Most rishis of yesteryear had wives and children, some had multiple wives as well. Sex was not a taboo in Vedic India. That is how all of us have come into this world. It is a natural urge in the body. A woman would create the same reaction in any man, if he is a normal man. But then, just as it is natural for a human to have a sexual urge, it is also natural for the body to age and perish. The inherent nature of creation is destruction. The various indulgences — whether emotional or sexual are designed to age the body, to set in the process of destruction. And so the Vedic philosophy lay great emphasis on brahmacharya or celibacy for those seeking to break free from normal course of life.
In my early years of sadhna, I came across a Baba ji in the Himalayas. He used to live by himself and was into rigorous penance. As I spoke to him, he revealed that he used to keep away from women. I thought for a while and asked him, “but then what do you in case of a nocturnal discharge?” Hearing this Baba ji fumed, and told me off. My journey in the spiritual world has been practical and experiential rather than theory. I have personally experimented with various aspects of the science, and based on experience I have drawn conclusions. There is a natural mechanism of the body, where the semen starts collecting in the sacs. And when the sacs are full, it tends to discharge, even in absence of stimulation. So then what does one do? That Baba ji in Himalayas had no answer to this. After years of practicing brahmacharya (and not like that Baba ji by running away from women), I have come to conclude it is possible to control even a nocturnal fall.
The key is to master one’s thought and to keep focus on your saadhya. Suppressing or running away from desire is not the solution. If the thought is there within you, then even if you do not indulge, it is inconsequential. You have reached nowhere. It is important understand the implication of indulgence on your body and journey and consciously make a choice to not give in because you are aiming for a higher pleasure or desire. Whenever there comes a weak moment, whether in the presence or absence of the stimulus, one needs to remind oneself of what he has set out to achieve.
Interestingly the further you progress in your journey/sadhna, the tougher it gets. Because as you conserve your force, the potency of sukra multiplies. It translates as glow or radiance which acts as a magnet to the women. They can sense the force of the sukra, and without even realising are pulled towards you (because while loss of sutra translates as aging for the man, it is food for the woman, provided she absorbs it as energy and not for pleasure. If the woman uses it for pleasure, then that force is lost to creation). So as you progress, the attractions increase, and that is the test of how strongly you desire the finality. Remember evolution is in the form of a pyramid. There is plenty of space at the base, and very little space at the top. Just like a rocket requires thrust to break gravity, a sadhak needs to generate strength of desire to break past the attraction of physical creation. In trying times, you can do what I often tell my students to do. They have made a gallery of before and after pictures of people who are heavily into indulgence. The transition is scary to say the least. Whenever they find themselves in a weak moment, they take a look at those pictures. The thought disappears, just like that…
