Yoga Magazine-Bihar School of Yoga issue Oct 1982
A quotation from a Tamil verse tells us
"The ten flee in the face of hunger". When one is very hungry the ten
feelings of shame, creed, education, reasoning, charity, austerity, effort,
capacity to suffer, and passion go out of the window. This is the theme of this
particular Tamil verse. But I feel that passion or sexual attraction is more
overpowering than even hunger. When the stomach is half empty, this feeling can
still surface. In a poor country like India where people have little or no
education, and not enough food, this feeling alone is responsible for the
uncontrolled increase in population. Perhaps when a man is totally starved for
food, it is difficult for his passion to be astir.
Sexual attraction and sexual drive are natural
not only to man but to all living species. It is responsible for propagation.
Therefore, in every species, sexual passion has been provided by nature as a very
powerful drive. In salmon fish, and some insects, the male dies soon after
copulation. The male of these species enjoys sex only once in his life. In
spite of this, their species continue to multiply, which shows that the sexual
drive is very powerful indeed.
The five parts
responsible for sex drive
The brain is the source of this sexual drive.
The control of sexual activity depends on your brain monitoring capacity. It is
really dependent on a small part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is
about the size of one's thumbnail. Although it is so small, the hypothalamus
controls very important feelings and sensations. So far, research has shown
that the hypothalamus controls seven important feelings: thirst, hunger, sexual
passion, bodily heat and cold, anger and allied passions, body growth, etc.
Below the part of the hypothalamus controlling
the sexual drive, there is a link half an inch in length, which connects it to
the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is in the central part of the head. The
link that connects this part of the hypothalamus to the pituitary can be termed
the 'time clock mechanism'. This link has an important function similar to an
alarm clock. In this time clock mechanism, many different hormones circulate
between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. An increase in hormonal
activity here is responsible for increased sexual drive.
The
pituitary gland is linked through the bloodstream with the testicles or the
ovaries. The hypothalamus, time clock mechanism, pituitary gland,
testicles and ovaries are the five parts responsible for sexual drive. The
feelings aroused in the part of the hypothalamus responsible for passion, move
forcefully like a wave to the genital organs.
Role of the time clock
mechanism
All species that reproduce themselves have
glands and organs concerned with reproduction. Mankind has these same organs,
but there is a big difference between man and other living species. In animals,
sexual arousal takes place according to their life expectancy. Besides they do
not have the sexual drive at all times. It is seasonal. We call it heat in
animals. Take the rat for example, its life expectancy is about one year.
Therefore sexual passion is aroused when it is about 2 months old. The
elephant's life expectancy is 100 years. Therefore sexual arousal is
experienced very late. But in man sexual feelings are aroused at the time of
puberty and continue throughout life. Even at the age of 13 some males feel
sexually attracted. Increase in the hormones of the time clock mechanism, is
responsible for this.
The time clock mechanism is responsible for boys
and girls attaining puberty. It arouses feelings of sex at the appropriate age.
If this part is injured or if a tumour develops here increasing tension, sexual
instinct will be non-existent. The same thing applies to the part of the
hypothalamus concerned with sex. Such complaints, however, can be cured easily
these days through surgery.
The motivating factor
From the time of puberty, women are subject to
menstrual periods every month. Sexual drive increases from the beginning of
menses, for 18 days. Then it decreases a little until the end of the cycle and
increases again at the next menses. Even after menopause, sexual drive will be
there, but conception does not take place.
Needless to say, men have this sexual drive at
all times. When a man looks at a woman, he is sexually attracted. A certain
attachment and pleasure in living exists only on account of sexual attraction.
Nature has made the male and the female different. The female is usually more
alluring in order to attract the male. This is because in nature reproduction
is dependent on the female. In human beings only one ova is produced during the
monthly cycle. If it is not fertilised then the process has to wait until the
next month and so on. Nature has created this instinct so that reproduction
takes place continuously.
We speak of sexual attraction when a man and
woman fall in love. This same instinct is the motivating factor behind it, but
sex alone is not love. Love is bliss attained by selfless action, by sacrifice.
When we are happy to give up our lives for the sake of loved ones, then this
feeling may be compared to love. Maternal love, which expects nothing, but
which is always ready for sacrifice, is one of the highest forms of love known
to us. Greater than this is the love that treats all others as brothers and
sisters. This higher love is achieved only through constant self-sacrifice,
control of the senses, and austere living. The mind has to be brought under
control, so that it becomes one-pointed. Then the higher forms of love can
manifest.
The possibility of
transcendence
In order to gain control over the mind, we
should first learn to rise above the instincts. The energy lost through the
sexual act can be conserved and sublimated through yogic exercises and control
of the senses. This is explained in our sastras. The nervous system is toned up
and strengthened when the sexual instinct is brought under control. There are
many yogis who have thus sublimated their sexual energy and utilised it for
transformation of consciousness.
In
man the reproductive system has been created with the most wonderful links to
the brain. Relationships brought about through this instinct make for love
and attachment. On the worldly level, family ties and social obligations arise
from this basic instinct. On the spiritual level, however, this is the source
of kundalini shakti and when united with Shiva, the consciousness principle in
the brain, it brings about the flowering of all the higher human
potentialities.
When we try to analyse the wonders of nature it
is a truly endless process. To understand nature's secrets, we should live like
the yogis and rishis of ancient times. We should strengthen the mind through
yoga and meditation. It is a sadhana requiring many years of practice. There
are mahatmas who have transcended the lower mind and risen above the instincts
to a higher level of consciousness. Even in this modern age of hurry and haste,
it is still possible to fit some sadhana into the daily schedule. Regular
practice of yoga and meditation brings balance into our lives and helps us to
be moderate in everything. It is the means of transmuting man's awareness from
the instinctive level to the godhead.
Culture grows when we try to grow in awareness.
Discrimination which is natural to man, should be used to the highest purpose.
Then one's speech and action grow in culture too. With the growth of each
individual, the society becomes highly endowed with aspiring souls who are able
to live in the world fulfilling their duties and yet still attain the supreme
goal of spiritual illumination.
