Om! DESIRE AND LUST FOR SEX PLEASURE (lasciviousness) - Atman Nityanada

Sexual desire (lasciviousness) is the most fundamental desire. The desire for sexual pleasure  is satisfied by various means and ways, (natural or perverted) and most  psychological disorders (perhaps all) have to do with sexuality directly or indirectly. Sexuality influences our behavior in many ways. (Watch the video "The science of lust").

Gurgieff a great spiritual teacher once said: 

"At the same time sex plays a tremendous role in maintaining the mechanicalness of life. Everything that people do is connected with 'sex': politics, religion, art, the theater, music, is all 'sex.' [..] One thing only. Sex: it is the principal motive force of all mechanicalness. All sleep, all hypnosis, depends upon it. 

Paramahansa Ramakrishna said about lust:

 Lust is like the root of the tree, and desires are branches and twigs.". 

Swami Sivananda said about lust: 

"This whole world is a play of ego. Ego, sex and world are inseparable."

" 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." 

"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.” 

"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."

SEX & ADVERTISEMENTS

Burger ad

The companies know very well how functions the emotional and desirous mind, that's why they use a lot of sex in their Ads. They want to cause an association between the desire mechanism (related to lust) and their product. Once this association has happened then we are at least positive with their product, and in the appropriate circumstances we will buy it. In relation with the cheap products that we can get easily in order to experience pleasure (like beers, chocolates etc.) the ads have great succeed. Most of the consummation of these products is due to ads. Since the majority lives identified with the desirous vital ego and hypnotized by it (and especially the kids and adolescents which they haven't developed their intellect and intelligence) they become very easily victims of the propaganda of the advertisements. The funny thing (not funny at all), is that young people think that they do what they like while are only imitating what they see, which is what some want to see. Young people are brainwashed by what they see in the media. 

Desire and Buddhi (intellect)

Fortunatly the desire mechanism is not the unique factor that functions in us. From our Soul comes the impulses and aspirations for happiness, love, intimacy, freedom, creativity, Truth, immortality etc.

Every human being is a field in which play all lower and superior powers and energies of the universe. Our lower self clings towards pleasurable exhilarating experiences which give short term satisfaction and sense pleasure and our Soul impels us find everlasting happiness , freedom, love, peace etc.

The intellect is between the lower self and the soul. If the intellect is hypnotized by the illiusive power of desire then we become victims of desire and suffer in various ways. If the intellect clings more to the deeper aspirations of the Soul then it becomes our faithful servant and the powerful instrument by which we can free our mind from the desire mechanism and all its modifications The desire modifies or expands as greed, attachments, addictions, likes-dislikes, attraction-aversion and also as impatience, fear, anger, envy, disappointment, depression, etc. and then to all mental and emotional distortions.

Extract from ENQUIRY ABOUT DESIRE ~ Atman NItyananda