SEXUALITY AND SPIRITUALITY / Part I ~ Atman NItyananda

SEXUALITY AND SPIRITUALITY / Part I 

Ignorance, blindness, dullness and fanaticism are the worst enemies of human beings. They keep humanity in a state a little above of the animal kingdom and in many cases humans behave worse than animals. One of the most important aspects of human life is sexuality. Unfortunately because of the above mentioned reasons humans misuse the sexual energy by various ways and means and thus cause numerous of physical and psychological disorders.

The sexual behavior affects tremendously all other aspects of our life in many ways. Great spiritual teachers since thousands of years spoke about the importance of chastity and the necessity of a pious sexual life. Unfortunately the ignorant and undeveloped minds see their advices and suggestions as moral dogmas or canons which limit their freedom to live as they like and enjoy the life fully, while in reality the wrong use of sexual energy is a fundamental factor of a limited, problematic, unhappy life.

Humans nowadays have developed so many sexual perversions which due to their ignorance and dullness consider as a natural way of living. They cannot understand that a ´free´ sexual behavior is the basis of an unhappy, limited, miserable life. Nowadays thanks to the media and fast communication we have the opportunity to see that the media stars which live a ´free´ sexual life are of the most miserable humans on earth.

Since the human mind is undeveloped and clouded by low energies we see on the other hand some to adopt an antisexual fanatic behavior, a superficial morality based on fear and guilty. They may condemn sexual energy and consider it as something negative or even demonic which of course is a superstitious belief.

Neither a ´free´ uncontrolled sexual behavior nor a rigid pseudo-moral, antisexual behavior can bring health, balance and harmony in our life and in our society. Both are causing unbalances and disequilibrium.

Certainly the majority of humanity is not prepared enough to change radically the sexual behavior and adopt a higher way to express it. Yet it seems that nowadays there is an increasing number of humans that seek something superior than the animalist or hedonistic satisfaction of their sexuality.

In reality the only way for a normal sexual life is the tantric way which doesn’t seek the gradual increasing of pleasure and the peak experience of the orgasmic pleasure in the genitals or in the whole body but through love and intimacy of the partners an expansion of the sexual energy in the whole system (nadis, chakras, brain, heart and mind) which has as a result the transformation of sexual energy in love, light, and wisdom and the ecstatic experience of the union with God consciousness.

Only a good knowledge and a clear understanding of the sexual energy, its role in our physical and psychological functions and its role in our social life as well as of the powers and energies that are related with it can really be of a great help to use it properly and for our own benefit and advance.

The sexual energy and fluids are related to the three subtle energies (Ojas/tejas/prana) which play a fundamental and great importance role to our physical, emotional, mental health, a balanced and harmonious living and even more important to our spiritual transformation and development.

The conservation and transformation of sexual energy for spiritual development and enlightenment it is not a matter of morality or of a rigid religious dogma but is a necessity based on the physiology and psychology of human existence. In the sexual energy are stored these most precious energies which maintain our physical and psychological health and activate the higher capacities of the mind and enable us access the higher states of consciousness.

By studying these three subtle forces of nature we can understand why the conservation (not wasting it through orgasm) of sexual fluids and the transformation of them through spiritual practices are necessary for spiritual development and enlightenment.

Of course the knowledge and the understanding must be applied in our daily life otherwise we cannot experience any real change in us.

Read more about Ojas, Tejas and Prana here:

PRANA,TEJAS AND OJAS by David Frawley 

Read more essays about sexuality:
Love and sexuality Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
Espanol
AMOR Y SEXUALIDAD - II por Omraam Aivanhov
AMOR Y SEXUALIDAD - PARTE I por Omraam Aivanhov

Practice for the elimination of lust and Success in Brahmacharya ~ Swami Sivananda

Practice for the elimination of lust and Success in Brahmacharya 
by Swami Sivananda   

Real culture is the realisation of identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul through direct experience. For a passionate worldly minded man the terms: ‘Self-realisation,’ ‘God, Self Vairagya, renunciation, death, burial ground,’ are very revolting and terrifying, because he is attached to objects. The term singing, dancing, talks of ladies are very pleasing. The attraction for objects will gradually vanish if one begins to think seriously of the unreal nature of the world.

Thirsty aspirants who are treading the path of Self-realisation who are householders and forty years of age should give up contact with the partners in life. They should observe perfect physical Brahmacharya, if they want rapid spiritual progress and Self-realisation in this very birth. There are no half way measures in the spiritual path.

The 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 practicing 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 his 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 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 for one or two or three years. Sleep separately and do rigorous Japa, Kirtan and meditation daily. You will hate lust now. You experience freedom and indescribable joy. Your partner in life also should do Japa, meditation and Kirtan daily.

You may be able to stop copulation for months and years, but there should not be any sexual craving or attraction for ladies. Evil thoughts also should not arise when you look at a lady, when you are in the company of ladies. If you succeed in this direction, then you are established in perfect Brahmacharya. You have crossed the danger zone. There is no harm in looking at a woman, but you must have a chaste look. You must have Atma Bhava. 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 me. 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 fountain-head of beauty. Let me realise this Beauty of beauties by meditation.” You will have to cultivate feelings of devotion, admiration and awe when you look at a beautiful form by remembering the Creator of this 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.”

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 to fill 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.

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. 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 Pratipaksha Bhavana method all the negative qualities will die of themselves. This is the right method.

Passion will subside by protracted Japa and meditation and Chintana on Atman. Do not try to run away from ladies. Then Maya will chase you terribly. Try to see the Self in all forms and repeat the formula ‘Om Eka Satchidananda Atma’ often. Remember that the Atman is sexless. Mental repetition of this formula will give you strength.

You should remain far away from ladies in the beginning of your practice. After you are perfectly moulded and well-established in Brahmacharya, you should test your strength by moving with ladies very cautiously for some time. If your mind is very pure now also, if there is no sex-idea, if the mind ceases to act through the practice of Uparati, Sama and Dama, remember 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 if you are a Jivanmukta and a dynamic Yogi, you should be very careful when you move with worldly persons.

Developing Vairagya (Read also VAIRAGYA)

One should try to get Viveka or discrimination between the real Self and the unreal, impure body. He should hammer the

mind and point out to the mind the defects of a sexual life, viz., loss of energy, innovation of senses, disease, birth and death, attachment and various sorts of miseries, etc., the parts of the body of a woman, viz., flesh, blood, bone, excrete, urine, pus, phlegm, etc. He should always think of the ever-pure immortal Atman and the glory of the spiritual life, viz., the attainment of immortality, eternal bliss, 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 her with evil thought. 

Remember the pains of Samsara. Think of the component parts of body, viz., flesh, bone, blood, excreta, urine pus, etc. Have a strong desire for liberation. This will decidedly help you to destroy lust. Develop ‘Mother’ Bhava towards all ladies.

Remembrance of the skeleton and 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 into ashes. If you remember this, Vairagya will dawn in your mind. Attraction for ladies will gradually vanish. If you place before your mind the sickly figure of a lady, or the picture of a very old lady you will develop Vairagya. Remember 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.

The Devi bhava and Atma Bhava

Vasanas grow from lustful look. You will have to develop a pure love or Bhavana when you look at ladies. Looking at a woman with lustful heart is tantamount to sexual enjoyment. It is one form of Maithuna. That is the reason why Lord Jesus says: “If you look at a woman with lustful heart, you have already committed adultery in your hears.” Though the first seven kinds of Maithuna do not cause the actual loss of semen, yet the semen is separated from the blood and tries to escape when opportunity comes either in dreams or in other ways. In the first seven kinds man enjoys mentally.

Laksmi

You should have the Bhava that ladies are manifestations of World Mother. They should be adored. This practice is for a beginner in the spiritual path. Later he should develop the Atma Bhava, i.e., that everything is Self. Otherwise he will begin to hate ladies and will not develop cosmic love. The above mental picture is kept up to annihilate lust. It is a mental discipline.

When you are in the company of ladies, try to identity yourself with the sexless, all-pervading Soul. Constantly make the endeavour. The sex-idea will gradually vanish and with it the attraction and lust also.

You should entertain the mother Bhava or Isvari Bhava or Atma Bhava towards women. Sister Bhava will not suffice. You may fail. Ladies also should entertain Pitru Bhava or Isvara Bhava or Atma Bhava towards males. Enquire ‘who am I?’ There is no lust in the sexless Atman.

One student writes to me “The impure flesh and skin appears to me as very pure and good. I am very lustful. I try to develop the Bhava of mother. I prostrate before a lady mentally, thinking that she is an image of Goddess Kaali and yet my mind is externally lustful. What shall I do now? I want to have a glimpse of a beautiful lady.” Obviously Vairagya and discrimination have not dawned in his mind. The old vicious Samskaras and Vasanas are very powerful.

The cultivation of the Bhava is very difficult. You may fail to develop the Bhava 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. But 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 iron determination. The Bhava will gradually manifest by constant practice. You will be soon established in that Bhava. Now you are safe.

The mind is very diplomatic. It is very difficult to find out its ways and secret underground operations. It demands subtle intellect and careful repeated introspection and vigilant watch. Whenever the mental image of a lady crops up in your mind with evil thoughts, repeat mentally: “Om Durga Devyai Namah,” and do mental prostration. Gradually old evil thoughts will die. Whenever you see any lady entertain this Bhava and repeat mentally this Mantra. Your Drishti or look will become chaste. All ladies are manifestations of World Mother. I wish, you practice the same Sadhana with your wife also. Make mental prostration and repeat the same Mantra mentally. You must give up the idea of wife. It is high time now. Then you will have quick progress in spirituality. You must become a perfect Brahmachari now. She also must observe fast on Ekadasi. 

Do not say now: “Swamiji, What will 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 and sleeping? 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. 

As soon as a son or daughter is born, the wife becomes your mother, because you yourself are born as a son or a daughter. 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 aplenty. 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 a few persons follow my teaching. Anything that brings impure thoughts in the mind is bad company. Fly away from the worldly-minded persons. You will be far away from the danger zone. The magnetic aura and powerful thought-currents of developed adepts produce a tremendous influence on the minds of lustful people. Have constant Satsanga.

Methods to eliminate lust

Give proper attention to food. Have Mitahara. Take Sattvic food. Pungent articles, garlic, onions, meat, fish, alcohol. etc., kindle passion. Fasting checks passion, calms emotions, controls Indriyas and helps Brahmacharya. Avoid long fasts. 

Have cold hip bath. Get up at 4 a.m. Do not think of a lady. Do not look at a lady. Avert the sexual thoughts by sublime Divine thoughts. Keep the mind fully occupied. Render your will pure, strong, irresistible. When once the Veerya is lost, it can never be recouped by taking any amount of Badam, nervine tonics, milk, cheese, etc. Veerya, when preserved, serves as a master-key to open the realms of Divine Bliss and to obtain all sorts of higher achievements in life.

Constantly remember: “Through the Grace of God, I am becoming purer and purer every day, in every way.” “Pleasures come but not to stay. Mortal flesh is only clay. Everything will pass away. Brahmacharya is the only way.”

By the practice of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana, a Raja Yogi conquers lust and attains Kaivalya. A Jnana Yogi becomes pure by Viveka, Vairagya, Vichara, Sama, Dama and Titiksha.
Constantly think of the sexless Atman. Destroy the sexual Vasana. See Atman in all. Reject the names and forms and take the underlying Essence—Sat-chit-ananda (Existence-consciousness-Bliss absolute).

The power of Lust and the glory of Brahmacharya ~ Swami Sivananda

The power of lust and the glory of Brahmacharya
by Swami Sivananda  

Bhartrihari says: “For food, I have what begging brings and that too tasteless and once a day; for bed, the earth; and for attendant, the body itself; for dress, I have worn out blanket made up of hundred patches; still alas! lust does not leave me.”
 

A gentleman who had given up smoking, drinking, though married, wants to practice Brahmacharya. His wife has no objection, but he himself finds hard this discipline, especially the trouble seems to be in the control of sight. “The street is my chief enemy,” he said to me recently. This means that the eyes are attracted to well-dressed ladies. An 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 that are pasted in front of picture houses. The sea beach and Mall Road are my enemies.”
 

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 the vast solitude which, burnt by heat of the sun, offers but a horrible dwelling to monks, I imagined among the delights of Rome: I was alone. My limbs were covered by a wretched sacdk, and my skin as black as an 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 had 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; 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.

There is no hope for you to have Self-realisation 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, viz., 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 recess of your heart. 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 in 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 if you attack them from all sides, from within and without, from above and from beneath.

You must not labour under the delusion that you have eradicated the lust completely by adjusting the diet a bit, by practicing 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, rigorous, 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. 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 ocean. It is easy to uproot the Himalayas. It is easy to get victory in the battlefield. But it is difficult to eradicate lust. But you need not despair even a bit. Have faith in God, in His Name and in 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 to speak and a lame man to 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 Mantra, Sattvic diet, Satsanga, practice of Pranayama, Sirsha and Sarvanga Asanas, study of religious books, Vichara or enquiry into the nature of Atman or ‘who am I,’ seclusion for three months on the banks of any holy river, will entirely annihilate lust, however powerful the old Samskaras and Vasanas may be. Positive always overcomes negative. You need not be discouraged at any rate. Plunge yourself seriously in meditation, kill Mara and come out victorious in the struggle. Shine as a brilliant Yogi. Thou art ever pure Atman. Feel this, O Visvaranjan!

The Glory of Brahmacharya

Brahmacharya is freedom from sexual thoughts and desires. It is control of all Indriyas in thought, word and deed. It is for both men and women.

Brahmacharya is the vow of celibacy in thought, word and deed, by which one attains Self-realisation or reaches Brahman. It means control of not only the reproductive Indriya but also control of all senses in thought, word and deed. 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. 

Through Brahmacharya get over the miseries of mundane life and attain health, strength, peace of mind, endurance, bravery, material progress, psychic advancement, clear brain, gigantic will-power, bold understanding, retentive memory, abundant energy, power to face difficulties in daily battle of life and Immortality. One who has perfect control over sexual energy attains powers unattainable by any other means. 

Abstinence or continence is the corner-stone or foundation on which the pedestal of Moksha (liberation) stands. If the foundation 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.

Just as the oil come in a wick 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 human body. It is the fully-blossomed flower of life around which the bees of strength, patience, knowledge and purity and Dhriti wander about humming hither and thither. In other words he who observes Brahmacharya will be endowed with the above qualities. Scriptures declare emphatically: “Ayustejo balam veeryam vidya shrih kirtireva cha; punyam cha satpriyatvam cha vardhate brahmacharyaya—By the practice of Brahmacharya, longevity, glory, strength, vigour, knowledge, wealth, undying fame, virtues and devotion to Truth increase.”

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 (Iccha Mrityu). That is the reason why Lord Krishna says to Arjuna: “Tasmat yogee bhava Arjuna—Therefore, become a Yogi, O Arjuna.”

  

  Continues:  Sadhana for  the elimination of lust and Success in Brahmacharya