Eradication Of Lust Is No Easy Task

Eradication of lust is no easy task

 

You will have to search out carefully this dire enemy, lust that lies hidden in the various corners of your heart. Just as the fox hides itself within the bush, so also, this lust hides itself in the substratum and corners of the mind. You can detect its presence only if you are vigilant. Intense self-examination is very necessary. Just as powerful enemies can be conquered only if you attack them from all sides, so also, you can keep the powerful senses under control only if you attack them from all sides, from within and from without, from above and from beneath. The senses are very turbulent.

The powerful virus that causes syphilis is attacked on all sides by the doctor by various contrivances such as inunction or local rubbing, injection, mixture and powder. So also, the senses must be controlled by various methods such as fasting, restriction in diet, Pranayama, Japa, Kirtan, meditation, Vichara or enquiry of “Who am I?”, Pratyahara or abstraction, Dama or self-restraint, Asanas, Bandhas, Mudras, thought-control and destruction of Vasanas.

Safeguard yourself against the error of foolishly imagining that you have succeeded in getting rid of lust by the mere fact of having lived a single life for a number of years or experiencing a little feeling of serenity or purity. You must not labour under the delusion that you have eradicated lust completely by adjusting the diet a bit, by practising Pranayama and by doing a little Japa, and that you have nothing more to do. Temptation or Mara may overcome you at any moment.

Eternal vigilance and rigorous Sadhana are very essential. You cannot attain perfect Brahmacharya by limited effort. Just as a machine-gun is necessary to kill a powerful enemy, so also, constant, vigorous, powerful Sadhana is necessary to annihilate this powerful enemy, lust. You must not be puffed up with pride for your little achievement in celibacy. If you are put to test, you will hopelessly fail.

You must be ever conscious of your shortcomings and you must constantly strive to get rid of them. The highest effort is necessary. Then only you will have sanguine success in this direction. It is easy to tame a wild tiger or a lion or an elephant. It is easy to play with the cobra. It is easy to walk over the fire. It is easy to devour fire and drink the waters of the ocean. It is easy to uproot the Himalayas. It is easy to get victory in the battlefield. But, it is difficult to eradicate lust. Right from the earlier stages of evolution through the ages, the instinctive urge for reproduction and multiplication has been kept up only by the power of lust. Therefore, despite all efforts at controlling and subduing it, the power tries to manifest itself forcibly and overwhelm the Sadhaka or aspirant.

All the same, you need not despair even a bit. Have faith in God, in His Name and His grace. Lust cannot be completely rooted out of the mind except by the grace of the Lord. You are bound to succeed if you have faith in Him. You can destroy lust in the twinkling of an eye. The Lord makes a dumb man speak and a lame man ascend a steep hill. Mere human effort alone will not suffice. The divine grace is needed. God helps those who help themselves. If you do total self-surrender, Mother Herself does the Sadhana.

Regular meditation and Japa of a Mantra, Sattvic diet, Satsanga, practice of Pranayama, Sirsha and Sarvanga Asanas, study of religious books, Vichara and seclusion for three months on the banks of any holy river will entirely annihilate lust, however powerful the old Samskaras and Vasanas may be. The positive always overcomes the negative. You need not be discouraged at any rate. Plunge yourself seriously in meditation, kill this Mara, and come out victorious in the struggle. Shine as a brilliant Yogi. Thou art ever-pure Atman.

Feel this, O Viswaranjan! Sexual impulses can, with difficulty, be controlled. A rebellion of the sexual impulses takes place when you attempt to control them. Constant Japa and meditation for a long period are necessary to direct the sex energy into the spiritual channel. Complete sublimation of the sexual energy into Ojas Sakti is necessary. Then only you are perfectly safe. Then only you will be established in Samadhi, as Rasasvad will entirely vanish. Extreme patience, constant vigilance, perseverance and rigorous Sadhana are necessary to eradicate the sexual impulses and attain perfect purity in thought, word and deed. Brahmacharya or purity can be attained only through constant striving. It cannot be achieved in a day or a week.

Lust is doubtless very powerful. It is your deadly enemy. But your most powerful friend is the Name of the Lord. It will destroy lust from its very root. So, always recite and sing, “Ram, Ram, Ram”. Yogic practices, meditation and so on will attenuate or thin out the sexual desire to a very great extent. But, Self-realization alone can completely destroy or burn the sexual desire and the Samskaras in toto. As the Bhagavadgita rightly points out, “The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man leaving the longing behind, but this longing also turns away after he attains Self-realization”. Sex urge is a creative force. Unless you are inspired by spiritual ideals, it is difficult to keep the sexual instinct in check. Direct the sex energy to the higher spiritual channel. It will be sublimated. It will be transformed into divine energy. Complete eradication of lust, however, cannot be done through personal effort. It can be accomplished only by God’s grace.

 

The Eight Obstacles In Brahmacharya

Brahmacharya literally means Achara or conduct that leads to the realization of Brahman or one’s own Self. It means the control of semen, the study of the Vedas and contemplation on God. The technical meaning of Brahmacharya is self-restraint, particularly mastery of perfect control over the sexual organ or freedom from lust in thought, word and deed. Strict abstinence is not merely from sexual intercourse, but also from auto-erotic manifestations, from homosexual acts and from all perverse sexual practices. It must further involve a permanent abstention from indulgence in erotic imagination and voluptuous reverie.Brahmacharya is the vow of celibacy.

Some people fails to be brahamchari and not able to realize the realms of Elysian bliss.But If one have proper control over the eight breaks in brahamcharya,will surely attain the nirvana or salvation.

One should carefully avoid the eight kinds of enjoyment, namely, Darshan or looking at women with passionate resolve, Sparshan or touching them, Keli or play, Kirtan or praising the qualities of the other sex, Guhya-Bhashan or talking in private, Sankalpa or determination, Adhyavasaya or nearing the other sex with the desire for gratification and Kriyanivritti or the actual sexual act. These eight kinds of enjoyment are eight kinds of breaks, so to say, in the current of Akhanda Brahmacharya practice. One must avoid these eight interruptions with great care, sincere exertion and vigilant circumspection. Only he who is free from all these breaks can be called a true Brahmachari. A real Brahmachari should ruthlessly avoid all these eight breaks.

A Brahmachari should avoid looking at a woman with lustful eyes. He should not have the desire to touch her or go near her with evil intention. He should not play, cut jokes or converse with her. He should not praise a woman’s qualities within himself or before his friends. He should not speak to a woman in secrecy. He should not think of women at all. He should not have a carnal desire to have sexual enjoyment.

A Brahmachari should, without fail, avoid sexual intercourse. If he breaks any of the above rules, he violates the vow of Brahmacharya.Though the first seven kinds of Maithuna do not cause the actual loss of semen, yet the semen is separated from the blood and it tries to escape when opportunity arises, either in dreams or in other ways. In the first seven kinds, man enjoys mentally.

Aspirants should not indulge in talk about sex. They should not think about ladies. Bring the image of your Ishta Devata into your mind if the thought of a woman crops up. Repeat the Mantra vigorously.

Lustful look, lustful thinking, wet dreams are all failures or breaks in Brahmacharya. Be chaste in your look. Give up Drishti Dosha or lustful look. A lustful look itself is a break in Brahmacharya. There is internal discharge. Veerya is separated from the system.
See Mother Kali in all women. Cultivate sublime, divine thoughts. Do Japa and meditation regularly. One will be established in Brahmacharya.

Ways To Approach The Guru

Approach the adorable feet of Satguru take shelter under the Lotus-Feet of Satguru;worship the sacred feet of Satguru and meditate with humility on the holy feet of Satguru. Offer the valuable gifts on the sanctifying feet of Satguru dedicate your life in the service of glorious feet of Satguru. This is the secret of Guru-Bhakti Yoga; disciple must be very punctual while serving the Guru. Disciple must be very pure in thought, word and deed in the cause of Guru’s divine mission. Cultivate in the garden of your heart the flowers of sincerity, simplicity, serenity, sympathy, self-control and self-sacrifice and offer it to the Satguru. Disciple should take care of the properties of the Guru. He must ever keep his eye upon the same;there is nothing in the three worlds that cannot be attained by the grace of Brahma-Nishtha Guru.  It is not possible for an aspirant to enter in the spiritual path that leads to the union with God unless he practises Guru-Bhakti Yoga,guru-bhakti yoga is the master key to open the realm of elysian bliss.The avenue to the supreme Peace begins from the practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.Self-surrender to the sacred Feet of Satguru is the very foundation of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.You are bound to succeed in the practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga if you have a firm faith and devotion to the life-saving feet of Satguru.Mere human effort alone will not suffice to practise Yoga, the grace of Guru is absolutely needed. It is very easy to tame a wild tiger, lion or an elephant. It is very easy to walk over fire or water. But it is very difficult to surrender to the Lotus-Feet of Guru unless a person has real aspiration to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga.The practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga bestows on the disciple the supreme peace, joy and immortality. The goal of life is to obtain the benign grace of Satguru by practising Guru-Bhakti Yoga. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga bestows liberation from the wheel of births and deaths. Guru-Bhakti Yoga confers immortality, eternal bliss, freedom, perfection, perennial joy and everlasting peace.Now then an exposition of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.

 

The mind is at the root of Samsara or world process. The mind is the cause for bondage and freedom, pleasure and pain. This mind can be controlled only by practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.Nine terms of Guru-Bhakti Yoga are viz., (1) The real lasting aspiration to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga. (2) Absolute faith in the thoughts, words and actions of Satguru. (3) Perfect obedience in carrying out Guru’s commands. (4) Doing Namaskar with humility and repeating his name. (5) Doing personal service to Satguru without expectation of fruits. (6) Daily worshipping the Lotus-Feet of Satguru with Bhava and devotion. (7) Self-surrendering or dedication of Thana, Mana and Dhana in the cause of divine mission of Satguru. (8) Meditation on the holy feet of Satguru for obtaining his benign grace and mercy. (9) Hearing his holy Upadesa and sincerely practising it.Disciple must exist to glorify his Guru’s Glory.Whether the owl believes or not in the existence of the light of sun, the sun always shines. Even so, whether the ignorant and fickle-minded disciple believes or not, the benign grace of Guru works wonders.The Satguru is one who is released from bondage. He shines with knowledge of his self. He is ever blissful. He radiates joy and peace with one and all.Approach the adorable feet of Satguru. Serve him without crookedness. Love him without any expectation of fruits. Get initiation. This is the secret of Sadhana or ‘be’ and ‘end’ of all spiritual practices.Trust your Guru as God. Take shelter under him. Be initiated into knowledge. Guru is pleased with pure devotion and devotion alone. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga gives peace and steadiness of mind. Death flies away from that disciple who has taken shelter in the sacred feet of Satguru.The practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga induces non-attachment and dispassion for worldly objects and bestows immortality.Devotion to the life-saving feet of Satguru saves even the greatest sinner. Nothing is unattainable to that noble hearted disciple who has taken refuge in the sacred feet of Satguru.Whatever may be acquired by asceticism, by renunciation, by other Yogas, by charity, and by auspicious acts etc., all these are speedily acquired by practising Guru-Bhakti Yoga.Guru-Bhakti Yoga is an exact science that teaches the method of overcoming the lower nature and attaining the supreme bliss.Pray to the Guru from the bottom of your heart,  for obtaining his benign blessings. Such prayers can work miracles.Evil company is an enemy of a disciple who wants to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga.Serve your Guru. Be devoted to your Guru, obey him, have implicit faith in his teachings, you will grow in spirituality. You will attain Self-realisation in this birth. He who practises Guru-Bhakti Yoga without ethical perfection, devotion to Guru etc., cannot obtain the grace of Guru.

 

 

 

How To Counter Impure Thoughts?

Impure thoughts that arise at the sight of a woman will gradually vanish when you grow in purity through regular Japa and meditation. It takes some time to destroy the old vicious Samskaras and overhaul the mental factory. Again and again raise pure counter-thoughts in the mind. Bring up the image of the Lord. Again and again try to feel Atma in women by forgetting the sex idea and create disgust in your mind by an analysis of the parts of which the body is composed.Whenever the mind runs towards attractive women with lustful thoughts, have a definite clear-cut photo in the mind of the flesh, bone, urine, faecal matter and perspiration of which women are composed. This will induce disgust and Vairagya in the mind. You will never again commit the sin of unchaste look at a woman. It takes some time, no doubt. Ladies also can practice the foregoing method and keep a mental picture of men in just the same way.

You should develop not only disgust in your mind, but also fear in order to get rid of the sex idea. Are you not extremely frightened when a cobra comes in front of you? This must be the state of your mind when lustful thoughts enter your mind. Then only the sex attraction will gradually die.Inflict self-punishment if the mind runs towards women with lustful ideas. Give up night meals. Do twenty Malas more of Japa. Always wear a Kaupin or Langoti.Do not look at a woman with an evil eye. If she is old, treat her as your mother; if she is young, as your sister; and if very young, as your child. You may fail to develop the Bhav that all women are your mothers and sisters a hundred and one times. It does not matter. Stick to your practice tenaciously. You are bound to succeed eventually.

When you walk on the road, do not look hither and thither like a monkey. Look at the tip of your right big toe and walk gently with a Gambhir attitude. Or look at the ground and walk. This is a great help in maintaining Brahmacharya. You can look at the tip of the nose also.

O child of the Immortal Essence! Thou hast walked for a long time with lustful eyes. Apply the collyrium of discrimination and the pigment of Vichar. You will have a new magnanimous vision. The whole world will appear to you as a mass of crystallised bliss. You will find no evil, no ugliness.

There is no denying, however, that lust is a powerful force to overcome. Somebody asked Raja Yudhishthira, “O Yudhishthira, when you look at your mother Kunti, is your look absolutely chaste?” Yudhishthira replied, “I cannot say that my look is entirely pure.” Such is the force of lust.

You may say outwardly: “I regard her as my mother. I consider her as my sister.” Though you may not do anything outwardly on account of religious fear or Loka-Lajja, mentally you are not what you should be. The mind will run in wrong directions. It will be doing havoc silently. Various kinds of evil thoughts and desires will arise in your mind. Desire or thought is more than the act. When you are put to test silently, you will fail hopelessly. You will not be able to have physical control even.

There is nothing, however, that a Sadhaka cannot achieve if he sets his mind to it. The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory of success. Try, try, try again. Train yourself not to look at a woman for some time. If you are unable to do this and find your looks straying up to a woman with lustful purpose, raise in your mind the image of a corpse or a skeleton or wrinkled, diseased old woman and keep it till you are filled with disgust. This will enable you to succeed finally in subduing passion. At the same time, take refuge in Devi’s lotus-feet. Pray to Her constantly for strength to withstand and conquer the onslaughts of passion. Look upon every woman as Sri Devi Herself and do mental prostration to her at sight, repeating, “Om Sri Durga Devyai Namah.” By vigilant and constant Sadhana like the above, you can gradually eradicate the powerful enemy.

 

Classes Of Disciples

The best disciple is like petrol or aviation spirit. Even from a great distance he will instantly react to the spark of the Guru’s Upadesa.The second class disciple is like camphor, a touch awakens his inner spirit and kindles the fire of spirituality in him.The third class of disciple is like coal; the Guru has to take great pains in order to awaken the spirit in him.The fourth class of disciple is like a plantain stem, no efforts will be of any avail over him. Whatever the Guru may do, he remains cold and inert.Listen! O disciple, be not like plantain stem-like disciple; try to be petrol-like disciple, or at least the camphor-like disciple. When you surrender to the sacred feet of your Guru, beg not of him worldly needs nor aught else. But beg for His Grace, only that you may have true devotion and lasting faith in him.

Guru is the way, the life and the goal ultimate. No one shall attain to the supreme beatitude except through the Guru.Guru is the Moksha Dwara. Guru is the embodiment of grace.Die to live. Die at the Lotus-Feet of thy Guru, give up thy ego and die, only that you may live again the True Divine life. Life is no life if not enlivened and made Divine by the transforming Grace of Guru.The true relationship between Guru and Chela cannot be described or written or made understood. The true seeker of truth have to approach a Brahma-Nishtha Guru who is an embodiment of compassion with faith and devotion, and must serve and live with him for a long period.

Guru-Bhakti Yoga is a Yoga by itself.Disciples have to be patient when the Guru presents them for the sake of testing.Disciple should not give up service of Guru when he comes across some difficulties and troubles. Self-sacrifice in the cause of service of Guru is the best medium to develop devotion to the sacred feet of Guru. Peace of mind comes from prayer, Japa, Kirtan, meditation, service of Guru, good and sublime thoughts and understanding.