On Brahmacharya
You underestimate the power of Harinama, therefore you doubt. Have your doubts dispelled. This is a confidential proclamation, yet most who struggle will not take it up. Analyze things that trigger sexual acts/behavior and then make arrangements that will eliminate the triggering. Onanism results in terrible physical and emotional consequences. To say it is physically healthy to masturbate is plain ignorant. To regularly masturbate, even if it is once in a long while, does not make the habit go away. It rather creates and fortifies the habit ! Even to masturbate once in a while is a break, and you cannot get higher consciousness or even lower samadhi, so the goal is to break free totally, it is a hard but worthwhile task. If we do not relate to sex in the right, natural manner (procreation), it will cause havoc, individually and collectively. Wherever you go, you will see sex. According to the Vedic teachings, the purpose of sex is procreation. So if you are not going to procreate and have children, do not have sex. That means that one has two options : to brahmacari or marry.
People might say “Whenever you see a child, you are seeing a product of sex.” But even in Bhagavad-Gita, it is said : “They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is a product of sex desire and has no cause other than lust… They conclude that as a child is simply the result of sexual intercourse between man and woman, this world is born without any soul.” (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 16.8). There is no sex in the spiritual world : “Practically speaking, there is no sex life in the spiritual world” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.17.12). You need to learn to see it as an act of procreation rather than a means to pleasure. It does not lead to pleasure, it leads to material bondage and pain. This is how you need to see it. Otherwise you are in illusion. Brahmacaries, of course, do not procreate.
Most individuals are reinforcing the enjoyment mood when talking about sex. It is preposterous to say that one may masturbate once in a while to relieve stress. Firstly, to think that it relieves stress is a grand illusion, and secondly, to say that the uncompromising words of the Bhagavatam and the Acaryas will not stand these days, over scientific research and ‘facts’, both of which are concoctions of the mind, is blatantly ludicrous. People justify their illiteracy saying that masturbating once in a while will not make one less spiritually advanced, and declares it as truth which must be wholeheartedly admitted and accepted. Persons in the history of ISKCON have tried to water down the teachings to attract masses. However, they earned some trivial name and fame, losing it all to grievous fall downs, rejection by the Sampradaya, and ultimately, spiritual devastation. Only a fool speaks to minimize timeless truth. Srila Prabhupada was not a fool in calling sense gratifiers dogs and hogs that eat stool. Intelligent people accept and reform, while others rant away and rationalize nonsensically.
Of the four basic regulations of freedom, abstinence from sex is the toughest, and will take the maximum effort and time to get rid of. Such spontaneous bhajana can come only from serious sadhana, as you have performed. Now your mind has deep scars from voluntary, compulsive and repetitive acts of self sabotage. For you to reverse this will take nothing less than resolute determination. Firstly, one must not feel more guilty than required. We understand that everyone and everything in the material world is covered with some fault. Do not let others make you feel guilty, and most importantly, do not make yourself feel guilty. This is because guilt demands punishment, and you may unconsciously get into a syndrome of guilt and punishment, thus sabotaging yourself. So, begin by self forgiveness. Be humble and accept that you are a conditioned soul who has threatening addictions. Do what you can, and the results will be tantamount. Satisfying one’s senses is ‘kama’ and satisfying Krisna’s senses is ‘prema’.
Brahmacarya is not a difficult practice. We must simply learn not to give it more attention than it deserves. If you keep thinking of celibacy, your mind will be saturated with sex. Just engage yourself 24 hours in Harinama and your seva. Divert your attention away from the mundane. Exhaust your energies in devotional service so that you have no energy left for sense gratification. When you feel sexually excited, a profusion of blood will flow down to your pelvis. Close your eyes immediately and focus your energies between the eyebrows, simultaneously chanting Harinama. Since you are the soul pervading the body, you have control over the organs. Withdraw your consciousness from the genital and focus it between the eyebrows; your genital will fall limp. Do this regularly, and be sure to never run back to your old habits. Running back to old patterns is likened to a dog that runs back to its own vomit.
