Be thankful for the qualities you have been bestowed upon as they are not your own making. In the same way, it depends on the part that you have been given to play. Say, in a drama, you are given the part of a villain, and you play that role perfectly. A villain always knows that when I am playing the role of a villain, it’s just a role I am playing. I’m very sincere to my role.

There is a saying in Sanskrit, Durjanam Prathamam Vande Sajjanam Tadanantaram. First, worship the bad person, and then the good man. The bad man is falling and giving you an example, “don’t do what I did.” Do not hate a criminal in jail, because he’s a criminal. In prison, if there is a criminal, he is an embodiment of God. He has done you a greater service. Don’t ever hate a drug addict, because he has given you such a beautiful lesson, and he has been given that role. He is just performing his role that way.

When you understand these basic laws of truth, then your inner perfection becomes so stable that nothing on this planet can shake your inner perfection. Nothing can shake you. Your knowledge of a mistake comes to you when you are innocent! The knowledge of a mistake dawns in the moment when you are ‘out of the mistake’.

However the past has been, whatever mistake has happened, do not consider yourself to be a sinner or the maker of that mistake. In the present moment you are new again, pure and clear.

Mistakes of the past are past. When this knowledge comes, that moment you are again perfect. Often, mothers scold their children and afterwards feel so guilty. Then they go on regretting, “Oh, poor thing. I got so angry and annoyed at this kid, poor child! I should not have done this.” Then you prepare yourself to get angry again. Okay, you got angry with your kid once or twice. Why? Because of lack of awareness! Awareness was missing so the anger came up, it happened.

That’s what Krishna tells Arjuna, “Arjunaa, you think you are not going to do what you are supposed to do? I tell you, you will do it. Even if you don’t want, you are going to do it!” In a very clever way He puts it: “You better surrender to me directly.”

He says: “Drop everything. Surrender to Me, and do what I say”. Then He says: “Well, I have told you whatever I have to say, now you think it over and do what you like, you do whatever you want to do, do however you like”. But then He said, “but remember, you will do only what I want”.

These last few sentences of Krishna were so confusing, and people have struggled to make sense out of them. There are thousands of commentaries trying to make sense out of these few words, three contradicting statements. First He says, Surrender everything, I’ll do everything for you, or just do as I say. Then he says: Think, think and see what is right for you, do whatever you feel is right. And then in the third statement he says: But remember (anyway) you will do only what I want you to do.

All of our wanting to do, ‘doership’, is there to eliminate the tamas or inertia in you. Once inertia is eliminated, then you are in activity. When you are acting, you become a witness to the acting. Then you know you are not doing. Things are happening through you. This is the final level of realization. You can see this in every action of yours. Have you noticed this? You are busy ‘doing’ when you accomplish something. In the beginning you think, “Oh! I have accomplished.” But your accomplishment becomes more and more and more and as time goes by, you will begin to feel, “no, it’s all happening. I did not do anything, I did not accomplish.”

A writer will feel, “I did not write, it just started flowing, it started happening.” All the creative work in the world – whether painting, dance, drama, music, anything – has all come from that unknown corner. It just spontaneously started happening. You are not the doer. The best sculptor will say, “I didn’t do it, it just started happening.” The best painter will say the same thing; the best music composer would say the same thing.

I tell you, the same is true for criminals too. You ask the worst criminal, “did you do this?” He will reply, “No, it happened! What could I do?” Knowledge of the Self is the only thing that can take you from imperfection to perfection.

1. Those who want to perform national service, or to have a gleam of the real religious life, must lead a celibate life, whether married or unmarried.
2. Life without Brahmacharya appears to me to be insipid and animal-like. The brute by nature knows no self-restraint. Man is man because he is capable of, and only in so far as he exercises, self-restraint. What chiefly distinguishes man from the beast is that man from his age of discretion begins to practice a life of continual self-restraint. God has enabled man to distinguish between his sister, his, mother, his daughter and his wife. What formerly appeared to me to be extravagant praise of Brahmacharya in our religious books seems now, with increasing clearness every day, to be absolutely proper and founded on experience. I hold that a life of perfect continence in thought, speech and action is necessary for reaching spiritual perfection. And a nation that does not possess such men is poorer for the want. Brahmacharya is impossible without complete control of all senses. My own experiment shows that occasional fasting is very helpful in subduing animal passions.
3. Mahatma Gandhi wrote in his autobiography that when he was about 34 years old, he heard the Inner Voice saying that the observance of total celibacy was indispensable for further spiritual progress. Gandhiji was already doing selfless service, observing, mouna on Sundays, daily praying, reading Bhagavad Gita and sticking to yama and niyama: satyam, ahimsa, brahmacharya etc. All that was already there. But now he was convinced: “further progress is not possible unless I have TOTAL brahmacharya.”Gandhiji consulted his wife Kasturba, who agreed with his proposal. He was 34 or 35 years old and from that age until 79, for more than 40 years, he observed strict brahmacharya. This observance is the reason that his achievement is so great.
4. Gandhi said fathering and supporting children robbed him of precious energy during a time when he wanted to devote himself more completely to public service. However, over a period of many celibate years-admittedly struggling with the practice and even breaking his vow on several occasions-Gandhi discovered that the benefits of brahmacharya far exceeded birth control. His home life became more “peaceful, sweet, and happy,” he developed a new measure of self-restraint, and he found increasing reserves of time and energy to devote to humanitarian and spiritual pursuits. “I realized that a vow, far from closing the door to real freedom, opened it,” he wrote in his autobiography. “What formerly appeared to me to be extravagant praise of brahmacharya in our religious books seems now, with increasing clearness every day, to be absolutely proper and founded on experience.”
5. By Swami Sivananda (founder of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh): 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.
6. From that day when I began brahmacharya, our freedom began. My wife became a free woman, free from my authority as her lord and master, and I became free from the slavery to my own appetite, which she had to satisfy. No other woman had any attraction for me in the same sense that my wife had. I was too loyal to her as husband and too loyal to the vow I had taken before my mother to be slave to any other woman. But the manner in which my brahmacharya came to me irresistibly drew me to woman as the mother of man. She became too sacred for sexual love. And so every woman at once became sister or daughter to me.
7. NECESSITY OF CONTINENCE (ref: http://www.rkvenkat.org/chastity.html - GUIDE TO HEALTH, Part 1, Ch 9.) Many are the keys to health, and they are all quite essential; but one thing needful, above all others is brahmacharya. Pure air, pure water, and wholesome food certainly contribute to health. But how can we be healthy if we expend all the health that we acquire? How can we help being paupers if we spend all the money that we earn? There can be no doubt that men and women can never be virile or strong unless they observe true brahmacharya.What, then, is brahmacharya? It means that men and women should refrain from carnal knowledge of each other. That is to say, they should not touch each other with a carnal thought, they should not think of it even in their dreams. Their mutual glances should be free from all suggestion of carnality. The hidden strength that God has given us should be conserved by rigid self-discipline, and transmitted into energy and power–not merely of body, but also of mind and soul.
8. Meshes of Sensuality. But what is the spectacle that we actually see around us? Men and women, old and young, are caught in the meshes of sensuality. Blinded for the most part by lust, they lose all sense of right and wrong. I have myself seen even boys and girls behaving as if they were mad under its fatal influence. For the sake of a momentary pleasure, we sacrifice in an instant all the stock of vital energy that we have laboriously accumulated. The infatuation over, we find ourselves in a miserable condition. The next morning we feel hopelessly weak and tired, and the mind refuses to do its work. So the days pass and years, until at length old age comes upon us, and find us utterly emasculated in body and in mind.
9. The Law of Nature. But the law of nature is just the reverse of this. The older we grow, the keener should our intellect be; the longer we live, the greater should be our capacity to communicate the benefit of our accumulated experience to our fellow-men. And such is indeed the case with those who have been true brahmachâris. They have no fear of death, and they do not forget God even in the hour of death; nor do they indulge in vain desires. They die with a smile on their lips, and boldly face the day of judgment. They are true men and women; and of them alone can it be said that they have conserved their health.
10. We hardly realize the fact that incontinence is the root-cause of most of the vanity, anger, fear, and jealousy in the world. If our mind is not under our control, if we behave once or oftener every day more foolishly than even little children, what sins may we not commit consciously or unconsciously? How can we pause to think of the consequences of our actions, however vile or sinful they may be?
11. True Brahmachâris. But you may ask: “Who has ever seen a true brahmachâri in this sense?” …The race of true brahmachâris is by no means extinct; but if they were commonly to be met with, of what value would brahmacharya be? Thousands of hardy laborers have to go and dig deep into the bowels of the earth in search of diamonds, and at length they get perhaps merely a handful of them out of heaps and heaps of rock. How much greater, then, should be the labor involved in the discovery of the infinitely more precious diamond of a brahmachâri?
12. What about the Married? We have already seen what is the highest state for us to attain. We should keep this ideal constantly before us, and try to approach it to the utmost of our capacity. When little children are taught to write the letters of the alphabet, we show them the perfect shapes of the letters, and they try to reproduce them as best they can. In the same way, if we steadily work up to the ideal of brahmacharya, we may ultimately succeed in realizing it.
13. Fatal Merry-Making. Married people should understand the true function of marriage, and should not violate brahmacharya except with a view to progeny.
14. Sensuality – A Poison. But this is so difficult under our present conditions of life. Our diet, our ways of life, our common talk, and our environments are all equally calculated to rouse animal passions; and sensuality is like a poison eating into our vitals. Some people may doubt the possibility of our being able to free ourselves from this bondage. This is written not for those who go about with such doubting of heart, but only for those who are really in earnest, and who have the courage to take active steps for self-improvement. Those who are quite content with their present abject condition will find this tedious even to read; but I hope it will be of some service to those who have realized and are disgusted with their own miserable plight.
15. Advice to the Unmarried. From all that has been said, it follows that those who are still unmarried should try to remain so; but if they cannot help marrying, they should defer it as long as possible.
16. Sexual Enjoyment. I can affirm, without the slightest hesitation, from my own experience as well as that of others, that sexual enjoyment is not only not necessary for, but is positively injurious to health. All the strength of body and mind that has taken long to acquire is lost all at once by a single dissipation of the vital energy. It takes a long time to regain this lost vitality, and even then there is no saying that it can be thoroughly recovered. A broken mirror may be mended and made to do its work, but it can never be anything but a broken mirror.
17. Health and Morals. As has already been pointed out, the preservation of our vitality is impossible without pure air, pure water, pure and wholesome food, as well as pure thoughts. So vital indeed is the relation between health and morals, that we can never be perfectly healthy unless we lead a clean life. The earnest man, who forgetting the errors of the past, begins to live a life of purity, will be able to reap the fruit of it straightaway. Those who practice true brahmacharya, even for a short period, will see how their body and mind improve steadily in strength and power, and they will not, at any cost, be willing to part with this treasure.
18. How Married People can Observe Brahmacharya. It is not enough to observe the laws of health as regards air, water and food… They should be constantly engaged in good work during the day. They should read such books as fill them with noble thoughts and meditate over the lives of great men, and live in the constant realization of the fact that sexual enjoyment is the root of much misery. Whenever they feel a craving for sexual indulgence, they should bathe in cold water, so that the heat of passion may be cooled down, and be refined into the energy of virtuous activity. This is a difficult thing to do, but we have been born to wrestle with difficulties and conquer them; and he who has not the will to do so can never enjoy the supreme blessing of true health.
19. MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH (ref: http://www.rkvenkat.org/chastity.html) – VOW OF BRAHMACARYA (CH. 3.8) The great potentiality of brahmacharya daily became more and more patent to me.A perfect observance of brahmacharya means realization of Brahman… Every day of the vow has taken me nearer the knowledge that in brahmacharya lies the protection of the body, the mind, and the soul. For brahmacharya was now no process of hard penance; it was a matter of consolation and joy. Every day revealed a fresh beauty in it. But if it was a matter of ever-increasing joy, let no one believe that it was an easy thing for me. Every day I realize more and more that it is like walking on the sword’s edge, and I see every moment the necessity for eternal vigilance.
20. Necessity of Restraints. Brahmacharya means control of the senses in thought, word, and deed. There is no limit to the possibilities of renunciation, even as there is none to those of brahmacharya. Such brahmacharya is impossible of attainment by limited effort. For many, it must remain only as an ideal. An aspirant after brahmacharya will always be conscious of his shortcomings, will seek out the passions lingering in the innermost recesses of his heart and will incessantly strive to get rid of them. So long as thought is not under complete control of the will, brahmacharya in its fulness is absent… Let no one think that it is impossible because it is difficult. It is the highest goal, and it is no wonder that the highest effort should be necessary to attain it.
21. TO THE ASPIRANTS AFTER BRAHMACARYA (p. 402) I must utter a warning for the aspirants after brahmacharya. Though I have made out an intimate connection between diet and brahmacharya, it is certain that mind is the principle thing. A mind consciously unclean cannot be cleansed by fasting. Modifications in diet have no effect on it. The concupiscence of the mind cannot be rooted out except by intense self-examination, surrender to God, and lastly, grace. But there is an intimate connection between the mind and the body, and the carnal mind always lusts for delicaccies and luxuries. To obviate this tendency, dietetic restrictions and fasting would appear to be necessary. The carnal mind, instead of controlling the senses, becomes their slave, and therefore, the body always needs clean, non-stimulating foods and periodical fasting. Those who make light of dietetic restrictions and fasting are as much in error as those who stake their all on them. My experience teaches me that, for those whose minds are working towards self-restraint, dietetic restrictions and fasting are very helpful. In fact, without their help, concupiscence cannot be completely rooted out of the mind.
22. FROM YERAVADA MANDIR (ref: http://www.rkvenkat.org/chastity.html) CHAPTER 3. BRAHMACHARYA OR CHASTITYThe man who is wedded to Truth and worships Truth alone, proves unfaithful to her if he applies his talents to anything else. How then can he minister to the senses? A man whose activities are wholly consecrated to the realization of Truth, which requires utter selflessness, can have no time for the selfish purpose of begetting children and running a household. Realization of Truth through self-gratification should appear a contradiction in terms.If we look at it from the standpoint of ahimsâ (non-violence), we find that the fulfillment of ahimsâ is impossible without utter selflessness. Ahimsâ means Universal Love. If a man gives his love to one woman, or a woman to one man, what is there left for all the world besides? It simply means: “We two first, and the devil take all the rest of them.” As a faithful wife must be prepared to sacrifice her all for the sake of her husband, and a faithful husband for the sake of his wife, it is clear that such persons cannot rise to the height of Universal Love, or look upon all mankind as kith and kin. For, they have created a boundary wall round their love. The larger their family, the farther are they from Universal Love. Hence, one who would obey the Law of ahimsâ cannot marry, not to speak of gratification outside the marital bond. The very thought that all the women in the world are his sisters, mothers, or daughters, will at once ennoble a man and snap his chains… If the foregoing argument is appreciated, a consideration of the physical benefits of chastity becomes a matter of secondary importance. How foolish it is intentionally to dissipate vital energy in sensual enjoyment! It is a grave misuse to fritter away for physical gratification that which is given to man and woman for the full development of their bodily and mental powers. Such misuse is the root cause of many a disease.
23. Brahmacharya, like all other observances, must be observed in thought, word and deed. We are told in the Gita, and experience will corroborate the statement, that the foolish man, who appears to control his body, but is nursing evil thoughts in his mind, makes a vain effort. It may be harmful to suppress the body, if the mind is at the same time allowed to go astray. Where the mind wanders, the body must follow sooner or later.It is necessary here to appreciate a distinction. It is one thing to allow the mind to harbour impure thoughts; it is a different thing altogether if it strays among them in spite of ourselves. Victory will be ours in the end, if we non-cooperate with the mind in its evil wanderings.
24. We experience every moment of our lives, that often while the body is subject to our control, the mind is not. This physical control should never be relaxed, and in addition we must put forth a constant endeavour to bring the mind under control. We can do nothing more, nothing less. If we give way to the mind, the body and the mind will pull different ways, and we shall be false to ourselves. Body and mind may be said to go together, so long as we continue to resist the approach of every evil thought.
25. The observence of brahmacharya has been believed to be very difficult, almost impossible. In trying to find a reason for this belief, we see that the term brahmacharya has been taken in a narrow sense. Mere control of animal passion has been thought to be tantamount to observing brahmacharya. I feel, that this conception is incomplete and wrong. Brahmacharya means control of all the organs of sense. He who attempts to control only one organ, and allows all the others free play, is bound to find his effort futile. To hear suggestive stories with the ears, to see suggestive sights with the eyes, to taste simulating food with the tongue, to touch exciting things with the hands, and then at the same time to expect to control the only remaining organ is like putting one’s hands in the fire, and expecting to escape being burnt. He therefore who is resolved to control the one must be likewise determined to control the rest. I have always felt, that much harm has been done by the narrow definition of brahmacharya. If we practise simultaneous self-control in all directions, the attempt will be scientific and possible of success. Perhaps the palate is the chief sinner. That is why in the Ashram we have assigned to control of the palate a separate place among our observances. Let us remember the root meaning of brahmacharya. Charya means course of conduct; brahmacharya conduct adapted to the search of Brahma, i.e., Truth. From this etymological meaning arises the special meaning, viz. control of all the senses. We must entirely forget the incomplete definition which restricts itself to the sexual aspect only.
26. CHAPTER 4. CONTROL OF THE PALATE Control of the palate is very closely connected with the observance of brahmacharya. I have found from experience that the observance of celibacy becomes comparatively easy, if one acquires mastery over the palate. Food has to be taken as we take medicine, that is, without thinking whether it is palatable or otherwise, and only in quantities limited to the needs of the body. Just as medicine taken in too small a dose does not take effect or the full effect, and as too large a dose injures the system, so it is with food. It is therefore a breach of their observance to take anything for its pleasant taste. It is equally a breach to take too much of what one finds to one’s taste. The body is injured every time that one over-eats, and the injury can be partially repaired only by fasting. We must not be thinking of food all the twenty-four hours of the day. The only thing needful is perpetual vigilance, which will help us to find out very soon when we eat for self-indulgence, and when in order only to sustain the body. This being discovered, we must resolutely set our faces against mere indulgence.
27. SELF-RESTRAINT V. SELF-INDULGENCE (ref: http://www.rkvenkat.org/chastity.html) DUTY OF CHASTITY (P. 36) We exaggerate the difficulty of chastity and voluntary poverty and impute extraordinary merit to them, reserve them for mahâthmas and yogis and rule the latter out of ordinary life, forgetting that real mâhâthmas and yogis are unthinkable in a society where the ordinary level is brought down to the mud-bank. On the principle, that evil like the hare travels faster than good which like the tortoise though steady goes slow, voluptuousness of the West comes to us with lightning speed, and with all its variegated enchantment dazzles and blinds us to the realities of life. We are almost ashamed of chastity, and are in danger of looking upon self-imposed poverty as a crime in the face of the Western splendor that descends upon us from minute to minute through the cable, and day to day through the steamers that discharge their cargo on our shores… We often prate about spirituality as if it had nothing to do with the ordinary affairs of life, and had been reserved for anchorites lost in the Himalayan forests or concealed in some inaccessible Himalayan cave. Spirituality that has no bearing on and produces no effect on everyday life is ‘an airy nothing.’ Let young men and women know that it is their duty, if they would purify the atmosphere about them and shed their weakness, to be and remain chaste and know, too, that it is not so difficult as they have been taught to imagine.
28. In Confidence, Young India, 13 Oct 1920. The word in Sanskrit corresponding to celibacy is brahmacharya, and the latter means much more than celibacy. Brahmacharya means perfect control over all the senses and organs. For the perfect brahmachâri nothing is impossible. But it is an ideal state which is rarely realized. It is almost like Euclid’s line which exists only in imagination, never capable of being physically drawn. It is nevertheless an important definition in geometry yielding great result. So may a perfect brahmachâri exist only in imagination. But if we did not keep him constantly before our mind’s eye, we should be like a rudderless ship. The nearer the approach to the imaginary state, the greater the perfection.I hold that a life of perfect continence in thought, speech, and action is necessary for reaching spiritual perfection. And the nation that does not possess such men is the poorer for the want.
29. Advice to Parents.Parents furnish an object lesson which the children easily grasp. By reckless indulgence in their passions, they serve for their children as models of unrestrained license… I have not a shadow of doubt that married people, if they wished well to the country and wanted to see India become a nation of strong and handsome full-formed men and women, would practice perfect self-restraint.
30. To the Newly-Married. I tender this advice even to the newly married. It is easier not to do a thing at all than to cease doing it, even as it is easier for a life abstainer to remain teetotaler than for a drunkard or even a temperate man to abstain. To remain erect is infinitely easier than to rise from a fall. It is wrong to say that continence can be safely preached only to the satiated. There is hardly any meaning, either, in preaching continence to an enfeebled person. May I point out to parents that they ought not to fall into the argumentative trap of the rights of partners? Consent is required for indulgence, never for restraint; this is an obvious truth.
31. Rules for Brahmacharya. I place before the readers a few simple rules which are based on the experience not only of myself, but of many of my associates:
    1. Boys and girls should be brought up simply and naturally in the full belief that they are and can remain innocent.
    2. All should abstain from heating and stimulating foods, condiments such as chillies, fatty, and concentrated food such as fritters, sweets and fried substances.
    3. Husband and wife should occupy separate rooms and avoid privacy.
    4. Both body and mind should be constantly and healthily occupied.
    5. Early to bed and early to rise should be strictly observed.
    6. All unclean literature should be avoided. The antidote for unclean thoughts is clean thoughts.
    7. Theatres, cinemas, etc., which tend to stimulate passion should be shunned.
    8. Nocturnal dreams need not cause any anxiety. A cold bath every time for a fairly strong person is the finest preventive in such cases. It is wrong to say that an occasional indulgence is a safeguard against involuntary dreams.
    9. Above all, one must not consider continence even as between husband and wife to be so difficult as to be practically impossible. On the contrary, self-restraint must be considered to be the ordinary and natural practice of life.
    10. A heartfelt prayer every day for purity makes one progressively pure.
32. What is Brahmacharya? (Young India, 5 Jun 1924) A friend asks: “What is brahmacharya? Is it possible to practice it to perfection? If possible, do you do so?” The full and proper meaning of brahmacharya is search of Brahman. Brahman pervades everything and can, therefore, be searched by diving into and realizing the inner self. This realization is impossible without complete control of the senses. Brahmacharya thus means control in thought, word, and action, of all the senses at all times and in all places. A man or woman completely practicing brahmacharya is absolutely free from passion. Such a one, therefore, lives nigh unto God, is God-like.
33. My Strivings after Brahmacharya. I have no doubt that it is possible to practice such brahmacharya in thought, word, and action to the fullest extent.
34. Healthy Soul in Healthy Body. I believe that a healthy soul should inhabit a healthy body. To the extent, therefore, that the soul grows into health and freedom from passion, to that extent the body also grows into that state.
35. Ordinary Meaning of Brahmacharya. The ordinary accepted sense of brahmacharya is the control in thought, word, and action of animal passion… It has been thought to be very difficult to practice this brahmacharya. This control of the carnal desire has been so very difficult, has become nearly impossible, because equal stress has not been laid on the control of the palate. It is also the experience of our physicians that a body enfeebled by disease is always a favorite abode of carnal desire, and brahmacharya by an enfeebled race is difficult to practice naturally.
36. Physical Culture. One, who would practice complete control of all the senses, must needs welcome the waning of the flesh. With the extinction of attachment to the flesh, comes the extinction of the desire to have muscular strength. But the body of a true brahmachâri is bound to be exceptionally fresh and wiry. This brahmacharya is something unearthly. He who is not swayed by carnal desire even in his sleep, is worthy of all adoration. The control of every other sense shall be ‘added unto’ him.
37. How to Eradicate Evil Thoughts? So long as the mind is engaged in a perpetual struggle against evil thoughts, there is no reason to despair. When the eye offends, it should be closed. When the ears offend, they should be stopped. It is best always to walk with down-cast eyes. They will have no occasion to go astray. All haunts of filthy talk or unclean music should be avoided. There should be full control of the palate. One of the rules for control of the palate is to abjure completely or, as much as possible, all condiments. A more difficult rule is to cultivate the feeling that the food we eat is to sustain the body, never to satisfy the palate. There is, however, a golden rule for gaining control of the carnal desire. It is the repetition of the divine word Rama or such other Mantra. Whichever Mantra is selected, one should be identified with it whilst repeating it.
38. IN ITS WIDER MEANING. (Navjivan, 26 Feb 1925) Brahmacharya appears to be difficult because we do not control the other senses. Take for example organ of taste which leads the rest. Zoologists tell us that brahmacharya is observed by the lower animals, as for instance cattle, to a greater extent than by human beings, and this is a fact. The reason is that cattle have perfect control over the palate, not by will but by instinct. They subsist on mere fodder, and of this, too, they take a quantity just sufficient for nutrition. They eat to live, do not live to eat; while our case is just the reverse… The taste depends upon hunger. Even sweets will not be as tasteful to one who is not hungry, as a slice of dry bread is to another who is really so. We prepare food in various ways with a variety of spices in order to be able to load the stomach, and wonder when we find brahmacharya difficult to observe.
39. Use and Misuse of Eyes. We misuse and corrupt the eyes which God has given us, and do not direct them to the right things.
40. Use and Misuse of Clothes. Clothes are meant just to cover the body, protect it against heat and cold, not to beautify it. If a child is trembling with cold, we must send him to the fireside to warm himself or out into the street for a run, or into the field for work. It is only thus that we can help him to build a splendid constitution. By keeping the child confined in the house, we impart a false warmth to his body. By pampering his body, we only succeed in destroying it.
41. Obstacles in the Way of Brahmacharya. So much for the clothes. Then again, the light conversation carried on in the house creates a very harmful impression on the child’s mind. The things which he sees around him also tend to corrupt him. The wonder is that we have not sunk to the lowest depths of barbarism. Restraint is observed in spite of conditions which render it well-nigh impossible. A gracious Providence has so arranged things that man is saved in spite of himself. If we remove all these obstacles in the way of brahmacharya, it not only becomes possible but also easy to observe.
42. Touching a Woman. Brahmacharya does not mean that one may not touch a woman, even one’s sister, in any circumstances whatsoever. But it does mean that one’s state of mind should be as calm and unruffled during such contact as when one touches, say, a piece of paper. A man’s brahmacharya avails for nothing if he must hesitate in nursing his sister who is ill. He has to be as free from excitement in case of contact with the fairest damsel on earth, as in contact with a dead body.
43. TRUE CELIBACY. (Young India, 25 Jun 1925) A man who consciously sins with his mind, even though he may not sin with his body, is not a celibate. One who cannot remain unmoved at the sight of a woman, however beautiful she may be, is not a celibate. One who keeps his body under control from sheer necessity, does well, but is not a celibate. We may not degrade sacred words by a loose use of them. True celibacy has important results which can be verified. It is a difficult virtue to practice. Many attempt it, but few succeed.
44. Plea for Humility. It must be taken for granted that those who cultivate truth, ahimsa, brahmacharya, must be humble. Truth without humility would be an arrogant caricature. He who wants to practice truth knows how hard it is. The world may applaud his so-called triumphs. Little does the world know his falls. A truthful man is a chastened being. He has need to be humble. A man who wants to love the whole world including one who calls himself his enemy, knows how impossible it is to do so in his own strength. He must be as mere dust before he can understand the elements of ahimsa. He is nothing if he does not daily grow in humility as he grows in love.
45. God Triumphs in Us, Never We. A man who would have his eye single, who would regard every woman as his blood sister or mother, has to be less than dust. He stands on the brink of a precipice. The slightest turn of the head brings him down. He dare not whisper his virtue to his very own. For, he knows not what the next moment has in store for him. For him, “pride goeth before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.” Well has the Gita said: “Passions subside in a fasting man, not the desire for them. The desire goes only when man sees God face to face.” And no one can see God face to face who has aught of the ‘I’ in him. He must become a cypher if he would see God. Who shall dare say in this storm-tossed universe: “I have won?” God triumphs in us, never we.
46. Ours is Merely to Make the Attempt. Let us not lower the values of these virtues so that we may all be able to claim them. What is true of the physical world, is true of the spiritual. If, in order to gain a worldly battle, Europe sacrificed several million lives during the late War, itself a transitory event, what wonder that in the spiritual battle millions have to perish in the attempt so that one complete example may be left to the world. It is ours merely to make the attempt in the uttermost humility. The cultivation of these higher virtues is its own reward. He who cashes any of them loses his soul. Virtues are not to trade with. My Truth, my Ahimsa, my Brahmacharya are matters between myself and my Maker. They are not articles of trade. Any man who dares to trade with them will do so at his peril. The world has no standard, no means wherewith to judge these things. They defy scrutiny and analysis. Let us, therefore, cultivate them for our own purification.
47. ROYAL ROAD TO SELF-REALIZATION. (Young India, 1926) I am being inundated with letters on brahmacharya and means to its attainment. Let me repeat in different language what I have already said or written on previous occasions. Brahmacharya is not mere mechanical celibacy; it means complete control over all the senses and freedom from lust in thought, word, and deed. As such it is the royal road to self-realization or attainment of Brahman. The ideal brahmachâri has not to struggle with sensual desire or desire for procreation; it never troubles him at all. The whole world will be to him one vast family; he will center all his ambition in relieving the misery of mankind and the desire for procreation will be to him as gall and wormwood. He who has realized the misery of mankind in all its magnitude will never be stirred by passion. He will instinctively know the fountain of strength in him, and he will ever persevere to keep it undefiled. His humble strength will command respect of the world, and he will wield an influence greater than that of the sceptered monarch.
48. Attraction Between Man and Woman. But I am told that this is an impossible ideal, that I do not take count of the natural attraction between man and woman. I refuse to believe that the sensual affinity referred to here can be at all regarded as natural; in that case the deluge would soon be over us. The natural affinity between man and woman is the attraction between brother and sister, mother and son, or father and daughter. It is that natural attraction that sustains the world. I should find it impossible to live, much less carry on my work, if I did not regard the whole of womankind as sisters, daughters, or mothers. If I looked at them with lustful eyes, it would be the surest way to perdition.
49. Procreation–A Natural Phenomenon. Procreation is a natural phenomenon indeed, but within specific limits. A transgression of those limits imperils womankind, emasculates the race, induces disease, puts a premium on vice, and makes the world ungodly. A man in the grip of the sensual desire is a man without moorings. If such a one were to guide society, to flood it with his writings and men were to be swayed by them, where would society be? And yet we have the very thing happening today.
50. Purpose of Marriage. Supposing a moth whirling round a light were to record the moments of its fleeting joy and we were to imitate it, regarding it as an exemplar, where would we be? No, I must declare with all the power I can command that sensual attraction even between husband and wife is unnatural. Marriage is meant to cleanse the hearts of the couple of sordid passions and take them nearer to God. Lustless love between husband and wife is not impossible. Man is not a brute. He has risen to a higher state after countless births in brute creation. He is born to stand, not to walk on all fours or crawl. Bestiality is as far removed from manhood, as matter from spirit.
51. Means of Attainment. In conclusion I shall summarize the means to its attainment.
    1. The first step is the realization of its necessity.
    2. The next is gradual control of the senses. A brahmachâri must needs control his palate. He must eat to live, and not for enjoyment. He must see only clean things and close his eyes before anything unclean. It is thus a sign of polite breeding to walk with one’s eyes towards the ground and not wandering about from object to object. A brahmachâri will likewise hear nothing obscene or unclean, smell no strong, stimulating, things. The smell of clean earth is far sweeter than the fragrance of artificial scents and essences. Let the aspirant to brahmacharya also keep his hands and feet engaged in all the waking hours in healthful activity. Let him also fast occasionally.
    3. The third step is to have clean companions–clean friends and clean books.
    4. The last and not the least is prayer. Let him repeat Râmanâma with all his heart regularly every day, and ask for divine grace. None of these things are difficult for an average man or woman. They are simplicity itself. But their very simplicity is embarrassing. Where there is a will, the way is simple enough. Men have not the will for it and hence vainly grope. The fact that the world rests on the observance, more or less, of brahmacharya or restraint, means that it is necessary and practicable. [The original Gujarati article appeared in Navjivan, 4-4-1926. This is a translation by Mahadev Desai.]
52. THE LAW OF CONTINENCE (Young India, 25 Aug 1927) Let no one desirous of leading a pure and chaste life think that the practice of it is not worth pursuing because the expected result is not attained in a moment. And let no one expect perfection of body after successful practice of continence even for a long time. The majority of us, who endeavor to follow the rules laid down for observing continence, labor under three handicaps. We have inherited imperfect bodies and weak wills from our parents, and by an incorrect life we find ourselves to have further debilitated both our bodies and wills. When a writing advocating purity of life attracts us, we begin the reformation. Such reformation is never too late. But we must not expect the results described in such writings; for, those results are to be expected only from a strictly regulated life from early youth. And the third handicap we labor under is, that in spite of the exercise of all the artificial and outward restraint, we find ourselves unable to restrain and regularize our thoughts. And let every aspirant after a pure life take from me that an impure thought is often as powerful in undermining the body as an impure act. Control over thought is a long, painful and laborious process. But I am convinced that no time, no labor and no pain is too much for the glorious result to be reached. The purity of thought is possible only with a faith in God bordering on definite experience.
    • “So dear to Heaven is saintly chastity
    • That when a soul is found sincerely so,
    • A thousand liveried angles lackey her” –Milton
53. By the use of the term continence is meant the voluntary and entire abstinence from sexual indulgence in any form and having complete control over the passions by one who knows their power, and who but for his pure life and steady will, not only could but would indulge them.
54. The advantages of a strictly continent life are: The nervous system is invigorated and strengthened. The special senses–the sight, hearing, etc., are strong, delicate, and acute. The digestive system is kept normal and man knows not what a sick day is… The brain is enlarged and perfect, memory grows strong, and the perceptive and reflective faculties increase in power. The soul in its exercise reaches up and commingles with the Spirit of God. The reproductive element is preserved in all its life-renewing and life-giving power until full ripeness of years.
55. The following are to be strictly avoided by those whose desire it is to lead a pure, chaste, and continent life:
    1. Tobacco in all its forms. All manner of alcoholic liquors. Tea, coffee, and chocolate. Late suppers and over-eating. Sweetmeats, candies, etc. White bread when it is possible to get the graham. Pork and all fat and salt meats, sausages, pickles, etc. Salt except in moderate quantities, pepper, mustard, spices, vinegar, and other condiments. Mince and other pies and all manner of pastry.
    2. All constriction of dress about the body.
    3. Feather beds and pillows and heavy bed covering. Unventilated and unlighted bedrooms. Remaining in bed in the morning after waking. Uncleanliness of the body, Turkish and Russian baths.
    4. Idleness and inaction of body and mind. Companions of doubtful or bad natures. Irresolute will.
    5. Drugs and patent medicines. Quack doctors.
56. The things below enumerated you are requested to observe, use and enjoy, if you would live a healthy life, a continent life, a happy and a long life: The cultivation of a firm and determined will. The active morning and evening exercise of the religious sentiments. In the right and faithful observance of these laws man will find all the requirements necessary to the growth of perfect health, purity of body, nobleness of soul, and, above and over all, continence.
57. A man who wants to control his animal passions easily does so if he controls his palate. I fear this is one of the most difficult vows to follow…. I may say this: unless we take our minds off from this habit (slavery to the palate), and unless we shut our eyes to the tea shops and coffee shops and all these kitchens, and unless we are satisfied with foods that are necessary for the proper maintenance of our physical health, and unless we are prepared to rid ourselves of stimulating, heating, and exciting condiments that we mix with our food, we will certainly not be able to control the over-abundant, unnecessary, and exciting stimulation that we may have. If we do not do that, the result naturally is, that we abuse ourselves and we abuse even the sacred trust given to us, and we become less than animals and brutes. Eating, drinking, and indulging in passions we share in common with the animals; but have you ever seen a horse or a cow indulging in the abuse of the palate as we do? Do you suppose it is a sign of civilization, a sign of real life that we should multiply our eatables so far that we do not know where we are; and seek dishes until at last we have become absolutely mad and run after the newspaper sheets which give us advertisements about these dishes?
58. WALLS OF PROTECTION (Harijan, 15 June 1947) Let us ask ourselves what wall should be erected to protect Brahmacharya. The answer seems clear. It is not Brahmacharya that needs walls of protection. To say this is easy enough and sounds sweet. But it is difficult to understand the import of the statement and more so to act accordingly. It is true that he who has attained perfect Brahmacharya, does not stand in need of protecting walls. But the aspirant undoubtedly needs them, even as a young mango plant has need of a strong fence round it. A child goes from its mother’s lap to the cradle and from the cradle to the push-cart–till he becomes a man who has learnt to walk without aid. To cling to the aid when it is needless, is surely harmful. Brahmacharya is one out of the eleven observances. It follows, therefore, that the real aid to Brahmacharya are the remaining ten observances. The difference between them and the walls of protection is that the latter are temporary, the former permanent. They are an integral part of Brahmacharya.
59. A Perfect Brahmachari. Self-indulgence and hypocrisy are sins to be avoided. The true Brahmachari will shun false restraints. He must create his own fences according to his limitations, breaking them down when he feels that they are unnecessary. The first thing is to know what true Brahmacharya is, then to realize its value and, lastly, to try to cultivate this priceless virtue. I hold that true service of the country demands this observance.
60. ASHRAM OBSERVANCES IN ACTION, Ch. 4 of 12: Brahmacharya or chastity, pp. 48-57. This observance does not give rise to ever so many problems and dilemmas as ahimsa does. Its meaning is generally well understood, but understanding it is one thing: practising it is quite another thing and calls forth all our powers. Many of us put forth a great effort but without making any progress. Some of us even lost ground previously won. None has reached perfection. But everyone realizes its supreme importance. My striving in this direction began before 1906 when I took the vow. There were many ups and downs. It was only after I had burnt my fingers at times that I realized the deeper meaning of brahmacharya. And then I found that expositions made in books cannot be understood without actual experience, and wear a fresh aspect in the light of it. Even in the case of simple machine like the spinning-wheel, it is one thing to read the directions for plying it, and it is another thing to put the directions into practice. New light dawns upon us as soon as we commence our practice. And what is true of simple tangible things like the wheel is still more true of spiritual states.
61. A brahmachari is one who controls his organs of sense in thought, word and deed. The meaning of this definition became somewhat clear after I had kept the observance for some time, but it is not quite clear even now, for I do not claim to be a perfect brahmachari, evil thoughts having been held in restraint but not eradicated. When they are eradicated, I will discover further implications of the definition.
62. Ordinary brahmacharya is not so difficult as it is supposed to be. We have made it difficult by understanding the term in a narrow sense. Many of us play with brahmacharya like fools who put their hands in the fire and still expect to escape being burnt. Very few realize that a brahmachari has to control not one but all the organs of sense. He is no brahmachari who thinks that mere control of animal passion is the be-all and end-all of brahmacharya. No wonder if he finds it very difficult. He who attempts to control only one organ and allows all the others free play must not expect to achieve success. He might as well deliberately descend into a well and expect to keep his body dry. Those who would achieve an easy conquest of animal passion must give up all unnecessary things which stimulate it. They must control their palate and cease to read suggestive literature and to enjoy all luxuries. I have not the shadow of a doubt that they will find brahmacharya easy enough after such renunciation.
63. Some people think that it is not a breach of brahmacharya to cast a lascivious look at one’s own or another’s wife or to touch her in the same manner; but nothing could be farther from the truth. Such behaviour constitutes a direct breach of brahmacharya in the grosser sense of the term. Men and women who indulge in it deceive themselves and the world, and growing weaker day by day, make themselves easily susceptible to disease. If they stop short of a full satisfaction of desire, the credit for it is due to circumstances and not to themselves. They are bound to fall at the very first opportunity.
64. In brahmacharya as conceived by the Ashram those who are married behave as if they were not married. Married people do well to renounce gratification outside the marital bond ; theirs is a limited brahmacharya. But to look upon them as brahmacharis is to do violence to that glorious term.
65. Such is the complete Ashram definition of brahmacharya. However there are men as well as women in the Ashram who enjoy considerable freedom in meeting one another. The ideal is that one Ashramite should have the same freedom in meeting another as is enjoyed by a son in meeting his mother or by a brother in meeting his sister. That is to say, the restrictions that are generally imposed for the protection of brahmacharya are lifted in the Satyagraha Ashram, where we believe that brahmacharya which ever stands in need of such adventitious support is no brahmacharya at all. The restrictions may be necessary at first but must wither away in time. Their disappearance does not mean that a brahmachari goes about seeking the company of women, but it does mean that if there is an occasion for him to minister to a woman, he may not refuse such ministry under the impression that it is forbidden to him.
66. Woman for a brahmachari is not the ”doorkeeper of hell” but is an incarnation of our Mother who is in Heaven. He is no brahmachari at all whose mind is disturbed if he happens to see a woman or if he has to touch her in order to render service. A brahmachari’s reaction to a living image and to a bronze statue is one and the same. But a man who is perturbed at the very mention of woman and who is desirous of observing brahmacharya, must fly even from a figurine made of metal.
67. I now come to a point of vital importance which I have reserved for treatment towards the end of the discussion. We are told in the Bhagavadgita (II : 59) that ‘‘when a man starves his senses, the objects of those senses disappear from him, but not the yearning for them; the yearning too departs when he beholds the Supreme’‘, that is to say, the Truth or Brahma (God). The whole truth of the matter has here been set forth by the experienced Krishna. Fasting and all other forms of discipline are ineffective without the grace of God. What is the vision of the Truth or God? It does not mean seeing something with the physical eye or witnessing a miracle. Seeing God means realization of the fact that God abides in one’s heart. The yearning must persist until one has attained this realization, and will vanish upon realization. It is with this end in view that we keep observances, and engage ourselves in spiritual endeavour at the Ashram. Realization is the final fruit of constant effort. The human lover sacrifices his all for his beloved, but his sacrifice is fruitless inasmuch as it is offered for the sake of momentary pleasure. But the quest of Truth calls for even greater concentration than that of the human beloved. There is joy ineffable in store for the aspirant at the end of the quest. Still very few of us are as earnest as even the human lover. Such being the facts of the case, what is the use of complaining that the quest of truth is an uphill task? The human beloved may be at a distance of several thousand miles; God is there in the tabernacle of the human heart, nearer to us than the finger nails are to the fingers. But what is to be done with a man who wanders all over the wide world in search of treasure which as a matter of fact is buried under his very feet ?
68. The brahmacharya observed by a self-restraining person is not something to be despised. It certainly serves to weaken the force of the yearning for the ”fleshpots of Egypt.” One may keep fasts or adopt various other methods of mortifying the flesh, but the objects of sense must be compelled to disappear. The yearning will get itself in readiness to go as this process is on. Then the seeker will have the beatific vision, and that will be the signal for the yearning to make its final exit. The treasure supposed to be lost will be recovered. He who has not put all his strength into his effort has no right to complain that he has not ”seen” Brahma. Observing brahmacharya is one of the means to the end which is seeing Brahma. Without brahmacharya no one may expect to see Him, and without seeing Him one cannot observe brahmacharya to perfection. The verse therefore does not rule out self-discipline but only indicates its limitations.
69. KEY TO HEALTH, Ch. 10 of 10: brahmacharya. (1942). Brahmacharya literally means that mode of life which leads to the realization of God. That realization is impossible without practicing self-restraint. Self-restraint means restraint of all the senses. But ordinarily brahmacharya is understood to mean control of sexual organs. This becomes natural for the man who exercises self-restraint all round. It is only when observance of brahmacharya becomes natural to one that he or she derives the greatest benefit from it. Such a person should be free from anger and kindred passion. The so called brahmachâris, that one generally comes across, behave as if their one occupation in life was the display of bad temper.
70. One notices that these people disregard the ordinary rules of brahmacharya and merely aim at and expect to practise physical brahmacharya. They fail to achieve their object. Some of them become almost insane while others betray a sickly appearance. They are unable to prevent the discharge and if they succeed in restraining themselves from sexual intercourse, they think that they have attained all that was needed. Now mere abstention from sexual intercourse cannot be termed brahmacharya. So long as the desire for intercourse is there, one cannot be said to have attained brahmacharya. Only he who has burnt away sexual desire in its entirety may be said to have attained control over his sexual organs. There is something very striking about a full-fledged brahmachâri. His speech, his thought, and his action, all bespeak possession of vital force.
71. Such a brahmachâri does not flee from the company of women. He may not hanker after it nor may he avoid it even when it means rendering of necessary service. For him the distinction between men and women almost disappears. No one should distort my words and use them as an argument in favor of licentiousness. What I mean to say is that, a man whose sexual desire has been burnt up ceases to make a distinction between men and women. It must be so. His conception of beauty alters. He will not look at the external form. He or she whose character is beautiful will be beautiful in his eyes. Therefore, the sight of women called beautiful will not ruffle or excite him. Even his sexual organs will begin to look different. In other words, such a man has so controlled his sexual instinct that he never gets erections. He does not become impotent for lack of the necessary secretions of sexual glands. But these secretions in his case are sublimated into a vital force pervading his whole being. It is said that an impotent man is not free form sexual desire. But the cultivated impotency of the man, whose sexual desire has been burnt up and whose sexual secretions are being converted into vital force, is wholly different. It is to be desired by everybody. It is true that such a brahmachâri is rare to find.
72. I took the vow of brahmacharya in 1906. In other words, my efforts to become a perfect brahmachâri started 36 years ago. I cannot say I have attained the full brahmacharya of my definition, but in my opinion I have made substantial progress towards it. If God wills it, I might attain even perfection in this life. Anyway, there is no relaxation of efforts nor is there any despondence in me. I do not consider 36 years too long a period for effort. The richer the prize, the richer the effort must be. Meanwhile, my ideas regarding the necessity for brahmacharya have become stronger. Some of my experiments have not reached a stage when they might be placed before the public with advantage. I hope to do so some day if they succeed to my satisfaction. Success might make the attainment of brahmacharya comparatively easier.
73. But the brahmacharya on which I wish to lay emphasis in this chapter is limited to the conservation of sexual secretions. The glorious fruit of perfect brahmacharya is not to be had from the observance of this limited brahmacharya. But no one can reach perfect brahmacharya without reaching the limited variety.
74. And maintenance of perfect health should be considered almost an utter impossibility without the brahmacharya leading to the conservation of the sexual secretions. To countenance wastage of a secretion which has the power of creating another human being is, to say the least, an indication of gross ignorance. A firm grasp of the fact that sex is meant to be used only for procreation and not for self-indulgence, leaves no room whatsoever for indulging in animal passion. Assimilation of the knowledge that the vital fluid is never meant for waste should restrain men and women from becoming crazy over sexual intercourse. Marriage will then come to have a different significance and the way it is treated at present will appear disgusting. Marriage ought to signify a union of heart between two partners. A married couple is worthy of being considered brahmachâris if they never think of sexual intercourse except for the purposes of procreation. Such an intercourse is not possible unless both parties desire it. It will never be resorted to in order to satisfy passion without the desire for a child. After intercourse which has been performed as a matter of duty, the desire to repeat the process should never arise.
75. What I am saying may not be taken as copy book wisdom. The reader should know that I am writing this after a long personal experience. I know that what I am writing is contrary to the common practice. But in order to make progress we have often to go beyond the limits of common experience. Great discoveries have been possible only as a result of challenging the common experience or commonly held beliefs. The invention of the simple match stick was a challenge to the common experience, and the discovery of electricity confounded all preconceived notions.
76. What is true of physical things is equally true of things spiritual. In the early days there was no such thing as marriage. Men and women, as in the case of animals, mated promiscuously. Self-restraint was unknown. Some advanced men went beyond the rut of common practice and discovered the Law of Self-Restraint. It is our duty to investigate the hidden possibilities of the Law of Self-Restraint. Therefore, when I say it is the duty of every man and woman to take the marital relations to the state indicated by me it is not to be dismissed as utterly impracticable. If human life is molded as it ought to be, conservation of vital fluid can become a natural thing for everyone.
77. The sexual glands are all the time secreting the reproductive elements. This secretion should be utilized for enhancing one’s mental, physical, and spiritual energy. He who would learn to utilize it thus, will find that he requires very little food to keep his body in a fit condition. And yet he will be as capable as any of undertaking physical labour. Mental exertion will not tire him easily nor will he show the ordinary signs of old age. Just as a ripe fruit or an old leaf falls off naturally, so will such a brahmachâri, when his time comes, pass away with all his faculties intact. Although with the passage of time the effects of the natural wear and tear must be manifest in his body, his intellect instead of showing signs of decay should show progressive clarity. If all this is correct, the real key to health lies in the conservance of vital energy.
78. I give here the rules for the conservation of vital force as I know them.
    1. Sexual desire has its root in one’s thought. Therefore, complete control over thought is necessary. The way to achieve it is this. Never let your mind remain idle. Keep it filled with good and useful ideas. In other words keep thinking of whatever duty you have on hand. There need be no worry about it, but think out how can you become an expert in your department and then put your thoughts into action. There should be no waste of thoughts. Japa (repetition of God’s name) is a great support when idle thoughts haunt you. Contemplate God in the form you have pictured Him unless you know Him as formless. While japa is going on, no other thoughts should be allowed to enter one’s mind. This is the ideal state. But if one cannot reach it and all sorts of uninvited thoughts invade one’s mind, one should not become disheartened. Nâmajapa should be continued faithfully and in the confidence that ultimate victory is bound to follow.
    2. As with our thoughts, so with our reading and talking. These should be healthy and clean. Erotic literature should be avoided. Idle, indecent talk leads to indecent action. It is obvious that one who does not wish to feed his animal passions will avoid occupations which tend to include them.
    3. Like the mind, the body must also be kept well and usefully occupied, so that the fatigue of the day may lead to refreshing dreamless sleep. As far as possible, work should be in open. Those who for some reason or the other, cannot undertake physical labour, should make it a point to take regular exercise. In my opinion, a brisk walk in the open is the best form of exercise. During the walk the mouth should be closed and breathing should be done through the nose. Sitting or walking, the body must be held erect. To sit or stand otherwise is a size of laziness and laziness is the enemy of self-restraint. Yogic exercises–asanas–are also useful. This much I can say from my personal experience that one who keeps his hands and feet, eyes and ears, healthily occupied does not have much difficulty in controlling the animal appetite. Everyone can test this for himself.
    4. A Sanskrit text says that a man becomes what he eats. A glutton who exercises no restraint in eating is a slave to his animal passions. One who has not been able to control his palate, will never be able to control the other senses. If this is true, it is clear that one should take just enough food for the requirements of the body and no more. The diet should be healthy and well-balanced. The body was never meant to be treated as a refuse bin holding the foods that the palate demands. Food is meant to sustain the body. His body has been given to man as a means of self-realization. Self-realization means realization of God. A person who has made this realization the object of his or her life, will never become a slave to the animal passion.
    5. Man should look upon every woman as his mother, sister, or daughter. No one ever entertains impure thoughts with regard to his mother, sister, or daughter. Similarly, women should look upon every man as her father, brother, or son.
79. I have given more hints than these in my other writings, but they are all contained in the five given above. Anyone who observes them should find it easy to overcome what has been called the greatest of all passions. A person, who has real desire for brahmacharya, will not give up the effort because he or she regards the observance of these rules as impossible or at least within the reaches of one in a million. The effort is a joy in itself. To put it in another way, the joy of possessing perfect health is not to be compared with any other, and perfect health is unattainable by slaves. Slavery of one’s animality is perhaps the worst of all.
80. A few words about contraceptives will not be out of place here. The practice of preventing progeny, by means of artificial methods, is not a new thing. In the past such methods were practiced secretly and they were crude. Modern society have given them respectable place and made improvements. They have been given a philanthropic garb. The advocates of contraceptives say that sexual desire is a natural instinct–some call it a blessing. They therefore say that we should not suppress the desire even if it were possible. Birth control by means of self-restraint is, in their opinion, difficult to practice. If a substitute for self-restraint is not prescribed, the health of innumerable is bound to suffer through frequent pregnancies. They add that if births are not regulated, over population will ensue; individual families will be pauperized and their children will be ill fed, ill clothed, and ill educated. Therefore, they argue, it is the duty of scientists to devise harmless and effective methods of birth control. This argument has failed to convince me. The use of contraceptives is likely to produce evils of which we have no conception. But the worse danger is that the use of contraceptives bids fair to kill the desire for self-restraint. In my opinion it is too heavy a price to pay for any possible immediate gain. But this is not the place to argue my point. Those who would like to pursue this subject further should procure the booklet called Self-Restraint v. Self-Indulgence, read and digest what I have said therein and then do as their heads and heart may dictate. Those who have not the desire or the leisure to read the booklet will, if they follow my advice, avoid contraceptive as poison. They should try their best to exercise self-restraint. They should take up such activities as would keep their bodies and minds fully occupied and give a suitable outlet to their energy. It is necessary to have some healthy recreation when one is tired by physical labour. There should not be a single moment of idleness for the devil to creep in. In this way, true conjugal love will be established and directed into healthy channels. Both the partners will make a progressive rise in their moral height. The joy of true renunciation, once they come to know it, will prevent them from turning to animal enjoyment. Self-deception is the greatest stumbling block. Instead of controlling the mind, the fountain of all animal desire, men and women involve themselves in the vain endeavor to avoid the physical act. If there is a determination to control the thought and the action, victory is sure to follow. Man must understand that woman is his companion and helpmate in life and not the means of satisfaction of his carnal desire. There must be a clear perception that the purpose of human creation was wholly different from that of the satisfaction of the animal wants. Brahmacharya will come easy to anyone who controls his palate.

1. (ref:
   http://books.google.com/books?id=Ukr_Jk9TDCYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) -
   At Girnar, Swami Samarth was known as “Chanchal Bharati” (a wandering mendicant). A devotee, Sevadas came for darshan. As an earnest aspirant, he sought help and guidance on the spiritual path. Swami Samarth advised him, “For spiritual progress, Chitta Shuddhi (purity of heart) is essential. It is achieved by dedicated action without craving for fruit thereof. Our duties are to be discharged in a spirit of selflessness and as part of worship. Through this, egoism slowly vanishes and vision broadens and the heart becomes expansive. Once the mind is purified, you must seek a Sadguru and, surrendering to him, serve him. Listening to, reflecting and contemplating deeply on the spiritual truths, are then the logical steps to follow. Thus, erroneous notions and wrong beliefs disappear. Nescience is removed. Thus is realized the knowledge of Brahman.”
2. Everyone should understand one’s own limitations and not aspire for unmerited spiritual experience. One should first strive to earn the adhikara – the merit for what he can aspire for. The experience of a vision of Bhrahman is not for any and everyone. It requires an arduous, austere penance, a totally purified heart and genuine merit. How can ordinary eyes which cannot even gaze at the Sun stand the radiance of Brahman with the effulgence of billions of Suns? Cultivation of a purified heart and total detachment – these are the prerequisites for higher spiritual experiences. Through Sakara to Nirakar, stagewise should be one’s spiritual ascent.
3. (ref:
   http://www.swamisamarth.com/downloads/englishliterature/SwamiSamarth.pdf) – When Sripad (Sripad SriVallabh is considered as an earlier incarnation of Swami Samartha) became sixteen year old, his parents started thinking about his marriage. That’s when Sripad reminded them, “I am born to be an ascetic, not for marriage. I want to be free from worldly attachments or to enjoy worldly pleasures. I am married to all the yogas in this universe. For the accomplishment of the yoga’s, I would like to travel to the north.”
4. Who is the mother? Who is the son? It is all an ephemeral relationship.
   How many mothers and fathers have you had in your precious lives? It is
   beyond all count. There is only one Eternal Mother. You really belong to
   Her. She is the Mother, Father and everyone to you and all. Develop
   attachment only to that and not to any earthly physical relationships which
   are like bubbles, which may burst any moment. Strive for shreyas,
   lasting and eternal good, not for preyar, momentary pleasures and
   fleeting gains.
5. Story of Wamanboa Brahmachari
   • Shri Wamanboa Brahmachari was a resident of Wambori village in
     Ahmednagar District. He was a devotee of Lord Dattatreya from his youth.
     He served in a number of jobs in varying capacities and met many holy
     men, sadhus, fakirs, etc., but he did not feel satisfied with his life.
   • One day while he was in Pune with his mother, a brahmin came and
     said in the course of conversation, "A life without the grace of a
     sadguru is a totally wasted life". Wamanboa asked him
     where he could find a sadguru. The brahmin repliedd, "Go to Akkalkot and
     get the darshan of Shri Swami Samarth; he is the avatar of Guru
     Dattatreya, manifest in human form". On hearing this, Wamanboa at once
     decided to go to Akkalkot. He went there in the yeat 1872. Sri Swami
     Samarth had gone to Honde at that time. Wamanboa went to Honde but could
     not reach the village because the river which was to be crossed was in
     floods. He felt very disappointed. But from his side of the river on the
     other bank he could see the celestial figure of Sri Swami Samarth, and
     prostrated to him where he was. Swami Samarth himself came near him
     walking across the river. Wamanboa prostrated at his feet again with a
     deep thrill of joy, his heart overflowing with gratitude for Swamiji's
     solicitude and compassion towards him. Swamiji said, "You are my child.
     Be with me, serve me. I bless you. You will surely attain
     Brahmanishta. Renounce the world completely". Shri Wamanboa at
     once threw away all his clothes and belongings, and was left only with a
     kaupin. Sri Swami Samarth then gave him a kandalu (water-pot of a sadhu)
     as a token of initiation and his blessings. 
6. Around 1876, Wamanboa's health deteriorated. He had all sorts of
   complications and was unable to bear the sufferings. He sent a letter to
   Swamiji praying that he should cure him by his grace. There was neither a
   return message from Swami Samarth nor did he find any improvement in his
   condition. He felt that suicide would be the best relief for him and went to
   drown himself in the Surasagar lake. Just at that moment, when he was about
   to jump into the lake, Sri Swami Samarth suddenly manifested himself, caught
   hold of him and slapped him on his face. Swamiji admonished him saying, "You
   want to escape from paying off your debts. You had incurred heavy debts in
   your former life. All the present suffering of yours is settlement of this
   old account. What you sowed in your previous life, you have to reap in this
   one. Even Mahapurushas cannot escape deha prarabdha,
   (karma), even if they had purified themselves completely by austerities in
   the present life. By committing suicide, do you think you can escape from
   your suffering? After suicide it will be far worse; and unsettled accounts
   will haunt you life after life, increasing manifold as if with compound
   interest. Have forbearance. Let not your faith be shaken by these physical
   ills and ailments. Such faint-heartedness does not befit a man of your
   spiritual stature. Life is meant for achieving a far nobler purpose and goal
   than to be merely thrown into and allowed to stagnate in a waterly grave.
   Seek thy self and attain it." Further, Swami Samarth said, "Do
   you think I did not know about your suffering? But you must know that it is
   all a cleansing and purifying process – the gold has to be put in fire and
   hammered on the anvil before it frees itself of its dross and attains purity
   and shines resplendently. The hardships thrown on man by destiny are by way
   of a similar process, meant to cleanse the mind, heart and the self of man,
   so that the divinity innate in him will get manifest in its fullness and he
   will become worthy of being God's child".
7. After the Samadhi, Swamiji appeared before Sri Balappa Maharaj
   to console him.
   • Sri Balappa Maharaj being deeply attached to Sri Swami Samarth found
     his grief unbearable at the latter's passing away. Although he showed
     some courage at the beginning of the final rites, yet as they progressed
     he could not bear to witness them and broke down completely. He felt he
     would not be able to continue to live without the Master and should also
     follow in his wake. He refused to take food or water, however much
     others pressed him. On the third day of the fast, lo! Sri Swami Samarth
     himself appeared in front of Sri Balappa Maharaj, holding kamandalu in
     his hand. Balappa bent down and touched the Master's feet. Swamiji
     raised him with his own hands and said with the affection and love of a
     million mothers, "My son! do not grieve. It does not befit you.
     I gave you my precious padukas. You try to see me in them. I am ever
     present with you. I continue to accept your loving services daily.
     Transcend your attachment to my physical form and comprehend my true
     nature Swaswarupa:
     the all pervading Absolute Consciousness. My
     blessings are always with you." Saying this the form dissolved
     into the all pervading space. Sri Balappa Maharaj became convincingly
     aware of the immortal and eternal nature of Sri Swami Samarth and was
     filled with new courage and confidence.
8. Since the day of Swami Samarth’s arrival in Cholappa’s house, Cholappa became his close and devoted disciple who served the Swami faithfully and with devotion. Even then Swami Samarth put him to severe tests and created problems for him. He used to insult and trouble Cholappa, would annoy Cholappa’s wife and tax their patience to the extreme. Yet Cholappa remained a staunch devotee, never wavering in his faith. He won the master’s favor and grace completely. He won the master’s love; he became so dear to him that the Swami, a Maha Vairagi lamented like a child when Cholappa died.
9. Every Thursday Sri Swami Samarth was given a special bath. He was seated on a wooden stool, his body besmeared with perfumes and scented oil, and bathed in hot water. After bath, he was garlanded, worshipped and lights were waved to him (aarti). On his forehead, saffron and musk marks were applied. There was the usual rudraksha mala and sphatika mala worn round his neck. After the bath, he was seated on a throne – Simhasana.
   Sri Swami Samarth used to chant the name of God (namajapa) all the time. He would bless the visitors, offer them dates, sugarcandy and sweets as ‘prasad’.
   Children were particularly favoured with sweets. To the poor and the needy, Swami Samarth sumptuously offered food and gifts. During Diwali and other festivals, he used to offer special gifts to his devotees. During Muharram, Id and other festivals Swami Samarth would offer gifts to fakirs, avaliyas and others who regularly visited Akkalkot for Swamiji’s darshan and blessings. Many Parsees and Christians too visited Akkalkot for similar grace and favour.
10. Swami Samarth had a majestic figure and imposing personality. His looks were always commanding. There was omniscience in his eyes.
    With an air of freedom in his appearance, manners and ways, he never seemed to care for physical comforts. His actions too sometimes seemed childish and strange. He used to always mutter something to himself. At times, he used to address stones and trees as if they were his kith and kin.
    He spoke very little, never gave any sermons nor wrote anything. But his darshan was sufficient – just a glance of his was enough – to be a beneficial shower; enough to impart all kinds of spiritual teachings. His silence was a sermon and cleared all doubts of his devotees. He visited temples, maths, mandirs, dargahs and pirs. But he himself was beyond temples, mosques and churches. He was an Avadhoot – a God-man and in fact God Himself. The Muslims used to revere him as a great avalia.
11. Shri Swami Samartha’s messages to His disciples -
    1. Do not even see the face of a lazy person.
    2. Sweat and toil to earn your livelihood.
    3. Do not use drugs. They derail your thinking process.
    4. The one who follows ‘Dharma’ (Path of righteousness) always triumphs.
    5. One who seeks Master’s company should be unmindful of shame.
12. Shri Swami Samartha’s teaching for performing all actions without expectations of fruits -Shri Swami Samartha says to one of His devotees, “Go on dong action without expecting any rewards. This will lead you to realization.”
13. Have firm belief that it is god alone who is immanent in every seen and unseen thing in this universe. This will help you maintain purity of the mind.
14. Do not offer spiritual knowledge or advice to every person you meet. Assess the worth of the person and then only offer spiritual advice depending on his merits.
15. Be always engaged in practicing your Dharma. Then you will triumph in every field.
16. Whenever you come across an able guide on the spiritual path try to gain as much knowledge and advice from him as possible. No master will share the knowledge on his own, as no farm will yield crops on its own.
17. While following spiritual practice if you gain spiritual powers then do not fall prey to the lure of using them to show miracles.
18. Bookish knowledge alone will not lead you to self-realization. Try to put the acquired knowledge in to practice.
19. Swami always insisted that, “Knave people are social problems and we should get rid of them quickly.” He wanted all the people to do Relentless Efforts. He used to say, “Stay away from lazy person”,” Always do hard work like bull”. If someone is seating idle without any work and thinking pointlessly, then Swamiji used asked,”Hey, don’t you have bull with you?” Swamiji said, “Do hard work and earn your own bread and butter.” He gave teaching of ‘karmayog’(Path of Action).
20. Swamiji always told his disciples, always listen to and follow saints. Just throw away the proud. Worship god and chant his name. Be satisfied in what you have got. God resides in every human being. Don’t ever hurt any animal.
21. Mind is an immense power station. Samarth advised to chant to make it strong and stay away from bad habits. We should try to follow the advices given by Swami Samarth. Patience, tenderness, truth are some of his good qualities. He had knowledge of everything still he never interfered in natural rules.
22. Always overcome any differences and lead a good life.
23. Always think in all directions and good for others.
24. Always earn money by effort and use it for your own success. Also help others too.
25. Learn to forgive.
26. Everything is going to end. People should understand this and work relentlessly.

Quotes by Sri Anandamayi Ma

Taken from books: (work in progress)

• The Essential Sri Anandamayi Ma: Life and Teaching of a 20th Century Indian Saint – Paperback (Oct. 25, 2007) by Anandamayi Ma and Joseph A. Fitzgerald

1. At Varanasi Ma was practically inundated by crowds of darshan seekers. Whatever had remained of Her "private" life was swallowed up by Her duties to those who sought spiritual solace from Her. Bholanath (Ma's husband) had to adjust himself to a life that included few of the normal aspects of a householder's existence. In December, 1928, Anandamayi Ma decided that the time has come to intensify Bholanath's sadhana. She told him to go for solitary meditation to Tarapeeth, a sacred site whose cremation grounds are ideally suited for yogic practices.
2. Warning people not to depend on book learning, Ma taught in a simple, homely language, often by means of parables, just as did Ramakrishna.

Quotes by Osho

1. Sex makes man a fool.
   Truth is that sex makes man a fool, gives him the idea that he is the master of it, while he is only a slave. And the slavery has to be broken — he has to be pulled out of this ditch. But if he thinks that that ditch is a palace then you cannot pull him out. You cannot even persuade him to come out of it; hence, the condemnation of sex by all the religions.

   But they overdid it, and they forgot the ninety-nine percent dangers just for the one percent. It could have been done very easily without taking the risk of ninety-nine percent falsehood. But they saw the danger of man being simply a means, and that is the lowliest position possible; you are just a means, not an end. You are being used by some unknown force of which you have no idea.

   The man living on the instinctive level only has an hallucination of love. That hallucination is created by nature, by biology, chemistry. You have in your body drugs which are released when you are making love, and you start moving into euphoria. That is one of the reasons why people who become addicted to drugs slowly slowly become uninterested in sex.
   People become addicted to sex. And a very strange thing about addiction is that if you have the drug, it is nothing; if you don’t have it, you are missing. You never think what you are missing because when you have it, it is nothing.. Each time you have it you feel that it is just a futile effort, nothing comes out of it. You don’t move a single inch in evolution. You just jump for a moment in the air and with a thump you fall back on the ground.

2. Desires never fulfill anyone

   Buddha has said it is not the nature of desire to be fulfilled. Fulfillment comes only by desirelessness. Now, this is one of the most important paradoxes — if you drop desiring, you will be fulfilled. The more you desire, the more you are getting into desire, the farther and farther away you go from your possibility of fulfillment. One desire creates many more desires… then many more desires, millions more. It is like a tree. First it is one, then many branches, then many small offshoots, and on and on it goes. The person has asked, I FEEL STUCK….
   Everybody who has been living in desire feels stuck. The problem is that if you don’t try to fulfill your desire, you remain unfulfilled. If you try, even if you get the goal of your desire, then you remain unfulfilled — then too, nothing changes. This is the nightmare of life.

3. Osho on Repressed Sexuality

   And my own observation is, the moment you accept something totally, the very acceptance brings a revolution, a radical change. It is your energy — accept it. It will make you stronger. Reject it, it keeps you weak. Fighting with your own energy is dissipating it. And fighting with your sex will take so much of your time and so much of your energy — then when are you going to look at God who is knocking on your door?

   Old age is the last opportunity given to you: before death comes, prepare. And how does one prepare for death? By becoming more meditative.

   If some lurking desires are still there, and the body is getting old and the body is not capable of fulfilling those desires, don’t be worried. Meditate over those desires, watch, be aware. Just by being aware and watchful and alert, those desires and the energy contained in them can be transmuted. But before death comes, be free of all desires. When I say be free of all desires I simply mean be free of all objects of desires. Then there is a pure longing. That pure longing is divine, that pure longing is God. Then there is pure creativity with no object, with no address, with no direction, with no destination — just pure energy, a pool of energy, going nowhere. That’s what buddhahood is.

4. Sex keeps you unconscious

   I don’t call sex a sin, I simply call it stupid. I am not saying that you will suffer hell – what more hell do you need to suffer? You are already suffering in it. And what does it go on giving to you? It just keeps you engaged – engaged in the other so that you can avoid yourself. That is its basic stupidity: it keeps you ignorant because it keeps you ignoring yourself.
   It is as if you are standing on the road and I am sitting on the treetop. I say to you, ”A bullock cart is coming down the road.” You say, ”I don’t see any bullock cart. There is no bullock cart.” But I can see; my perspective is greater because I am on a height. You will only see the bullock cart when it comes very close to you, and then after a few yards it will disappear again. And I will say to you, ”It has not disappeared. It is still there on the road.” You will say, ”It is no longer there, it is gone.”
   The higher you rise, the more you can see. And when you reach the ultimate height, Buddhahood, you can see everything. Then there is no past and no future; then there is only present. And in that clarity, sex is the most stupid thing because it keeps you in bondage the longest. I am not condemning it, I am simply stating a fact. It is your bondage. It keeps you unconscious. It does not allow you to see what you are doing. You are possessed by it.
   That’s why I call it stupid: it keeps you unconscious, it keeps you in a kind of possession. It is hormonal, it is chemical. It is not you; it is just your biology that goes on forcing you to do certain things. If you watch, you will be surprised: What are you doing? And why are you doing? If you watch you will be surprised: What are you gaining out of it? What have you gained up to now? And in your saner moments you know perfectly well what I am saying, you understand it; but those saner moments are very superficial – they come and go – and soon you are back in the same trap again.

5. Osho – Transforming Lust with Awareness gives indescribable Bliss

   Passion creates many things in you. It creates fever, it makes you more unconscious — more unconscious than you already are. It drags you deeper into the mud. And with passion come hatred, illusion and desire — and then you are distracted from your nature. Your nature is poisoned, your innocence is poisoned. You lose all simplicity, all humbleness.
   Beware of the poisoning by passion. Be warm, be loving — that is a totally different phenomenon — but don’t be full of lust. Warmth is possible with your consciousness. A Buddha is very warm, a Jesus is very warm, very loving. Passion has disappeared. Passion has become transformed into compassion. Their compassion showers on you like flowers. Just as passion poisons you, compassion purifies you. Compassion is nectar if passion is poison. The energy that is involved in passion can be released into compassion.

   Try, when you are angry, to be conscious, and you will be surprised — you are in for a great surprise. If you become conscious, anger disappears. And suddenly you have found a key, you have stumbled upon a secret. When sex dominates you and you are full of lust, close your eyes, sit silently and meditate on this energy that is surrounding you, this lust that is surrounding you like a cloud. Just watch it, see it. I am not saying be against it, because if you are against it you have already taken a standpoint. Now you cannot watch.

   For watching, the necessary step, the most necessary, is not to take any prejudice, not to conclude beforehand. Just remain silently watchful, neither for nor against. And within minutes you will be surprised that that great storm of lust is over. And when the storm is over, the silence that is left behind is so profound, is so great, such a blessing that you may not have felt it ever. No sexual experience can give you that beauty that will come if you watch your lust and through watchfulness the lust disappears. Then a silence comes to you which is virgin, which belongs to the beyond, which belongs to the other shore.

6. Osho – Repression of any kind is destructive to body, to the mind, to the soul

   Repression of any kind is destructive to the body, to the mind, to the soul. Energies have to be transformed, not repressed. Energies are your potential wealth, raw; you have to polish them, then they can become great diamonds. These same energies, sexual energies, can become your spiritual liberation. Repressed you will be in a bondage.
   I am not saying to become indulgent; that is going to the other extreme. Buddha will also not support your indulgence. He is absolutely for the middle way, the golden mean. Neither be repressive nor be indulgent. Be watchful, be alert; be friendly to your energies, sympathetic. They are your energies; don’t create a rift, otherwise you will always be in conflict, and to fight with your own energies is an unnecessary dissipation. Fighting with your own energies, you are fighting with yourself: you cannot win. You will be simply wasting the whole opportunity of life. Be aware, don’t repress, don’t indulge. Be aware, be natural. Let energies be accepted and absorbed, and then the same energies, crude energies, become so refined, passing through awareness, that great flowers bloom in your being — lotuses of enlightenment.

7. Osho – Sleepy person knows only a few sensations of the body food, sex

   Question – Beloved Master, What is Happiness?
   Osho – Jayananda, it depends. It depends on you, on your state of consciousness or unconsciousness, whether you are asleep or awake. There is one famous maxim of Murphy. He says there are two types of people: One, who always divide humanity in two types, and the other, who don’t divide humanity at all. I belong to the first type…. Humanity can be divided in two types: the sleeping ones and the awakened ones — and, of course, a small part in between.

   Happiness will depend on where you are in your consciousness. If you are asleep, then pleasure is happiness. Pleasure means sensation, trying to achieve something through the body which is not possible to achieve through the body, forcing the body to achieve something it is not capable of. People are trying, in every possible way, to achieve happiness through the body.
   The body can give you only momentary pleasures, and each pleasure is balanced by pain in the same amount, in the same degree. Each pleasure is followed by its opposite because body exists in the world of duality, just as the day is followed by night and death is followed by life and life is followed by death. It is a vicious circle. Your pleasure will be followed by pain, your pain will be followed by pleasure.

   But you will never be at ease. When you will be in a state of pleasure you will be afraid that you are going to lose it, and that fear will poison it. And when you will be lost in pain, of course, you will be in suffering, and you will try every possible effort to get out of it — just to fall again back into it. Buddha calls this the wheel of birth and death. We go on moving in this wheel, clinging to the wheel… and the wheel moves on. Sometimes pleasure comes up and sometimes pain comes up, but we are crushed between these two rocks.

   But the sleepy person knows nothing else. He knows only a few sensations of the body — food, sex. This is his world; he goes on moving between these two. These are the two ends of his body: food and sex. If he represses sex he becomes addicted to food: if he represses food he becomes addicted to sex. Energy goes on moving like a pendulum. And whatsoever you call pleasure is, at the most, just a relief of a tense state. Sexual energy gathers, accumulates; you become tense and heavy and you want to release it.

   The man who is asleep, his sexuality is nothing but a relief, like a good sneeze. It gives you nothing but a certain relief. A tension was there, now it is no more there; but it will accumulate again. Food gives you only a little taste on the tongue; it is not much to live for. But many people are living only to eat; there are very few people who eat to live.

   The story of Columbus is well-known. It was a long trip. For three months they saw nothing but water. Then one day Columbus looked out at the horizon and saw trees. And if you think Columbus was happy to see trees, you should have seen his dog! That’s why the Siberian dogs are the fastest in the world: because the trees are so far apart. But this is the world of pleasure. The dog can be forgiven, but you cannot be forgiven.

   It depends on people what can be called happiness. To the sleeping, pleasurable sensations are happiness. He lives from one pleasure to another pleasure. He is just rushing from one sensation to another sensation. He lives for small thrills. His life is very superficial; it has no depth, it has no quality. He lives in the world of quantity.

   Then the people who are in between, who are neither asleep nor awake, who are just in a limbo, a little bit asleep, a little bit awake. You sometimes have that experience in the early morning: still sleepy, but you can’t say you are asleep because you can hear the noise in the house, your wife preparing tea, the noise of the samovar or the milkman at the door or children getting ready to go to school. You can hear these things, but still you are not awake. Vaguely, dimly these noises reach to you, as if there is a great distance between you and all that is happening around you.
   It feels as if it is still a part of the dream. It is not a part of the dream, but you are in a state of in-between. The same happens when you start meditating. The nonmeditator sleeps, dreams; the meditator starts moving away from his sleep towards awakening. He is in a transitory state. Then happiness has a totally different meaning: it becomes more of a quality, less of a quantity; it is more psychological, less physiological.

   He enjoys music more, he enjoys poetry more, he enjoys creating something. He enjoys nature, its beauty. He enjoys silence. He enjoys what he had never enjoyed before, and this is far more lasting. Even if the music stops, something goes on lingering in you. And it is not a relief.

   The difference between pleasure and THIS happiness is: it is not a relief, it is an enrichment. You become more full, you become a little overflowing. Listening to good music, something is triggered in your being, a harmony arises in you — you become musical. Or dancing, suddenly you forget your body; your body becomes weightless. The grip of gravitation over you is lost. Suddenly you are in a different space: the ego is not so solid, the dancer melts and merges into the dance. This is far higher, far deeper than the joy that you gain from food or sex. This has a depth. But this is also not the ultimate. The ultimate happens only when you are fully awake, when you are a buddha, when all sleep is gone and all dreaming is gone, when your whole being is full of light, when there is no darkness within you. All darkness has disappeared and with that darkness, the ego is gone. All tensions have disappeared, all anguish, all anxiety. You are in a state of total contentment. You live in the present; no past, no future anymore. You are utterly herenow.

   This moment is all. Now is the only time and here is the only space. And then suddenly the whole sky drops into you. This is bliss. This is REAL happiness. Seek bliss, Jayananda; it is your birthright. Don’t remain lost in the jungle of pleasures; rise a little higher. Reach to happiness and then to bliss.

   Pleasure is animal, happiness is human, bliss is divine. Pleasure binds you, it is a bondage, it chains you. Happiness gives you a little more rope, a little bit of freedom, but only a little bit. Bliss is absolute freedom. You start moving upwards; it gives you wings. You are no more part of the gross earth; you become part of the sky. You become light, you become joy. Pleasure is dependent on others. Happiness is not so dependent on others, but still it is separate from you. Bliss is not dependent, is not separate either; it is your very being, it is your very nature. To attain it is to attain to God, to nirvana.

   Source: from Osho Book “Dhammapada Vol 10″

8. If you have really experienced the inner light, sex will disappear. Love will happen to you, but sex will disappear; sexuality will disappear. Love, a very loving personality, will take its place. There will be no desire for sex. If the desire for sex remains, you have not experienced the inner light. Then the inner light is just a projection of the mind.
9. What happens with your sex energy depends on how you use it. What it can become does not depend on it alone, but on your understanding and on how you live your life. Have you not observed that it becomes brahmacharya, the state of celibacy when it is transformed? bramhacharya is not hostile to passion; brahmacharya is the purification, the transcendence, the sublimation of passion. In the same way, the energy that manifests itself in violence becomes peace, serenity and tranquility. It is only a question of transformation.
10. Love is the creative refinement of sex energy. And so, when love reaches perfection, the absence of sex automatically follows. A life of love, an abstinence from physical pleasures is called brahmacharya, and anyone who wishes to be free from sex must develop his capacity to love. Freedom from sex cannot be achieved through supersession. Liberation from sex is only possible through love.
11. Both are easy: it is perfectly easy to go unconscious in sex, to completely forget what is going on, to get intoxicated is easy. To control sex, to force it to stop, to prevent yourself is also easy. But in both you miss. The one who indulges misses, the celibate misses too. The real brahmacharya happens when you stand in the middle between these two, then you are only watching. Then you will find that sex arises in the body and reverberates in the body; in the mind a shadow briefly falls and departs. You remain standing far away. How can sexual desire be in you? How can any desire be in you? You are nothing but the observer.
12. Sex is there: do not condemn it. Accept it. Do not create a division in your being, between parts of your being. Anger is there: accept it. Greed is there, or whatsoever: accept it. I do not mean be greedy. Rather on the contrary, the moment you accept you go beyond, because acceptance creates a unity, and when you are united within you have the energy to go beyond.
13. The mechanism of sex is so much a momentary phenomenon that it only functions momentarily; if you do not cooperate at the right moment, it stops. At the right moment your cooperation is needed, otherwise it cannot work. It is only a momentary mechanism, and if you do not cooperate with it, it will stop by itself.
14. First the energy will try its best to be released sexually, because that is its usual outlet, its usual center. So one must first be aware of one’s downward “doors.” Only awareness will close them; only noncooperation will close them. Sex is not so forceful as we feel it to be. It is forceful only momentarily: it is not a twenty-four-hour affair, it is a momentary challenge.
15. Real awareness always leads you beyond sex, and celibacy happens on its own accord. Because to be in sex you have either to be identified with the male or identified with the female. A real celibate is one who has gone beyond, who is neither.
16. Remember, to translate BRAHMACHARYA as “celibacy” is not right. The word BRAHMACHARYA simply means living like a god, living with the experience of the Brahma, the absolute, living meditatively. If I am to translate BRAHMACHARYA I Will translate it as “the life of meditation”.
17. Meditation brings a kind of celibacy, but not vice versa. A celibacy without meditation is nothing but sexual repression. And your mind will become more and more sexual, so whenever you sit to meditate your mind will become full of fantasies, sexual fantasies.
18. When you become violent, non-violence comes in. When you become non-violent, violence waits behind. They go together. All dualities go together. When sex disappears, celibacy disappears too — remember it. If you start claiming that you have become a celibate then sexuality still exists, and any day it can explode. You are sitting on a volcano. When sex has gone what is the meaning of celibacy? Then it is simply meaningless, the word is meaningless. ‘Celibacy’ can carry any meaning only in reference to sex. Buddha says: When both dualities are gone you are simply in the middle — silent, calm, pure. The Way is attained. The Way is the middle Way.
19. Celibacy should be brought very slowly. All that brings you again and again to sexuality has to be dropped slowly, in steps. And once you start enjoying the energy that becomes available, when you are not obsessed with sex, just that pure energy becomes a dance in you — that is called enriching. Now, your energy is not wasted. Your energy goes on showering on yourself. Remember, there are two types of celibates. One: who has simply forced celibacy upon himself — he is a wrong type, he is doing violence to himself. The other: who has tried to understand sexuality, what it is, why it is; who has watched, observed, lived through it, and, by and by, has become aware of its futility; by and by, has become aware of a deep frustration that comes after EACH sexual act.
20. Kabir says: Repression is not BRAHMACHARYA. Repressing your desires and destroying your desires is not the way of celibacy, because if you repress your desires you will remain hung-up with them. Whatsoever is repressed, you have to repress it again and again and again, and whatsoever is repressed, you have to sit on it continuously; otherwise there is fear — if you move somewhere else, it may bubble up again. Repression can never bring freedom. Repression makes you a slave. Repress anything, and that will become your master.
21. Love has its own meditation. But you do not know love; you know only sex and you know the misery of wasting energy. Then you get depressed after it. Then you decide to take a vow of BRAHMACHARYA, celibacy. And this vow is taken in depression, this vow is taken in anger, this vow is taken in frustration. It is not going to help. A vow can be helpful if taken in a very relaxed, deeply meditative mood. Otherwise you are simply showing your anger, your frustration and nothing else, and you will forget the vow within twenty-four hours. The energy will have come again, and just as an old routine you will have to release it.
22. Brahmacharya cannot be taught. Only meditation can be taught. Brahmacharya is the result. As meditation ripens, brahmacharya comes to fruit by itself. All effort is to be put into meditation. One who puts his effort directly into brahmacharya will sit suppressing sex in the name of brahmacharya. And brahmacharya is not happening – it is only superficial – within the being the worms of desire are crawling.
23. Lust means how to use something for your happiness; love means your happiness is not at all concerned. Really, lust means how to get something out of it and love means how to give something. They are diametrically opposite. If you see a beautiful face and you feel love toward the face, the immediate feeling in your consciousness will be how to do something to make this face happy, how to do something to make this man or this woman happy. The concern is not with yourself, the concern is with the other.

    In love the other is important; in lust you are important. In lust you are thinking how to make the other your instrument; in love you are thinking how to become an instrument yourself. In lust you are going to sacrifice the other; in love you are going to sacrifice yourself. Love means giving; lust means getting. Love is a surrender; lust is an aggression.

24. I am not against sex, but I am against sexuality. And let me make a distinction: when you feeling very sexual and being possessed by the person, this is not the moment to do anything. Close your doors, meditate on your sexuality. Let it arise, let it come out of the dark night within you. Out of the jungle, let it spread — you watch, you simply watch, you become an unmoving flame of awareness. Soon you will see it has settled again, and your consciousness is burning brighter than ever. You have absorbed it, it has become nectar.
25. To me, if sex is the creative force in the world, it must be nearest to the creative center of the world — whatever name you give to it. Creative energy must be closest to creation, to the creative source of it all. People should be taught the art of converting sexual energy into spiritual enlightenment.
26. In the sexual act you have a certain thrill, a moment of forgetfulness, a moment of oblivion. You feel good — for a few seconds, only for a few seconds, you drop out of this routine world. Sex gives you a door to escape into some other world — which is non-tense; there is no worry; you are simply relaxed and melting. But have you observed? After each sexual act you feel frustrated. Sex creates neurosis, it is neurotic, because it can never satisfy you. Now, go to the madhouses of the world and just watch the mad people, and you will always find that somewhere or other there is a sexual problem. That’s what Freud says, that ALL pathology is somehow connected with sex. Too much sex obsession becomes neurotic. If you live in the body, you are bound to become neurotic. You have to go a little deeper and higher than the body.
27. In sex there may be relaxation. In sex there may be physiological health and hygiene. But there is no growth. You remain animal. With love you become human. With love you become upright. With love you stand erect on earth. With sex you are again animal, you are horizontal on the earth, just moving like other animals, crawling. With love you are erect, vertical.
28. Awareness is the true path. Neither indulge nor renounce, but be aware. Do whatsoever you are doing — do it with full awareness.
29. Friendship is the highest form of love and sex is the lowest form of love.
30. The thirtieth year is perfectly the right time. That leaves you — because you are from the West — at least fifty to sixty years to work upon yourself, to find yourself, and to find the innermost mysteries of existence. In fact, now begins the real life; up to now you were a slave. Now, boundaries are dropping and the whole sky is becoming available to you with all its stars. Don’t be an old fool. And if you can become wise while you are young, just thirty, thank God. Be grateful to existence that he is allowing you so much time to explore much that is not available to any other animal, which is only available to man. And the more time you have to explore it, the deeper will be your insight, the greater will be your consciousness and tremendous will be your splendor. You will not die an ugly death; you will die with a grace and with a smile on your face.Nityanando, you are fortunate that life need not be empty for you. If sex is going, say goodbye to it. It was good when it was there; it is better when it is gone. Now begins a totally different space of experiencing. Now begins a new adventure, more free, more individual, more unfettered. And the sky is so vast to explore… and on each step there are miracles and miracles.So sing and dance and meditate. And life is immensely beautiful: it has all that Gautam Buddha experienced and more, because twenty-five centuries have passed; man has become far more mature, and evolution has gone higher. We can produce greater Gautam Buddhas with more dimensions to them.
31. And, if you become meditative, you will come to realize a new fact. That fact is that it is not sex that gives you bliss, it is not sex that gives you the ecstasy. Rather, it is a thoughtless state of the mind and total involvement in the act that gives you a blissful feeling.

    Once you understand this then sex will be needed less and less, because that thoughtless state of mind can be created without it — that’s what meditation means. And that totality of being can be created without sex. Once you know that the same phenomenon can happen without sex, sex will be needed less and less. A moment will come when sex will not be needed at all.

    Remember, sex is always dependent on the other. So in sex, a bondage, a slavery remains. Once you can create this total orgasmic phenomenon without any dependence on anybody else, when it has become an inner source, you are independent, you are free.

    That’s what is meant when, in India, we say only a BRAHMACHARI, an absolutely celibate person, can be free — because now he is not dependent on anybody else, his ecstasy is his own. Sex disappears through meditation, but this is not destroying the energy. Energy is never destroyed; only the form of the energy changes. Now it is no longer sexual, and when the form is no longer sexual, then you become loving.

    So, really, a person who is sexual cannot love. His love can only be a show. His love is just a means towards sex. A person who is sexual uses love just as a technique towards sex. It is a means. A sexual person cannot really love, he can only exploit the other; and love becomes just a way to approach the other.

    A person who has become non-sexual, and the energy is moving within, has become auto-ecstatic. His ecstasy is his own. Such a person will be loving for the first time. His love will be a constant showering, a constant sharing, a constant giving.

32. Sex has become synonymous with life in the West. It is not; it is only a very small part. It has something tremendously important to contribute but it is not all the story. It is just the beginning. It will be even more correct to say it is just the preface, not even the beginning. But my feeling about you is that you are ready to go into some new space – higher, better, superior, more graceful. And when this conflict with sex disappears and you accept the stage you are in, much love will arise in you. And it will not be sexual love – it will have a different quality: it will be more like friendship, more like prayer, more like creating music, singing a song, looking at the sunset. It will have all those qualities. It will be more aesthetic, less sexual. The sexual love remains a little coloured with violence; it remains a little crude. It can’t be very soft; it can’t have grace and dignity. It is anger; it is our animal heritage.
33. That idea of being a macho will create trouble for you. Drop this machismo, and forget all about it. And there is no problem; you are creating it. Put more and more of your effort into meditation. You will be surprised: the energy that goes into sex will start going into meditation, and sooner or later you will be having the same kind of orgasmic experiences through meditation as people have through sex.

    The sexual orgasm is bound to take too much energy out of you. It is a sheer wastage. It gives very little and takes very much. In the meditative orgasm, with no energy investment from your side the same quality – deeper, higher, profounder – happens. Later on you will find yourself more energetic than before. The meditative orgasm will leave you with more energy, with more vibrant energy than before. And this is possible.

34. We are weaklings, not because we have less energy than a Buddha: we have the same quanta of energy, everyone is born with the same energy quanta, but we are accustomed to dissipating it. It simply moves away from us and never comes back. It cannot come back! Once it is out of you, it can never come back – it is beyond you.

    A word arises in me: I speak it out; it has flown away. It is not going to come back to me, and the energy that was used in producing it, that was used in throwing it away, is dissipated. A word arises in me: I don’t throw it out; I remain silent. Then the word moves and moves and moves, and falls into the original source again. The energy has been reconsumed.

    Silence is energy. Brahmacharya is energy. Not to be angry is energy. But this is not suppression. If you suppress anger, you have used energy again. Don’t suppress – observe and follow. don’t fight – just move backwards with the anger. This is the purest method of awareness.

35. Love is a very silent flow, nonaggressive, almost passive; it is a very silent breeze. Sex is passion, violence, aggression, with force, with strong energy – it attacks. The heart and the sex center can join together, then love becomes passionate. If heart is not joined with the sex center then love becomes compassionate. Then love is there in its total purity and only then, when there is no passion in it, is love pure. It is silent, passive, nonaggressive. You can invite it but it will not knock at your door. It will not even ask to be invited. You can persuade it to come, it can become your guest, but it will not come uninvited.
36. I have watched many people die. It rarely happens that a person dies with God on his mind. Almost always, nine out of ten people die with sex on their minds when they die, and that becomes the beginning of another life. Sex on the mind becomes the beginning of another sex life.

    But it has to be so if you have not been working hard to go beyond it, to go beyond its grip. If you have not been struggling hard to release yourself from its clutches, then it is going to be so.

37. You know it. If this house is suddenly on fire, you will be more aware. You know that your awareness goes up and down. At certain moments you are more aware; at certain moments, less aware. So it is possible to create the situation of being more aware.

    That’s why awareness became the basis of meditation. And with awareness came the surprise that as you become aware, thoughts disappear. When you are fully aware, there are no thoughts, and suddenly time has stopped. Time can be there inside only with the movement of thoughts.

38. Witnessing means no choice, choiceless awareness. This is one of the most fundamental keys for all the diseases of the human mind. If you can become a witness, the opposites fight against each other, with each other, and both are dead, both disappear. But if you choose one thing over the other, you cannot be a witness.
39. Unless you know something which cannot be sold and cannot be purchased, unless you know something which is beyond money, you have not known real life. Sex is not beyond money — love is. Transform your sex into love, and transform your love into prayer — so one day even kings like Bimbisara may feel jealous of you. Become a Mahavira, a Buddha, become a Christ, a Zarathustra, a Lao Tzu. Only then have you lived, only then have you known the mysteries of life!
40. Money and sex are the lowest, and people are living only in the world of money and sex — and they think they are living. They are not living, they are only vegetating, they are only dying. This is not life. Life has many more kingdoms to be revealed, an infinite treasure which is not of this world. Neither sex can give it to you, nor money.
41. The sexual orgasm is very momentary, and whatsoever is momentary brings frustration in its wake, brings misery and unhappiness and sadness and repentance. But the quality of being orgasmic can become a continuity in you, a continuum — it can become your very flavor. But it is possible only through meditation, not through sex.
42. Question – Beloved Master, Why am I Tired of Sex?
    Osho – Sandhan, sex is tiring — and that’s why I say to you: Don’t avoid it. Unless you know its stupidity you will not be able to get rid of it. Unless you know its sheer wastage, you will not be able to transcend it.

    It is good that you have started feeling tired — that is natural. Sex simply means energy being dissipated downwards. The energy has to move upwards, then it is nourishing. Then it opens inexhaustible treasures in you — aes dhammo sanantano. But if you go on and on into sex like a maniac, soon you will find yourself utterly exhausted, wasted. What is the point of remaining in it if you are feeling tired? Get out of it! And I am not saying repress it. When you are feeling much energy for it and you try to get out, there will be repression. But when you are exhausted and tired and you see the futility of it, you can come out of it without repression. And to come out of sex without repression is to be free of it. Freedom from sex is a great experience. Freedom from sex makes your energies available for meditation, for samadhi.

43. Yes, it has to be transcended one day because this is also a duality — man/woman — the same duality as between positive and negative, birth and death, summer and winter. It has to be transcended. One has to come to a point from where nothing disturbs your coolness, nothing distracts you from your center.

    But the way to come to it is not repression, Nanda Kishor. The first step is acceptance: it is natural. Accept it as part of your nature, as part of your biology. And then try to understand it, watch it, observe it, witness it. Slowly slowly, as your witnessing will grow, you will go beyond it. One day you will not find any difference between a man and a woman: you have gone beyond sexuality. That is true BRAHMACHARYA, true celibacy, but it is not what has been told to you.

44. When one becomes pure — through nonviolence, nonpossessiveness, authenticity — when one becomes more and more pure, the focus of consciousness shifts from the body to the being. The being can remain absolutely alone.

    The body needs togetherness; and your innermost soul needs aloneness. That is the problem. Your innermost soul can remain alone — it is a Himalayan peak standing alone against the sky. Your innermost soul grows when it is alone, but your body needs relatedness. The body needs crowds, warmth, clubs, societies, organizations; wherever you are with many people the body feels good. In a crowd your soul may feel starved because it feeds on aloneness, but your body feels good. In aloneness your soul feels perfect, but the body starts feeling hungry for relationship.

    But when somebody has attained to aloneness and the focus of consciousness has changed…. That’s what yoga is all about: how to change the focus from the body to the soul, from matter to nonmatter, from the visible to the invisible, from the known to the unknown — from the world to God. Howsoever you phrase it is immaterial. It is a change of focus. When the focus has completely changed, the yogi is so happy in his aloneness, so blissful, that that ordinary hankering of the body to be with others by and by disappears.

    When the purity is attained there arises in the yogi a disillusionment for his own body: now he knows that the paradise that he has been seeking cannot be attained through the body, the bliss that he has been dreaming about is not possible through the body. It is impossible for the body: through the limited you are trying to reach the unlimited.

    Through matter you are trying to reach the eternal, the immortal. Nothing is wrong in the body: your effort is absurd. Don’t be angry with the body; the body has not done anything to you. It is just as if someone is trying to listen through the eyes — now nothing is wrong with the eyes: eyes are made to see, not to listen. The body is made of matter; it is not made of the immaterial. It is made of death. It cannot be immortal. You are asking the impossible. Don’t ask that.

    That is the point of disillusionment: the yogi simply understands what is possible and what is not possible with the body. That which is possible is okay; that which is not possible he does not ask. He is not angry. He doesn’t hate the body. He takes every care of it because the body can become a ladder; it can become a door, It cannot become the goal, but it can become the door.

    A disillusionment for his own body — and when this disillusionment happens: “… a disinclination to come in physical contact with others.” Then the need to be in physical contact with others, by and by, withers away. In fact this is the right moment when you can say the man has come out of the womb, not before it.

    In a yogi this urge to be in relationships disappears — and with this urge, he is really born. We in India have called him “twice-born,” dwij. This is his second birth, the real birth. Now he is no longer in need of anybody; he has become a transcendental light. Now he can float above the earth; now he can fly in the sky. He is not earth-rooted now. He has become a flower — not a flower, because even a flower is earth-rooted… he has become the fragrance of the flower. Completely free. Moves into the sky with no roots in the earth. His desire to come in contact with others’ bodies disappears.

45. I would also like you to go beyond sex, because going beyond sex is a tremendously beautiful experience of freedom – freedom from the body, freedom from that continuous obsession. When sex really disappears, without any repression, when it disappears through meditation, for the first time it gives you the taste of total freedom. You don’t need anybody any more; you are out of the grip of biology.

    In fact when sex has disappeared you become a man for the first time, because with sex you remain part of the animal world.

46. Question : In the Awakening of the Kundalini, in the opening of the passage, Isn’t there an increase in Sexual Power?

    Osho : The increase in sexual power and the opening of the kundalini passage are simultaneous – not the same, but simultaneous. The increase in sexual power will be the thrust to open up the higher centers; so sexual power will increase. If you can be aware of it and not use it sexually – if you do not allow it to be released sexually – it will become so intense that the upward movement will begin.

    First the energy will try its best to be released sexually, because that is its usual outlet, its usual center. So one must first be aware of one’s downward ”doors.” Only awareness will close them; only noncooperation will close them. Sex is not so forceful as we feel it to be. It is forceful only momentarily: it is not a twenty-four-hour affair, it is a momentary challenge.

    If you can be noncooperative and aware, it goes. And you will feel more happiness than when sexual energy is released from the downward passage. Conservation of energy is always blissful: wastage of energy is only a relief, it is not blissful. You have unburdened yourself; you have alleviated something that was troubling you. Now you have become unburdened, but you have also become emptied.

    The feeling of emptiness that is overtaking the whole Western mind is just because of sexual wastage. Life seems to be empty. Life is never empty, but it seems to be empty because you have been simply unburdening yourself, just relieving yourself. If something is conserved it becomes a richness: if your upward door is open and energy goes upward, not only do you feel relieved, not only is the straining point relieved, but it is not vacant. In a way it is fulfilled; it is overflowing.

    The energy has gone upward, but the basic center has not become empty. It is overflowing, and the overflowing energy goes upward, up toward the brahma randhra. Then, near the brahma randhra, there is neither an upward movement nor a downward movement. Now the energy goes to the cosmic: it goes to the all; it goes to the brahman – the ultimate reality. That is why the seventh chakra is known as the brahma randhra – the door to the brahman, the door to the divine.

    Then there is no ”up” and no ”down.” It will feel like something is penetrating, thrusting upward – and a moment will come when one will feel as though that something is no longer there, that it has gone. Now it is overflowing into the passage. The petals of the sahasrar are just a symbol for the feelings that occur when energy overflows.

    The overflowing is a flowering, just like a flower itself is an overflowing. You will feel that something has become a flower; the door is open, and it will go outward. It will not be felt inwardly; it will be felt outwardly. Something has opened like a flower, like a flower with a thousand petals. It is just a feeling, but the feeling corresponds to the truth.

    The feeling is a translation and interpretation. The mind cannot conceive of it, but the feeling is just like a flowering. The closest, the nearest thing that we can say is that it is like a bud opening. It is felt like that. That is why we have conceived of the opening of the sahasrar as a thousand-petaled lotus.

    So many petals – so many! And they go on opening, they go on opening… the opening is endless. It is a fulfillment; it is a flowering of the human being. Then you become just like a tree, and everything that was in you has flowered. Then all you can do is to offer this flower to the divine. We have been offering flowers, but they are broken flowers. Only this flower can be a real offering.

47. Question : How does one overcome the pull toward Sex so that the Kundalini Can go upward?

    Osho : Energy has been going downward through the sex center continuously for many births, so when any energy is created it will first try to move downward. That is why meditation sometimes will create more sexuality in you than you have ever felt before. You will feel more sexual because you have generated more energy than you previously had.

    When you have conserved something, the old, habitual passage is ready to release it. The mechanism is ready, the old passage is ready. Your mind only knows one passage – the lower one, the sexual passage – so when you are meditating the first movement of your life energy will be downward. Just be aware of it.

    Do not struggle with it; just be aware of it. Be aware of the habitual passage, be aware of sexual images; let them come. Be aware of them, but do not do anything about the situation; just be aware of it. The sexual passage cannot operate without your cooperation, but if you cooperate with it even for a single moment, it can start functioning.

    So do not cooperate with it: just be aware of it. The mechanism of sex is so much a momentary phenomenon that it only functions momentarily; if you do not cooperate at the right moment, it stops. At the right moment your cooperation is needed, otherwise it cannot work. It is only a momentary mechanism, and if you do not cooperate with it, it will stop by itself.

    Time and time again, energy is created through meditation. It continues to move downward, but now you are aware of it. The old passage is cut – not suppressed. Energy is there and it needs to be released, but the lower door is closed: not suppressed – closed. You have not cooperated with it, that’s all.

    You have not positively suppressed it, you have only negatively not cooperated with it. You have just been aware of what is happening to your mind, to your body. You are just aware; then energy is conserved. Then the quantity of the energy becomes more and more intense and an upward thrust becomes necessary. Now the energy will go upward; by its very force, a new passage will be thrown open.

    When energy goes upward you will be more sexually attractive to others, because life energy going upward creates a great magnetic force. You will become more sexually attractive to others, so you will have to be aware of this. Now you will attract persons unknowingly, and the attraction will not only be physical; the attraction will be etheric.

    Even a repulsive body, a nonattractive body, will become attractive with yoga. The attraction is etheric; and it is so magnetic that one has to be constantly aware of it, constantly aware. You will be attractive… and the opposite sex will be irresistably drawn to you. There are subtle vibrations that are created by your etheric body: you have to be aware of them.

    The type of attraction that will be felt by the opposite sex will differ – it will take so many different forms – but basically it will be sexual. At its root, it will be sexual. But you can help these people. Even if they are attracted to you sexually, they have become attracted to a sexual energy that is moving upward. And they too are not ordinary sexual beings: upwardmoving sexual energy has become an attraction, a magnet. So you can help them; if you do not become involved, then you can help them.

IV. Your Comments

Please give your comments below. I sincerely look forward to them for further improving the content and organization of this extremely important post.

Thanks,
Gopal