Physical Aids in Practice of Brahmacharya - Swami Yatiswarananda
How to practice strict continence?
What are the rules to be observed?
First of all, make it a point never to give the enemy a frontal attack. There is an art of fighting the senses which must be learnt. Never be too violent. Sometimes without first creating the right mood, we want to overcome the senses by extreme violence. That is very dangerous & should never be attempted.
Sometimes, remaining in a lower mood, we try to control ourselves in a most violent manner without rising to a higher plane. Then, naturally, there come the most violent reactions, physical as well as mental, & our whole progress is retarded/stopped altogether. So, with an effort of the will, we should first raise the mind & create the higher mood & then with a little force everything is accomplished. Regarding this point, Brother Giles gives a fine advice :
Just think of the lever action, the action of a crowbar.
People try to employ various physical means to overcome the sex drive. Some of these have a limited effect but one should not depend on them too much.
Swami Brahmananda says :
🔅Don't accumulate more energy in your body than can be handled. If you find more vital energy rising, reduce food for a few days.
🔅There is a basic creative urge in all of us. If this is not sublimated & directed to higher channels, it tries to find expression in lower centres. Those beginners who find it impossible to think of God always, who cannot transmute all their energy into meditation, prayer & worship of the Lord, should employ themselves in some creative work. Along with this, studies & deep thinking are also helpful. Always keep the higher centres active.
🔅 Regulated breathing (not pranayam) is a great help in keeping the mind calm. When the mind is restless, all sorts of emotions & impulses crop up. Practise rhythmic breathing always. This will give you a sense of control over your entire body & will make your mind alert.
🔅One of the most important habits to be cultivated by all is cleanliness of body. Keep your body & clothes clean & pure. Bathing & washing should not be taken only as a ritual. Physical cleanliness must be associated with mental cleanliness. The most important point is to attain purity of mind. Patanjali says :
Commenting on the above sutra of Patanjali, Swami Vivekananda says :
Holy company is a great help in the observance of chastity. Contact with pure-hearted people and avoid the company of immoral people.
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How to practice strict continence?
What are the rules to be observed?
First of all, make it a point never to give the enemy a frontal attack. There is an art of fighting the senses which must be learnt. Never be too violent. Sometimes without first creating the right mood, we want to overcome the senses by extreme violence. That is very dangerous & should never be attempted.
Sometimes, remaining in a lower mood, we try to control ourselves in a most violent manner without rising to a higher plane. Then, naturally, there come the most violent reactions, physical as well as mental, & our whole progress is retarded/stopped altogether. So, with an effort of the will, we should first raise the mind & create the higher mood & then with a little force everything is accomplished. Regarding this point, Brother Giles gives a fine advice :
He who wishes to move a large stone or any other great weight & carry it to any other place must try to move it rather by ingenuity than by force. And so if we desire to overcome the vice of impurity and to acquire the virtue of chastity, we must set to work rather by way of humility & by a good discrete method of spiritual discipline, than by a rash and presumptuous use of penitential austerities.
Just think of the lever action, the action of a crowbar.
People try to employ various physical means to overcome the sex drive. Some of these have a limited effect but one should not depend on them too much.
Swami Brahmananda says :
There are certain rules which a brahmachari must observe. He must avoid exciting food, oversleeping, over-exercise, laziness, bad company & evil conversations.
🔅Don't accumulate more energy in your body than can be handled. If you find more vital energy rising, reduce food for a few days.
🔅There is a basic creative urge in all of us. If this is not sublimated & directed to higher channels, it tries to find expression in lower centres. Those beginners who find it impossible to think of God always, who cannot transmute all their energy into meditation, prayer & worship of the Lord, should employ themselves in some creative work. Along with this, studies & deep thinking are also helpful. Always keep the higher centres active.
🔅 Regulated breathing (not pranayam) is a great help in keeping the mind calm. When the mind is restless, all sorts of emotions & impulses crop up. Practise rhythmic breathing always. This will give you a sense of control over your entire body & will make your mind alert.
🔅One of the most important habits to be cultivated by all is cleanliness of body. Keep your body & clothes clean & pure. Bathing & washing should not be taken only as a ritual. Physical cleanliness must be associated with mental cleanliness. The most important point is to attain purity of mind. Patanjali says :
By the practice of purity there arises aversion to one's own body, & disgust for contact with other bodies.
Commenting on the above sutra of Patanjali, Swami Vivekananda says :
When there is real purification of the body, external & internal, there arises neglect of the body, & the idea of keeping it nice vanishes. A face which others call most beautiful will appear to the yogi as merely animal, if there is not intelligence behind it. What the world calls a very common face he regards as heavenly if the spirit shines behind it. This thirst after body is the great bane of human life. So the first sign of the establishment of purity is that you do not care to think you are a body. It is only when purity comes that we get rid of body idea.
Holy company is a great help in the observance of chastity. Contact with pure-hearted people and avoid the company of immoral people.
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