Be Happy – Live meritorious life

There are four great values which must be the objectives every human individual must strive. The first place goes to the value called ethics or morality. It is called as code of conduct in a civilized society. Whatever you engage in doing should be that which ought to be done, should be that which is proper to be done, should be that which is right, which is pure, which is moral and ethical. You should not do anything that contradicts the law of ethics and morality.

Why? Because, in morality only lies your highest good. In that only lies your highest welfare. If your thoughts, words and actions are moral and righteous, there will be happiness. They will secure for you your welfare and good. Otherwise, you will reap the harvest of bitterness because of a law that pervades this universe, a law that is called the Law of Cause and Effect. This law states: "As a man thinketh so he becometh". This law is also stated in another way, namely: "As you sow, so shall you reap". This Law of Cause and Effect is also called the Law of Karma.

In other words, we may say: If you engage in righteous action, the result of it is auspiciousness and blessedness; the result of it is your own highest good and your own welfare, your own happiness. If you ignore or neglect this law, discard this law, and your actions are not proper, not right, what happens? You invite upon yourself a reaction that is bitter, a reaction that is not conducive to your own good, to your own welfare, because you have to steadily progress towards divine perfection and here you put and create obstacles. You slow down your progress towards that great goal. You create your own miseries. Therefore, having in mind the highest welfare and good of the human individual, you may please put ethics as of the foremost value, because more than anything else, we need to secure the greatest benefit and good of the individual soul.

So, adhere to the moral and ethical values in life. Never deviate from the ethical standard. Then you will be happy. You may have troubles. People may trouble you and you may have some difficulties; yet you will have happiness. Inside you will have happiness and peace. I say, "Inside", because physical troubles and mental difficulties and torments there will always be. Those you have to suffer according to your own sins. But, if at the present you engage in righteous activity, it will give you immense strength.

Now we take the second value. You have got the body, you have got hunger and thirst, you feel heat and cold. So you want food, you want shelter, you want clothing. And you want other necessities of life. So, for all this, you want money; and therefore, you must have a job or ply a trade or profession. Yes, this is also an inevitable value arising out of the fact that you are living in this world. This value is money, the economic value. Money is inevitable; it is necessary. For that also you must strive. But you must strive for it on the basis of righteousness. Your efforts to earn your livelihood should not be immoral, unethical or unrighteous. Righteousness should be the basis even of your professional activities or business activities. Anything you do to make a living should be based upon Righteousness.

The third value is control over your greed. Any animal—be it a dog, donkey, cow or buffalo—is satisfied if it has food and a place to rest. But man is not like that; he has got many longings, many desires and ambitions. Man is a vital being with a vital psychological personality within. He has got many longings, many desires, many ambitions and plans and schemes. So, this vital value also was given a place arising out of the desire nature of man. The other animals have no desire. They have only the instinct to go by. They want only food and drink and shelter and rest, and therefore, they are content if these are provided to them. But man is not content. He has the desire nature in him.

The fourth value is attached to righteousness. It has twofold importance. Desire means desire of any kind. But, here also, any desire that goes contrary to morality and ethics should be shunned. It should not be kept; it should not be given any place in your life, because it will stop your evolutionary process, your progress upwards towards God-consciousness. Such desires only are to be harbored in your mind, such desires only are to be fulfilled, as are in accordance with the law of righteousness. So, Righteousness is the overall and continuous foundation and basis for all human striving. Even in your professional activities, in your various social and other activities,

Righteousness must always accompany you. Righteousness must always infill your thoughts, words and actions. Thus, the economic value and the vital value pertaining to your outer worldly life also should be animated and pervaded by righteousness. Then, it will lead you to happiness. If righteousness is abandoned, then it will lead you to sorrow. This is the simple truth.

And another important reason why all these activities and strivings upon the outer plane should be continuously characterized and qualified by righteousness is that only then your life will move in the direction of the highest and supreme value.

What is that highest and supreme value? It is the spiritual value which is God-realization, liberation, divine perfection, highest spiritual consciousness and illumination. That is the supreme value. For that only we have taken birth. That only makes life worth living. No matter how desperate life may be, if you have this one goal that you must attain Divine Consciousness, you will get the strength to overcome and bear all the vicissitudes of life. "I am divine. Temporarily I have forgotten it. And until and unless I attain Divine Consciousness, my life will not be full and I will not remain content."—If that one goal is there with you, no matter what happens to you, all that will look secondary and less important.

Whereas, your supreme goal will look the most important of all things; it will dominate your life and it will be enough to take you above all the vicissitudes of life. It will give you strength and definite direction in life, a specific aim in life. And from then on, your life will move in a self-chosen direction. That life cannot be assailed by misfortune. It will not be shaken. Having acquired great strength and power, it will ride triumphant over all the ups and downs of life and move towards the self-chosen goal in a very determined manner. So, the highest spiritual goal it is that makes your life worth living, that gives deep meaning to life. Otherwise, what is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of just eating, drinking, sleeping and one day dying? Doing little petty silly things and one day dying? Death puts an end to all. But what is that which makes life meaningful?

Through this life of birth, change, growth, old age, disease, decay and death, you are to attain immortality and deathlessness by making use of this life. You are to attain Divine Consciousness. You must resolve: "I shall become deathless. I shall realize my deathless nature. I shall realize that I am Immortal Soul, Spirit Divine". And you must exert to the utmost to attain that goal. That supreme value is the most important value which gives life real depth, true meaning and a purposefulness. It makes life significant, important, sacred and purposeful. Therefore, it is the most important value in life. If that value is there, you get the strength to overcome all difficulties, all the stresses and strains of life, and it is in relation to that supreme value that Righteousness acquires an even greater importance, an even deeper significance.

Righteousness is important for two reasons. Firstly, if it is there in your secular life of money and Desire, in your secular life of the economic and the vital values, it leads to happiness. If it is not there, then it leads to sorrow and misery. Therefore you must have righteousness. This is the lesser significance and use of righteousness. The higher purpose and significance of righteousness is that if it fills your life, then it leads your life to the attainment of the highest spiritual value in life. It liberates you once and for all from the wheel of life and death. Then, there is no more want, no more sorrow, no more weeping, no more wailing, no more difficulties and problems. You will become established in a state of absolute peace, absolute contentment and absolute joy. You may attain supreme satisfaction, and become fearless and free. That supreme experience is made possible only if your entire life is filled by righteousness. So, righteousness has a direct connection with liberation of soul. Therefore, it is the basis of your entire life. And in the framework of this religious life, upon the foundation of religious life, spirituality becomes rapidly fruitful. Whatever prayers you say, whatever spiritual study you do, whatever meditation you do, all become like striking a dry match stick on a dry match box...immediately there is fire. Where there is righteousness animating and pervading your entire life, there spirituality becomes dynamic, rapidly fruitful and progressive. This is the great ideal. It is inevitable to strive for the economic value and the vital value, because of your earthly nature. But it is only the spiritual value which makes life successful, which liberates you for ever from all the sorrow and bondage. And it is the ethical value which is the most important of all. It is that which guarantees that your life will lead to happiness and blessedness and not to sorrow and wretchedness.

Be Happy – Live meritorious life by adopting basic virtues.

Be Happy – Yoga Can Help You a Lot

The regular practice of select Yoga can help considerably you to check the sexual impulse. Sirshasana and Sarvangasana will help you a lot in making you an Oordhvaretas. They are also termed as Vipareeta Karani Mudras. By Pranayama, the mind gradually proceeds from the gross to the subtle. It therefore exercises a wholesome check upon sexual irritation. When some evil thought disturbs your mind, at once take to Padmasana or Siddhasana and practice Pranayama. The thought will leave you immediately.

Siddhasana

This Asana is highly preferred for the practice of celibacy. It will help you in controlling your passion and checking nocturnal discharges and in making an Oordhvareta Yogi. This Asana is useful for sitting during meditation.

Place the left heel at the anus. Keep the right heel at the root of, or just above, the generative organ. Keep the trunk, neck and head straight. Place the hands on the right heel. Sit for half an hour to start with and then slowly increase the period to three hours. Sitting for three hours in one Asana is termed Asana Jaya or mastery over Asana.

Sirshasana

This is the king of all Asanas. The advantages that are derived from this Asana are incalculable and indescribable. This is specially designed for stopping nocturnal discharges and helping the flow of semen towards the brain in the form of spiritual energy.

Spread a folded blanket on the ground. Make a finger-lock and keep it over the blanket. Now place the top of your head between the two hands. Slowly raise the legs up without any jerk till they become vertical. Get the help of a wall in the beginning of your practice or ask one of your friends to catch hold of your legs. After due practice, you will be able to keep up balance. When the Asana is over, bring down the legs very, very slowly. When you remain in the Asana, breathe only through the nose.

Irregular retention, exhalation and inhalation—will make your Asana unsteady. Do this Asana when your stomach is empty or light. Many chronic, incurable diseases of the stomach, bowels, lungs, heart, kidneys, genito-urinary system, ears and eyes are cured by the regular practice of this Asana.

When you find your legs tossing, retain the breath for a short time. Then the legs will become steady.

Sarvangasana

This is an important pose, which can help you assuredly in the practice of celibacy. The digestive, circulatory and nervous systems are at once toned up in a mysterious manner by the practice of Sirshasana and Sarvangasana. This is the best remedy for wet dreams and various other diseases. There is a healthy glow in the eyes of the practitioner and a peculiar luster, charm, beauty and magnetic aura in his face.

Spread a blanket on the ground. Lie on the back quite flat. Slowly raise the legs. Lift the trunk, hips and legs. Support the back with the hands on either side. The whole weight of the body will now rest on the shoulders and elbows. Keep the legs steady. Press the chin against the chest firmly. Breathe slowly, only through the nostrils. Begin with five minutes and try to remain in the Asana as long as you can.

Matsyasana

This must be practiced soon after Sarvangasana. It will relieve stiffness of the neck and all crampy conditions of the cervical region caused by long practice of Sarvangasana. This gives a natural massage to the congested parts of the neck and shoulders.

Sit in Padmasana over the blanket by keeping the right foot over the left thigh and the left foot over the right thigh. Then lie flat on the back. Stretch the head back so that the top of your head rests on the ground firmly on one side and the buttocks only on the other, thus making a bridge of the trunk. Place the hands over the thighs or catch hold of the toes. You will have to give a good twist to the back. Matsyasana is the destroyer of many diseases. This is very useful for general health also.

Padangushthasana

Place the left heel right in the centre of the perineum—the space between the anus and the external organ of generation. Put the whole weight of the body on the toes, particularly the left big toe. Place the right foot over the left thigh, near the knee. Sit carefully now, keeping the balance. If you find it difficult to practice this Asana independently, you can take the help of a bench or sit by the side of a wall. Place the hands on the sides of the hips. Breathe slowly.

The perineal space is four inches in breadth. Underneath this space lies the tube that carries semen from the testes. By pressing this tube with the heel, the flow of semen outside is checked. A steady practice of this Asana removes wet dreams and spermatorrhoea and makes one an Oordhvareta Yogi. A combination of Asanas such as Sirshasana, Sarvangasana and Siddhasana is very conducive to keeping up Celibacy. Each has its own specific action. Siddhasana acts on the testes and its cells and prevents the formation of semen. Sirshasana and Sarvangasana help the flow of semen towards the brain. Padangushthasana acts on the spermatic duct effectively.

Instruction on Asana practice

Physical exercises draw the breath out. Asanas send the breath in. Asanas are not only physical, but also spiritual. They help a long way in controlling the senses, mind and body. The body, nerves and muscles are purified. Ordinary physical exercises develop only the superficial muscles of the body. One can become a sandow with a beautiful physique by practising physical exercise. But, Asanas are intended for physical as well as spiritual development.

Spread a blanket on the floor and practice Asanas over it. Use a thin pillow under the head when you do Sirshasana. Wear a Kaupin or loin-cloth when you practice Asanas. Avoid using spectacles and too many clothes.

Those who practice Sirshasana for a long time should take some light snacks or a cup of milk after finishing the Asana. Be regular and systematic in your practices. Those who practice by fits and starts will not derive any benefit. Regularity in the practice is very necessary if one wants to realize the maximum benefits of Asanas. Generally, people practice for two months in the beginning with great interest and enthusiasm and then leave off. This is a sad mistake.

Asanas should be done on an empty or light stomach or at least three hours after food. You can advantageously combine Japa and Pranayama during the practice of Asanas. Then, it becomes real Yoga. Asanas can be practiced on the sandy beds of rivers, open airy places, and by the seaside also. If you practice Asanas and Pranayama in a room, see that the room is not congested. The room should be clean and well-ventilated.

In the beginning of the practice, do each Asana for a minute or two only and then gradually and slowly increase the period as much as you can. Avoid too much exertion when you do all the Yogic exercises. There must be joy and exhilaration throughout your practices.

Mula Bandha

Press the Yoni or the space between the anus and the generative organ with the left heel. Contract the anus. Place the right heel at the root of the organ of generation. This is Mula Bandha. The gas, which does the function of ejection of excreta, has a natural tendency to move downwards. Through the practice of Mula Bandha, the gas is made to move upwards by contracting the anus and forcibly drawing it upwards. Mula Bandha is highly useful for maintaining celibacy. This is practiced during inhalation in Pranayama and during Japa and meditation also.

Mula Bandha is a Yogic Kriya, which helps you to take the gas and the sex energy upwards. The tendency of the gas is to flow downwards. This downward flow of gas and the sex energy is checked by the practice of Mula Bandha. By long practice, the downward seminal flow is checked and semen is sublimated or transmuted into spiritual energy, which helps contemplation. This Bandha checks wet dreams and helps in maintaining celibacy.

Jalandhara Bandha

Contract the throat. Press the chin firmly against the chest. This is practiced at the end of Puraka and at the beginning of Kumbhaka. Next to this comes the Uddiyana Bandha. These Bandhas are something like three stages of one exercise.

Uddiyana Bandha

Empty the lungs by a strong and forcible expiration. Now, contract and forcibly draw up the intestines and also the navel towards the back so that the abdomen rests against the back of the body high up in the thoracic cavity.

This Bandha can be practiced in a standing posture also. In this case, bend a little forward, resting the hands on the thighs and keeping the legs a little apart. These three Bandhas are a good combination. The description of Nauli Kriya can be taken as the next stage of Uddiyana Bandha.

Nauli Kriya

Uddiyana Bandha can be done in a sitting posture also, but Nauli generally is done while standing. Keep the right leg a foot apart from the left and rest your hands on the thighs, thus making a slight curve of the back. Then, do Uddiyana Bandha.

Now allow the centre of the abdomen free, by contracting the left and the right side of the abdomen. You will have all the muscles in the centre in a vertical line. Keep it so as long as you can do it comfortably. Do this much only for a few days.

After some practice, you should contract the right side of the abdomen and allow the left side free. Here, you will have all the muscles on the left side only. Again, contract the left side and allow the right side free. By having such gradual practices, you will understand how to contract the muscles of the central, left and right sides of the abdomen.

Now comes the final stage of Nauli Kriya. Keep the muscles in the centre. Slowly bring them to the right side and then to the left side in a circular way. Do this several times from the right to the left and then do it in the reverse order, from the left to the right. You should always turn the muscles with a circular motion, slowly. You cannot derive the full benefits of this Kriya when you do not do it slowly and gradually. Beginners will feel a slight pain in the abdomen in the first two or three attempts. They need not fear. The pain will vanish after two or three days of regular practice.

Maha Mudra

Sit on the ground. Press the anus with the left heel. Stretch out the right leg. Take hold of the toe with the two hands. Inhale and retain the breath. Press the chin against the chest firmly. Fix the gaze at the Trikuti or the space between the eyebrows. Retain the posture as long as you tan. Practice on the other leg also.

Yoga Mudra

Sit on Padmasana. Place the palms on the heels. Exhale slowly and bend forward and touch the ground with your forehead. If you retain the pose for a long time, you can breathe in and out as usual. If you do it for a short time only, retain the breath till you raise the head and come back to your original position and then inhale. Instead of keeping the hands on the heels, you can take them to the back and catch hold of the left wrist with your right hand. This Mudra is useful in keeping up celibacy. It reduces excessive fat in the belly and removes all disorders of the stomach and the bowels. Constipation is removed. The gastric fire is increased. Appetite and digestion improve. If you cannot retain the pose for a long time at one stretch, repeat the process several times. Take rest in the intervals.

Easy and comfortable Pranayama

Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana with an empty light stomach in your meditation room. Close your eyes. Close the right nostril with the right thumb and draw in the air through the left nostril. Close the left nostril also with the right little and ring fingers and retain the air as long as you can. Then remove the right thumb and exhale very slowly. Again, in the same manner, draw in the air through the right nostril, retain it as long as you can; and then exhale through the left nostril. The whole process constitutes one Pranayama. Do twenty in the morning and twenty in the evening. Gradually and cautiously increase the period of retaining the air and the number of Pranayamas also. When you advance in the practice, you can have three or four sittings and you can do eighty Pranayamas in each sitting.

Bhastrika Pranayama

Sit on Padmasana. Keep the body erect. Close the mouth. Inhale and exhale quickly twenty times like the bellows. Constantly dilate and contract. The practitioner should start with expulsions of breath following one another in rapid succession. When the required number of expulsions, say, twenty for a round, is finished, the final expulsion is followed by the deepest possible inhalation. Retain the air as long as you can keep it comfortably and then very slowly, exhale. This is one round of Bhastrika. Take a little rest and then do another round. Do three rounds in the morning and three in the evening. This is a very powerful exercise, beneficial for celibats. You can do this even when you are standing.

Hints on Pranayama practice

Do not take bath immediately after Pranayama practice. Rest for half an hour. Have one sitting only in the morning during summer. If there is heat in the brain or head, apply cooling oil or butter before you take a bath.

Always inhale and exhale very slowly. Do not make any sound during inhalation. In Bhastrika, do not produce any violent sound. Breathe only through the nose. You must so nicely adjust the retention, exhalation and inhalation that you do not experience a feeling of suffocation or discomfort at any stage of Pranayama. You must not unnecessarily prolong the period of exhalation. If you prolong the time of exhalation, the following inhalation will be done in a hurried manner and the rhythm will be broken.

Gradually increase the period of retention. Do retention for 4 seconds in the first week, for 8 seconds in the second week, for 12 seconds in the third week and so on till you are able to retain the breath as long as you can. Stop the practice when you are seriously ailing.

Vajroli Mudra

This is an important Yogic Kriya in Hatha Yoga. You will have to work hard to get full success in this Kriya. There are very few people who are experts in this act. Yogic students draw water first through a silver tube, a specially made catheter, passed into the urethra twelve inches inside. After due practice they draw milk, then oil, honey and so on. They draw mercury in the end. Later on they can draw these liquids directly through the urethra without the help of the silver tube. This Kriya is of immense use for keeping up perfect celibacy. On the first day, you should send the catheter inside the urethra for one inch only, the second day for two inches, the third day for three inches, and so on. You must practice gradually till you are able to send twelve inches of the catheter inside. The way becomes clear and blowing.

Even a drop of semen cannot come out of the Yogi who practices this Mudra. Even if it is discharged, he can draw it back through this Mudra. The Yogi, who draws his semen up and preserves it, conquers death. Good smell emanates from his body.

Practice of Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, Maha Mudra, Asanas and Pranayamas will naturally enable one to understand Vajroli and to get success in its practice. This must be done under the direct guidance of a Guru.

The object of practising Vajroli Mudra is to be perfectly established in celibacy. When aspirants practice this Mudra, they unconsciously divert their mind to sexual centers and thereby they fail to get any success. When you see the description of this Mudra, you will clearly understand that strict celibacy is absolutely necessary. For practising this, there is no necessity at all for a woman or for any sexual intercourse. Since the householders have their wives and since they think that Vajroli Mudra is a device for birth control, they have a keen desire to practice this Mudra. It is all mere foolishness and delusion. They have not understood the technique and object of this important Kriya.

Your motive in learning the Vajroli Mudra must be pure. You must have the one idea of getting Self-realization through absolute Celibacy.

Be Happy – Yoga Can Help You a Lot

Be Happy - Try Some Powerful Aids for Celibacy

You cannot have perfect celibacy unless you follow the auxiliaries. You have to take particular care about your diet and the company that you keep. Anything that brings impure thoughts in the mind is bad company. You need to fly away from the company of worldly-minded persons. Get away from the bustle of cities and tumultuousness of the world as and when you find it feasible. Those who talk of worldly affairs will quickly pollute you. You mind may waver and begin to wander. You will have a downfall.

Do not read amorous and bad novels or fiction. Do not visit the bad cinema and theatre. And do not make friendship with undesirable boys. What you need is a complete change of your vision, your attitude towards the opposite sex. Behold the Divine Mother in every woman other than your wife and consider her as your own mother.

Proper Food

As earlier stressed also, there is an intimate connection between self-control and control of the palate or tongue. He who has controlled the tongue can control all the other organs. Delicious and spicy food excites the organ of generation. Give up meat, fish, liquor, and smoking. Meat excites the passions.

Gradually reduce salt and tamarind. Salt excites passion and emotion. Salt excites and strengthens the desires. Lesser amount of salt brings in a cool condition of the mind and the nerves. It helps meditation. You will suffer a bit in the beginning. Later on, you will enjoy a saltless diet. Practice at least for six months. In this way, you will be able to realize your own face glory quickly. All that is wanted of you is sincere and earnest effort. Do not overload your stomach at night. The night meals should be very light. Half a litre of milk or some fruits will constitute a good regimen or menu at night.

Both for celibacy and tongue-control, take a few basil leaves early in the morning. In the evening take Neem leaves. Start with one leaf, increase it to ten, one per day. Take ten for a couple of months; then you can increase it to twenty. This is very good for health and body as well.

Avoid bad company

Obscene pictures, vulgar words, and novels which deal with love stories, excite passion and produce ignoble, mean, undesirable sentiments in the heart. Whereas, the sight of a good picture Lord Krishna or Lord Rama or Lord Jesus and hearing of the sublime songs/prayers induce noble sentiments and sincere devotion in the heart, produce a divine thrill and tears of joy and love, and elevate the mind to meditation instantaneously.

What is the state of your mind when you attend a ball party or when you read "The Mysteries of the Court of London"? What is your state of mind when you attend the religious conglomeration or when you are on the banks of Holy Rivers in a secluded place or when you study the soul-elevating classical scriptures? Compare and contrast your mental states. Remember that there is nothing so utterly ruinous to the soul as evil company. Aspirants should shun ruthlessly all sorts of evil company. They should not listen to the stories concerning women, the luxurious ways of rich persons, pungent food, vehicles, politics, silken clothing, flowers, scents and so on, earned out of bad money because the mind gets easily excited. It will begin to imitate the ways of luxurious persons. Desires will crop up. Attachment will also come in.

The bad cinema produces an evil tendency in man. He cannot remain even for a day without attending a show. His eyes want to see some half-nude pictures and some kinds of colours; and his ears want a little music. Young girls and boys become passionate when they see the actors in the films kissing and hugging. Those who want to develop themselves in the spiritual line should entirely shun the cinema. They should not attend even the so-called religious films. They are not really religious films. It is a kind of trick to attract people and collect money. What is the spiritual caliber of the actors there? Spiritual people only can bring out impressive stories with good morals that can elevate the minds of the spectators.

Put an end to going to exciting films if you have got that habit. Do not witness vulgar sensuous scenes wherever it may be. Do not indulge in seeing naked pictures. All these tend to increase passion and deplete your semen stock. You should strictly avoid these.

Novel-reading is another evil habit. Those who are in the habit of reading novels that deal with passion and love cannot remain even for a single second without novel-reading. They always want their nerves to be tickled with some sensational feelings. Novel-reading fills the mind with base, lustful thoughts and excites passion. It is a great enemy of peace. Many people have started circulating libraries for distribution of novels on a small subscription basis. They have not at all realized how much harm they are doing to the country. It is better they chalk out another vocation to get their livelihood. They spoil the minds of young men by the distribution of these worthless novels, which help to excite their passion. The whole atmosphere is polluted. Do not read novels. They taint the mind. Do not read those journals which excite you lower instincts.

Immoral songs produce a very bad, deep impression in the mind. Aspirants should run away from places where vicious songs are sung. Do your best to divert your mind and eyes from external objects that prompt sexual desires. Give up the sort of reading, conversation, imagination and associations that are likely to stimulate the sexual desire. Do not converse with those who are eager to convey irritating news and disturb your mental poise. Live with spiritual advanced men and stop reading all books except those that are directly spiritual.

When thoughts of lust arise in the mind, do not wrestle with them. The best method is to ignore them. If you are not successful in doing so, be in the company of someone who is superior to you spiritually, who is more advanced than you spiritually. If you go into seclusion, the mind will chase you and down you in sensual thoughts. You will lose your balance. Be careful. The sensual thoughts will pass away with a little vigilance.

Watch the thoughts

An evil thought enters the mind and there comes an erection of the organ. Is this not a marvel? Because this occurs very often, it does not appear to you as a miracle or a marvel. You have ignored this vital point on account of your ignorance. Mind is a great electricity battery. It is a big dynamo indeed. It is a powerhouse. The nerves are insulated wires to transmit the electric currents, nerve impulses, to various organs, tissues and the extremities, hands, legs and feet. There is a vibration of thought in the mind owing to the vibration of psychic Prana. This force of thought is transmitted with a tremendous lightning speed along the nerves to the organs. The physical body is fleshy mould prepared by the mind in accordance with the lust for its own experience and enjoyment. The mind sways the organs of an undisciplined passionate man who has boisterous revolting desires. It becomes an obedient faithful servant of a trained and mature Yogi.

An ever-vigilant celibate should always watch his thoughts very carefully. He should never allow even a single bad thought to enter the gate of the mental factory. If his mind is ever fixed on his object of meditation, there is no room for the entry of an evil thought. Even if an evil thought has entered the trapdoor of the mind, he should not allow the mind to assume a mental state with this idea. If he becomes a victim, the thought-current will be transmitted to the physical body. Burning of the desires and the physical nervous system will follow. This is a serious condition.

The bad thought should be nipped in the bud by supplanting counter divine thoughts. It should not be allowed to penetrate the physical body. If your will is strong, the evil thought can be driven at once. Pranayama, vigorous prayer, thinking, self contemplation, meditation and ritual company can nip the evil thoughts in the bud at the threshold of the mental factory. The combat will be keen in the beginning. When you become purer and purer, when your will-power develops, when you develop more purity and when you have a habitual meditative mood, you will be established in physical and mental celibacy. Understand the power of thought and utilize it profitably. Understand the ways of the mind. Learn how to use the pure will. Become a vigilant, dexterous watchman of your thoughts. Curb them before they raise their heads out of the mind through skill and wisdom.

It is the mind that really does all actions. A desire arises in your mind and then you think. Then you proceed to act. The determination of the mind is put into action. First there is thought and then comes action. Therefore, do not allow the sexual thoughts, to enter the mind.

That which is thought of is spoken by the tongue. That which the tongue speaks of, the organs of action do. That is the reason why it is said in the Vedas: "Let my mind think of auspicious things." Entertain sublime divine thoughts. The old evil sexual thought will gradually vanish, just as the old nail in a plank goes away by inserting over it a new nail.

Seek good company

The glory of association with the wise saints, great persons and philosophers is indescribable. The glory and power of religious gatherings is described in various ways in the Bhagavata, the Ramayana and other scriptures. Even a moment’s company with wise people is quite sufficient to overhaul the old vicious thoughts of worldly-minded people. The magnetic aura, the spiritual vibrations and the powerful thought-currents of developed adepts produce a tremendous influence on the minds of worldly persons. The personal contact of divine people is a blessing in reality for worldly persons. Service of saints purifies the minds of passionate men rapidly. Religious gatherings elevate the mind to magnanimous heights. Just as a single matchstick bums huge bundles of cotton in a few seconds, so also, the company of saints burns all ignorance, all thoughts and thoughts of passion and evil actions within a short time. This is the reason why many prophets have spoken so highly of Religious gatherings in all their books.

If you cannot get good Religious gatherings in your own place, you can visit places of pilgrimage. Study of books written by realized persons will also be tantamount to Religious gatherings. The only potent specific for inducing burning desire for liberation is Religious gatherings.

Cultivate Discretion and Renunciation

One should try to get discrimination between the real Self and the unreal impure body. The aspirant should point out to the mind the defects of a sexual life, namely, loss of energy, enervation of the senses, disease, birth and death, attachment and various sorts of miseries. He should remind himself again and again about the parts of the body of woman—flesh, blood, bone, excreta, urine, pus and phlegm. These ideas should be hammered into the mind repeatedly. The aspirant should always think of the ever-pure immortal soul and the glory of the spiritual life, namely, the attainment of immortality, eternal bliss and supreme peace. Gradually the mind will be weaned from looking at a woman, however beautiful she might be. The mind will shudder to look at a woman with an evil thought. Ladies also should undergo the above practices to get themselves established in purity.

A discriminating person does not note any difference between a male and a female. The same elements—passion, anger, greed and affection with material things—that are present in a man are found in the female also. It is only a lustful person who is filled with burning passion that finds imaginary differences. The differences are all mental creations or Kalpita Bheda.

Nothing can tempt you in this world if you develop sense of renunciation of material things as and when required with strong determination, if you subdue your desires, and if you shun the unreal, impermanent sensual enjoyments and pleasures of this fleeting world as dung and poison. You will have no attraction for earthly objects. Lust will be unable to take hold of you. You will have eternal peace and infinite bliss.

Constantly remember: "Through the grace of God, I am becoming purer and purer, every day. Pleasures come but not to stay. Mortal flesh is only clay. Everything will pass away. Celibacy is the only way." Develop discretion and renunciation.

Some Buddhist monks who always keep a human skull with them. This is to cause renunciation in them and to remind them of the impermanent and perishable nature of human life. A philosopher once kept in his hands the skull of a lady and began to philosophize thus: "O skull! Some time back you tempted me with your shiny skin and rosy cheeks. Now, where are thy charms? Where are those honeyed lips and lotus-like eyes now?" Thus he developed intense sense of renunciation. If you analyze the different parts of the human body and keep a picture of flesh and bones before your mind’s eye, you will have no attachment at all for your body or the body of a female. You may try this method.

Remembrance of the skeleton and the dead body will induce renunciation in your mind. Say that it is the truth. The body has come out of the filthy discharge. It is full of impurities. In the end, it is reduced to ashes. If you remember this, renunciation will dawn in your mind. Attraction for women will gradually vanish. If you place before your mind the sickly figure of a woman or the picture of a very old woman, you will develop un-attachment. Remember the pains of the unreality of objects, and the bondage that comes from attachment to wife and children. Try any method that suits you best.

Sit down and think, calmly and honestly, what beauty there is in a person whose body is composed of flesh, bones, nerves, fat, marrow and blood. Where is the beauty in the same woman when she becomes old? Look at the condition of the eyes and the body of a woman after an attack of fever for seven days! What is the state of her beauty? Where is the beauty if she does not take bath for a week? The stink is abominable. Look at the senile woman aged eighty five who is sitting at the corner, with rotten eyes, shrunken cheeks and skin! Analyze the parts of a woman, realize their true nature.

If you desire much for sensual pleasures, woman is the greatest cause of delusion for you. Women may become the flames of vice. They become burning fire, which destroys man like a dry straw. They burn from a long distance; so they are more dangerous than fire. The lovely damsel is like a poisonous drug that destroys life by causing lustful intoxication and clouding the power of discrimination. This mysterious world began with woman and has woman for its sustenance. How, without renunciation of woman, is it possible to attain the eternal bliss of God? The bodies of those handsome damsels who are so much fondled by foolish men are taken to the cemetery after they expire. Beasts and worms feed upon their flesh. Jackals and kites tear off their skin. Without renunciation of sensual pleasures, it is impossible to have Self-realization.

Here, it is to be mentioned that there is no intention to offend the respected ladies. The both genders of the human society are impressed upon the force and the glory of celibacy and the evil effect of lust after they perform their duties to the society as the nature warrants under proper limits and code of conduct for a civilized society. Celibacy should be practiced by both men and women. Women also can keep a mental picture of the component parts of the body of a male in order to create in themselves disgust for the physical body of a male and to develop renunciation.

Mere condemning of lust is not sufficient to wean the mind from sexual craving. Remember this point well. Lust is potent. Lust is virulent. Lust is formidable. Lust is uncontrollable by persons of weak will. A woman should be aware of the charms of a man which entice her and make her a prey to man and man should be aware of the charms of a woman which entice him and make him a prey to woman. A woman is a temptress for man and a man is a tempter for woman. Man also has much charm in him to entrap a woman. Man appears more handsome in the eyes of a woman than a woman in the eyes of a man. Man also tries to entrap a woman by his dress, ties and bows, by his smile, outward show of affection, glances, gestures, flowery words, various ways of dressing his hair and other tricks.

Lust is a potent force, very difficult to be got rid of. That is the reason why some religious leaders censure and condemn women in order to create dispassion and discrimination in men and wean them from lustful tendencies and aggressive attacks. They have criticized women not out of hatred, prejudice or dislike, but out of compassion for elevating people from the quagmire of materialism. Their criticism of women implies and includes criticism of man also. Their criticism aims at weaning the minds of worldly persons from sexual sin and creating disgust for sexual pleasure, and dispassion for worldly objects. This is misunderstood by people.

The same scriptures and saints who censure women in one place praise them in another. They say, "Women should be honored. They are better half of the world. They are manifestations of the energy. Only those who honor women can attain prosperity." Therefore, O women! Try to know the heart of the scriptures and the saints and become wise.

The minds of young people are saturated with impure thoughts and desires owing to vicious company and the false modern civilization. Even the company or talk of a woman is quite sufficient to drag the mind into vicious thoughts. So, I have to place before the minds of the vast majority such a mental picture that the very company of women will do havoc. When I say that a woman is only a leather bag, I do not hate women in any way. It is only to produce disgust and induce renunciation. Really, a woman should be adored as Mother. She is the creator, generator and nourishing personality of the universe. We owe our origin to her and stand obliged for the pains she takes while delivering us to this beautiful world. We can not square up the debts. She must be revered. Today, religion and ethics are preserved and maintained only through the devotional element in women. Devotion is a fundamental characteristic of ladies. We must hate lust, but not women.

In the beginning, till you acquire discretion and renunciation, you must treat the company of woman as poison. When you obtain them, then lust cannot take hold of you. You will see and realize, "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma. All is creation of God only." You will have self introspection. The sex idea will then vanish.

A vow is a great help

A vow of celibacy will give you sure protection against temptation. It is a strong weapon to attack lust. If you do not take a vow of celibacy, the mind will tempt you at any moment. You will have no strength to resist the temptation and you will become a sure victim. He who is weak and effeminate is afraid of taking the vow. He brings in various excuses and says, "Why should I be bound by a vow? My will is strong and powerful. I can resist any sort of temptation. I am practising will culture." He repents in the long run. He has no control over the senses. That man only, in whom the subtle desire for the object to be renounced lurks in the corners of the mind, brings in such sort of excuses. You must have right understanding, discrimination and dispassion. Then only your renunciation will be lasting and permanent. If your renunciation is not the outcome of discrimination and dispassion, the mind will be simply waiting for an opportunity to get back the object that has been renounced.

If you are weak, take a vow of celibacy for a month and then extend it to three months. You will gain some strength now. You will be able to prolong the period to six months. Gradually you will be able to extend the vow to one or two or three years. Sleep separately and do vigorous prayers and meditation daily. You will hate lust now. You will experience freedom and indescribable joy. Your partner-in-life also should do prayers, meditation and attend religious gatherings as many as possible.

If at any time, you feel that you could not be able to keep up your vow of celibacy, tell yourself that you have done an unpardonable crime in breaking the vow of celibacy. How can there be religion or spirituality where there is passion? You are a mature person. Why should you repeat shamelessly that old ignoble act, bringing this excuse: "Old desires are powerful; circumstances are strong." Nobody will hear your answer. You will have to curb your passion whenever it raises its hood.

Will culture and auto-suggestion

If you can render your will pure, strong and irresistible by eliminating desires, by eradicating enmity jealousy and undue affection with materialistic world, by reducing your wants and by renouncing the sensual enjoyments, passion will die. Will is a powerful enemy of passion.Lust takes its origin from impure resolution. Indulgence strengthens it. When you resolutely turn away from it, it vanishes and dies.

Sit alone in your meditation room. Close your eyes. Slowly repeat again and again the following formulae. Let the mind dwell on the significance of the formulae also. Saturate the mind and intellect with these ideas. Your whole system—flesh, blood, bones, nerves and cells—should powerfully vibrate with the following ideas:

I am all-purity, every thing is pure in me, Sexless soul I am There is neither lust nor sexual desire in soul Lust is mental demerit; I am a witness of this demerit, I am not to be associated with such materialistic things any more, My will is pure, strong and irresistible I am fully established in physical and mental Celibacy I am feeling the purity now

Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om

You can have a sitting at night also. Sit for ten minutes in the beginning. Gradually increase the period to half an hour. Keep up this intention during work also.

Write down on a piece of paper, in bold types, the word "Om Purity" six times. Keep the paper in your pocket. Read it several times during the course of the day. Fix it also in a prominent place in your house. Have the word image "Om Purity" clearly before the mind. Remember several times daily the Celibate-saints and their powerful actions. Think over the multifarious advantages of a pure life of Celibacy and the disadvantages and evils of an impure life. Never leave the practice. Be regular and systematic. Gradually you will become purer and purer and ultimately you will become an Oordhvareta Yogi. Be patient.

Daily feel: "Through the grace of God, I am becoming better and better, every day, in every way". This is auto-suggestion. This is another effective method.

Change the angle of vision

You should entertain your vision of Mother or Goddess or pure soul towards females. Women also should visualize as father or God or pure soul towards males. Pure love will degenerate at any moment into passion when one is careless and non-vigilant.

The cultivation of the vision is very difficult. You may fail to develop the vision that all women are your mothers and sisters one hundred and one times. It does not matter. Stick to your practice tenaciously. You are bound to succeed eventually. You will have to destroy the old mind and build a new mind. Nevertheless you will have to do it if you want to attain immortality and eternal bliss. You will surely succeed if you are fiery in your resolve and if you have an iron determination. The vision will gradually manifest by constant practice. Soon you will be established in that sense. Now you are safe.

A man or a woman should practice self-analysis and self-examination. They should have a proper understanding of the ways in which lust operates and plays, and the things and emotions which excite passion and the manner in which one falls a victim to the other. Then only control of lust is possible.

The mind will again try to do some mischief inwardly. It is very diplomatic. It is very difficult to find out its ways and secret underground operations. It demands a subtle intellect, and careful repeated introspection and vigilant watch. Whenever the mental image of a woman crops up in your mind with evil thoughts, repeat mentally, "Om Durga Devyai Namah" and do mental prostrations. Gradually, old evil thoughts will die. Whenever you see any woman, entertain this visiom and repeat mentally this Mantra. Your look will become chaste. All women are manifestations of the World Mother. Destroy the idea that a woman is an object of enjoyment and substitute the idea that she is an object of worship.

Change the vision, change the mental attitude. You will have heaven on earth. You will be established in celibacy. This is an important method for becoming a true Celibate. See soul in all women. Reject all names and forms and take only the underlying essence. All names and forms are unreal.

For a scientist, a woman is a mass of electrons only. For a tiger, she is an object of prey. For a passionate husband, she is an object of enjoyment. For a crying child, she is an affectionate mother who gives milk, sweets and other indulgences. For a jealous sister-in-law or mother-in-law, she is an enemy. For a person having discretion and renunciation, she is not a combination of flesh, bone, urine, faecal matter, pus, perspiration, blood and phlegm.

Passion will arise when you think of the body of a female. When you are in the company of ladies, think of the one immortal pure Self of soul that is hidden in the bodies of the ladies. Constantly make the endeavor. The sex idea will gradually vanish, and with it, the attraction and lust also. This is the most potent method to eradicate passion and the sex idea, Mentally repeat the formula, "Ek Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman." This will lead to the annihilation of passion and to the Vedantic realization of unity or oneness also.

There is neither sex nor sexual desire in soul. Soul is eternally pure: By constant thinking on that sexless soul, you will be established in Celibacy. This is the most powerful and effective method. This is the best kind of working for those who know the right technique of discretion and renunciation. But, only advanced students in the path of spirituality, Yoga can rely on the method of soul introspection alone for the destruction of passion. For the vast majority of persons, a combined method is very congenial and healthy. When the enemies are very powerful, a combined method of pistols, shot-guns, machine-guns, submarines, torpedoes, bombs and poisonous gases is used for the destruction of the enemies. So also, in the destruction of this powerful enemy, passion, a combined method is absolutely necessary.

Be Happy - Try the above Powerful Aids for Celibacy

Be Happy – Give Up Bad Habits

Many young men are troubled by wet dreams or nocturnal emissions and spermatorrhoea. This dire disease, spermatorrhoea, has eaten away the very core of the heart of many brilliant youth, who were once very promising students during the beginning stages of their educational career. This terrible scourge has sapped the vitality or the very essence of many students and even grown-up people and has made them physical, moral and spiritual bankrupts. This deadly curse has stunted the growth of many young people and made them bemoan their past ignorant, vicious habits. This wretched malady has blighted the hopes of many a young person and brought despair, gloom, shattered health and dilapidated constitution.

The recent trend in the increase of vulgar, cheap and aphrodisiac literature and obscene films had added to the miseries of misguided youth. Loss of the vital energy creates great fear in their mind. The body becomes weak, memory fails, the face becomes ugly and the young man is not able to remedy his pitiable condition due to shame. But there is no cause for despair. He can develop the correct attitude to life and lead a disciplined spiritual life and ultimately attain supreme bliss.

Difference between physiological pollution and pathological pollution

Spermatorrhoea is involuntary seminal discharge. Nocturnal discharge, night pollution, wet dream are all synonymous terms. This is due to the evil habits in youth. In severe cases, discharges occur in daytime also. If there is occasional discharge, you need not be alarmed a bit. This may be due to heat in the body, or the pressure of loaded bowels or bladder on the seminal bags. This is not a pathological condition.

Night pollution is of two kinds, namely, physiological pollution and pathological pollution. In physiological pollution, you will be refreshed. You should not be afraid of this act. You should not mind if the discharge of semen is very occasional. You need not worry about it. This is also a slight flushing of the apparatus or a periodical cleansing through a slight overflow from the reservoir in which the semen is stored up. This act may not be attended with evil thoughts. The person may not be aware of the act during the night, whereas, in pathological pollution, the act is accompanied by sexual thoughts. Depression follows. There is irritability, languishment, laziness, inability to work and concentrate. Occasional discharges are of no consequence, but frequent nocturnal pollutions cause depression of spirits, debility, dyspepsia, low spirits, loss of memory, severe pain in the back, headache, burning of the eyes, drowsiness and burning sensation at urination or during the flow of semen. The semen becomes very thin.

Causes and consequences

Wet dreams and spermatorrhoea may be due to various causes like constipation, a loaded stomach, irritation-producing or wind-producing food, impure thoughts and long self-abuse done in ignorance.

Seminal weakness, nocturnal emissions, lascivious dreams and all other effects of an immoral life will surely lead one to a miserable state of living if not checked by proper medicines. But these medicines cannot produce a permanent cure. One can get temporary relief during the time one takes the medicine. The moment the medicine is discontinued, the patient will find his disease all the worse. In some cases, the patient becomes impotent by the use of drugs. The only effective permanent cure can be had through the system of ancient Yoga. There is no strength higher than that of Yoga.

Do not be carried away by the pompous advertisements made by quacks. Lead a simple natural life. You will become all right soon. Do not spend any money in buying the so-called patent medicines and specifics. They are worthless. Quacks try to exploit the credulous and the ignorant. Understand the laws of nature, the principles of hygiene and health. Do not tresspass against the laws of health.

A warning against evil sex habits and outbursts of anger

Avoid all kinds of self-abuse. They drain away your vital energy and leave you like a dead man or like the sugar-cane from which the juice has been extracted. Your semen is indeed a priceless possession. Do not waste it for the sake of a momentary excitement and sensation.

Give up the evil habit at once. You will be entirely ruined if you continue the practice. Open your eyes. Wake up now. Become wise. Shun evil company. Do not cut jokes with women. Practice chaste look. Up to this time, you were blind and ignorant. You were in the dark. You had no idea of the disastrous effects of this evil practice. You will lose your eyesight. You will have dimness of vision. You will have shattered nerves.

Do not look at the reproductive Organ. Do not also touch the generative organ with your hands now and then. This will aggravate your lust. When it gets erection, do Mula Bandha and Uddiyana Bandha. Repeat ‘Om’ mentally several times with meaning. Think of purity. Do twenty Pranayamas. The cloud of impurity will pass off soon.

Sexual excesses and outbursts of anger and hatred should be given up. If the mind is kept cool and calm at all times, you will have wonderful health, strength and virility. Energy is depleted by fits of anger. The cells and tissues are filled with morbid poisonous materials when one loses his temper and entertains deep hatred. Various sorts of physical ailments crop up. The blood becomes hot and thin, and consequently, night pollution results. Various sorts of nervous diseases are attributable to excessive loss of the seminal energy and frequent fits of explosive anger or wrath.

Importance of proper food and evacuation


Most of the diseases take their origin in overeating. Observe moderation in diet. Avoid late suppers. The evening meal should be light and eaten before 6 or 7 p.m. If possible, take milk and fruits only at night. No solid or liquid should be taken after sunset. When you take milk, mix ginger essence in it, Or boil crushed ginger with milk before taking the milk. Give up hot Chutnies, garlic, onion and pungent foodstuffs. Hot curries, chillies and Chutnies make the semen watery and lead to frequent wet dreams. Take bland, soothing, non-irritating simple food. Give up smoking, liquor, tea, coffee, meat and fish.

When there is any inclination for urination at night, immediately get up to empty the bladder. A loaded bladder is the cause for wet dreams. Before retiring to bed, answer the calls of nature. If there is severe constipation and the bowels are loaded, they will press the vesiculae seminalis, and consequently, there will be discharges at night.

To relieve constipation, the use of the enema is most essential. The use of laxatives is not of much benefit as it creates heat in the body. Never stop the urge to answer calls of nature. If worms are present in the bowels, remove them by a dose of worm powder in the night and take a purgative of castor oil the following morning. This will keep the bowels regular.

Sometimes, the discharges take place on account of excess of heat in the body, excess of walking or travel, eating a large quantity of sweetmeats or chillies and salt. Give up tea, coffee, chillies, excess of sweets and excess of sugar. Avoid dainty dishes, sauces, savouries and pastries. Have occasional fasts, say, once a week. Do not drink even water on those fasting days. Do not ride too much on the bicycle.

Chew pieces of the yellow variety of Harad or myrobalan very often. When there is frequent discharge, dissolve two pinches of camphor in a cup of milk and take it occasionally at night. Night pollution generally occurs in the fourth quarter of the night. Those who are in the habit of getting up from bed between 3 and 4 a.m. and doing prayers can never fall a victim to nocturnal pollutions. Make it a point to get up at least at 4 a.m. regularly. Sleep on a coarse bed. Use rough mats.
Sleep on the left side. Allow the Solar Nadi, Pingala, to work throughout the night through the right nostril. In acute cases, sleep on the back until recovery.

If you are a married man, sleep in a separate room. You should never allow your wife to massage your legs at night. This is a dangerous practice. For protecting the semen, it is essential to wear always a strip of cloth over the private part; for, there will be no night emission and growth of testicle. Therefore, always wear a Kaupin or loin cloth. You will not get inflammation or any other disease of the testicles. This will help you in keeping up celibacy. Wear a wet Kaupin at night when you go to bed, if the disease is very troublesome.

It is befitting for a celibate to wear always wooden sandals as thereby the semen will be conserved, eyes will be benefited, life prolonged and holiness and luster increased.

Take to the Name of the Lord

Do prayers and meditation in the morning, as soon as you get up, for an hour or two. Also, do this before sleeping at 10 p.m. This is a great purifier. This will strengthen the mind and the nerves. This is the best remedy. Repeat the Mantra: "Punarmamaitu Indriyam. Let my lost strength be restored." Pray to the sun in the early morning before sunrise: "O Lord Suryanarayana, the eye of the world, the eye of the Virat Purusha! Give me health, strength, vigor and vitality." Do Suryanamaskara in the early morning. Repeat the twelve Names of the sun at sunshine: "Mitraya Namah. Ravaye Namah. Suryaya Namah. Bhanave Namah. Khagaya Namah. Pushne Namah. Hiranyagarbhaya Namah. Marichaye Namah. Savitre Namah. Adityaya Namah. Bhaskaraya Namah. Arkaya Namah." Bask in the sun.

The benefits of a hip bath

Take cold hip baths by sitting in a tub of water and keeping the legs outside the tub. This is very invigorating and energizing. A cold hip bath tones and soothes the nerves of the genito-urinary system and stops nocturnal discharges in an efficacious manner. This is a general nervine tonic as well, as all the nerves are braced up.

The hip bath can be conveniently managed at home in a big zinc tub. Aged persons and convalescents can use lukewarm water. Wipe the parts with a dry towel and put on warm clothing.Or, stand up to your navel in a river, lake or tank for half an hour. Repeat ‘Om’ or the Gayatri or any other Mantra. Rub the lower part of the abdomen or belly with a coarse Turkish towel or a piece of Khadi cloth several times. This can be practiced twice daily, morning and evening, in the summer season.

Cold douches, spinal douches and cold shower bath are of immense use in the practice of celibacy. Shower baths can be easily installed at home by fixing the spray apparatus to the tap. Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Siddhasana, Sukha-Purvak Pranayama and Uddiyana Bandha are all very effective in eradicating spermatorrhoea. Practice them and realize the incalculable benefits. Practice deep-breathing and Bhastrika Pranayama. Take long walks. Take part in sports.

Some helpful suggestions

Complete cure may take at least one to six months, according to the intensity of the disease. If the disease is of long standing, the cure may take a long time, as Nature’s processes are slow, though sure. Whenever you are haunted by sensual thoughts, you should try to replace them by holy thoughts. Think and meditate on the pure Self. Keep yourself fully occupied. Do not give room for the mind to think of the body or the disease. This is the treatment for any kind of disease. Sing prayers to God in a variety of ways. When you are tired, take to the study of religious books. Do selfless service. Run in the open air. Swim in the river. Remove the stones and pebbles lying on the roads. Write down your aim of life in a notebook for one hour.

Purify the mind by cultivating devotion to God. Do prayers and meditation. Study spirituality based books. Do not mix unnecessarily with women. See only the Divine Mother in them. Avoid bad cinema, bad novels, bad newspapers, bad company, evil talks. Do not look into the mirror frequently. Do not use bad scents or clothing. Do not attend bad dance or music parties. Do not look at mating of animals and birds.

Root out love of leisure and ease. Overcome laziness and always keep the body and mind engaged in some useful work. Keeping the mind constantly engaged is one of the great secrets of celibacy. Lead a disciplined, rigorous life. Do not brood over the disease too much. It will pass off. When bad thoughts appear in the mind, repeat the Name of God and pray to Him. Ultimately, the Lord’s divine grace and helping hand is the sure antidote for all diseases. Rely on God. Be devoted to purity and piety. Cherish sublime thoughts. Read sacred literature. Naught shall assail you.

This weakness will pass away. Do not be anxious, worried and depressed over it. Depressing thoughts are dangerous. Worry will only weaken you more. Learn lessons from the past and be benefited therefrom. Do not brood over the past and be weakened. Change your angle of vision. Practice inquiry. Meditate on the advantages of celibacy. Think of the evils of a sensual life—loss of health, shame, disease and death. Cultivate discrimination. You are the child of the Lord of the universe. The bliss is within you. There is not an iota of pleasure in sense objects. Dissociate yourself from the body; identify yourself with the Lord. If your mind is pure and healthy, your body too will be pure and healthy. Therefore, forget the past and take to a new, better life of virtue and spirituality, love of God and aspiration for the higher divine life. Learn to find taste in divine life. Do more work with greater intensity. You will be a completely changed and blessed person.

Be Happy – Give Up Bad Habits

Be Happy - Good Diet is important in celibacy

Diet plays a prominent part in keeping up celibacy. Purity of food brings in purity of mind. That power which connects the body and the mind is present in the food that we take. Various kinds of food have varying effects on the mind. There are certain kinds of food that make the mind and the body very strong and steady. So, it is absolutely essential that we should take pure and vegetarian food. The body structure given to humankind is not supposed to have non-vegetarian stuff at all.

Food has a very close connection with celibacy. If proper attention is given to the purity of the food that we take, Celibacy becomes quite easy.The influence of foodstuffs on the brain cells, emotion and passion is remarkable. There are different compartments in the brain and each food produces its own effect on each compartment and on the general system. A confection of sparrow produces an aphrodisiac effect. It directly stimulates the reproductive organs. Garlic, onions, meat, fish and eggs stimulate passion. Mark how elephants and cows that live on grass are quiet and peaceful and how tigers and other carnivorous animals that live on meat are turbulent and ferocious. Instinct or the voice from within will guide you in the selection of articles of diet that are conducive to the keeping up of Celibacy. You can also consult some elderly and experienced persons.

Vegetarian Food

Cheru, Havis Annam, milk, wheat, barley, bread, butter/butter oil, dried ginger, green gram, potatoes, dates, plantains, curd, almonds and fruits are all pure articles of food. Cheru is a mixture of boiled white rice, butter oil, white sugar and milk. Havis Annam is also a similar preparation. This is very useful for spiritual aspirants. Milk is a perfect food by itself, containing different nutritive constituents in a well balanced proportion. This is an ideal food for those who do yoga or wish to be celibate. Fruits are great energy producers. Bananas, grapes, sweet oranges, apples, pomegranates and mangoes are wholesome and nutritious.

Dry fruits such as grapes, raisins, dates and figs, sweet fresh fruits such as bananas, mangoes, melons, limes, pineapples, apples, wood apples and sweet pomegranates, sugar and sugar-candy, honey, sago, arrowroot, milk, butter and ghee of cows, tender coconut water, coconut, almonds, pistachio nuts, barley, maize, wheat, rice of red paddy whose bran is only partly removed and rice of good smell or sweet taste, and all preparations from any of these grains, and white pumpkin are good articles for keeping up Celibacy.

Forbidden Food

Highly seasoned dishes, hot curries, meat, fish, eggs, tobacco, liquor, sour articles, oil of all kinds, garlic, onions, bitter things, sour curd, stale food, acids, astringents, pungent stuffs, roasted things, over-ripe and unripe fruits, heavy vegetables and salt are not at all beneficial. Onions and garlic are worse than meat.

Salt is the worst enemy. Too much salt excites passion. Even if you do not take salt separately, the system will derive the necessary quantity of salt from other foodstuffs. All foodstuffs contain salt. Giving up of salt helps you in controlling the tongue and thereby the mind and all the other desires.

All kinds of peas and beans, both fresh and fried, black grain, Bengal gram, horse gram, sprouted grains, mustard, all sorts of chillies, asafoetida, lentils, brinjals, lady’s finger, cucumbers, Malabar nightshades, both white and red, bamboo shoots, papaw fruit, drumsticks, all varieties of gourd such as white gourd, snake gourd and squash gourd, radish, leeks, mushrooms of all kinds, things fried in oil or ghee, pickles of all sorts, fried rice, sesame seeds, tea, coffee, cocoa, all kinds of vegetables, leaves, roots, fruits and foodstuffs that create wind or indigestion, grief, pain or costiveness or other sickness, pastry preparations, foods that are dry and burning, foods that are bitter, sour, saline, over-hot and pungent, tobacco and its preparations, foods and drinks containing liquor or narcotic drugs such as opium, food preparations which are stale or have become cold subsequent to their removal from the hearth or which have lost their natural taste, smell, color or form, or which are remnants after being eaten away by other persons, animals, birds or insects, or which contain dust, hair, straw or other rubbish, and milk of buffalo, goat or sheep should be avoided. Lemon juice, rock salt, ginger and white pepper can be used moderately.

Be Moderate in diet

Take wholesome vegetarian food half-stomachful. Fill a quarter with pure water. Allow the remaining part free. This is moderation. Celibate should always take lesser food only. They should be very careful about their night diet. They should never overload the stomach at night. Overloading is the direct cause for nocturnal emissions.

A glutton can never dream of becoming a celibate. Control of tongue is a sine qua non if you want to control lust, if you want to observe the vow of celibacy. The tongue must be controlled first. Then, it will be easy to control the passion. There is intimate connection between the tongue and the organ of generation. Tongue is an organ of knowledge. If the tongue is stimulated with non-vegetarian or forbidden food, at once the reproductive organ also gets excited. There should be selection and restriction in diet. The food of a celibate must be simple, bland, spiceless, non-irritating and non-stimulating. Moderation in food is very necessary. Stuffing the stomach is highly deleterious. Fruits are highly beneficial. You should take food only when you are really hungry. The stomach will deceive you sometimes. You may have false hunger. When you sit for taking meals, you will have no appetite and no relish. Dietetic restrictions and fasting are very useful auxiliaries in controlling the camel mind and in the attainment of Celibacy. You should not ignore them or make light of them on any account.

Fasting—an exercise for purification

Fasting is one of the ten canons of Yoga. Fasting controls passion. Fasting destroys sexual excitement. It calms the emotions. It controls the desires also. Passionate young men and ladies should take recourse to occasional fasting. It will prove highly beneficial. It purifies the mind. It destroys a great multitude of sins. Fasting controls particularly the tongue, which is your deadly enemy. When you fast, do not allow the mind to think of delicious dishes, because then you will not derive much benefit. Fasting overhauls the respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems. It destroys all the impurities of the body and all sorts of poisons. It eliminates uric acid deposits. Just as impure gold is rendered pure by melting it in the crucible again and again, so also, the impure mind is rendered purer and purer by fasting again and again. Young, robust celibate should observe fasting whenever passion troubles them. You will have very good meditation during fasting, as the mind is calm. The chief object in fasting is to practice rigorously during that period as all the desires are calm. You will have to withdraw all the desire creating stimulants and fix the mind on God. Pray to God for guiding you and throwing a flood of light on the path. You will get purity, light, strength and knowledge.

Avoid excessive fasting. It will produce weakness. Use your commonsense. Those who are not able to observe a full fast can fast for nine or twelve hours and can take milk and fruits in the evening or at night. During fasting, the internal digestive organs such as the stomach, the liver and the pancreas take rest. Epicureans, gluttons and those who are tireless eaters do not allow rest for these organs even for a few minutes. Hence, these organs get diseased soon. Diabetes, dyspepsia and hepatitis are all due to overfeeding. After all, man wants very little on this earth. Ninety per cent of the people in this world take more food than what is absolutely necessary for the body. Overeating has become their habit. All diseases take their origin in overeating. An occasional complete fast is a great desideratum for all to keep up good health, relieve the internal organs and maintain celibacy. Diseases that are pronounced incurable by modern sciences are cured by fasting. Fasting develops will-power. It increases the power of endurance.

It is better to drink a large quantity of water, either tepid or cold, according to temperament and inclination, during fasting. It will flush out the kidneys and remove the poison and all sorts of impurities in the body. In Hatha Yoga it is termed as Gata-Suddhi or purification of the flesh-pot, the physical body. You can add half a teaspoonful of soda bicarbonate to the water. Those who fast for two or three days should not break their fast with any solid food. They should take some kind of fruit juice, either sweet orange juice or pomegranate juice. They should sip the juice slowly. You can take an enema daily during fasting.

Fast for a day to start with. Then slowly increase the number of days according to your strength and capacity. In the beginning you may feel a slight weakness. The first day may be very tiring. You will feel real bliss, on the second or the third day. The body will be very, very light. You can turn out more mental work during fasting. Those who are in the habit of fasting will rejoice. On the first day, the mind will tempt you in a variety of ways to eat something or the other. Stand firm. Be bold. Curb the mind at once when it hisses or raises its hood. Do more prayers during fasting. Fasting is more a spiritual act than a physical act from the viewpoint of health. You will have to utilize the fasting days for higher spiritual purposes and in the contemplation of God. Always entertain thoughts of God. Dive deep into the problems of life such as the why and the wherefore of the universe. Enquire: "Who am I? What is this soul or ultimate truth? What are the ways and means to attain Knowledge of God? How to approach Him?" The deeper you go in your thoughts, the more enjoyment and justification of your efforts of proper diet you will find.

Be Happy - Good Diet is important in celibacy.