually.
Beginners will feel a slight pain in the abdomen in the first two or
three attempts. They need not fear. The pain will vanish after two or
three days of regular practice.
Sit on the ground. Press the anus with the left heel. Stretch out the
right leg. Take hold of the toe with the two hands. Inhale and retain
the breath. Press the chin against the chest firmly. Fix the gaze at
the Trikuti or the space between the eyebrows. Retain the posture as
long as you tan. Practice on the other leg also.
Yoga Mudra
Sit on Padmasana. Place the palms on the heels. Exhale slowly and bend
forward and touch the ground with your forehead. If you retain the pose
for a long time, you can breathe in and out as usual. If you do it for
a short time only, retain the breath till you raise the head and come
back to your original position and then inhale. Instead of keeping the
hands on the heels, you can take them to the back and catch hold of
the left wrist with your right hand. This Mudra is useful in keeping
up Brahmacharya. It reduces excessive fat in the belly and removes all
disorders of the stomach and the bowels. Constipation is removed. The
gastric fire is increased. Appetite and digestion improve. If you cannot
retain the pose for a long time at one stretch, repeat the process several
times. Take rest in the intervals.
Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana with an empty light stomach in your
meditation room. Close your eyes. Close the right nostril with the right
thumb and draw in the air through the left nostril. Close the left nostril
also with the right little and ring fingers and retain the air as long
as you can. Then remove the right thumb and exhale very, very slowly.
Again, in the same manner, draw in the air through the right nostril,
retain it as long as you can; and then exhale through the left nostril.
The whole process constitutes one Pranayama. Do twenty in the morning
and twenty in the evening. Gradually and cautiously increase the period
of retaining the air and the number of Pranayamas also. When you advance
in the practice, you can have three or four sittings and you can do
eighty Pranayamas in each sitting.
Sit on Padmasana. Keep the body erect. Close the mouth. Inhale and
exhale quickly twenty times like the bellows. Constantly dilate and
contract. The practitioner should start with expulsions of breath following
one another in rapid succession. When the required number of expulsions,
say, twenty for a round, is finished, the final expulsion is followed
by the deepest possible inhalation. Retain the air as long as you can
keep it comfortably and then very, very slowly, exhale. This is one
round of Bhastrika. Take a little rest and then do another round. Do
three rounds in the morning and three in the evening. This is a very
powerful exercise, beneficial for Brahmacharins. You can do this even
when you are standing.
Do not take bath immediately after Pranayama practice. Rest for half
an hour. Have one sitting only in the morning during summer. If there
is heat in the brain or head, apply cooling oil or butter before you
take a bath.
Always inhale and exhale very slowly. Do not make any sound during
inhalation. In Bhastrika, do not produce any violent sound. Breathe
only through the nose. A neophyte should do Puraka and Rechaka only,
without any Kumbhaka, for some days.
You must so nicely adjust the Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka that you
do not experience a feeling of suffocation or discomfort at any stage
of Pranayama. You must not unnecessarily prolong the period of exhalation.
If you prolong the time of Rechaka, the following inhalation will be
done in a hurried manner and the rhythm will be broken.
Gradually increase the period of Kumbhaka. Do Kumbhaka for 4 seconds
in the first week, for 8 seconds in the second week, for 12 seconds
in the third week and so on till you are able to retain the breath as
long as you can.
Repeat ‘Om’, Gayatri or any other Mantra mentally during
the practice. Have the Bhav, feeling, that the Daivi-Sampat such as
mercy, forgiveness, love and so on enter your system during inhalation
and that all Asuric Sampat or devilish qualities such as lust, anger,
greed and jealousy are thrown out during exhalation. When you inhale,
feel that you draw energy from the divine source, cosmic Prana, and
that your whole body from top to toe is saturated with abundant, fresh
energy. Stop the practice when you are seriously ailing.
This is an important Yogic Kriya in Hatha Yoga. You will have to work
hard to get full success in this Kriya. There are very few people who
are experts in this act. Yogic students draw water first through a silver
tube, a specially made catheter, passed into the urethra twelve inches
inside. After due practice they draw milk, then oil, honey and so on.
They draw mercury in the end. Later on they can draw these liquids directly
through the urethra without the help of the silver tube. This Kriya
is of immense use for keeping up perfect Brahmacharya. On the first
day you should send the catheter inside the urethra for one inch only,
the second day for two inches, the third day for three inches, and so
on. You must practice gradually till you are able to send twelve inches
of the catheter inside. The way becomes clear and blowing. Raja Bhartrihari
could do this Kriya very dexterously.
Even a drop of semen cannot come out of the Yogi who practices this
Mudra. Even if it is discharged, he can draw it back through this Mudra.
The Yogi, who draws his semen up and preserves it, conquers death. Good
smell emanates from his body.
The late Trailingaswami of Benares was an expert in this Kriya. Sri
Swami Kuvalayanandaji of Lonavala used to teach this Mudra.
Practice of Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, Maha Mudra, Asanas and Pranayamas
will naturally enable one to understand Vajroli and to get success in
its practice. This must be done under the direct guidance of a Guru.
The object of practising Vajroli Mudra is to be perfectly established
in Brahmacharya. When aspirants practice this Mudra, they unconsciously
divert their mind to sexual centres and thereby they fail to get any
success. When you see the description of this Mudra, you will clearly
understand that strict Brahmacharya is absolutely necessary. For practising
this, there is no necessity at all for a woman or for any sexual intercourse.
Since the Grihasthis have their wives and since they think that Vajroli
Mudra is a device for birth control, they have a keen desire to practice
this Mudra. It is all mere foolishness and delusion. They have not understood
the technique and object of this important Kriya.
Your motive in learning the Vajroli Mudra must be pure. You must have
the one idea of getting Self-realization through absolute Brahmacharya.
Have sex sublimation. You must not misuse the power gained through this
Yogic Kriya. Analyze and scrutinise your motive thoroughly. There are
very many temptations and dangers on the Yogic road. Beware, my child
Prem! I again and again warn you.
Once upon a time, Sri Vedavyasa was holding his Vedanta class amongst
his students. In the course of his lecture, he mentioned that the young
Brahmacharis should be very careful and should not mix with young ladies
and that, with all their vigilance and circumspection, they might fall
a victim as lust was very powerful. One of his students, Jaimini, the
author of Purva-Mimamsa, was a little impertinent. He said, "Guruji
Maharaj! Your statement is wrong. No lady can attract me. I am well
established in Brahmacharya." Vyasa said, "Jaimini, you will
know that soon. I am going to Benares. I will return within three months.
Be careful. Don’t be puffed up with pride."
Sri Vyasa, through his Yogic powers, assumed the form of a beautiful
young girl, with piercing eyes and very charming face, well dressed
in a thin silken garment. The lady was standing underneath a tree at
sunset. Clouds gathered together. It began to rain. Accidentally, Jaimini
was passing along the side of the tree. He saw the girl, felt pity and
addressed her: "Oh lady, you can come and stay in my Ashram. I
shall give you shelter." The lady asked, "Are you living alone?
Is any woman living there?" Jaimini replied, "I am alone.
But I am a perfect Brahmachari. No lust can affect me. I am free from
any sort of Vikara. You can stay there." The lady objected: "It
is not right for a young virgin girl to stay with a Brahmachari alone
at night." Jaimini said, "Oh damsel, don’t be afraid.
I promise you of, my perfect Brahmacharya." Then she agreed and
stayed in his Ashram at night.
Jaimini slept outside and the lady was sleeping inside the room. At
dead of night, Jaimini began to feel the influence of lust in his mind.
A little sexual craving arose in his mind. In the beginning, he was
absolutely pure. He knocked at the door and said, "Oh lady, the
wind is blowing outside. I cannot bear the cold blasts. I want to sleep
inside." She opened the door. Jaimini was sleeping inside. Again
the sexual craving became a little more intense and keen, as he was
very close to a lady and as he heard the sound of her bangles. Then
he rose up and began to embrace her. At once Sri Vyasa assumed his original
form with his long beard and said, "Oh, my dear Jaimini, what about
the strength of your Brahmacharya now? Are you established in your perfect
celibacy now? What did you say when I was lecturing on this subject?"
Jaimini dropped his head down in utter shame and said, "Guruji!
I am wrong. Kindly pardon me."
This illustration goes to show that even great persons are duped by
the power of Maya and by the influence of revolting Indriyas. Brahmacharins
should be very careful.
One of the disciples of Socrates asked his teacher, "My venerable
master, kindly instruct me how many times a householder can visit his
legal wife." Socrates replied, "Only once in his lifetime."
The disciple said, "Oh my Lord! This is absolutely impossible
for worldly men. Passion is dreadful and troublesome. This world is
full of temptations and distractions. Householders have not a strong
will to resist temptations. Their Indriyas are very revolting and powerful.
The mind is filled with passion. Thou art a philosopher and Yogi. You
can control. Pray, kindly prescribe an easy path for the men of the
world." Then Socrates said, " A householder can have copulation
once in a year."
The disciple replied, "O venerable sir, this is also a hard job
for them. You must prescribe an easier course." Socrates then replied,
"Well, my dear disciple, once in a month. This is suitable. This
is quite easy. I think you are satisfied now."
The disciple said, "This also is impossible, my revered master.
Householders are very fickle-minded. Their minds are full of sexual
Samskaras and Vasanas. They cannot remain even for a single day without
sexual intercourse. You have no idea of their mentality."
Then Socrates said, "Well said, my dear child. Do one thing now.
Go directly to the burial ground now. Dig a grave and purchase a coffin
and winding sheet for the corpse before hand. Now you can spoil yourself
any number of times you like. This is my final advice to you."
This last advice pierced the heart of the disciple. He felt it keenly.
He thought over the matter seriously and understood the importance and
glory of Brahmacharya. He took to spiritual Sadhana in right earnest.
He took a vow of strict unbroken celibacy for life. He became an Oordhvareta
Yogi and had Self-realization. He became one of the favourite disciples
of Socrates.
There once lived a sagely king named Yayati who lived for a full one
thousand years enjoying all the pleasures a king of his position could
command. When old age attacked him, and he had still a great desire
to enjoy all royal pleasures for some more years, he asked each of his
sons, one by one, to take upon himself this old age and give him his
youth in return, assuring that after another one thousand years he would
return the youth and take back his decrepitude. Not one of them was
willing to accept the offer except his youngest son named Puru.
Puru said with all humility that he was quite willing to do as his
father wished him and accordingly gave his youth to his father and got
in return old age and its consequent weakness. Yayati, being exceedingly
delighted with his new youth, began again to indulge in sensual pleasures.
He enjoyed himself to the full extent of his desires and to the full
limit of his powers and as much as he desired without violating the
precepts of religion. He was very happy, but only one thought troubled
him. And that was the thought that the one thousand years would soon
come to an end.
When the fixed time came to an end, he came to his son Puru and addressed
him thus: "O son, I have enjoyed with your youth to the full extent
of my desires and to the full limit of my powers and all according to
their seasons. But, desires never die. They are never satiated by indulgence.
By indulgence they flame up like the sacrificial fire with ghee poured
into it. If one becomes the sole lord of all the earth with its paddy,
oats, gems, beasts and women, still it will not be considered by him
enough. Therefore, the thirst for enjoyment should be abandoned. The
thirst for enjoyments which is difficult to cast off by the wicked,
which does not fail even with failing life, is truly a fatal disease
in man. To get rid of this thirst is real happiness. My mind was attached
to the pleasures of life for full one thousand years. My thirst for
them, however, without being abated, is daily being increased. Therefore,
I shall get rid of it. I shall fix my mind on Brahman, and becoming
peaceful and having no attachment, I shall pass the rest of my days
in the forest with the innocent deer." So saying he installed Puru
on the throne after giving him back his youth and retired into the forest
to lead the life of an ascetic.
Vemana was born in the year 1820 in a small village in the district
of Godavari in Andhra Desa. He had a brother by name Anu Verna Reddy.
His parents passed away when he was quite a young boy. He was born in
a rich family. He was a Reddy by caste.
Vemana was sent to a primary school. He was not able to prosecute his
studies. He fell into evil company and became a rowdy boy. But he was
very handsome and active. Anu Verna Reddy and his wife Narasamma liked
Vemana very much. At the age of fifteen, Vemana became debaucherous.
He spent much money for the sake of women. Yet, his brother and sister-in-law
liked him very much.
Anu Vema Reddy and his wife wanted to correct the ways of Vemana. They
stopped giving him any money. So Vemana stole at night the ornaments
of his sister-in-law and gave them to a prostitute. When his sister-in-law
came to know of the loss of the jewels, she asked Vemana, "Where
are my jewels?" Vemana answered, "As you did not give me money,
I took them and gave away to my beloved." Narasamma did not speak
a word. She did not even inform her husband of the loss of the jewels.
She liked Vemana very much. She locked up all her ornaments in the safe.
The prostitute urged Vemana to bring some More money or ornaments.
So, again at dead of night, Vemana woke up from his bed and tried to
remove some of the ornaments from the neck of his sister-in-law. She
was wearing only the sacred Mangala Sutra that was tied round her neck
at the time of her marriage; she had kept all her other jewels in the
safe. Vemana wanted to remove at least this ornament. When he was attempting
to remove it, Narasamma woke up and caught hold of his hand and asked
him why he came to her bedroom at midnight. He replied in a daring manner:
"My beloved asked me to bring some ornaments. I came here to take
them." Narasamma asked him to get out of the room at once. Then
Vemana cried and fell at her feet. Narasamma prayed to God to give good
Buddhi to Vemana and make him a pure, virtuous soul. Then she promised
to give Vemana an ornament, provided he would strictly obey her words.
Vemana fully assured her.
Narasamma said: "Vemana! Ask the girl to stand naked in front
of you. Let her back be turned towards you. Then ask her to bend down
and take the jewel from your hands by passing her hands through her
thighs." Vemana promised to do so and took an oath also in the
name of Goddess Kali. Then his sister-in-law gave him a valuable ornament.
Vemana proceeded directly to the prostitute’s house and asked
her to do in the manner his sister-in-law had instructed. While the
prostitute was bending down, he saw very clearly the private parts of
the woman. At once intense Vairagya dawned in his mind. He retraced
his steps to his house with the ornament in his hands. He gave back
the ornament to his sister-in-law and related to her all that had happened.
He said, "My dear sister-in-law! Thank you so much for all your
kind acts. I am a changed man now. There is no real happiness in this
world. It is all jugglery of Maya. I am going now in quest of real happiness."
He left the house at once and went to a Kali temple near his village
and sat near the image of Kali.
Now it so happened that, for some years, a man named Abhiramayya had
been praying to Kali for Her Darshan. One day She appeared in his dream
and said, "Come tomorrow at midnight. I will give you Darshan."
But the unfortunate devotee could not come the next day. When Kali came,
Vemana was there instead. Kali asked Vemana to seek a boon of her. Vemana
said, "O Mother! Give me Brahma-Jnana." Mother Kali then initiated
him into the mysteries of Jnana. From that day onwards, Vemana became
a virtuous man with great devotion, Yogic powers and Jnana.
In course of his wanderings, Vemana went to Cuddapah. He lived in a
forest near Cuddapah. He planted various fruit-bearing trees like melons
and cucumbers. The cucumbers were all filled with gold. With this gold,
Vemana built a temple at Sri Sailam. Even today, this temple at Sri
Sailam contains the famous Jyotirlingam of Mallikarjuna. It is a famous
place of pilgrimage. One day some thieves came to rob the cucumbers
containing gold. They all became senseless due to the Yogic powers of
Vemana.
Once Vemana entered the cottage of a poor Brahmin at midnight and went
to sleep on his bed. During the night, he answered the calls of nature
on the bed itself. That portion of the bed, which was soiled by his
excreta, became transmuted into gold.
Vemana cast off his physical sheath in 1865 in Katarupalli in the Cuddapah
district. He wrote several books in Telugu on Yoga, chief among them
being "Vemana Tattva-Jnanam" and "Vemana Jivamritam".
There was a king named Muktachuda in olden times. He ruled the kingdom
of Dasarna. He had two sons, Hemachuda and Manichuda. They both were
very handsome and virtuous. They had good behaviour and conduct. They
were also very proficient in all the arts. They both went to the mountain
Sahya with attendants and weapons for hunting. They shot many tigers
and wild animals. All of a sudden there was a terrible sandstorm. Immense
darkness prevailed. One could not see the other person.
Hemachuda somehow managed to reach the hermitage of a sage, which was
full of fruit trees. He saw in the Ashram a beautiful maiden. He was
quite astonished to see a fearless girl in that solitary forest. He
asked the maiden, "Who are you? Who is your father? Why are you
alone here? How did you develop this courage?" She replied politely,
"Welcome, O prince! Take your seat. Take a little rest. You seem
to be much tired. Kindly take these fruits and nuts. I shall relate
my story." The prince ate those fruits and nuts and rested for
a while.
The girl then began: "O prince! Harken to my story with rapt attention.
I am the God-child of sage Vyaghrapada who is adored by all, who has
conquered the world by his severe austerities, and who has attained
liberation. My name is Hemalekha. Vidyutprabha, celestial nymph of matchless
beauty and indescribable splendour, one day came to the river Veena
for bathing. Sushena, the king of the Vengas, also came there. Sushena
was captivated by the enchanting beauty of Vidyutprabha. The celestial
nymph was also infatuated with the handsome figure of King Sushena.
Sushena pleaded his love to Vidyutprabha. She responded. The king spent
some time with her. Afterwards he returned to his capital.
"Vidyutprabha soon brought forth a child." She left the child
there as she was afraid of her husband and went to her place. I am that
child. Vyaghrapada came to the river for his daily ablutions. He saw
me and took pity on me. He brought me up like a mother. I regard him
as my father. I serve him with reverence. Through his grace I have become
fearless here. My father will return presently. Please wait a little.
Pay your respects to him and obtain his blessings." The intelligent
girl understood the heart of the prince and said: "O prince! Do
not get disheartened. You can gratify your desire. My father will grant
your desire."
Immediately, the sage Vyaghrapada entered with flowers for worship.
The prince got up and prostrated before the sage. The sage understood
that the prince was in love with the girl. He gave Hemalekha in marriage
to the prince. The prince returned with her to his city. His father
was very much delighted. He celebrated their marriage with pomp and
splendour.
The prince loved Hemalekha immensely. He was very much attached to
her. But he noticed that she was rather indifferent to sensual pleasures.
He asked her one day: "O dear Hemalekha, what is the matter with
you? I am very much attached to you. Why do you not reciprocate my love?
Nothing seems to have any effect on you. You are dispassionate. How
can I enjoy when you have such an attitude of mind? You always sit with
closed eyes like a statue. You do not laugh, play and joke with me.
Kindly speak out your heart. Be frank."
Hemalekha replied respectfully: "O prince! Hear me. What is love?
What is dislike? As this is not clear to my mind, I am always reflecting
over it. I have come to no definite conclusion. Please enlighten me
on this point. I entreat you."
Hemachuda replied with a smile: "It is true that women possess
an innocent mind. Even animals understand what is like and dislike.
We see that they like pleasing things and dislike unpleasant objects.
Beauty gives us pleasure; ugliness gives us pain. Why do you waste your
time daily on this?"
Hemalekha replied: "It is true I that women have no independent
power of thinking. So, is it not your duty to clear my doubts? If you
throw light, I will leave off thinking and be attached to you always.
O prince! You said that like and dislike or love and hatred arise out
of objects which give us pleasure and pain. But the same object gives
us pleasure and pain on account of time, circumstances and environments.
What is your decision then? Kindly give me your definite answer. Fire
is very pleasant in winter, but in summer it is very terrible. You cannot
go near the fire. The same fire gives pleasure in cold countries and
pain in hot countries. The quantity of fire gives us different results.
Similar is the case with wealth, wife, son, mother and so on. These
induce positive sufferings and misery. Why is it that your father Muktachuda,
despite his possession of immense wealth, sons and wife is always sorrowful?
Others are very happy even without these. Worldly happiness is mixed
with misery, pain, fear and anxiety. So it cannot be called happiness
at all. Misery is personal and impersonal or internal and external.
The external one is caused by the faults of the elements on the body.
The internal one is born out of desire. It has connection with the mind.
Of these, the internal one is more formidable. It is the seed or cause
for all suffering. The whole world is drowned in such internal misery.
The tree called misery has desire as the strong and never-failing seed.
Even Indra and other gods are impelled by this desire. They carry out
its instructions day and night. If there is no desire, you cannot experience
any pleasure. Such a mixture of happiness and misery is enjoyed even
by the insects, worms and dogs. Do you think that man’s happiness
is greater than this? The happiness of the insects is superior to that
of man. Because desire is not mixed in their pleasure, it is unalloyed.
Whereas, in man, a little pleasure is found in the midst of thousands
of ungratified desires. This cannot be called happiness. Man feels happy
by embracing his wife, but by pressing her limbs too much, he makes
her feel uneasy. After sporting, they are exhausted. What happiness
have you in these sensual perishable objects? Kindly explain, O prince!
This sort of happiness is enjoyed even by dogs, donkeys and pigs. But,
if you say that you are happy by looking at my physical beauty, this
happiness is imaginary and illusory like embracing a lady in a dream.
"A certain beautiful prince had a very handsome wife. He was very
much attached to her. She, on the contrary, was in love with the prince’s
servant. She was cheating the prince by foul means. The servant would
mix some intoxicating drug in the wine given to the prince. Then he
would send an ugly servant-maid to the prince. He himself would sport
with the prince’s wife. The prince, under intoxication, was thinking:
‘I am very fortunate. I have got the most beautiful lady in the
world.’ Many days passed thus. One day the servant forgot to mix
the narcotic in the wine. The prince also did not drink much that day.
He joined the ugly woman when he fell a victim to passion. He now found
out that she was the servant-maid. He asked her where his dear wife
was. She kept silent at first. Then the prince drew the sword and threatened
to kill her if she did not reveal the whole truth. She told him everything
and showed the place where his beautiful wife was with the servant.
The prince said: ‘What a fool am I! I have degraded myself by drinking.
Whoever places too much love on a woman becomes despicable. Just as
a bird is not fixed to any particular tree, so also, woman is not fixed
to one man. She has fickle, unsteady mind. I have become a beast. I
have lost my power of discrimination. I regarded my wife as more valuable
than my very life itself. A man who is attached to a woman and who yields
to a woman is a veritable donkey indeed. Woman is evanescent like the
autumnal sky. I did not know woman’s nature till now. She goes
to the dirty servant and she has left me who am ever attached to her
and who is faithful to her. She pretended to show love to me like a
drama actress. I am cheated. The servant is ugly in all his limbs. What
beauty does she find in him?’ The prince became disgusted with
everything. He left the kingdom and went to a forest."
Hemalekha continued: "Therefore, O prince! Beauty is a mental
creation only. Beauty is mind-born. Beauty is the result of mental conception.
Just as you behold beauty in me, others find even better charm in ugly
women. On seeing a woman, her reflection is formed in the mirror of
a man’s mind. If a man thinks of this beauty constantly, desire
is stimulated in that part of the body, which is subject to impulse.
That man in whom the desire is thus stimulated enjoys sensual pleasure,
whereas, he whose desire is not stimulated does not care to see even
the most handsome girl. The cause for this is the constant meditation
on beauty or woman. Boys and ascetics do not meditate or think on this.
Therefore, they do not get any desire for sensual pleasures. Those who
find pleasure in the company of a particular woman create in their minds
the beauty according to their ideas, irrespective of whether the woman
is ugly or most beautiful. They project their ideas of beauty in the
woman. If you ask how beauty is found in an ugly woman and how there
can be joy without beauty, I can only say that a passionate man in his
infatuation is blind. Cupid is painted blind. The passionate man finds
the beauty of Rambha in the most ugly woman. There can be no beauty
without desire. If beauty be natural like sourness, sweetness and bitterness
in substances, then why is it not found in children and young girls?
Therefore, beauty is created by mind only.
"People think as beautiful this physical body which is composed
of flesh, filled with blood, built of nerves, covered with skin, a cage
of bones overgrown with hair, full of bile and phlegm, a box of excreta
and urine, created out of blood and semen, born through the urinary
passage! How can those persons who find pleasure in this be superior
to worms born in filth? O prince, you find my physical body to be beautiful.
Just analyze this body part by part and think over each part. Think
over every part of sweet and delicious things. All things we eat are
changed into abominable dirt. When such is the case, what is lovable
and delighting?"
Hemachuda heard the nectar-like instructions of Hemalekha with great
attention and interest. He developed strong Vairagya and Viveka, meditated
on the all-pervading, pure, immortal Atman and became a Jivanmukta.
Manichuda also learnt the truth from his brother; Muktachuda from his
son; and his wife from her daughter-in-law. The minister and citizens
of that town became wise. Even birds were uttering and others words
of wisdom in that town. Sages Vamadeva and others noticed that all in
that town, including the animals and birds, were learned and wise and
called the city as Vidyanagar or the Town of Wisdom.
Once a young prince saw a beautiful princess on the banks of a river
when he was on a hunting excursion. The princess had a philosophical
bent of mind. She had mastered several Vedantic books. She was practising
deep meditation on Atman. The prince approached her and wanted her to
marry him. She flatly refused. The prince again and again entreated
her in various ways. She finally told him, "Please come and see
me in my residence after ten days. I shall marry you". The prince
also was a student of Vedanta, but he had no real sustained Vairagya.
He spent sleepless nights, and on the morning of the tenth day, eagerly
proceeded to the palace of the princess.
The young princess had already devised a means to escape from the clutches
of marriage. She took a drastic purgative of croton oil continually
for ten days and collected all the motions in ten separate enamel commodes
and arranged them all nicely with numbers 1 to 10 in a big room, covering
all the commodes with beautiful silk clothes. She now looked all skin
and bones. Her eyes were sunken and she lay down on her bed.
The prince came to meet her with great joy. The maid-servant conducted
him to the room where the princess lay. The prince could not recognise
her. He asked the maid-servant, "Where is the young, beautiful
lady? She is not the lady whom I met the other day!" To which the
princess replied, "O dear prince, I am the very same lady. I have
carefully stored up my beauty in the yonder room. Kindly go with me
and see the accumulated beauty there. Come along with me now. I shall
show it to you". So saying, she took the prince to the room, removed
the silk pieces, and asked him to look at her beauty. She added, "This
is the beauty of my skin and flesh". The prince was simply stunned.
He did not speak a word to the lady. He prostrated at her feet and took
her as his mother. He threw off his princely robes and retired into
the forests. Now his heart was filled with intense Vairagya. He sought
the protection of a sage, got instructions from him, practiced rigorous
meditation and attained Knowledge of the Self.
The mind is like the ghost, which is always restless. Once a Brahmin
Pundit, through Mantra Siddhi, had control over a ghost. The ghost said
to the Pundit, "I can do any work for you in a minute. I have supernatural
powers. You must be giving me various kinds of works .... always. If
you leave me even for a second without work, I will at once devour you".
The Brahmin agreed.
The ghost dug a tank for the Brahmin, ploughed the fields and did various
works in a short time. The Brahmin was not able to engage the ghost
in any further work. The ghost threatened him, "Now there is no
work for me. I will devour you". The Brahmin was much puzzled.
He did not know what to do. He went to his Guru and explained his situation.
His teacher said, "Use your common sense. Install a big, stout,
soft, wooden post in front of your house. Apply castor oil, wax and
other greasy substances to the post. Ask the ghost to get up the post
and get down the whole day and night". The disciple acted accordingly
and controlled the ghost without any difficulty. The ghost became helpless.
Even so, you must give to the mind some kind of work or the other always:
Japa, meditation, Svadhyaya, service, Kirtan, prayer and so on. You
must keep it fully occupied. Then only the mind can be easily controlled.
You will have no evil thoughts. You can be well established both in
physical and mental Brahmacharya.
Brahmacharya is abstaining from all kinds of Maithuna or sexual enjoyment
for ever, in all places and in all conditions, physically, mentally
and verbally. - Yajnavalkya
Thinking of a woman or her picture, praising a woman or her picture,
sporting with a woman or her picture, glancing at a woman or her picture,
secretly talking to a woman, thinking of a sinful action towards a woman
actuated by sensuality, determining upon the sinful action, and bodily
action resulting in the discharge of semen are the eight characteristics
of copulation; and Brahmacharya is quite contrary to all these eight
indications. - Daksha Smriti
Know that in this world there is nothing that cannot be attained by
one who remains from birth to death a perfect celibate... In one person,
knowledge of the four Vedas, and in another, perfect celibacy - of these,
the latter is superior to the former who is wanting in celibacy. -
The Mahabharata
Brahmacharya or spotless chastity is the best of all penances; a celibate
of such spotless chastity is not a human being, but a god indeed...
To the celibate who conserves the semen with great efforts, what is
there unattainable in this world? By the power of the composure of the
semen, one will become just like myself. - Lord Sankara
And those students who find that world of God through chastity, theirs
is that heavenly country; theirs, in whatever world they are, is freedom.
- Chhandogya Upanishad
A wise man should avoid married life as if it were a burning pit of
live coals. From the contact comes sensation, from sensation thirst,
from thirst clinging; by ceasing from that, the soul is delivered from
all sinful existence. - Lord Buddha
These sexual propensities, though they are at first like ripples, acquire
the proportions of a sea on account of bad company. - Narada
Sensuality destroys life, lustre, strength, vitality, memory, wealth,
great fame, holiness and devotion to the Supreme. - Lord Krishna
Death is hastened by letting out semen from the body; life is saved
and prolonged by preserving it.
There is no doubt that people die prematurely by letting the semen
out of the body; knowing this, the Yogi should always preserve semen
and lead a life of strict celibacy. - Siva Samhita
Caution in diet is of threefold value, but abstinence from sexual intercourse
is of fourfold value. The Sannyasi had, and has a rule never to look
at a woman. - Atreya
Let not a Brahmin see a woman naked. - Manu
By Swami Chidananda
8. Brahmacharya: Preserve the vital force (Veerya) very, very
carefully. Veerya is God in motion or manifestation—Vibhuti. Veerya
is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life, thought
and intelligence.
Brahmacharya, which is the third of the five niyamas of Maharshi Patanjali,
gets mentioned in practically every one of the scriptures of Sanatana
Vaidic Dharma (Eternal Religion)—the Bhagavata, the Ramayana and
all the Puranas. It is also in all the Yogas—Bhakti Yoga, Jnana
Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga.
In the Hindu tradition three great principles or qualities have been
laid down as fundamental practices for spiritual development. They are
ahimsa, satyam and brahmacharya (non-injury, truthfulness and chastity).
Yadi moksham icchasi chetthaatha
Vishayan vishavat thyaja
Brahmacharyam ahimsa cha
Satyam peeyusha-vad-bhaja
"If you desire your highest blessedness, give up like poison desire
for sensual enjoyment and pleasures and like nectar receive into your
life the triple virtues of chastity, non-injury and truthfulness."
Down the ages this has come to be the cardinal doctrine of the Higher
Life.
Within the context of the Christian faith, the prophetic religion that
formed itself around the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, faith, hope
and charity are lauded as cardinal virtues. Within the context of this
religion, there is also Sannyas (order of renunciation)—the Christian
monastic tradition. In this monastic tradition, three great vows are
indispensable, they are poverty, chastity and obedience. That is the
monastic vow. That is the vow of the monks and priests in seminaries
as also the vow of the nuns in convents.
This also existed in pre-Christian Roman times when for the mystical
Oracle of Delphi, it was only virgins who were qualified to perform
the high task of divining the will of God and guiding man. This they
proclaimed in a state of spiritual trance. These unmarried maidens were
dedicated to God and this task, and it was believed that it was only
in the pure minds and hearts of these virgins that God revealed His
sacred Will. They were called Vestil Virgins of Delphi. So, the tradition
of brahmacharya—chastity, self-control, sex purity did not commence
from Christianity, it must have already been there within the tradition
of Judaism as well.
Long before that, during the time of Buddha—who preceded Jesus
by more than 500 years—the doctrine of chastity was a necessary
preparation and foundation for the life of renunciation, asceticism
and Yoga for the seeker after the Great Reality or for attainment of
Enlightenment and Wisdom. This foundation was recognized by Buddha.
The Young prince living in a palace with his young wife and baby—Rahul,
left everything and went into the forest. That great renunciation, great
tyaga was wonderfully brought out by Sir Edwin Arnold in his Light of
Asia, a poetical presentation of Buddha’s great life, career and
attainment.
Thus, it is something that has been handed down to humanity from time
immemorial. It is a part of the global heritage from various diverse
directions and sources. Far back, even before Zoroaster or Buddha, the
ancient prophets of the Upanishads proclaimed the same thing. We hear
mentioned in the Vedic age of Indra and Virochana approaching Brahma
for instructions, and Brahma sending them back to observe brahmacharya
for so many years—"Then come and ask me, I shall give you
some knowledge, part of my knowledge." So they go and observe the
vow of celibacy for so many years and come back. Then He gives them
a part of the Truth. After that He says—"Now go back and observe
celibacy for some more years and come back." Because, it is necessary
to grasp the concept of That which is beyond the grasp of the mind and
the senses, beyond speech and thought. They were unable to grasp it.
A gross mind which is identified with the body, with the senses and
with the sense appetites, and which is enslaved by the pleasure principle
only, is unfit to think of abstract and abstruse ideas and concepts.
A mind that has become gross due to the progressive increase of rajas
and tamas, becomes unfit and naturally spiritual life and practices
are a far cry to that individual. Mind must become attenuated, it must
become very fine. There should be no grossness—desires, attachments
and cravings in it. A certain psychic fineness of the antahkarana (inner
being) is said to be essential and indispensable for rising higher into
sublime ideas, thoughts and processes of viveka (discrimination), vichara
(enquiry) and atma sadhana (enquiry into the Self). Therefore, this
process of purification, the rising from the gross to the subtle, is
the essence of the concept of brahmacharya.
The sage, Rishya Sringa, was established in brahmacharya. When a whole
kingdom was threatened by famine, due to a drought, the king was deeply
concerned, people were in great fear and anxiety. Then some sages advised
that if this great man, who was established in the vow of absolute celibacy
and continence, could be brought to the kingdom, into the royal city,
then the heavens would bless them with rain. So they induced him to
come. Thus the famine and possible death due to starvation of countless
people was averted.
Long, long ago, our Puranic scripture, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana
has given the highest place for a great lady who was a paragon of virtue
and chastity and total fidelity to her husband. Never did a thought
of any other man cross her mind even in dream or imagination. So much
so that the three great cosmic deities, the Creator, the Preserver and
the Dissolver—Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara had to admit her greatness
and confess that they had failed in trying to shake her from her firm
adherence to chastity when they tried to test her—she was given
a crucial test, maybe to glorify this great quality of chastity. She
became immortal—Sati Anasuya, the mother of the Trimurtis incarnated
as one avatara—Sri Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Adi-Guru.
Even so, the great world mother, Jagan-Mata Sita Janaki—the queen
and wife of Lord Rama—became immortal as an example of the great
virtue of pativrata (faithful wife). And therefore the couple, Maryada
Purushottam Bhagavan Sri Ramachandra and Jagan Mata Sita Janaki are
regarded as the ideal for the second ashrama—the grihastashrama,
forever and for all times to come, for all those that believe in the
Vedas and the Vedic way of life.
For 14 years Laxmana observed the vow of perfect celibacy and therefore
it was he alone who was able to ultimately give victory to the side
of Rama by destroying Indrajit (Meghanada) the invincible and invulnerable
son of Ravana.
In the cultural history of India, the name of Bhishma evokes awe, wonder
and admiration in the hearts of each and every individual who has heard
about him and the great vow he took in order to fulfil the desire of
his father. It has gone down in history as Bhishma Pratigna. He became
a lifelong Brahmachari, and was one of the most invincible of warriors
in the whole narrative of the Mahabharata. Just as the determination,
the resolution, and the austerity performed by Bhagirath, another scion
of the royal race and royal family, has gone down in history as something
unprecedented, unparalleled, unique. We speak of Bhagiratha prayatna!
Now, we cannot simply brush aside all these facts as so mush foolishness
or so much meaningless. These were not normal people, they were supernormal
extraordinary personalities who had acquired Supreme Wisdom, great intuition
and attained towering heights of Self-realization. Sages like Vyasa
and Valmiki, were not infantile, irrational idealists—they were
Tattva-vettas, Brahma-jnanis and therefore we would only be demonstrating
our emptiness, our bankruptcy in vichara and viveka if we question the
rationality of the principles and teachings of these great ones.
So it seems to be important that not only in the context of Satya Sanatana
Vaidic Dharma but in the context of all the great living religions of
the world today there is something deeply scientific and meaningful
and of great importance in the observance of these principles. And you
will find that Zoroaster, Socrates, Jesus, Buddha, they might not have
propagated any Yoga path or Sadhana system, but they gave forth great
teachings for attaining Blessedness by fulfilling the highest purpose
of human existence namely love of God.
All these are indications of the concept of conserving a certain dynamic
force in the human biological being and converting and sublimating this
force upon which your existence, my existence—the existence of
all of us physically, has been dependent. I am here, Chidananda, sitting
and talking to you through the Grace of Gurudev. This has been possible
because my parents produced for me this physical vehicle into which
I could come at the time of prarabdha (pre-fixed birth). Even so, because
the parents of Buddha, Raja Shuddhodana and mother Yasodhara had prepared
the wondrous body for the Tathagata, we have the inspiring teachings
of this great Master who built up a large following, a great religion,
philosophy, and meditational system.
And it is therefore this concept of conserving a dynamic biological
force within the human system and converting it into a higher subtler
force through sublimation, conservation, preservation and taking it
higher into the psyche in the form of a very, very refined subtle energy,
psychical energy called ojas—ojas means that which is radiant,
that which shines, that which is effulgent. This wise technique, a scientific
method of converting the gross into the subtle; physical into the spiritual;
psychic into the spiritual was evolved by the great sages.
Because provision was made by the Cosmic Intelligence Power that we
call para-Brahman and the Cosmic Force that we call Para-shakti, Adi-shakti,
Maha-shakti, it has been possible that different species of living creatures,
different species of plant life, botanical life, has lived, developed
and evolved through the ages. This perpetuation of the species is the
law of life in the entire universe, in every form of life, not only
human, animal or sub-animal—insect, reptile, fish—but even
in the botanical world. How there is cross pollination and how the flower
is the means of carrying out this act of reproduction, it is an intricate,
mysterious marvel! Those who study it will be amazed at the wonderful
science behind it, will marvel at this unknown mysterious Cosmic Intelligence
that has brought this process about. One is struck with awe and admiration
when one begins to go deeper into the process of how life is perpetuated
on every level, every plane and every field of life, even from the most
rudimentary life of a single cell, how it splits, divides itself and
multiplies.
How wonderful that a seed is able to germinate due to the presence
of two factors, so that the power of these factors gives it that mighty
force of even breaking through rock, breaking through the pressure of
heavy soil over it—a tiny, tender little thing like a seed that
has just germinated. What a miracle! What great force! It cleaves the
earth ten times harder than its tender shoot, and surfaces. If by chance
a seed has been deposited on the top of a concrete terrace, when it
germinates it even breaks through bricks and cement walls and displaces
them and puts forth its own life.
This act of multiplying and reproducing is present everywhere. It saturates
and permeates the whole universe because from the angle of cosmology,
the entire universe is the outcome of such a primal first wish for multiplication.
"I am One, may I become many." Thus the Vedas say that there
was one imponderable, mysterious Being. What that Being was, who knows,
because that Being was one without a second. So, a second not being
present, not existing how can there arise the question of anyone cognizing
that Being? Who was there to cognize when that-Ekameva ’dvitiyam
Brahma (God) alone existed. And in that mysterious Being there arose
this germ of an idea. He thought: "May I become many. I am One,
may I become many." That is how they try to explain the genesis
of the advitiya and the aneka from the Ekameva ’dvitiya. And, therefore,
the concept of multiplication is at the very heart and essence of existence
because it arose from Brahma and therefore it is present everywhere.
In the Bible it is put in a different way. God created man and told
him: "Go forth and multiply." And, if you delve into the scriptures
of all religions, you will find that somewhere or the other this fact
is there.
Therefore, the great Cosmic Intelligence and Power called God or Paramatman,
the Supreme Soul or the Universal Spirit, permeates and indwells everything
that exists. And thus when there is a provision made in a certain period
of life then it takes on the nature of a very, very sacred act. Because,
ultimately the atman is not created, what is created by the parents,
human or sub-human, is only a vehicle for the entry into the earth plane
of a spirit, a nucleus of consciousness. And the creation of this receptacle
is an act wherein the partners in a marital state co-operate with Brahma,
the creator—Srishtikarta Brahma. So they take on a certain part
of Brahma’s function. Therefore it is sacred.
It is this force of brahmacharya that is the invaluable force that
gives success in sravana (hearing), manana (reflection) and nididhyasana
(concentration). It gives success in the practice of the nine modes
of Bhakti—Sravana, kirtana, smarana, archana, vandana, pada-sevana,
dasya, sakhya, and atma-nivedana. It makes possible the successful practice
of Raja Yoga—yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana,
dhyana and samadhi. It makes for a fruitful practice of asana, pranayama,
mudra, bandha, kriya leading into samadhi of the Hatha Yoga system.
It is this force that brought forth Ravindranath Tagore, Bhagat Singh,
Mahatma Gandhi, Beethoven, Bach, Albert Schweitzer, Joan of Arc and
Mother Theresa. It is this marvellous force that brought forth sage
Valmiki and all the other great towering figures in history. Their miracle
was because of this secret of conservation, preservation, sublimation
and sublime application towards a higher purpose.
The profligate who wastes his vital power and becomes a nervous wreck
falls prey to various diseases. He is like the foolish multi-millionaire’s
son who throws away his money in drinking, gambling and other extravagances,
purchasing a dozen cadilacs, houses and land in Germany, Switzerland,
Italy, Isles of Capri and Monte Carlo and then afterwards becoming bankrupt
and reduced to a beggar, why? Whatever was given to him was squandered.
It was lost. Not knowing its value, he became reduced to abject poverty.
What a deplorable, pitiable state!
Energy and strength are necessary for all processes and all activities.
The higher the activity, the greater the need of energy. Diesel can
drive certain vehicles. Petrol can only drive certain vehicles. Neither
diesel nor petrol can make an aeroplane fly, they have to have high
octane fuel for making aeroplanes fly. Therefore, crude energy is enough
for physical functions. A more subtle type of energy is necessary for
intellectual functions—going to the university and studying for
a law, science or nuclear science degree. An altogether different type
of highly refined, extremely subtle force is necessary for the process
that takes you across the barrier of the relative and launches you into
the Absolute. Dhyanavastha—it is that subtlest of the subtle, most
refined process that brings you face to face with the Supreme Reality—God-realization.
It is the stage of Yoga next to Super-consciousness or samadhi, where
Purusha (Spirit) attains awareness of His own ever-free, independent,
all-perfect nature distinct from prakriti (matter). And therefore, it
is only one step next to the threshold of Super-consciousness, Self-realization,
Aparoksha Anubhuti. For that process, you can just imagine how subtle
and how refined the mind has to be. And so the gross potential has to
be first of all refined. It is like mining ore from the bowels of the
earth. The ore contains gold, but it is not gold. It has to be refined
and sifted until pure gold is brought out. So the biological sex-force
has to be transmuted into a subtle psychic spiritual force called ojas.
All this talk about brahmacharya must not give us the impression that
in Hinduism and in the Hindu religion, sex has no place and celibacy
is the only thing that is insisted upon and lauded as the highest virtue.
That would be a mistake, a misconception. In the Varnashrama Dharma,
pattern of life formulated and given for the individual born into the
Hindu faith (Vaidica Dharma), brahmacharya is insisted upon as total
abstinence from sex life, from any form of physical and mental manifestation
of sex life, for three of the four ashramas. But in the Grihasthashrama
(householders’ life) the exercise of sex life is regarded as sacred,
and elaborate rules and regulations have been drawn up for it. A great
deal of advice, guidance and instructions have been given for the second
ashrama, where it becomes not only a right and permitted but is elevated
to the sacred duty of the householder. It has been given as the most
important duty to perpetuate the particular family lineage, and it is
considered a sacred duty to contribute one’s mite towards the generation
of tomorrow. So, it has been recognized as an important function of
the human individual, and this lifelong partnership is regarded as one
of the most sacred aspects of human life. Here it has been carried to
the level of the yajna (sacrifice). In the samskaras (four stages of
life) this particular aspect of yajna is there in order to support life.
Just as the eating function of the individual has been taken to the
level of a yajna, saying it is ahuti, not an offering to an outer fire
in a yajna kund but a daily sacred offering to agni (the inner gastric
fire)—to that agni each morsel of food is offered as ahuti; so
this is a sacred yajna—the offering of the ahuti of the life principle
into the partner in order to perpetuate the family lineage.
But then it is made legitimate, permissible, a duty. If you do not
perform that duty, dire consequences are foretold by the scriptures—that
if you do not have a progeny, and there also if you do not have a male
progeny, the parents will go to hell, a special hell reserved for them.
And, therefore, Sanatana Vaidica Dharma has even permitted that if a
Brahmin has not a putra santana (male child) he may take another wife.
He can even take four wives. Where the male offspring is very important
to a royal household, a king can marry several wives. So Hinduism is
not anti-sex or a negation of the human nature and human function. On
the contrary where it is necessary it is regarded as the highest duty.
Brahmacharya is that way of living your life, that way of conduct and
behaviour that will ultimately and gradually lead you towards Brahma
jnana—grant you Brahma jnana. In a specific way, it has come to
mean purity in sex life. But, this is an insufficient meaning. Mahatma
Gandhi said that no attempt to keep oneself under control and in mastery
only from the point of view of one’s carnal passions or physical
appetites will ever be successful unless simultaneously one tries to
keep all one’s senses under control. Absolute establishment in
brahmacharya, absolute sex purity is possible only if one is a self-controlled
person in a completely integral sense of the term. You must have your
ears under control. You must have your eyes under control. You must
have your hands and feet under control. You must have your tongue also
under control. Then there is some possibility of being established in
sex purity. And Gurudev’s concept of brahmacharya is not only limited
to the physical restraint of the body and its passions but includes
mental brahmacharya as well. He said: "You must be established
in perfect brahmacharya, physically as well as mentally so that even
in dream, any gross or carnal thought should not arise in your mind."
How is it that so much importance is given to the sex function in modern
materialistic society today. People are obsessed and dominated by it.
This is human perversion. The Upanishads speak about the nine-gated
city which is the abode of the mysterious Brahman—it is this body.
Any medical person will tell you that the activity of the body processes
are made up of anabolism and catabolism—combinedly spoken of as
metabolism. Anabolism is the building process, catabolism is the breaking
down process. The breakdown process naturally leads to the accumulation
of debris (mala). Accumulated debris is unwanted matter and naturally
if it accumulates it threatens life. It has to be eliminated. For intake,
provision has been made through the mouth—you eat and drink and
if you want to communicate you have to speak. Because life needs oxygen
you breathe through the nose. If you want to get knowledge you have
to see and you have to hear also. Then there are the two excretory exits
through which we eliminate waste matter. The actual most important function
of these two lower extremities is elimination which starts at birth
and ends only at the point of death. From the first breath the jivatma
takes as a physical entity until the last breath leaves the body, the
eliminating function goes on. So these are actually eliminating exits.
Out of this entire life-span the reproductive function is performed
for only a small period. If we strictly adhere to the injunctions of
the Vedas that period is restricted to one-tenth of the life-span.
Otherwise, for the rest of the time—morning, noon, evening, night
and if it is winter even at midnight, these exits are used only for
drainage. You cannot imagine an architect designing a house or a building
without drainage through the bathroom and kitchen sinks, otherwise filth
will accumulate and you will have to leave the house. So, you can understand
if toxins and waste material are not eliminated from the body, toxic
waste will accumulate and soon there will be general toxemia and the
person will die.
Long ago when I was a student someone with right understanding told
me that these lower extremities are just for drainage. But, if instead
of that, you through your peculiar type of imagination focus upon it
with some other concept which is only a very specialized function and
which is exercised for only a brief period in order that the human species
does not become extinct, you become obsessed and enslaved by it.
Why is the pleasure principle linked with the exercise of any sense
organ? It is absolutely indispensable, for if it is not coupled with
the pleasure principle, the very impulse to exercise it will not be
there and therefore will not be indulged in.
The one great problem of modern society is the sexual behaviour of
people. This is going from bad to worse over the past several decades.
Those who have some contact with Western society knows what aberrations
are going on in this field—especially in the marital field. We
know of divorces without limit, a thing which society looked upon with
great outrage in the Victorian Era. People were scandalized if a man
left his wife and went off with another woman or if a woman left her
husband for another man. It was a major scandal. It was a shame! Now,
it is the order of the day. Special courts have even been established
for dealing with divorce cases only.
Why is this so? The secret of this is how one views the other sex.
How does man view woman? How does woman view man? Swami Vivekananda
was asked what is the distinctive quality or feature of Indian society
as distinct from Western society—he was one who had made a vast
practical life study of Indian people and Indian Society, having criss-crossed
the whole country by foot, going into villages, towns, cities and families,
so these things were familiar to him. Two things he said: One is the
concept of Guru-shishya relationship, the second was that in Western
society the woman is a wife, she is Mrs. So and So... So the wife-hood
of a woman is the dominant factor in Western society, whereas in Indian
society she is primarily a mother—a mother figure, and her wife-hood
is nobody’s concern except the man whom she has lawfully wedded
as his life’s partner. And the common term for addressing a woman
in the whole of India from Cape Comorin to Himalayas, from Nagaland
to Punjab is mother, mataji, amma. In public she is always addressed
as amma. If a husband refers to his wife he never calls her by name,
he always refers to her as the mother of my son, the mother of my daughter.
And when visitors are there he refers to her as his child’s mother—Ramu’s
mother. Thus he brought out the central unique feature of Indian society
as distinct from Western society.
This gives us a key—what the normal, spontaneous, natural idea
of man to woman should be. A man, if he is normal and has a certain
level of refinement in his psyche, when he sees a woman the thought
should come to him of some human relationship. There is a human relationship
between one human being and another human being, so the only thought
should be on the basis of some type of human relationship. Therefore,
a man is to a woman either a brother, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle,
a father or a husband and woman is to a man either a sister, a cousin,
an aunt, a niece or a mother. But, if the first thing that comes into
the mind is: "I am a man and here is a woman," then there
is something fundamentally and basically wrong in the make-up or bringing-up
of that person. If a woman looks at a man and says: "Here is a
male, here is a man," then if this is the only idea that is evoked
with regard to the other sex, it means that there is something missing,
there is something fundamentally wrong which is not correct and right
within that consciousness.
And what is the anatomy of this error in view, in attitude, in approach,
in the feeling itself? The anatomy of this error is an obsession with
the physical level of the personality.
A person is a physical, biological being, he is a mental, intellectual,
psychological being. He is also a vital, living being, which is neither
physical only or psychical only. He has a pranic level where he has
hunger, thirst, a feeling of heat and cold. He has a psychological level,
and in this psychological level there is a spontaneous, uncontrolled
part which keeps constantly in a state of activity in the form of thoughts,
memory, imagination, sentiments, emotions, attitudes, moods, over which
he has no control at all, it is spontaneous. And there is another part
which is a purposeful exercise of a certain part of the antahkarana
(inner being). That purposeful exercise is in the form of observation,
perception, discrimination—grasping the distinction between what
you perceive, and something other than what you perceive. So, it is
a specialized performance, a specialized function that takes place and
it is usually purposefully initiated and carried out also. It is called
the intellectual process of reasoning, discriminating, inquiring, reflecting
and perceiving in a special way. This is the higher prakriti (nature),
the buddhi (intellect). Both of them together go to make up the inner
psychological level of your being. And then a refined higher level of
the buddhi functions as an awareness of what is allowed and what is
not allowed as a human being.
"I have a great background. I have inherited a culture. I am not
an isolated phenomenon. I am connected with the past. And there is something
in me of the totality of the past—their ideals, their views, their
attitudes, their concepts of right and wrong. So all these things are
functioning within me." And so each one comes here with a certain
inbuilt awareness of what is beautiful, what is ugly, what is noble,
what is ignoble, what is proper, what is improper, what is right, what
is wrong, what ought to be done, what ought not to be done. And this
sense of the ideal and what is correct and right, is called the moral
sense or ethical sense. This is a higher operation than even the intellectual
level of our being. This is an ethical man, a moral man.
And if in your consciousness there has come about a certain refinement,
and that refinement brings about your normal consciousness to be in
a state of identifying yourself with your ethical level, ethical personality,
then your whole life takes on a different plane. Whereas, if there is
an essential crudeness in the consciousness within, and it tends to
normally and habitually identify itself with the grossest aspect of
your human personality—the physical, biological, body aspect, then
the entire human reaction comes upon the physical, biological level
only. Spontaneously, first and foremost it is the biological level that
makes itself felt, demonstrates itself and expresses itself and in this
way looking at another only as a physical being and qualified by a certain
sex.
If you think: "I am this body, this physical body, physical mechanisms,"
and therefore being rooted in this awareness, mainly rooted in this
consciousness of yourself, naturally, you think of all other beings
upon this concept, upon the same level. If someone appears before you,
it is a physical body that appears before you, and your reaction to
it is also a biological animal reaction. Then naturally it creates a
problem right upon the physical level itself.
It needs therefore a refinement of consciousness. Gradually you have
to educate yourself to shed—like one shakes off a lose slipper
and puts on a new one—one has to shake off the old remnant. There
was a certain human race thousands of years ago when there was no intellectual
development, no mental development, no evolution, leave alone spiritual
development. These beings therefore lived in a state of one hundred
per cent body consciousness only, just as the animals live. The animal
level of consciousness is totally identified with the body. And if man’s
consciousness is predominantly on the level of the animal consciousness,
he is far from spiritual evolution, and all tall talk about Yoga, sadhana,
samadhi, Super-consciousness or Ecstasy is only talk. It is so much
of ideas—so much of words. If you have a good command of words
you can talk about these ideas, you can give expression to them. But,
if you are always rooted and caught in the net and coils of a gross
physical awareness only, and your whole reaction to the outer world
of physical things is also upon the physical biological level, then
there is a great deal of spade-work to do.
The main function of the lower extremities is drainage, cleansing,
elimination. That is their function. But if this is set aside and not
given its rightful place and some special function alone is exaggerated
and blown-up out of all proportion, and the mind becomes hooked on this
wrong exaggerated aspect of the eliminatory instrument, then this causes
problems.
The Cosmic Intelligence Power and its manifest counterpart prakriti
(nature), has built in a mechanism within all living creatures, that
there is a time when this principle of appropriation is not at all manifest,
not at all functioning. In an infant and in a child it is not there
at all. In its joy of living it is completely extroverted. Children
have less body consciousness than adults, so in one way we are grosser
than them. Therefore there is a distinct period when this inner element,
this inner principle of sex is not at all felt, it is absent. But then,
at a certain age, gradually it is made to start manifesting in various
ways. First of all in physical ways. Various symptoms appear—little
moustaches come, little hoarseness of voice manifests, and a vague awareness
of certain strange feelings within the body. These are pre-puberty changes.
It is a period when the being gradually goes into pre-adulthood in the
form of adolescence. It is the most sensitive part of the human beings’
life, and it is then that the individual requires wise guidance, a good
atmosphere, right type of company, ideas and environment. Unfortunately
in this modern world, everything that is inimical, harmful and undesirable
alone forms the outer atmosphere and environment of the society of today.
Our ancients went out of the way to see that the contrary would be
the case. They wanted the growing individual to be surrounded by helpful,
elevating and ideal surroundings. For this, they formulated a certain
mode of life in this period and gave it the most significant term—Brahmacharya
Ashrama. In this first quarter of his life he is sent away from the
family, from the city, from all sorts of temptations and attractive
things. He goes into an ennobling, elevating natural atmosphere—waking
up in the morning with the beauty of sunrise, soft breezes and birds
singing, breathing unpolluted air, drinking pure water and surrounded
by natural flora. He is sent to a Gurukula where a sage and his wife,
well learned in scriptures and leading an ideal life of moderation,
self-control, good conduct, with noble character and purity take care
of them. They live in a family with an ideal daily routine. That was
the proper foundation laid down for the whole life. In such a wonderful
atmosphere the students thrived. They became ideal individuals. They
shone with a certain splendour of purity. They had strong, stalwart
limbs and well-formed bodies. They were early risers, did their exercises
and bathed in forest streams. They did all types of service—cutting
and gathering firewood for the Guru and for his wife’s kitchen,
cutting grass and gathering leaves for the Guru’s goshala, tending
the cows, working in the fields. And at the same time they studied—two
or three hours of instruction in the morning, two or three hours in
the afternoon, and then satsanga at night. Thus they grew up completely
protected from all demeaning influences.
So, it is the one-hundred per cent opposite pole to the modern environment
in which a student has to struggle even in primary class, with unfavourable
circumstances. Everything around them—the people, the sights, the
sounds, the environment, the polluted atmosphere and wrong company—everything
negative. So it is an uphill task! Therefore, all the more necessity
for raising one’s voice and shouting from the house-tops, proclaiming
the great message of brahmacharya, self-control, moderation, pure thoughts,
pure words, pure company—purity in thought, word and deed; pure
literature to read—not touching anything that is degrading, yellow
literature, blue films and advertisement boards which you can see from
half a mile away, either of some very, very compromising attitude of
people or someone with a pistol shooting others. All this is likely
to bring a wrong type of inner evolution.
After all, the human mind is a marvellous camera, whatever it sees,
it takes in. It is like a super computer. You do not have to feed in
data, it feeds of itself. The whole world is its source and this human
computer becomes filled with ashlila (dirt), it becomes a garbage can
due to the very atmosphere the individual has been put in. So, how much
more necessary, how great is the need for giving the right type of instructions—opening
their eyes and making them aware to what they should be closed; having
ears, what they should not hear; having eyes, what they should not see.
How to go amidst this atmosphere untouched, that is the great lesson
that is necessary.
Therefore, there is a need for a re-orientation of your own consciousness
because it is in terms of the level of your consciousness that you will
relate yourself and see and build up your attitude towards other persons
and things and beings outside you in the environment, in the universe.
You are a person living in this universe. You cannot try to isolate
yourself. You cannot try to cut yourself off. There has to be inter-changes,
otherwise you will develop an inner sickness. You will become neurotic
and self-centered. That also is not a healthy thing. That has to be
avoided. There has to be normal human intercourse and at the same time
it should be upon a firm healthy basis. Such a firm, healthy basis can
come only on the basis of your own level of consciousness.
If your level of consciousness is a completely gross, ignorant, body-based
consciousness, physical consciousness, naturally you are going in for
trouble, you are only inviting such a vibration from others. You will
see others, understand others, relate yourself to others only on this
self-same gross biological idea of yourself. If this has to be changed,
you have to raise your level of consciousness to a higher level of consciousness.
"I am a spiritual being, or I am at least a mental-intellectual
machinery having a physical body—but not a physical body having
a mind and intellect."
This complete change of your own awareness of yourself, your own idea
of yourself is to be brought about and established. That is the key
to success in brahmacharya which is the basis of all attainment. If
you feel yourself as a gross biological, physical body, your entire
approach, your entire relationship with the outer physical world will
be upon this plane, and you can well imagine what will be the result
of it upon yourself. Every human being will be to you a gross biological
physical body only. This relationship will plague you day and night.
You will be obsessed only with this physical consciousness. And until
you, with various devices, face yourself from this level, no amount
of reading, no amount of satsanga, no amount of imagining yourself to
be something else, is going to help you in any way. You have to turn
the key and suddenly raise the level. Once this level is transcended,
the whole subject of brahmacharya takes on a new direction. Then things
have to be tackled upon a different level.
The root cause of all sin is body consciousness. Therefore, if you
want to be free of body consciousness you start with your body level.
Be rooted in brahmacharya. Brahmacharya is the sense of total mastery
of all your senses, self-control and all that is necessary to bring
about self-mastery—purity of food, purity of company, purity of
reading, nobility of thoughts, having self-restraint (nirodh) in your
mind. If any negative down-playing thought comes, instantaneously it
must be thrown out. It should not be allowed to remain for a single
moment, not even a split second. That type of self-restraint, samskara
(impression) has to be cultivated, created within your antahkarana (inner
being).
If an undesirable person tries to enter an exclusive club or restaurant,
there are people called bouncers at the door, they will catch hold of
him and bodily lift him up and throw him out of the door. He cannot
gate-crash and get in. So you must have your own psychological, ethical
bouncers within you for all gross gate-crashers in the form of wrong
thoughts. In the same way, there are machines in the mint and also in
sophisticated factories where they select fruits and nuts for export
market—they go up a conveyer-belt and different sizes are separated.
Anything that is of bad quality gets eliminated and only the best is
retained.
In the same way there should be created within your mind a device where
anything that is sub-standard, opposed to your spiritual or ethical
ideal, automatically gets eliminated, thrown out. These are all methods
to elevate your consciousness.
Brahmacharya is total purity—a complete view, different view of
looking at things and people and experiences, and more than anything
else, a total and different view of looking at yourself. Ultimately
others are what you are to yourself. The first change has to come within
you, then that change can also begin to come in others.
In a very knowledgeable part of Gurudev’s teachings on brahmacharya,
He has said: "Change the angle of vision. It is a psychological
thing—change of angle of vision. He has given a number of beautiful
instances how a change of angle of vision can bring about a total revolution
in your perception and naturally in your reactions. When the perception
itself becomes changed, your reaction to perception will also become
different, not what it was before.
We should make a promise to the Lord and a promise to ourselves that
we will enter into a glorious new life with an absolutely changed vision
and completely transformed awareness of ourselves, lifting our consciousness
from obsession with the gross body and its parts to a level of consciousness
where there is an inner awakening, where there is a great light within
and we shine with a renewed awareness of our true spiritual identity—I
am a Hindu, I am an Indian. I am an inheritor of a great ethical tradition,
ethical heritage. I must be a living embodiment of this heritage. I
must make myself a personification of dharma. I must become a channel
of this great ethical view of life, way of life.
God bless you to make use of the wisdom you have received as your great
heritage of the past. My prayers with each and everyone of you in this
sublime and noble task of self-culture unto perfection.
Brahmacharya is a magic word, a key to success in all walks of life.
It is a radiance that shines through one’s thoughts, speech and
activities. It is tejas and ojas. It is verily Para Shakti, Bhagavati,
the Divine Mother Herself in manifestation. It is dynamic divinity,
it is God in motion. It is a vibhuti of God. God is manifest in this
cosmos, in this cosmic phenomenal process as Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara.
He is present in human society in the form of their respective shaktis—Parvati,
Lakshmi and Saraswati, whom we adore every year during the nine nights
of Navaratri. And the same Cosmic Being that manifests as Brahma, Vishnu
and Maheshvara, that vigorously acts in this phenomenal universe of
man as Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati, that same Cosmic Being is residing
within us as the great kundalini shakti at the muladhara chakra—the
basic centre among the six centers situated along the spinal column,
culminating in the seventh centre, the 1000 petalled lotus in the crown
of the head (this is the area within the psychic body corresponding
to the physical crown of the head). And the most significant of all
aspects of kundalini shakti is the energy, the creative force, the creative
energy. And therefore, creative energy is said to be God in motion.
It is divine vibhuti. It is a manifestation of Para Shakti. The control
of one’s senses and the resolution to preserve, conserve, transform,
convert and sublimate this gross physical force into a subtle mental,
intellectual force and ultimately sublimate it into a pure spiritual
force that shines in one as intense aspiration, as the power to concentrate,
as good thoughts and meditation that leads to Super-consciousness. All
this and more the power of continence can do for the human being. Most
of the great intellectual giants and geniuses have been persons of great
character, self-control and concentration—Vivekananda, Dayananda
Saraswati, Mahatma Gandhi.
"Samyam!" (control) say the Upanishads. The uncontrolled
one can hardly comprehend the subtler than the subtlest or attain jnana.
It is not for the vacillating or the weak. Therefore, Swami Vivekananda
stressed a great deal on one’s strength—inner mental strength,
strength of character, strength of self-control, strength of body and
mind.
The basis of this pervasive purity of life—of thoughts, of imagination,
of actions, of Brahmacharya—is character. If one has a lofty character,
that strength of character enables him to hold on to a high level and
standard of living. The basis of character is self-control. The basis
of self-control is wise living, avoiding all that is adverse to self-control
and wisely, with viveka (discrimination) and vichara (enquiry), ordering
one’s life in such a way that one always is amidst auspicious surroundings
and always wisely avoids temptations. They say: "Discretion is
the better part of valour." Therefore one must know how to be and
when to be valorous and strong, and when and how to avoid being foolhardy,
when to be discrete. There is a saying: "Fools rush in where angels
fear to tread." Therefore, discretion is the better part of valour.
Such discretion, such self-control, such wise-living can arise only
from alertness, a vigilant alertness, an inner alertness, to see where
one is going, to know what will happen if one goes in that direction,
and to be able to pull back if it is the wrong direction and go in the
right direction.
The basis of such wise self-control are principles for living adopted
after much consideration. The basis of such principles is to have a
lofty ideal. "I must become like this. I must become like So and
So." The basis of lofty idealism can enable one to achieve any
victory and shine. The basis of such idealism is keen aspiration. First
of all you must desire it.
The basis of a successful academic career in the university is high
distinction in the examination. The basis of high distinction is study,
study, study—burning the midnight oil, avoiding all sorts of wasteful
activities, avoiding the company of frivolous, hedonistic people and
cultivating the company of serious-minded people and keen attention
in the classroom when the professor is explaining some new principles
or new lesson and lots of homework. This means determination. And the
basis of such study and a scholarly attitude towards one’s education
is seriousness, a desire to succeed, and an aspiration: "I must
have top marks, I must be among the first." So, this urge, this
keen aspiration becomes something instinctive. It is healthy, it is
correct. Zeal, fervour, aspiration are highly laudable. This is a positive,
creative, constructive urge. There should be aspiration.
Such aspiration comes from an understanding—that is what is worthwhile
having. What is merely external show, if I run after it, I will make
a fool of myself. All glitter, external glitter, a fleeting momentary,
pleasurable sensation, a titillating of some nerves, leaving one ashamed.
Any sense indulgence is just a confession of one’s bankruptcy of
wisdom, of sagacity, of lack of deep thinking.
This keen aspiration arises when we know that the Supreme Being alone
is the fulfilment of all desires and cravings in our quest for happiness.
That is ananda (bliss)—sweeter than the sweetest, more nectarine
than anything else in this world; the beauty of the beauties, incomparable!
You develop a deep faith in this truth, in this central fact of life,
that in the Supreme alone you can obtain fulfilment, the attainment
of the highest happiness, not anywhere else. If you thus know that these
contact born sensations and pleasures are only the wombs of pain, you
would not succumb to them. Such knowledge comes from satsanga (company
of the wise), Guru Vakya (Guru’s words), svadhyaya (study of scriptures).
Successful svadhyaya is there where there is deep faith.
You can never be wrong if you have deep Guru bhakti, if you have deep
faith, absolute trust in the words of the Guru’s teachings. It
is the right approach to life. Therefore it is said in the Gita, a person
is what his faith is. "Tell me what he believes in—I will
tell you what he is. Tell me what company he keeps—I will tell
you what that person is." In this way, as is your faith and firm
belief, so will be your chesta or endeavour.
Develop, therefore, firm faith in the teaching of the Guru, the scriptures,
what you hear in satsanga. And due to constant hearing in satsanga,
be convinced of the emptiness of fleeting names and forms, fleeting
things which attract you, that seem to be real, but are not real. And
being convinced, you will be wise, you will be alert, you will become
fired with idealism, a great aspiration, "I must know the Supreme
Being, that should be my goal, nothing less, I will not opt for anything
less than the Supreme Experience. I want God-realization. I want atma
jnana, I want Self-realization." When this aspiration comes and
with this idealism before you, it makes you not live a haphazard, aimless,
principleless, characterless life. Idealism makes you strictly adhere
to certain noble and sublime principles. And a principled life is the
basis of self-control, self-mastery. Such self-mastery is the basis
of character. It is character that is the basis of brahmacharya. Brahmacharya
is the basis of Immortality, Divine Perfection. Brahmacharya is the
basis of Liberation. Brahmacharya is the basis of a radiant Divine life
lived with great enthusiasm, great fervour. Such a Divine life is the
heart of Gurudev’s gospel—His teachings, His message to mankind,
His wisdom teachings for all time to come.
God bless you in pondering these fundamental truths about yourself,
your life, your character, your conduct, the ideals you have inherited
from the past and the sublime way you must make your future by the wise
practical way you deal with your present—supported and ennobled
by the past. If the present is wisely applied, your future can be a
thing of beauty, a joy to you, a joy to others and satisfaction to your
own endeavour. May you shine as an ideal human being where everything
is in its place, in its right proportion. Our ancients were never kill-joys
or cynics. They said enjoy, not for a little time and afterwards become
nervous wrecks and go into an asylum or a hospital permanently. But
they said enjoy, and live to be a 100 years. One can enjoy and live
to be a 100 years only if one is wise and moderate in one’s environment,
not unwise and immoderate in one’s life.
Gurudev has written a whole book on Brahmacharya only. Another holy
man who propagated spiritual living—character, conduct, ethics,
and morality, building up of the body, health-culture, physical culture,
and of the same name—Swami Sivananda of Amaravati, near Nagpur
in Maharashtra. He also has written a complete book on the subject of
Brahmacharya titled: Brahmacharya Hechi Jeevan (Brahmacharya alone is
Real life). It was written in Marathi and has been translated into many
languages—Kanarese, Hindi, English.
Swami Jagadishananda of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission has also written
a whole book on Brahmacharya under the caption: The Creative Power of
Continence. Another teacher who became very well-known later on and
who used to visit the, Scandinavian countries regularly, Sri Swami Narayanananda
Saraswati who had his Ashram on the Dehradun Road in Rishikesh, has
also written one or two knowledgeable books on the self-same subject.
By Swami Chidananda
Four great values have been given by our ancients as the objectives
to attain which every human individual must strive. These four great
values are called the Purushartha Chathushtaya. ‘Purushartha’
means right exertion or effort. So they have given the same word for
the object of effort also. Now, what are these four great values? They
gave the foremost importance, they gave the primary place, to the value
called ethics or morality. It is called Dharma. Whatever you engage
in doing should be that which ought to be done, should be that which
is proper to be done, should be that which is right, which is pure,
which is moral and ethical. You should not do anything that contradicts
the law of ethics and morality. Why? Because, in morality only lies
your highest good. In that only lies your highest welfare. If your thoughts,
words and actions are moral and righteous, there will be happiness.
They will secure for you your welfare and good. Otherwise, you will
reap the harvest of bitterness because of a law that pervades this universe,
a law that is called the Law of Cause and Effect. This law states: "As
a man thinketh so he becometh". This law is also stated in another
way, namely: "As you sow, so shall you reap". This Law of
Cause and Effect is also called the Law of Karma or Karmaphala. Therefore,
if you engage in righteous action, the result of it is auspiciousness
and blessedness; the result of it is your own highest good and your
own welfare, your own happiness. If you ignore or neglect this law,
discard this law, and your actions are not proper, not right, what happens?
You invite upon yourself a reaction that is bitter, a reaction that
is not conducive to your own good, to your own welfare, because you
have to steadily progress towards divine perfection and here you put
and create obstacles. You slow down your progress towards that great
goal. You create your own miseries. Therefore, having in mind the highest
welfare and good of the human individual, our ancients put ethics as
the foremost value, because more than anything else, they wanted to
secure the greatest benefit and good of the individual soul or Jivatma.
And they said: "This is. the way".
So, adhere to the moral and ethical values in life. Never deviate from
the ethical standard. Then you will be happy. You may have troubles.
People may trouble you and you may have some difficulties; yet you will
have happiness. Inside you will have happiness and peace. I say, "Inside",
because physical troubles and mental difficulties and torments there
will always be. Those you have to suffer according to your Prarabdha.
But, if at the present you engage in righteous activity, it will give
you immense strength. Take the example of the Pandavas. What all difficulties,
trials, tribulations and sufferings they did not undergo! Yet they had
that inner satisfaction and contentment that they had not deviated from
what was right and therefore it gave them inner strength. They never
broke down. They never collapsed. Nothing was able to shake them. They
were always firm in their abidance in virtue. Therefore the five Pandavas
who abided in and adhered to virtue were able to overcome the hundred
Kauravas who lacked the inner strength, because in the latter there
was not the strength of virtue, there was not the strength of Dharma.
So, Dharma upholds those who uphold Dharma. And those who do not uphold
Dharma, they fall. Therefore, the first and foremost value in the Purushartha
Chathushtaya is the ethical value or the moral standard in all our activities.
This is called Dharma.
Now we come to the second value. You have got the body, you have got
hunger and thirst, you feel heat and cold. So you want food, you want
shelter, you want clothing. And you want other necessities of life.
So, for all this, you want money; and therefore, you must have a job
or ply a trade or profession. This aspect of life the ancients did not
ignore. They said, "Yes, this is also an inevitable value arising
out of the fact that you are living in this world". They called
this value Artha. Artha is money, the economic value. Money is inevitable;
it is necessary. For that also you must strive. But you must strive
for it on the basis of Dharma, on the basis of righteousness. Your efforts
to earn your livelihood should not be immoral, unethical or unrighteous.
Dharma should be the basis even of your professional activities or business
activities. Anything you do to make a living should be based upon Dharma.
Dharma should be the basis.
And then, the third value. Any animal—be it a dog, donkey, cow
or buffalo—is satisfied if it has food and a place to rest. But
man is not like that; he has got many longings, many desires, many ambitions.
Man is a vital being with a vital psychological personality within.
He has got many longings, many desires, many ambitions and plans and
schemes. So, this vital value also was given a place among the Purusharthas;
a place was provided also for this vital value arising out of the desire
nature of man. The other animals have no desire. They have only the
instinct to go by. They want only food and drink and shelter and rest,
and therefore, they are content if these are provided to them. But man
is not content. He has the desire nature in him. They call it Kama.
Kama means desire of any kind. But, here also, any desire that goes
contrary to morality and ethics should be shunned. It should not be
kept, it should not be given any place in your life, because it will
stop your evolutionary process, your progress upwards towards God-consciousness.
Such desires only are to be harboured in your mind, such desires only
are to be fulfilled, as are in accordance with the law of righteousness,
with the law of Dharma. So, Dharma is the overall and continuous foundation
and basis for all human striving. Even in your professional activities,
in your various social and other activities, Dharma must always accompany
you. Dharma must always infill your thoughts, words and actions. Thus,
the economic value and the vital value pertaining to your Prapancha
or your outer worldly life also should be animated by Dharma, pervaded
by Dharma. Then it will lead you to Sukha (happiness). If Dharma is
abandoned, then it will lead you to Duhkha (sorrow). This is the simple
truth.
And another important reason why all these activities and strivings
upon the outer plane should be continuously characterized and qualified
by Dharma is that only then your life will move in the direction of
the highest and supreme value. What is that highest and supreme value?
It is the spiritual value which is God-realization, Atma-Jnana, liberation,
divine perfection, highest spiritual consciousness and illumination.
That is the supreme value. For that only we have taken birth. That only
makes life worth living. No matter how desperate life may be, if you
have this one goal that you must attain Divine Consciousness, you will
get the strength to overcome and bear all the vicissitudes of life.
"I am divine. Temporarily I have forgotten it. And until and unless
I attain Divine Consciousness, my life will not be full and I will not
remain content."—If that one goal is there with you, no matter
what happens to you, all that will look secondary and less important.
Whereas, your supreme goal will look the most important of all things;
it will dominate your life and it will be enough to take you above all
the vicissitudes of life. It will give you strength and definite direction
in life, a specific aim in life. And from then on, your life will move
in a self-chosen direction. That life cannot be assailed by misfortune.
It will not be shaken. Having acquired great strength and power, it
will ride triumphant over all the ups and downs of life and move towards
the self-chosen goal in a very determined manner. So, the highest spiritual
goal it is that makes your life worth living, that gives deep meaning
to life. Otherwise, what is the meaning of life? What is the meaning
of just eating, drinking, sleeping and one day dying? Doing little petty
silly things and one day dying? Death puts an end to all. But what is
that which makes life meaningful? Through this life of birth, change,
growth, old age, disease, decay and death, you are to attain immortality
and deathlessness by making use of this life. You are to attain Divine
Consciousness. You must resolve: "I shall become deathless. I shall
realize my deathless nature. I shall realize that I am Immortal Soul,
Spirit Divine". And you must exert to the utmost to attain that
goal. That supreme value is the most important value which gives life
real depth, true meaning and a purposefulness. It makes life significant,
important, sacred, purposeful. Therefore it is the most important value
in life. If that value is there, you get the strength to overcome all
difficulties, all the stresses and strains of life, and it is in relation
to that supreme value that Dharma acquires an even greater importance,
an even deeper significance.
Dharma is important for two reasons. Firstly, if it is there in your
secular life of Artha and Kama, in your secular life of the economic
and the vital values, it leads to happiness. If it is not there, then
it leads to sorrow and misery. Therefore you must have Dharma. This
is the lesser significance and use of Dharma. The higher purpose and
significance of Dharma is that if it infills your life, then it leads
your life to Moksha or the attainment of the highest spiritual value
in life. It liberates you once and for all from the wheel of life and
death. Then there is no more want, no more sorrow, no more weeping,
no more wailing, no more difficulties and problems. You transcend all
the Tapatrayas. You become established in a state of absolute peace,
absolute contentment, absolute joy. You attain supreme satisfaction,
become fearless and free. That supreme experience which is the highest
Purushartha or Parama Purushartha, that attainment of Moksha and Divine
Consciousness, is made possible only if your entire life is infilled
by Dharma. So, Dharma has a direct connection with Moksha. Therefore
they put it as the basis of your entire life. And in the framework of
this Dharmic life, upon the foundation of Dharmic life, spiritual Sadhana
becomes rapidly fruitful. Whatever Japa you do, whatever prayer you
say, whatever spiritual study you do, whatever meditation you do, all
become like striking a dry match stick on a dry match box...immediately
there is fire. Where there is Dharma animating and pervading your entire
life, there spiritual Sadhana becomes dynamic, rapidly fruitful and
progressive. This is the great ideal of Bharatavarsha. It is inevitable
to strive for the economic value and the vital value, because of your
earthly nature. But it is only the spiritual value which makes life
successful, which liberates you for ever from all the sorrow and bondage.
And it is the ethical value which is the most important of all, because
both for Prapancha as well as Paramartha, both for the life here and
the life hereafter, it is that which guarantees that your life will
lead to happiness and blessedness and not to sorrow and wretchedness.
And in the context of the Purushartha Chathushtaya or the fourfold
value to be attained, we require strength. We require energy. Any effort,
any exertion, requires strength and energy. And energy can be gathered
together only if it is conserved, only if it is preserved. But, if it
is frittered away, you are always in debt. Just as, if you want to build
a house or start a business, slowly you put by money and go on saving,
saving, saving and then put it in a fixed deposit in some bank, and
then, after five years or ten years, you would have enough to start
a business or build a house. But, if every month you spend more than
you get, if every month your expenditure is more than your income, how
can you ever dream of having a house or starting a business? Always
you will be in debt. You will be very owing. Your plight will be miserable.
Similarly, energy is to be conserved. Conservation of one’s energy
in order to put it to higher use is the central principle of Brahmacharya.
What they call Brahmacharya is a wise direction of our ancients to make
the individual’s efforts successful. Towards this end, they said:
"You must conserve your energy". Because, if energy is sufficiently
conserved, you can put it to any use that you want, you can attain anything
that you wish to attain. But if you are bankrupt in energy, all attainment
becomes difficult. It becomes a long-drawn struggle. So, preservation
of energy is the essence of Brahmacharya. Energy is frittered away in
a dozen different directions. Too much talking, too much worry, too
much wanting, getting fits of temper, anger, fighting and quarrelling,
the arguing habit, overeating—all these things drain away energy.
All excesses, all immoderate habits, all wastage of nervous and emotional
energy through negative thoughts of hatred, envy and jealousy and all
health-killing habits like smoking and drinking—they also drain
away energy. Thus, Samyama or sense-control becomes an inevitable part
of Brahmacharya.
The functioning of any sense wastes away nervous, energy. That should
be controlled, that should be wisely checked. And one of the most refined
of energies, most concentrated of energies, is the sex energy. The sex
energy is what we may call the quintessence of energies. It is the energy-potential
in its 24 carat form. It is the quintessence of all that we eat and
assimilate and preserve in the system, in the same way as honey is the
very quintessence of flowers, and butter is the very quintessence of
milk. Thousands of bees go and bring nectar from millions of flowers
and work upon it in a huge beehive, and out of that by some miracle
of biochemistry, comes honey. Out of litres of milk or gallons of milk
comes butter. In the same way, the sex energy is the most rarified and
perfectly pure form of human physical energy. If that sex energy is
wisely conserved, it becomes available to you for being converted into
any other form of energy. For example, if you want to study hard and
become a brilliant scholar with a wonderful memory, sex energy comes
to your aid. If you want to become a brilliant surgeon, sex energy comes
to your aid. If you want to become a great master musician, the preserved
sex energy comes to your aid. This is because, sex energy, when preserved,
gradually becomes transformed into subtler energy. Of course, there
are Yogic processes—Asanas, Pranayama, Surya-Namaskar, high emotions,
noble emotions, spiritual sentiments and such other things—which
help this work of transformation. So, the work of transformation goes
on, goes on, goes on, and the rarified energy becomes available for
higher intellectual pursuits, research and invention, meditation and
so on. And, therefore, the wise conservation of this vital energy has
always been given an important place in all religions in the context
of a spiritual life.
What is this sex energy? This energy, this sex energy, is a manifestation
of God. It is Brahman in dynamic expression. It is Shakti, Para Shakti.
We all know that this phenomenal universe is the activity of the cosmic
power call this which is illimitable, indescribable and infinite. We
call this cosmic power Para Shakti, Maha Shakti, Maha Maya or Prakriti.
Countless billions of universes come and go through the activity of
this great cosmic energy. It is this cosmic energy, this Para Shakti,
that manifests as the incredible energy of the sun, the energy of the
planets and, the incredible speed at which they whirl in their own orbits.
It is this cosmic energy which manifests as the power of gravity, as
the power of the sun’s radiance, as the power of all these great
planets and heavenly bodies, as the power of the wind and other elements.
If sometimes the wind is furious, it will even blow up houses. It is
the cosmic energy which manifests as the power of fire, as the power
of the volcano, as the power of floods, as the power of earthquakes,
as the power of the Bhumi (Earth) to bear mountains, rivers and seas.
So, earth, air, water, ether—all are nothing but the manifestations
of this great power. It is the same power inside the seed that makes
the seed grow into a huge tree. It is the power behind lightning and
thunder. Any power that you see in this universe is the power of this
great cosmic force and it is this same power that animates all living
beings, trees, plants, insects, birds, bees, reptiles, fish and animals.
It is the power of the lion, it is the power of the elephant and it
is the power of the brilliant intellect or genius of a Faraday, a Raman
or an Einstein. This self-same power abides in us and animates our entire
body mechanism. It is the power that digests our food, that makes our
heart pump blood, that makes our lungs breathe, that makes our muscles
and joints work, that makes our tongue talk and ear hear. It is this
very power that is also present as the sex energy in us. So, sex energy
is part of the one indivisible great cosmic power present in the human
individual. In its gross biological aspect, it is called the sex energy.
In its subtler aspect, it is the energy of discrimination, the power
of the intellect to analyze and enquire and ratiocinate. In a still
subtler aspect, in its psychic aspect, it is the power of the Kundalini.
And in its supreme aspect, it is nothing but Atma Shakti. Because Brahman
and Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects
of one and the same principle. Therefore, the sex energy is nothing
but the presence of the Divine Mother in all human beings. It is something
divine, it is something sacred, and its supreme function in the scheme
of things of the Creator is to keep going the universal process. It
is the function of reproduction which is present in all nature, in all
life. Without this subtle power of duplication or reproduction, all
species will become extinct. So, the utilization of the sex energy for
the purpose of reproduction is actually a sacred process for cooperating
with Brahma, the Creator. And any other aspect of the sex energy is
a secondary, lesser aspect. And if this energy or power is wisely utilized
in a moderate and restrained way, even after such utilization, a sufficient
amount of it will be available for higher spiritual development. And
if this gross biological energy is converted through Yogabhyasa into
a subtler form, it becomes available for deep contemplation, reflection
and meditation. Manana, Nididhyasana and Samadhi are enabled through
the power of this conserved and converted energy. That is Brahmacharya.
So, all practices to successfully conserve and convert the sex energy
into a higher form and utilize it for a higher spiritual purpose are
included in the broad meaning of the term Brahmacharya. Therefore, Brahmacharya
is not only a single act of restraint; it is a whole way of life. It
is that way of living and moving and acting which will take us towards
Brahma-Jnana. That is Brahmacharya. And therefore it involves moderation
in all our activities and a wise restraint of all our senses.
In the context of Indian culture, of Bharatiya Samskriti, total restraint
of the sex energy was laid down upon three Ashramas, namely, the Brahmacharya
Ashrama, the Vanaprastha Ashrama and the Sannyasa Ashrama—the student-stage
of youth, the retired stage of the elderly person and the monastic stage
of the last part of your life. And, even in the Grihasthashrama, legal
or legitimate utilization of this power for the purpose of perpetuating
the species was laid down. The result was that in the Grihasthashrama,
Brahmacharya meant moderation, a wise rational, restrained use of the
sex energy for the purpose of procreation. Moderation, and chastity
or fidelity to one’s married partner, were laid down. It was enjoined
upon the married person not to cast any impure look upon any person
other than one’s lawfully wedded wife or lawfully wedded husband.
So, out of this lofty concept of Brahmacharya there arose two great
ideals, the Pativrata Dharma and the Eka-Patni-Vrata of the Grihastha.
For the married man there was only one woman in the whole universe,
his lawfully wedded wife; the other women were like mothers to him.
He cast no lustful, passionate, carnal eye upon any other woman. And
for the chaste wife there was only one man in the whole universe and
that man was her Lord and husband, whom she regarded with reverence
and worshipfulness. All other men were like children to her. Towards
others she had the Bhav of mother, of cosmic mother. It was only towards
one person that she entertained the feeling: "I am a woman. I am
wife"; and that person was her lawfully wedded husband. This is
the great ideal that has arisen out of the supreme principle of Brahmacharya,
the supreme concept of Brahmacharya. Thus, in so far as the pure classical
attitude of Bharatiya Samskriti towards the sex energy was concerned,
it was one of reverence. The ancient Masters never thought of the sex
energy as either ugly or bad or wicked or evil or immoral. Such wrong
notions about the sex energy are all the result of a failure to understand
the sublimity of this particular force. It is due to superstition and
lack of understanding that in normal society, deprived of right instruction
and right knowledge, people begin to look upon it as something ugly,
as something evil. One reason for the development or evolution of such
an attitude is that because of all-too-common human weakness for sex,
they had to place some sort of a moral taboo on sex. Otherwise, human
weakness is such that it always takes the line of least resistance and,
therefore, they said, "No. No. This should not be done. It should
not be done in such and such a stage, because Shastras say so".
They gave it this sort of colour.
One little point needs to be stressed here. The body is like a mansion.
No matter how wonderful a mansion may be, even if it be made of marble
and set with jewels, no one will be able to live in that mansion unless
it has a kitchen and a bathroom and a toilet. Because, whatever man
takes in, part of its goes to form his mind, part of it goes to form
his body, and the remaining waste has to be eliminated. And waste is
always foul-smelling. The impurities of the body are always foul-smelling.
In the outer mansion they have to have a toilet, they have to have a
kitchen. If there be no kitchen, no one can live there. You may construct
any type of palace, but if there is no food, no lunch, no breakfast,
no afternoon tea—even for a day—no one will live there. But
then, when a kitchen is there, you have to provide drainage also. Kitchen
means garbage, left-over food, vegetable cuttings, fruit peels and all
that. If all this is kept, it will begin to rot and so you have to have
a garbage disposal arrangement. You have to have drainage and sewerage.
In the absence of all these arrangements, it will not be possible to
live in that mansion. Likewise, in the human body, in this mansion of
nine gates, in this Navadvara Kuti, where you have an entrance way and
windows for light and air and knowledge, for the sake of drainage and
garbage disposal, God has provided two holes. Their real importance
is that of drainage. They are only drains. This is the only right understanding
of the matter. No doubt, the occasional function of reproduction is
there, but to over-exaggerate that aspect is foolish. It betrays a lack
of knowledge. Because, from birth until death, day after day, thirty
days in a month, and three hundred and sixty-five days in the year,
the constant function that these exit gates have to fulfil is drainage.
And the occasional function that they have to fulfil is in cooperating
with Brahma, but that is only some rare occasional function, and that
also, only in a very short period of one’s life. In the first Ashrama
of Brahmacharya, it has no place; in the third Ashrama of Vanaprastha,
it has no place; and in the fourth Ashrama of Sannyasa, it has no place.
Out of the whole life, it is only in one Ashrama that that particular
function of it is exercised. Otherwise, the main function of these outlets
is only drainage of impurities. If you change your Drishtikona and understand
the body in the right perspective, then a great deal of your problem
will be solved. It is taking a wrong view and giving a wrong emphasis
which makes one to get into all sorts of difficulties. Secondly, take
a look at it from the Vedantic point of view. The Adesha or Sandesha
of Vedanta, the primary declaration of Vedanta, is that you are not
this body, but that you are the Ajara Amara Avinashi Atma. Then, if
you are not to identify yourself with your entire body, how can you
identify yourself with one aspect of it? So, if your faith in Vedanta
is Pucca, is firm and genuine, if you are true to your Vedanta, then,
you have your solution in your own hand.
There is another important angle to this matter of Brahmacharya. And
that pertains to your aim and ambition in life. What is it that you
want out of life? What great desire dominates your life? Is there something
that is a consuming hunger in you? Do you want to become the highest
musical genius in this world? Or do you want to become the fastest Olympic
runner or weightlifter in this world? No matter what your ambition is,
if there is some one overwhelming or all-consuming hunger in you, then
all other problems recede into the background. They do not present a
great difficulty. But, if you do not have such an overwhelming ambition
in one direction, then everything becomes a problem and sex also becomes
a problem. Therefore, the right way of solving this problem of sex is
to rise above it so that it becomes something not important. You have
to rise above sex—not wrestle with it, but rise above it. Because,
if you do not have an overall concentrated urge or ambition in life,
then the clamour of these little senses becomes a great din in your
life. Your life will always be under that clamour. But, if you have
got an overwhelming urge for something else, then this clamour does
not reach you at all, because you are too busy engaging your entire
attention in some other direction. So, the right way of solving this
situation of sex is to rise above it, by developing great love for God,
great love for an ideal, developing passion for a pure life, a moral
life, an ethical life, an ideal life and nurturing Tivra Mumukshutva
for attaining liberation. If intense Mumukshutva is there, then all
other things recede into the background. They become less important.
So, if you want to attain victory over the clamour of the senses, you
must arouse within yourself a great fire of higher aspiration. Then,
what happens? In order to attain that upon which your heart is set,
you give yourself so totally to it that you have no time for other things.
Even great scientists do not have this problem, because they are all
the time completely absorbed in their scientific research. They do not
pay much importance to food or clothing or bathing or anything. Why?
Because they are all absorbed in, and interested in, something else.
That is the way of becoming established in Brahmacharya, in successful
Brahmacharya, in effective Brahmacharya.
There is a Western idea that sex is a natural urge and so free expression
should be given to it. And if free expression is not given to it, the
sex urge will become suppressed, will become repressed. And if it is
thus suppressed and repressed, it will create all sorts of abnormalities
within you and you will develop neurosis and various types of complex
and you will become an abnormal person. There is partial truth in it.
There is truth in it to the extent that if this suppression and repression
is forced upon you by circumstances beyond your control, by social environment,
by other taboos and deep-seated inhibitions within you, due to your
father’s advice or mother’s dominance or family and all, then
it can give rise to some undesirable inner abnormality. But this situation
never applies if realizing the greatness of a higher goal and realizing
the necessity of this important Sadhana of self-control in order to
attain that goal, you make up your mind fully, willingly and voluntarily.
Then there is no question of suppression. If with a full willing heart
you enter into this course of self-discipline and self-restraint, then
there is no question of suppression. No one is asking you to do it.
You want to do it. You are yourself desirous of it. So, done with full
willingness, done with great enthusiasm, it becomes a voluntary thing.
Then, psychological situations will not arise. On the contrary, every
time you succeed in controlling the sense-urge, you get a sense of elation,
you get a sense of achievement you get a sense of inner satisfaction
that you have succeeded. So, it is something that goes on giving you
endless satisfaction and a sense of triumph, a sense of overcoming.
Therefore it is entirely a positive process, a very creative and positive
process, not a negative and suppressive process. So, regarding Brahmacharya,
if you take the right approach and attitude towards it, then it is simple.
It is a question of conserving energy, of preserving energy, so that
it may be utilized for higher things which you wish to attain.
The energy in you is a part of the great cosmic energy. Cosmic energy,
when individualized in the human being, manifests in many aspects. And
one very important aspect is the physical biological aspect. That is
the sex energy. A higher aspect is the mental and occult aspect. The
mental and occult energy is called Medhas. Then there is in the individual
the psychic aspect of the cosmic energy. This is the Kundalini Shakti.
And above everything else, in its highest aspect, the cosmic energy
shines in the human beings as Atma Bal, as Atma Shakti, as the radiance
of the Atman. So, think over all this. All this is food for thought.
These are seeds of certain concepts for your further reflection.
By Swami Krishnananda
The last one among various items of self-restraint constituting the
Yamas, is Brahmacharya, which actually means the ‘conduct of the
Absolute’.
‘Brahman’ is the Supreme Being; ‘Charya’ is conduct,
or behaviour. How God behaves—that is called Brahmacharya, finally.
It is a very difficult thing for us to understand, because we do not
know how God behaves, how the Absolute conducts Itself. The attitude
of the Supreme Being towards the universe and all beings is Brahmacharya,
and to the extent that we are able to participate in this attitude,
it may be said that we are also following that canon. Our participation
in the attitude of the Supreme Being may be infinitesimal, but there
should be at least this ‘tendency’ towards holding the same
attitude, the same outlook as that of the Lord. So, Brahmacharya is
an integrated outlook of consciousness, an attitude of the personality,
and an interpretation of things. These are the essential basic principles
of Brahmacharya. And minus these principles, the term Brahmacharya will
yield only a chaotic meaning which will not help us much. In the Anu-Gita
of the Mahabharata, a similar broad and majestic interpretation of Brahmacharya
is given, as coming out from the mouth of Sri Krishna Himself, during
his instructions to Arjuna. The idea behind this significant term Brahmacharya,
translated as the conduct of the Absolute, is that it is a gradual adjustment
of the powers of one’s personality towards larger and larger dimensions
of impersonality, because, the Absolute or Brahman is the Supreme Impersonality
conceivable and existent. There is no externality to the Absolute and,
therefore, it cannot be pulled in any outward direction. It has no conscious
relationship with anything, though it is related to everything in the
world. It cannot be said that God is not related to the world, He is
related even to the minutest of things; even to a grain of sand, God
is related. Yet, in a way, He is not-related to anything. The idea is
that the attitude of the Supreme Spirit is of a generalized or universalized
relationship with all things,. free from particularized or specialized
interpretations or evaluations in regard to any thing or any object.
Whenever there is a specialized outlook in any particular direction,
along the channel of an object or a group of objects, living or non-living,
consciousness moves in that direction. No matter what our interest is
in that direction, our mind moves. When the mind moves, the Prana also
moves. When the Prana moves, the energy also moves. So, one follows
the other. Our mental interest in any particular direction draws the
power of the Prana in that very direction, and like a charge of electricity,
our energies are diverted. Whenever we think of an object, especially
when we do so with a particular interest, which process is called the
Klishta Vritti in the language of Patanjali, we are drawn towards that
object, a part of us goes to it. Any interest psychologically manifest
in the direction of any particular object is a diversion of energy along
that channel, and psychological or emotional interest is nothing but
a way of transferring oneself, at least in part, if not in whole, to
that particular centre wherein one’s interest lies. So, in some
measure, we cease to be ourselves for the time being when we admire
something, love something, or are attracted towards something. Sometimes,
we can be wholly lost to ourselves when the attraction is full and hundred-per-cent,
as may happen when we are looking at a painting, or enjoying a beautiful
landscape, 6r reading a piece of lofty literature. The object may be
conceptual, visible or audible, it makes no difference; we get transferred.
When we listen to an enrapturing melody, our being is transferred to
the modulation of the voice which is the music or the melody. When we
look at a beautiful form, a landscape, a painting or any other object,
we are drawn in our consciousness, and we are drawn even in reading
arresting literature. In all these processes of sensory or intellectual
absorption, outside oneself, there is a channelizing of force of which
we are constituted and which forms our strength. As long as we do not
sell ourselves to any outside object, do not participate in anything
external, we stand by ourselves. Otherwise, in some percentage, we cease
to be ourselves and become another. If one becomes another and does
not continue to be what oneself is, A becomes B for the time being,
and there is a cessation of the characteristic of A. The subject becomes
the object in its evaluation of the object as something in which it
has to take interest for some purpose which is in its mind. This should
not happen, holds Patanjali, in essence. Because, if this happens, the
energy that is supposed to be conserved for the purpose of meditation
on the universality of the Purusha will be spent out in other directions,
and to that extent, we will be losers of our strength. The fickleness
of the mind or the absence of memory about which we often complain,
the distraction to which the mind is heir to, the jumping of the feelings
from one centre to another—all these are attributable to the fluctuation
of energy in our system. It is like the torrential Ganga moving in force
with her waves dashing up and down and not resting stable as a limpid
lake without movement. When our energies are in tumult, the impact of
it is felt by the mind. We are shaken up in our whole system, because
of the desire of the personality to move outside itself. As milk gradually
becomes curd by an internal shaking of itself, the subject can turn
into the object. And love of any kind is nothing but the transference
of the subject into the object in some measure, be that object perceptible
or merely conceptual. The very thought of the object disturbs the mind.
This is mentioned in a famous passage by Bhishma in the Shanti Parva
of the Mahabharata.
As we have noted earlier, the thought of an object is of two kinds,
called the Aklishta Vritti and the Klishta Vritti by Patanjali. We can
think of an object through an Aklishta Vritti or we can think of it
through a Klishta Vritti. When we open our eyes and look at a large
tree standing in front of us in the forest, al Aklishta Vritti is formed
in the mind. It is a modification of the mind, because the mind has
transformed itself into the form of the tree which we are beholding.
But, it has not upset our emotion. It has not drawn our attention largely.
We just look at it and are aware that there is a tree. To the extent
that we are aware that there is some object outside us, the mind has
transformed itself; it has ceased to be itself for the time being, though
it has not caused us any sorrow. The tree has not attracted us or repelled
us. But if we see a cobra with its hood raised, the modification of
the mind at that time is not merely Aklishta, it is not merely a gazing
at an object without internal association of emotion. Because, the emotion
acts at the sight of a snake, while it will not act in that manner when
we look at a tree or a mountain. Even as there is a particular type
of emotional reaction
