Introduction
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. 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.
Impulse
Impulse is a
mighty force. It exerts influence on the mind. It is a force suddenly
communicated to the mind. 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.
Lust
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.
How impulse and
lust conquer our mind and actions.......
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. 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. 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.
How is Veerya
related with Brahmacharam.......
When Veerya is
not used, it is all transmuted into Ojas Sakti or spiritual energy and stored
up in the brain. 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.
How Ojas and
Tejas related to Brahmacharya......
“These three
forces (ojas, tejas and prana) are interrelated. Prana and tejas are rooted in
ojas and can be regarded as aspects of ojas. Tejas is the heat and light energy
of ojas that has an oily quality and, like ghee can sustain a flame. Prana is
the energy and strength that comes from ojas after it has been kindled into
tejas. Ojas proper is the potential, the stamina of the mind and nervous system
for holding tejas and prana. Ojas has the capacity to turn into tejas (heat),
which has the capacity to turn into prana (electricity).”
Prana, tejas and
ojas are nourished by the reproductive fluid which functions as their support
in the physical body. Tejas is the activated state of the reproductive fluid
when it is transformed into heat, passion and will power. Prana is the
life-creating capacity inherent in the reproductive fluid. Without the proper
reserve of reproductive fluid, we will become deficient in prana, tejas and
ojas. Wrong or excessive sexual activity depletes all three forces.
Tantra, in
accord with the Science of the ancient Sages (Siddhas) teaches that the sexual
reproductive power (the Life Force) can be transmuted into superior forms of
energy called Ojas and Tejas. The practitioner causes his seed to rise up to
his crown center (Sahasrara), where it becomes transformed into Soma, the
Nectar of Immortality. Through the Tantric procedures, the semen is took over
by the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of the fluid (lymph)
that bathes the tissues, being similar in composition with plasma. The lymph
contains white cells involved in the immunity system of the body. These white
cells produce antibodies, special substances which attack the foreign organisms
(microbes, etc.) and render them harmless. Through the lymphatic system, the
semen reaches the brain (Corpus Callosum) where it is processed into extremely
subtle energies (Ojas and Tejas) used by the higher mind. As the physical brain
needs oxygen and proteins to function properly, the higher mind
(superconsciousness) needs big quantities of Ojas and Tejas energy. The Tejas
energy is that energy which produces the halo around the saints' head. The Ojas
energy is that energy which confers an extraordinary vigor, power and virility.
How to restrain
mind from the influence of impulses and lust
Point 1
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. 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. 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.
Point 2
Passion is a
very strong desire. A mild desire becomes a strong passion by frequent
repetition or frequent enjoyment. 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. 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. 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, He goes out of control and loses his intellect,
power of understanding and judgement when he is under the grip of passion . 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.
Point 3
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. 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.
Point 4
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. 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. 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.
Point 5
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.
Brahmacharam for
womens
The transmuting
of the semen's energy into Ojas and Tejas does not take place only in men.
Women who practice Tantra Yoga realize the transmutation of that energy which
produces the ova and the menstrual cycle. These energies are transformed into
Ojas and Tejas exactly as in the men's case. As a result, the menstrual cycle
becomes scarce or even disappears completely, and the ovulation process slows
down or even stops. Nevertheless, when the conception of a baby is desired, the
energies are permitted to accumulate at the pelvic area, the ovulation returns
to normal and the menstrual cycle appears again.
References
Swami Sivananda
David Frawly
