Q&A -Try The Vow of Brahmacharya

I keep warning you to pay attention to this but to take heed is not easy for you. Yet, by experimenting with brahmacharya, say for three to five days or for a whole week in a month one will feel wonderful. If one has practiced brahmacharya for a week in a month, then by the middle of the week he will experience tremendous bliss. The bliss of the Self will express. This bliss is beyond description.

Some people say that they cannot get rid of sexuality. I ask, why are you acting crazy? Why don’t you set some disciplined limit for yourself and then make sure that you stick to it. In this day and age, nothing can be achieved without discipline. Some flexibility is allowed.

Questioner: What does one do in a situation where a man wants to practice brahmacharya but his wife does not?

Dadashri: If she does not wish to, then try and make her understand.

Questioner: How should I make her understand?

Dadashri: You have to keep making her understand and gradually it will happen. It does not happen instantly. By continuous discussions and mutual understanding it will happen. Both of you will have to come to a meaningful compromise. You have to discuss and think about the harm of abrahmacharya and thoughts related to this.

You will have to get rid of sex if you want liberation. There are about a thousand mahatmas who take this yearlong vow of brahmacharya. ‘Grant us a yearlong vow of brahmacharya, Dada,’ they say. They come to know all the benefits within a year.

Abrahmacharya is indecision. Indecision is not related to the unfolding of karma.

I was shocked after talking to four to five mahatmas. I told them that this falsehood of sexuality would not do. This is the indecision. You will definitely have to get rid of it. Brahmacharya is needed first. You are really a brahmachari by way of being the Self, but you cannot be in abrahmacharya in worldly interactions. This is a clear conflict.

One who does not have any opinions about brahmacharya or abrahmacharya is considered to be in brahmacharya. To constantly remain the Self is my brahmacharya. That does not mean that I do not accept the external brahmacharya of thoughts, speech and acts. As you are living a married life, I have to say that there is no problem with abrahmacharya, but your opinion for abrahmacharya must not exist. Your opinion should always be for brahmacharya. Abrahmacharya for you is a file that needs to be settled with equanimity. You are not able to experience the bliss of the Self because you are still stuck with your old opinions about sexuality and abrahmacharya. Once these opinions leave, you will be able to experience the bliss of the Self. The veil of opinion for abrahmacharya obstructs your clear vision and bliss. The opinion must be exclusively that of, and for brahmacharya only. What is a vow? A vow is that which continues its experience effortlessly. When is the mahavrat of brahmacharya attained? It is the experience that there is not an iota of the thought of abrahmacharya, and no memory of it.

[10] Confession Avoids Dangers Of Breakage Of Vow

The Lord has said that the vow can only be broken if you break it yourself. How can someone else make you break it? Someone else cannot break it. If vow is broken, once it is taken, then the soul will also leave. Once you have taken the vow it should not be broken. If you do, you must admit and say that now your power and control is gone.

[11] Power of Conduct

The ideal conduct of worldly interactions means the conduct of the pudgal, the non-Self. This is visible through these eyes. When the other, the real ideal conduct, the total experience of the Self arises, one is considered to have become God. At the moment this, the Self is your darshan (vision), then it will be your Gnan (knowledge) but it will take time to manifest as your conduct, as the experience of the Self. Still, this real conduct has begun because this is Akram Vignan, but it would be difficult for you to understand this.

Questioner:   What more can we do for ideal worldy conduct?

Dadashri: Nothing. What else can you do for the worldly conduct? Staying in the Agnas of the Gnani is the ideal worldly conduct and if ever brahmacharya were added to this, it would be much better.  And then only it is considered the ideal worldly conduct with a bonus.

The only key to winning the world is if when the subject of sex does not become the object of sex. Sex exists. It is there everywhere. When no element of involvement in sex remains then the world has been won. The world can be transformed. Others will be transformed by seeing your sheel. Sheel means total purity in the world, combined with the absolute experience of the Self.  Otherwise no one will transform. On the contrary there would be an adverse effect. Nowadays where is sheel to be found?

All the twenty-four tirthankaras have talked about a need for a separate bed and a separate seat, because two prakrutis (people, non-Self) are never completely adjustable with each other. Therefore, they will keep ‘disadjusting’ (misadjusting), and hence perpetuation of the worldly life. That is why the Lord had discovered this concept of separate bed and separate seat.

Section Two

The Path of Brahmacharya With Awareness Of The Self

[1] Even A Sexual Impulse Is Dangerous

Even the Lord had fear of sexuality. The vitarags have never had any fear of anything, except of sexuality. What I mean by fear is that if a snake comes in then wouldn’t every person lift their feet up?

[2] The Dangers Of The Unsatisfied Appetite Of Sex

Those who are not satiated in their hunger for food, their chit will roam around food and when they see a restaurant they will get stuck there.  Is food the only vishaya, object of satisfaction? There are these five senses and there are so many objects of satisfaction through them. When you have not been satisfied with eating, you will be attracted to more food. Similarly if you are not satisfied in sexual looking, you will keep look around with all kinds of sexual cravings. When a man has not been satisfied by a woman and vice versa, their chit would be stuck in sexuality only. The Lord has called this moha, the illusion and the attachment. It gets stuck the moment you see what has not satisfied you. The chit gets stuck as soon as it sees a woman.

He sees, ‘this is a woman’. This is the disease of the man. If a man has this disease then he will see the woman, otherwise he will see only the Self in that person. To see, ‘This is a man’, is the disease of the woman. Moksha happens when this disease is eradicated. I am free from this disease now.  These thoughts never come to me.

A man and a woman must never touch each other. Therein lies tremendous danger. Until one has become Absolute, they should not touch. One atom of sexuality entering you has the potential of ruining many lives. I do not have a single atom of sexuality within me. Pratikraman should be done immediately, if even one atom gets corrupted.  Pratikraman prevents any sexual intent arising in the other person.

Ignorance of the Self, coupled with the present worldly knowledge, gives rise to attachment and attraction.  If you can visualize the entire life spectrum of this woman that you are attracted to, you will be free from the attachment and the attraction. If you visualize with understanding what she looked like in the womb, what she looked like when she was born, when she was a little baby, when she becomes very old, when paralysis happens, when she is about to be cremated, you do not need to be taught renunciation. People have lost this vision of their worldly reality by what they see today. This is maya, the illusion.

[3] Endless Claims From the Happiness of Vishaya

None of the objects of the four senses bother us and the fifth object, the object of touch, involves another living being. This person will lay a claim against you. Therefore the problem lies only in the sexual touch with a woman. This is called a living ‘file’. If you want to stop any further sexual interaction, she would say that it is not acceptable. She would say, ‘Then why did you marry me?’ Therefore, this living ‘file’ would make demands. How can you afford any demands? So you must not have any sexual touch with any living being.

Demands begin because no two minds can become one. Except for the sexual interaction and act all activities of the body involves only one mind. Therefore in all the rest of things done by a human being there are no claims or demands.

Questioner: Does one enjoy sex with attachment or with abhorrence?

Dadashri: With   attraction and attachment and later that attachment gives rise to dislike and abhorrence.

Questioner: As a result of this abhorrence that follows in sex, aren’t more karma bound?

Dadashri: It binds tremendous animosity and vengeance. In the absence of Gnan, even if the person does not like sex, he binds karma and if he likes it then also he binds karma. He would not bind any karma in the presence of Gnan.

Therefore, wherever and whichever ‘shop’ (person) your mind gets entangled in, the shuddhatma, pure Soul within that same ‘shop’ has the capacity to release you. Therefore you must ask the pure Soul within her to free you from the account and entaglement of sex and abrahmacharya. You would not be able to free yourself if you ask for this release elsewhere. Only the pure Soul within that person will able to free you from your sexual account.

Sexuality is born out of attraction and from that occurs repulsion. The seeds of revenge in the next life are planted when revulsion and repulsion follows attraction in sex. The world s on this  ‘foundation’ of revenge. There is no potential for revenge with the mangoes or potatoes.

Whatever happiness you have taken in sex, it is all borrowed happiness. It was a  loan to you. And a loan means that it has to be paid back. You will have no problems once it has been paid back.

[4] The Sexual Act Is Not A Discharge

There was a Maharaj, Jain teacher, who used to say a lot about sex in his spiritual talks but when the topic of greed came, he would not say a word. Some intelligent person wondered why he never talked about greed? He talks about everything else, including sex. He went to the Maharaj and without his knowledge he opened his small bundle. He saw that there was a gold coin in his book, so he took it and went away. When the Maharaj opened the bundle he discovered that the gold coin wasn’t there. He looked for coin but he could not find it. Next day Maharaj started talking about greed in his discourse that one must not be greedy.

So if you are involved in sexuality, then sexuality will start leaving you if you start talking about it, because you have started opposing sexuality in your mind. The mind’s vote on sex is different from yours. The mind realizes that you have become an adversary and so it’s vote will not carry any weight. But people do not say anything about sex because the deceit of sex, continuance in sex, exists within them.  Also it is also not easy to talk openly against sexuality.

Questioner: Some people think that there is no importance of brahmacharya whatsoever in Akram Vignan. They say that everything in Akram including sexuality is only a discharge.

Dadashri: This is not the meaning of Akram Vignan at all. Anyone who thinks like that has not understood ‘the path of Akram’ at all. If he has understood then I would not have the need to say anything about sex again. The path of Akram means that discharge is considered as discharge. But for these people sexuality does not remain as discharge. They still have severe temptations inside that render them supporting sexuality with all its attendant dangers vigorously. Their continuance in sexuality is because they do not oppose sexuality at all. Has anyone really understood discharge? Discharge is only discharge when one does not interfere in what is discharging.

[5] Ignorance Is The Root Cause Of Life After Life

The whole foundation of this world is the five vishayas. This is the enjoyment of the objects through the five senses. Those who are free from this are free.

Questioner: What is the fundamental difference between vishaya, which is enjoyed through the five senses and kashaya, which are anger, pride, attachment and greed?

Dadashri:  Kashaya is the cause for the next life and vishaya is the effect of the past life. Therefore there is a tremendous difference between the two.

Questioner: Could you explain that in detail please?

Dadashri: All the vishayas that are present now are the result of the past life. That is why I do not scold you that if you want moksha then go and stay by yourself; I do not keep pushing you away from your wife, do I? But I have seen through Gnan that vishaya is the result of past life. That is why I have told you to go home and go to sleep, deal peacefully with your files. I destroy the cause of your next life but I cannot destroy the results of your previous life. No one can destroy that. Even Lord Mahavir cannot destroy it. Lord Mahavir too had to remain in the worldly life for thirty years and had a child. The exact meaning of vishaya and kashaya is being unfolded here, but people would not know anything about this. Only Lord Mahavir knew what this means.

Questioner: It is because of the vishaya that the kashayas have arisen, right?

Dadashri: No. All vishayas are vishayas but kashayas arise due to ignorance of the Self during the unfolding of vishayas. If Gnan present, it would not give rise to any kashaya. From where did the kashaya arise? All the kashayas arise from vishaya. But it is not the fault of vishaya. It is the fault of ignorance of the Self.  This ignorance is the root cause of vishaya.

[6] The Self Is Beyond Sex

The nature of vishaya is different and the nature of the Self is different. The Self has never enjoyed any the vishayas of the five senses. And yet people normally say that my soul, self, enjoyed the sex. Would the Self ever enjoy anything? That is why Lord Krishna has said, ‘the vishayas are delving into vishayas’. This is difficult for people to understand. They will simply say, ‘I am the enjoyer’. If they say what Lord Krishna says that, ‘ the sex is happening in sex, and the Self has nothing to do with it, it is very subtle’, they will abuse this knowledge and become even more indiscriminate in sexual matters.

[7] The Science Of Attraction and Repulsion

This has all arisen from attraction. The whole world exists due to small and large attractions. God has no role in this. It is only due to attraction. The interaction between a man and a woman is also attraction. The attraction between a man and a woman is just like the attraction between a needle and a magnet. One is not attracted to all the women. Only if parmanus (atoms) were similar then attraction would occur with that woman. After the attraction occurs if the man decides that he does not want to be attracted, he will still be pulled towards her.

Questioner: Isn’t that an account of the past life?

Dadashri: If you think that as account then the whole world would be considered an account. But attraction occurs because there is an account of subatomic particles the two.  At the moment the attachment that arises is not really an attachment. If there is a needle and a magnet, and if the magnet is turned then the needle would start moving, although there is no life in the two. Yet, because of the quality of the magnet there is attraction between the two. Similarly, when there are suitable atoms in the body, attraction occurs with that person. There is a magnet in the other. There is an electric body in this. Just as the magnet attracts metal and not any other metals, the attraction has effects on the other person.

It is because of electricity that these atoms arise and are attracted. Just like the needle and the magnet, did anyone else get involved? Did we teach the needle to start jumping up and down in the vicinity of a magnet?

Therefore, this body is all a science. Everything is happening scientifically. Now, when attraction takes place, one would say, ‘ I am attracted’. Does the Self get attracted or attached? The Self is vitarag, eternally unattached. The Self is beyond attachment and  abhorrence. This is all an illusion and if this illusion leaves, there is nothing.

Questioner: Is there a need for pratikraman for attraction?

Dadashri: But of course! If attraction or repulsion occurs to this body then you have to tell Chandubhai, ‘Chandubhai, attraction is occurring therefore do pratikraman’, then the attraction would stop. Both, attraction and repulsion are the causes for wandering life after life.

[8] The Scientific Guide for Brahmacharya

This type of book has never happened in Hindustan. You would not find such a book in Hindustan. This is because those who attained brahmacharya in all its glory did not stay behind to tell others. And those who are not true brahmacharis have remained to talk about it but they have not written anything about it. If they do not attain full brahmacharya then how can they write? One cannot openly discuss the faults they themselves carry. The twenty-four tirthankaras, who had attained total brahmacharya are all gone.  Krupadudev has also talked about this a little.

 Only the people who have read our book on brahmacharya can practice brahmacharya. Otherwise do you think it is easy?