Mr
Yogi replies
Thanks to SC and Andrei for sending this question.
Question: What is
the relationship between sex and spirituality?
Answer:
Sex is everywhere – in the plant world, in the animal world,
and – yes - of course in the human world too! It's natural.
It's the desire for Cosmic union manifested in each unit being.
As the Cosmic Consciousness abides in all things, so does the desire
for union also abide in all things. But in the unit (microcosm),
that desire is in two forms: limited and unlimited; mundane as well
as spiritual.
This manifested world would not exist without sex. It's nature's
"style" of creating diversity in the universe. So it's
not something "bad" as such. It's just part of life. Without
it there would be no life – only death.
Now, we've come to the stage in our evolution where we want to do
spiritual practice. We still have the desire for mundane union,
but we have the desire for Cosmic union too. (That's what spirituality
means – the desire to unite with the Cosmic Entity.) So it's
understandable that we find ourselves in a bit of a dilemma, because
we have two desires that seem contradictory – mundane as well
as spiritual!
Now regarding the fulfilment of those desires, it's true that we
can't have both at the same time. Mundane union means limited happiness,
and Cosmic union means unlimited happiness. Limited, unlimited –
not the same thing! There's also the biological aspect. Lymph is
food for the brain, and lymph is also what secretions emitted during
sexual intercourse are made of. The more lymph you can save for
your brain, the better will be your concentration and spiritual
ideation. So yes, the two are mutually exclusive. We have to pick
one or the other. But – and it's a big but! – we may
find it very difficult to give up the mundane for the spiritual,
until we get to a certain level of spiritual realization; of spiritual
union. After all, we're accustomed to all things mundane –
our physical survival has depended on it!
So what are we to do? Remember one thing that the Guru of Ananda
Marga, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, said: "Regarding sex, the more
restraint the better." Moderate it. In fact, everything in
our lives should be in moderation. Everything should be at the right
time, the right place, and in the right quantity. Try to channelize
your desire for union inwardly as much as you can, but that doesn't
mean you should suppress your other desires. Suppression causes
psychic disease. Sex is a natural bodily function; there's nothing
wrong with it. But – moderation!
There are many practices that help to moderate the sexual impulse:
vegetarian diet, yoga postures, half-bath, etc. These are all useful
and important. The most important thing, though, is to do meditation.
Without it we would lose the meaning of everything else. It is only
the Cosmic perspective – the Cosmic ideation – that
gives our life purpose and direction. Mundane pleasure is not our
goal – nor could it ever satisfy us even if it was. We can
only be completely satisfied with infinite pleasure, perfect peace
and happiness – bliss. That's our goal. But while moving towards
the goal there are inevitably distractions. If you can ignore them,
great! That's the ideal. But if you can't, don't worry. Whatever
you do, though, don't take your eyes off the goal.
Do you have a question for Mr Yogi?
Send it to mryogi at anandamarga.org
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