anger and envy

Hello Bruce,

Trust you are doing fine. Coming to the topic on hand,

A 'Brahmachari' is a man whose chief aim is to ascend the ladder of eternal bliss and divinity by unveiling the layers of ignorance which have wrapped themselves around the soul and blocked its limitless light, energy, bliss, power and divinity. Just as a piece of gold covered with grit and grime regains all its innate splendor when cleansed and polished, the light of the soul when uncovered and let to shine through brightens the life of the darkest of beings and enables them to experience unexplainable bliss (Bliss or 'Ananda' is unipolar - It has no opposite unlike the bipolar ‘happiness’ which is limited by the opposite sadness/ pain)

Let's try and illustrate the answer to your question taking reference of the following condition:

At a particular place, there is a dark, dank, cold and filthy room (Ignorance and delusion) and many males and females are locked in this little room since birth. They know nothing of the outer world beyond the room's walls and look up to the torch lights they have in their hands as a source of heat and light. Many a time they look at this light and marvel at it. Sometimes they swish their hands in the small volume of polluted air within this chamber and exclaim how large the room is and how much space they have, for that is all they have ever known since birth. They erroneously assume the light emanating from the battery powered torches to be the best source of heat, light and brightness in their existence for they know not of anything more than darkness and delusion. And one fine day, these torches will run out of power due to constant use (the sensual man finally loses all, wasting his vitality) and one by one each sinks deeper into darkness, disease and illness and finally dies a miserable death never knowing the freshness of breeze blowing across a meadow, the beauty, splendor, grandeur, warmth and magnificence of the splendid light giver the Sun (soul) whose batteries are inexhaustible and whose effulgence can never be compared with anything else.

The celibate who is also in this room is however on a scientific mission to break out of this room within which he finds himself imprisoned. He has been informed about the warm, bright rays of an entity called the 'Sun' (the soul) which no heating seating system can ever match, which no log fire can ever compete with. He still doesn't have first hand experience of how exactly this 'Sun' appears or the warmth and heat he gives out. He doesn't yet know the expanse, virtual infinity, space and fresh air in the so called 'outside' world that he has been told about. He knows not what it is to see the Sun in all splendor lighting the entire world and making life possible on this planet Earth by being the source of all heat, light, energy and growth. But he has only been told that he should ignore and be indifferent to the activities and tendencies of the other male and female occupants in the room who constantly hanker after petty pleasures involving each other and start to quarrel and fight once these impermanent pleasures come to an end only seeking more. He has also been asked not to mix with them, lest he too gets mired in their nature of thought and action.

At the start of celibacy, he slowly starts to feel around the room trying to figure out its layout. He starts to realize its limited dimensions and boundaries (which the others have no clue about). After a few months of celibacy he comes across something called as a 'door' in one corner of the room which is hinged at one end and locked at the other. Further to a year of celibacy, he musters up the courage and might to start kicking and banging at the door. But task is anything but easy. The door is very thick and sturdy, besides he is constantly distracted and plagued by the activities of his roommates who are constantly engrossed with each other in their delirium. Sometimes he feels like giving up and re-uniting with his counterparts. Sometimes they call him, pull him and try to trick him back into their state of stupor. If he gives in and rejoins them, all is lost and he will get back to his earlier state of degeneration. The thought of a limitless outside world, the fresh breeze and the 'Sun' have set his mind running with curiosity, eagerness and zest. He doesn't yet know what all these things mean for he hasn't had first hand experience, but he feels the stirring of an innate urge to find out all about its beauty and get out of the present hellhole.

Further to a year of constant efforts at alienating himself from his roommates (celibacy) and their antics, he finds within himself a power which he didn't possess earlier. Now his kicks and bangs targeting the thick door (delusion) are stronger and something marvelous has started to happen! When he kicks very hard and the door yields at bit at the locked end, he sometimes sees a thin, bright sliver of light!!! It is something he has never experienced in his life filled in the dark dungeon. The sheer brightness, power and warmth of the trickling sunlight make him awestruck and mesmerized. Mind you, this light is visible only to him and not to the others deep in their stupor, unaware of their surroundings. He now starts to persevere in his goal with a never before energy and enthusiasm. He finds himself less tempted by the doings of his roommates and more intent at breaking free.....He is now fully awake and has just one goal, to set himself free and experience the infinite bliss outside!!!

Coming back to the question on hand, the 'Alpha males' or players are the roommates active in their delirious deeds totally 'asleep' to reality. The celibate has woken up and is on the path to set himself free. Need we say more? The apparent pleasures derived from sensuality are like the heat and light produced by the torches. They will all fizzle out one fine day. Once man feels the warmth and luster of Sunlight (soul bliss), who would ever want to go back to the filthy dungeon (sensual pleasures)? Which man who has felt the warmth and power of Sunlight would settle for torchlight?!!! But till one is entirely free from confinement of the senses, the effort has to be tremendous and persistent. Any dearth of effort will tempt man back toward his unfortunate roommates and their delusions! Just as a bird long caged hesitates to fly out when set free, man at the initial stages of a life of virtue wonders if such a life is worth the effort, for he has long known nothing else but the dreary dungeon called sensuality and has associated it with life and happiness.

Desire unfulfilled leads to anger. Anger leads to more desire as a form of solace and finally when both of these have burnt man, a new foe called 'envy' takes birth when man comes across others having what he doesn't and cherishes to have. As soon as envy is born, it brings along its cousins desire and anger back into the tally. It is a vicious cycle very, very hard to negate. If there is one way to succeed, it is through celibacy. Control over one's sexuality empowers man to control all other troublesome domains. He who can control the sexual urge and transmute it into constructive work and progress can achieve the impossible. There is nothing in the world beyond the reach of such a man. He becomes the real superman. But till 12 years of absolute celibacy are achieved one has to be extremely vigilant against downfall.

So yes, one has to always keep oneself apart from the erroneous concept that sexing is 'manly'. By indulging in a life of sex for pleasure, man actually loses his manliness! Let our 'Alpha male' brothers try indulging in a 2 hour workout at the gym further to a bout of sex, the results would be there for all to see and they would be anything from 'manly'!

Why do we see sensuality and dollops of sexuality in every advertisement and in the media right from the ads of an Educational University showing a female student clad in suggesting attire? Because 'Sex sells', nothing more, nothing less. By using an object of sensuality, the advertiser is able to guarantee attention to the product. Ensuring such material in an ad is guaranteed to draw attention even from non-university aspirants! By focusing on sensuality, the very essence of the product is infact lost. It’s the oldest trick of the conman. The people behind it want to make money by hook or crook and care a tuppence for the welfare of the masses. It is another thing how this pollutes and corrupts the impressionable minds of young people eager to experience life. It sends out a strong wrong signal that anything associated with sex is ‘cool’ and that the opposite is dated. While the few smart ones try and think this out, the majority falls for the bait and gets 'hooked'.

What does the thief do when he wants to rob a house guarded by a magnificent male dog? He takes a female dog along and all the greatness, power and watchfulness of the male dog derived by years of strenuous training go up into thin air, such a shame. At least the dog can be discounted as an animal without a high level of discrimination, but we humans are blessed with a high IQ, an awareness of right, wrong and discrimination. Not utilizing these amounts to the greatest injustice done to ourselves.

May the blessed god give the strength, wisdom and knowledge to all to keep sensuality at bay.

Trust this helps, keep the efforts at celibacy going
God bless and have a nice day :-)
Dhananjay