SELF REALIZATION AND SELF INDULGENCE

Articles In This Section:

· YOGIS AND SEX

· SELF REALIZATION AND SELF INDULGENCE

· A GOOD MARRIAGE

· DIFFERENT YOGA POSITIONS

· PERFECTION OF SPIRIT

However, Self-realization may not be equated with self-indulgence. Therefore Yoga teaches that much of our sex drive must also be sublimated, that is, channeled into other life drives, creative or otherwise useful and always constructive. In this Yoga is not too different from the Freudian theory which claims that all man's urges, including the life urge itself, are based in the libido. The very symbol of Kundalini, remember, is the serpent; and the serpent is one of the basic and universal symbols of male sexuality, not only in Freudian language but throughout mythology and folklore everywhere. Thus in Genesis, the serpent enters the Garden of Eden and prevails upon Eve to taste of the fruit of the Tree of Life so that she might have knowledge of good and evil. This, according to some authorities, symbolizes sex and the creative power wrongly used. It has also been pointed out that a close parallel exists between the Genesis legend and the sacred Hindu writings relating to Kundalini, for that too is generally described as "the slumbering serpent." Furthermore, when this serpent is awakened and used grossly merely to satisfy sheer animal desire—when it is directed downward to the lower physical centers—it brings knowledge of evil; directed upward toward the heart and head, it brings knowledge of good.

The Yogis themselves have learned how to transmute sex energy into psychic channels. Thus it is never either actually suppressed or dissipated but rather transmuted. Sometimes it is drawn to the solar plexus for utilizing in healthful physical exercise. Sometimes it is sent to the brain and toward the spirit. To the advanced Yogi it then brings poise, harmony, freedom from desire, lasting serenity, and finally a merging with the Universal Consciousness. To us average individuals, control over this basic inner force may well mean a happier personal life.

The man and woman doesn't exist whose personal life is not closely related to his sex life, be this good, indifferent or bad. The well-adjusted, well-functioning and sexually potent individual dreams of perpetuating this state of affairs indefinitely. The ineffectual man, the frigid woman, even if they may not realize it themselves, wish helplessly for a solution to their special problems, a solution that would bring them liberation.

Yoga offers many such solutions. In the first place, a number of the Yoga exercises help sublimate a restless sex urge while others awaken a sluggish body. Restlessness becomes positive, creative energy which may then be properly utilized instead of merely bringing trouble. Conversely, lack of interest in one's mate—and sometimes the free-floating hostility arising out of such feelings—slowly gives way to a warmer, more giving attitude.