A devotee friend of my husband who would like to stay brahmachari has asked this and we are looking for an answer.
By researching modern day yoga sites, one mostly finds advice on how to increase one's appetite, sleep and sexual desire by the yoga practice!
As devotees, we know that the mystic yoga is meant for fully controlling one's bodily and mental functions to be able to fix one's mind on Lord Vishnu. By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, we are already trying to fix our mind on Lord Vishnu from the very beginning. But keeping this goal in mind, devotees may still use certain mystic yoga methods to help their spiritual practice.
So please share if you have some knowledge and/or experience in this matter:
Which yoga asanas and/or pranayama practice help to diminish the activity of the genitals and ultimately come to the point of the semen flowing upwards to the brain (urdhva-retah), as described in the Srimad Bhagavatam by the examples of great sages?
Thank you for any valuable information or even hints.
Replies
Dear Krsna prabhu, Hare Krsna.
All my comments have been for the devotees headed by the mataji who put this question.
She and others apparently assume that pure devotees do this hatha yoga asanas .
Well some may say otherwise but my Guru did not allow it.
SPL 47 part 2
While walking to a meadow, they came upon a man standing on his head.
"Is this our man?" Prabhupäda asked.
The devotees laughed and replied, "No, yoga."
"He wants to be immortal," said Rämesvara.
"No," said Prabhupäda. "This keeps them healthy."
Tamäla Krsna: "It's good for the body?"
Prabhupäda: "Yes, sirsäsana it is called, sitting on the head. sirsäsana, padmäsana, yogäsana-there are so many äsanas."
Tamäla Krsna: "We don't practice those."
"Yes, we have no time from sleeping," said Prabhupäda sarcastically.
The devotees laughed at his cutting remark.
"Otherwise," Prabhupäda continued, "this is not bad. This is not bad. It keeps good health, this yoga-äsana."
Hearing Prabhupäda's surprising praise of hatha yoga, a devotee asked the inevitable- "So if we have time, can we do that?"
By now they had finished their walk and had arrived back at the cars.
Srila Prabhupäda chuckled, as if aware that he was being baited with a controversial question.
"Hare Krsna," he said.
On getting into the car, he added, "Not required."
Dear devotees Hare Krsna. There is already transcendental austerity transcendental knowledge and thus detachment from all material activities in bhakti yoga.
To think that bhakti is devoid of these is a misconception created by mental speculation.
All serious devotees follow the regulative principals and avoid all bad association both physically , emotionally and mentally.
All initiates vow to do this.
If a person doing sadhana claims they have some problem with sex and remaining celibate that is because they are not yet fixed up in pure bhakti.
They require more purification by proper association and training.
Pure bhakti is full of transcendental bliss and knowledge that gives complete detachment.
This claim/doubt that sudha bhakti is not capable of removing all the desire to act in passion is false and misleading.
It simply means that this kanistha devotee does not know of or has ever attained the platform of bhakti yoga under the guidance of an expert spiritual master.
Therefore the fault is with that devotee not with bhakti yoga.
But if they continue to strive for pure bhakti under proper guidance they will soon reach the transcendental position. brahma bhuta stage.
One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.
But if their faith is weak they will be distracted from the path of pure bhakti and take up some other activities as mentioned here.
Our means is pure bhakti and the result will be prema bhakti.
This subject is fully explained in our book Nectar of devotion.
There you will find all vedic evidences compiled to prove that pure bhakti devoid of all karma , jnana and yoga is the topmost yoga system and will remove all material desires at every stage.
Pure bhakti completely dissolves the false ego and there is absolutely no material tinge left.
All acaryas in our line coming from Lord Chaitanya advise us to fully take shelter of the Holy Name of Krsna and always keep association with the pure devotees who are free of all material desires.
In such association one will hear about the Lord from the lips of such pure devotees and love for Krsna, this pure bhakti can awaken in the heart.
In the association of they who mix other practices with bhakti claiming that is superior to bhakti alone that prema will never develop.
Only by the mercy of the unalloyed devotees will we hear about and practice pure bhakti.
Then we can surrender to Krsna.
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.
Dear Madhavi Ji
Hare Krishna
Yes it is an amazing condition that can be well understood by the contents of the following links:
http://vedabase.net/sb/9/19/17/en1
One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one's own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though one is very advanced in knowledge, he may be attracted by sex.
It did not even spare Yudishthara.
Following is Brahma Jis situation:
http://vedabase.net/sb/3/12/28/
O Vidura, we have heard that Brahmā had a daughter named Vāk who was born from his body and who attracted his mind toward sex, although she was not sexually inclined towards him.
It is clear that this lust is being driven with a vengeance in this and millions of other "maithunyagaras" or as The Lord modestly puts "dukhalaya". http://vedabase.net/bg/3/39/en
It is also said that we Jivas who emanate at the Tatastha are indolent, ignorant and incapable of discrimination as a capacity and captured by maya.
"Ksipami" Dear Lord says http://vedabase.net/bg/16/19/ .
Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.
Has our inherent defect of indolence, ignorance, atomic size and proximity to maya (Jaiva Dharma) been misunderstood as envy and mischief? And after being captured by maya perennially drifting through the resonated repercussions of the ""deemed"" primary sin which is popularly termed as forgetfulness of our eternal servitor-ship unto Dear Lord.
In the mundane product groups all that is manufactured is covered under warranty and post warranty maintenance contract. Products that have inherent defects are mass pulled back.
In our case it appears that there is gross indifference.
Something needs to be done to extend warranty of the Jiva Sakti emanation to The Dear Lord Himself since He is the actual ""Tolerater"" http://vedabase.net/sb/5/25/6/en
Haribol
Warm Regards
Hare Krsna dear devotees,
It is very pleasing to see your faith in the practice of unalloyed devotion to the Lord.
To have complete faith in the practice of pure bhakti giving up all other processes is called shradha, faith.
Such devotees never mix any karma , jnana or yoga with bhakti. ie mishra bhakti.
If you are having problems with sex desire you need not get married.
Marriage may in fact increase the problems in certain students.
Some devotees are just more KC in the grhasta ashram and some are better in the brahmacari ashram.
Being celibate is there in both ashrams. It is only that in the grhasta ashram there is association with husband/wife.
It is not correct to say that a brahmacari must be a perfect celibate and nothing else.
Niether is it that the grhastas are all just having a license for sense gratification.
The married couple may be more KC in marriage than in single life.
In all circumstances it is best to work under the personal guidance of the expert self realized spiritual master in love with God who can gradually bring the students out of this entanglement of material attachments which are present in all ashrams.
Only by experiencing a higher taste can one become fixed in transcendental KC.
This may take some time even with personal guidance.
But the onus of control of the senses and the mind of the student is now on the Guru.
If you surrender to such a bonafide sadhu you will be cured very soon but if you choose to not accept such personal / confidential help from the genuine sadhu then it will take so much more struggle and time.
you may even fail and go away.
You may question at this time where do I find such a sadhu guru who is such a goswami and willing to personally help me?
The answer is that Krsna who is in your heart knows what you need and what you are crying for.
As soon as you want to achieve and only achieve unalloyed love of God He will personally come before you as that self realized spiritual master to bestow His mercy.
By that mercy you will become free.
And then maya will release you.
This maya is so powerful only Krsna can release you from it.
So it is Krsna's will that you have so much lusty desire because you will not surrender.
And why won't I surrender?
Because I have no love for Krsna
.I have developed love (lust) for my own bodily pleasures, sex.
So by the association of materialistic sense gratifiers addicted to sex life I remain in bondage and by association of the genuine sadhu gurus in love with Krsna I get free.
Hare Krishna Mata Ji
This is needing to be addressed under comprehensive Devotional Service unto the Divine Lotus Feet of Bhagavan Sriman Narayana who chased after the fallen souls http://vedabase.net/sb/11/5/34/ and is pondering as to how to deliver the material worlds.
It may also be humbly and kindly submitted unto the Divine Lotus Feet of Bhagavan Ji Lord Sankarshana http://vedabase.net/sb/5/25/6/en who does not like the way the conditioned Jivas are being driven under the thralldom of illusion though the material energy is working as per His plans. http://vedabase.net/sb/5/25/summary/en
Haribol
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you all for your kind answers.
Yes, it is absolutely true that it is not possible to become free of lust in any other way than by developing pure devotional service, by the mercy of devotees.
It is true that no other yoga is effective in this age without the chanting of the Holy Names.
Devotees do not really need to apply some extreme yoga practices to control their bodily functions.
Sattvic, regulated lifestyle will help to keep lust away to a large extent.
I know several devotees who got too much into yoga and deviated from devotional service.
But as far as I know the devotee who asked this question is very serious about his devotional service, japa, Deity worship, temple service, he is attending the temple programs, doing sankirtan.
So the context is to find something that would just assist to subdue whatever remaining lust while seriously engaged in those devotional practices. For example, we chant our japa for about 2 hours every day, and while chanting we may use some sitting posture that would help our focus on the holy name. Some devotees do puja for Deities, also sitting down for an hour or two. Are there some postures to help to focus? Because while worshipping the Deity we do the Manasa-puja, meditating on the Holy Dhama, the Lord’s form, then worshiping the Lord within our mind before we worship the Deity physically. This meditation is supposed to ultimately come to the equivalent of Dhyana and Samadhi stages of the astanga yoga. Of course, it develops by the mercy of the Lord, but some things might help.
Just as if we take a cool bath early in the morning, it will not give us love for Krishna on its own, but it helps to stay healthy and in the mode of goodness and then we can better focus on our devotional practices.
Thank you all for the information you have already given.
Your humble servant,
Mldd
Hare Krishna dear Devotees,
please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Even Yudhishthira Maharaja who was in Krishna's Lilas used to feel lust for his youthful mother so what to speak of us???
Still we are in this material body full purification is not possible.
So Maharaja told that he just tolerates.
So we have to do.
Continuous fight...
About asanas Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that one should sit straight, look to the tip of the nose...so we can do this while chanting.
Also if mind is fixed that i am not this body, i am not male nor female then where is worry?
Also one can sleep in hard floor that will decrease lust.
Concerning this there was one girl who used to worship Lord Jesus.
She used to stay at the monastery as a brahmacharini. But once one boy felt lusty toward her and she felt it that night she slept on the hard floor when her friend asked why she was doing that she told that it will reduce lust.
So fasting, austerities, also getting knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam will beat lust into dust.
Also sometimes i practice to meditate on how material body is getting old, with all wrinkles and dies...so in this way how to feel lust for such like body?
Your servant,
Hare Krishna,
Dear mataji, can you give scriptural proof about what you written above concerning Yudhishthira Maharaja and lust?
i am very Surprised, i have never heard about this concerning Yudhishthira Maharaja.
Hare Krishna dear Devotees, please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Answers are already given but still wanted to add some points from the books which i read.
What His Grace Jagadatma Prabhu told is very true. Also His Holiness Radhanath Swami said: When you surrender that's where you get strength from.
So doing other yogas than bhakti is being depended on our own powers but when a child has very powerful and rich father then why he should go to other bosses and work hard under them? So other yogas seem like that.
Sadhana Bhakti which Prabhupada put to ISKCON Temples is the perfect way of controlling mind, senses and intelligence so that there is no TIME FOR LUST.
Yes, we should engage ourselves in such a way that we won't have time for lust.
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But still if Devotee resides alone far away from sincere Devotees then i understand his or her position. So that time one need to use other methods also. Because staying with materialistic people will increase our lusty desires also.
So one can do Surya Namaskar. Very helpful also in decreasing desire for over eating.
In the reality if we control our tongue by eating only as much as it is required and only Krishna Prasadam then lust can be controlled easily.
And also Nirjal fasting on Ekadashis decreases lust.
Also yogis recommend to eat daily 9 seeds of black pepper. It dries the body.
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But the best way is to engage ourselves with full time seva IN THE ASSOCIATION OF DEVOTEES.
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or else if lust is too much then one should be honest and accept the responsibility of family life.
Your servant,
Dear devotees,
Hare Krishna !
No doubt that Bhakti and association of pure Vaishnavas is a very effective means of reducing lust. But lust is so powerful that even though one remains in the association of devotees and performs Bhakti-yoga, the goal of a brahmachari to become an urdhvareta (i.e to hold and raise the semen upwards) remains ever elusive. A brahmachari can be called as a true brahmachari (celibate) only when he remains an urdhvareta. If this is not the case, he can not be called a true brahmachari. A brahmachari should never run away by seeing the difficult process to hold and raise the semen upwards. Making use of the Yogic postures to control the lust is not like surrendering to a deity other than Krishna. In fact, this instrument can be used to please Krishna.
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