nn 1,2

1.4.8 spir. in practice

Tonight's' discourse will be on the topic of sexuality and spirituality. There are certain tenets which must be followed by a person who would pursue spiritual life. Another person should not be used as an object, should not be exploited for personal pleasure. That does not mean that sexuality itself is harmful on the spiritual path. It depends upon ones particular approach whether it is better to be a family person and have a sexual relationship or it is better to abstain from sexual practices of any type. But sexuality must not be misused by anyone on the spiritual path be they male or female, sanyasin or family person. Sexuality must be used with great sensitivity.

Now, it may be said that abstinence from all sexual involvement may be beneficial to an individual wishing to concentrate their mind upon the spiritual aspects of this life. A person realizing this might think that sexuality is inherently bad, but this is not the case. There is nothing immoral or harmful about sexuality, only it must be properly understood and the sexual energies properly utilized if there is to be maximum spiritual growth. It goes against Ahimsa, it goes against Yama and Niyama, to misuse another person for ones own selfish pleasures. So all sexual contacts must be mutually desired and there must be mutual respect in such a contact.

A person who is pursuing spiritual life may find that they do not wish to have any type of sexual relationship because they desire to be one pointed in their spiritual life, one pointed in their concentration, and they want no distractions. Such a person may wish to utilize the energies which may go outward in the sexual act for inward contemplation. They may perceive sexuality as an externalization of the spiritual force, of the vital force and, in fact, this is the case. Celibacy allows for full concentration on the Supreme without distraction. So, for some, celibacy will bring good results, will allow them to focus the mind upon the Divine Nature and to draw the vital force upwards towards the crown of the head, to not dissipate any energies in the external search for physical union but to take all of those energies and direct them internally for inner union with the Godhead. So, for some, celibacy can be very beneficial.

Now, for others, it may not be so beneficial. You know, if the mind is not so concentrated but the body is celibate, then the pent up desire in the mind may cause a person to perform rash actions, may cause them to engage in rash actions. So, the pent up desire creates a pressure in the mind of such a person and if a small trigger occurs, like that, the person is exploding in rage, they become violent, they have a bad temper. Or they may find that they suddenly indulge in excess sexuality due to the imbalance caused by abstinence. These are the pitfalls of celibacy.

So, if one is to maintain celibacy, it is very important that Iishvara Pran'idha'na, that concentration upon the Infinite, be done on a regular basis so that the mind is properly directed. Or else these pent up energies may become somewhat harmful and explode in the lower chakras creating mental instability and rash actions. To avoid this, if one is practicing celibacy, one must concentrate upon the Infinite. Thus these energies are raised up the spine to the crown of the head and do not affect the lower areas. This is very important for the celibates.

So, if one chooses celibacy, it should not be done unless regular spiritual practice is also done and there is a conscious effort to redirect the vital force up the spine to the crown by ideation upon the Supreme. Now, if this is not done, then celibacy should not be kept as a formal life style as the negative involvement's may be more likely to occur.

Now, celibacy is not for everyone. Not all who follow the spiritual path will find themselves celibates. It is good for those who would enhance the vital force and direct the mind with solid effort. But it is not so good for those who would express themselves in the world seeing every object as God, recognizing the Divinity in every living being. The worldly person, recognizing "Ah, it is Lord before me" must keep the singular ideation upon the Divine in all sensual involvement's and must lead a moral life, not exploiting anyone, not taking advantage of anyone for ones' selfish gains. So a moral life must be led and the sexual energies utilized with pure ideation upon the Divine. For the spiritualist this is essential. If it is not done, then there will be degeneration of the mental faculty, of the vital force. If pure ideation is kept then the sexual involvement will be very beneficial.

Now, for those who choose this path of sexual expression, ideation upon the Divine is the foremost requisite. Secondly, there must be not only pure thoughts, but pure actions. It is the Lord whom is approached and the sexual involvement must be treated in this fashion. The one you are involved with is the very Lord and the involvement must reflect this understanding. Both mentally and in action there must be reverence, never exploitation. In this way what is of the world is made Sublime. The mind never becomes externalized. It rests ever on the thoughts of the Lord, on the experience of the Lord. It is never degenerated by the senses. It is only focused, and the focus is heightened through the arousal. This is the key to the sexual Tantras. All of these practices have been developed for the purpose of purifying the mind and body, of taking the natural tendencies, the natural desires, and directing them towards the Infinite.

You know, if a man loves food, what do you say "Oh you, stop eating. If you want to know God, then you don't eat any more food". No, no, no, you would not say like this. You would say, "Excuse me sir, if you like the food but you want to know God, see God in the food. Know that what you love in the food is God Himself, not the food. Think He is only pretending to be food and has kindled your passion for Him in the form of food". In this way the attachment to the food is transmutated from attachment to food to attachment to Parama Purusha. Likewise the attachment to sexual desire, sexual fulfillment, just like the attachment to the food, is transmutated through proper ideation. So, what is of the world and would otherwise degenerate the mind involving it with the senses, now becomes the very source of the kindling of passion for the Divine. This is the key to all Tantras. It is the transmutation of form and consciousness through ideation upon the Great.

Now, one may ask, when is it better for a man or a lady to pursue the celibate path and when is it better for them to pursue the Tantric path of sexuality. The celibate path is very good for one who has a great deal of work to do because the vital force is preserved. So if there is much work to do, this force will be available for the work and may be expressed in the work. So under these circumstances, celibacy is good. For one who has little work, for one who is not overburdened with work, the celibate path may or may not be suited. If the work is less, then unless the capacity for sadhana is developed, there will be excess vital force concentrated in the lower chakras. The solution is that the quality of sadhana must be good in order to raise the force upward, or the work must be done, hard work, to give expression to the preserved vital force.

Now, the transmutation of sexual energies actively expressed, this is most suited for those who have some attachment to marital life, to children and family, who enjoy the pleasures of family life. Then for such a person, these Tantras are suited. But, if one is to practice the Tantras which are designed for the transmutation of sexuality, for strictly spiritual purposes, to intentionally raise the vital force, then there must be careful supervision. These practices are on the razors edge for they may crudify the mind if the sadhaka is not sufficiently developed to do these practices successfully. They should not be done if the heart center is not yet open, if the devotion for God is not well established. They can only be done properly by a person whose devotion is very strong and who is impassioned for the Divine through strong devotion. Only when this development is there may the intentional practices be successfully done. Otherwise they will degenerate the mind of the individual. That is why these practices have always been in the secret schools of Tantra and they should remain thus. They should not be brought for public consumption.

So, this concludes this topic of sexuality in spiritual life, I think it is sufficient for tonight.