What is brahmacharya? It is the life force of the body (non-self). What is the ultimate essence of the food we eat and drink? Brahmacharya! If this essence, brahmacharya disappears, then the foundation of the relative self to the pure Self becomes unstable and loose. And then the exact experience and attainment of the Self becomes very difficult. Therefore, brahmacharya is a critical spiritual practice. There is no end to bliss if there is Gnan on one side and brahmacharya on the other. Then it brings about an unbelievable change. It is because brahmacharya is the life force and the essence of the body.
What happens in the stomach to all that you eat and drink?
Questioner: It is converted into blood.
Dadashri: What happens to that blood?
Questioner: The blood is converted into semen.
Dadashri: Really! Do you understand what semen is? The blood is converted into semen and then what happens to that semen? Do they not talk about seven elements of the blood? From one of these elements bone is formed, from the second flesh is formed, and so on until the last of all to be formed is semen. Semen is the essence of the body. Just as clarified butter,ghee is the extract of milk, the essence of food is semen.
The essence of worldly life is moksha and the essence of the body is semen. All the things in the world are by nature draining down. Semen is the only one that will rise if you want to. Therefore the seeds of intent for the energy of the semen to rise higher towards spiritual and ultimately the Self should be sown.
Questioner: If I stay in this Gnan then would it rise up naturally on its own?
Dadashri: Yes, and this Gnan is such that if you remain in Gnan, you would not have any problems, but when ignorance arises, this disease of sexuality arises. You have to maintain awareness at that time. There is endless violence in sex. There is not as much violence in eating and drinking.
Scientists and all the other people of the world say that semen and ovum both drain down by nature. This is true, but it happens because of ignorance. In Gnan, they rise. This is the power and the energy of Gnan. Where there is Gnan, there is no sexual impulse.
Questioner: What happens when the energy of the Self (atmavirya) expresses?
Dadashri: The power of the Self increases a lot.
Questioner: Then what is the connection energy of the Self and awareness?
Dadashri: Awareness is considered a part of the energy of the Self. Absence of this energy of the Self means the presence of worldly knots and confusion, with resultant inability to solve worldly problems and puzzles. The person with this energy of the Self is never deluded or confused, no matter what obstacles come forth in the world. Now all these energies will be manifest in you.
Questioner: Do these energies arise through practice of brahmacharya?
Dadashri: Yes, only when brahmacharya is practiced properly and there has not been any slip-ups. It has so happened that all this knowledge has been given to you before you have learnt how to handle your self socially.
The energy of the Self will flow towards the interest and desire of the owner.
What kind of desire do these people have? In ice-cream, not in Atma.
When the transformation begins, you do not like this worldly life, you do not like the most beautiful things in this world. The intense focus now is entirely on the Soul. The direction of ‘like’ has changed.
And when energy of the body rises, you do not like anything about the soul.
Questioner: How does the energy of the Self arise?
Dadashri: If you’ve made a firm resolve of brahmacharya and if you follow my agna, then the energy will rise.
It is not in nature of semen to flow lower and dissipate. It happens to drain because of one’s lack of resolve. Once a firm decision is made, it changes its direction and thereafter, the aura and glow on the face will be apparent to all. If a practitioner of brahmacharya, does not have this aura and glow on the face then the brahmacharya is incomplete, and is yet to be attained.
Questioner: What signs are evident when the semen energy is rising?
Dadashri: Aura of brilliance and glow is apparent, power of mind increases, speech comes out first class in the one who is attaining the energy of brahmacharya. His speech is very sweet. His acts win you over. These are all the qualities. This takes a lot of time, it does not happen right away, just like that.
Questioner: Why do wet dreams happen?
Dadashri: If there is a tank of water, and the water starts dripping then would you not understand that there is an overflow occurring from the top? Wet dream is an overflow. When a tank overflows, should you have a natural outlet?
Therefore if you control what you eat, you would not have wet dreams. That is why these sadhus eat only once a day. They do not take anything else, such as tea.
Questioner: In this the evening meal is important. We should decrease the evening meal.
Dadashri: You do not need an evening meal at all. This Jain maharaj here only has one meal per day.
Even then there is no problem of loss of semen in the wet dream. The Lord has said this too. The force of the full tank will pop the cork below. Until brahmacharya takes hold, the semen will drain for sure. The rise of the semen begins with the vow of brahmacharya.
Proceed with great caution. There is no problem if the semen discharges in a wet dream on its own four times in a month, but you must not discharge it intentionally with masturbation. That is a mistake. It is like committing suicide. This is all a result of eating odd things. Who would give the freedom for this type of discharge of wet dreams? That master says that there should not even be a discharge. Then what, should you jump in a well and kill yourself?
Questioner: Is the discharge of semen part of the nature of the non-self (pudgal) or is it because there some leakage of ours, somewhere?
Dadashri: When you see someone, and when your vision becomes sexual, certain part of the semen becomes ‘exhausted’.
Questioner: That also happens with thoughts.
Dadashri: It becomes ‘exhausted’ through sexual thoughts as well, just as it becomes ‘exhausted’ through the sexual look. The stock, that has been ‘exhausted’, then discharges.
Questioner: But those who practice brahmacharya do not have those circumstances, they stay away from women, they do not keep pictures of women or calendars with pictures of women and yet their semen discharge occurs. Isn’t this a natural process?
Dadashri: Even then, he can see sex with in his mind. Secondly, if he eats too much and if too much semen is being produced from it, then it is possible for it to flow out.
Who does semen not leak out? A person whose semen becomes very strong, has become very thick, would not leak out. All these others are semen that has become thin.
Questioner: Can the flow of semen be stopped through power of the mind?
Dadashri: Power of mind the works a lot. It is only the power of mind that works. But it has to be in conjunction with Gnan. Power of mind would not stay on its own.
Questioner: Is the discharge of semen in dreams due to shortcomings from the past life?
Dadashri: All the shortcomings of the past go away in the state of dreams. I do not count what happens in the state of dreams as an offence. I count what happens in the state of awareness as an offence, awareness with open eyes. Even then, dreams would come. Therefore it is not worth disregarding them completely. One should be cautious there. After being in a state of dreams, in the morning, you need to do pratikraman that this should not happen again. If you follow our five Agnas, not a single sexual impulse will arise, ever.
If you want to practice brahmacharya then you need to be cautious. Once the semen energy starts rising, then its upward flow is automatic. So far this has not happened. Its nature is still one of discharge and draining down. It is only when the semen starts rising that everything raises. Then your speech would be wonderful; the spiritual insights from within would also have blossomed at a higher level. Once the semen has progressed to a higher level then there would not be any problems but until then a lot of discipline must be maintained regarding food intake. For the energy of the semen to rise higher do you not need to help this person who wants to attain full brahmacharya or would it just carry on by itself?
If brahmacharya is preserved thus of for a few years with right control, then the semen energy rises. After that one will retain the spiritual essence of any of these scriptures and books. Otherwise it is not easy to retain this essence. You will forget as soon as you read something.
Questioner: Are the various practices of yoga like deep breathing, pranayama etc., helpful in practicing brahmacharya?
Dadashri: It can be helpful if it is done with the intention of practicing brahmacharya. The intention should be one for practicing brahmacharya. If your intention were to improve your health then it would improve your health. Therefore, it depends on your intent. But do not get involved in all this, otherwise your Soul would be left behind.
Now the vow of brahmacharya has been taken. Something unususal happens, then one becomes uneasy and confused. One boy was uneasy so I asked him, ‘ Why are you so uneasy?’ He told me that he was shy of telling me something and so I told him to write it on a piece of paper and give to me. He said, ‘I have wet dreams two to three times a month’. I said to him, ‘Oh dear, why are you so scared of telling me just that? You do not intend for it to happen, do you?” He told me emphatically that it was not his intention. So I informed him that if his intentions are pure, then it is still considered brahmacharya. He wanted to know why it should happen. I asked him that it was just an emptying of what is being filled. Make sure that your intent does not get spoiled in this. Preserve this purity of intent. Do not believe that there is pleasure and happiness in this discharge. If any one here were confused and uneasy, I would clarify it right away.
If you get involved in a sexual impulse, then the stock of semen from within would exhaust and drop and go down. There it will accumulate and then get discharged very quickly. But if that thought that has arisen as a result of the sexual impulse is uprooted and thrown away as soon as it comes, then the semen will not exhaust and therefore will not go down. It will rise to a higher level in the spiritual realm. There is tremendous science happening within.
Questioner: As soon as the thought arises?
Dadashri: The moment the sexual thought arises. It may not come out but it has already separated inside for discharge. It is no more part of the body. It is ready to be discharged.
Questioner: If pratikraman is done once it has been separated for discharge, then is it still possible for it to rise higher?
Dadashri: What happens when you do pratikraman? It shows that you are detached from it and that you do not have anything to do with it what so ever.
The karma effects, brought forth from past life, are bound to discharge. The sexual thought will arise. Any encouragement given to it renders the semen virtually lifeless and then somehow or the other it will find its way out to be discharged. If the semen gets retained, and there is not a single thought of sex, then the energy of semen will rise. It expresses as the energy of words spoken. The one who practices brahmacharya gains everything. It manifests in his speech, in his intellect and in his understanding. In abrahmacharya the words does not take hold in others or blossom. They are useless. It is only when the energy of the semen rises that that the speech becomes of top quality and all the other energies express. All the veils of ignorance are destroyed.
Otherwise I have already called sex and sexuality a refuse. All that forms within is happening for the sole purpose of the toilet and excretion.
When does a sexual thought arise? It does so when you see someone, an attraction occurs and then the thought arises. Sometimes a sexual thought may occur without any attraction. Once a thought of sexual thought arises then mind immediately gets stirred up, and with this stirring the semen exhausts instantly, on the moment. That is why you should uproot the sexual thought before it sprouts into a tiny sapling. Everything else is acceptable, but this sapling of sex is very dangerous and difficult to destroy.
You must stay away from any touch that hurts your brahmacharya. You must avoid any company of the person that is harmful to you. That is why the authors of the scriptures had made so many arrangements for brahmacharya. Arrangements such as, you should not sit wherever a woman was sitting previously if you want to practice brahmacharya. You can sit and remain there, if you want to remain in the worldly life.
Questioner: Therefore, in exact brahmacharya not even a single sexual thought should arise.
Dadashri: Thoughts cannot be stopped from coming. The stock of past life stored within you will unfold and therefore the thoughts will come, but the answer to this is pratikraman. It would be wrong if one were to insist that thoughts must not arise.
Questioner: Doe that mean that we should reach that stage?
Dadashri: Yes, but the state where no sexual thoughts arise, comes from the spiritual development of many life times. Your progress by doing constant pratikramans will come to a level where there will be no sexual impulses, and that is the attained brahmacharya. Once pratikramans start, the end would come after five to ten lives. It may not necessarily end in one lifetime.
People are not aware of what happens when a sexual thought arises? They ask what harm is there in just a thought. They do not realize how a sexual thought that lays the seed of new karma and discharge that is the effect are connected. If a sexual thought does not arise spontaneously, then it would come by looking, externally.
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