maried life

QUESTION: namaste dhananjay sir, i read ur answers and found them very practical. can you suggest daily routine and life style including diet ,asanas ,pranayamas and others to lead a restrained and spiritual life as my wife is religious and spiritual and so am i,if not exactly but nearly  celibate,we want to cultivate life style promoting our mutual benefits,thanks a lot

ANSWER: LIFESTYLE & DIET:  

1. Wake up at least by 5.00 A.M at 'Brahmimuhurtha' (earlier, the better), drink 2 glasses of water and have a bath immediately.
2. Drink a cup of milk and perform a few simple Asanas followed by Thribandha, Pranayama and meditation. Pray to the Lord to bestow the knowledge of self-realization.
3. Eat breakfast at the earliest, before 8.00-8.30 A.M followed by a banana or two.
4. Eat lunch in the afternoon at least by 1.30 P.M. Ideal food is wheat rotis/chapathis eaten with steamed Dhal and pulses. Consume some buttermilk and eat a banana after food. An hour before lunch, during lunch and an hour from lunch, do not drink water. Drink water one and half hours after lunch.
5. Repeat the practice of a few simple Asanas followed by Thribandha, Pranayama and meditation in the evening at sunset around 6.00 P.M. Pray to the Lord to bestow the knowledge of self-realization. Try to eat a salad comprising of pieces of 4 different fruits and 4 different raw vegetables (such as cucumber, beet roots, beans, carrots, cabbage) before sunset with 1 dal-roti if necessary. This should be dinner. Do not eat or drink anything after sunset.
6. Inculcate the reading and absorption of scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib or Quraan based on your personal religion. All religions when practiced right lead to self-realization. There is only one God and all religions lead to him alone.
7. Go to bed at least by 9.30 P.M. Pray to the Almighty for a few minutes before retiring to bed. The last thought before falling asleep must be that of the Almighty and nothing else.

This is the lifestyle and diet that I have personally been following. It is very beneficial to the spiritual aspirant in the practice of Brahmacharya.

Avoid all meat, eggs, highly spicy/highly salty food, alcohol, tobacco and preferably coffee and tea.
Eat fresh fruits, raw veggies, wheat rotis/chapathis, milk, butter and dairy products in moderate amounts. Never load the stomach. Stop eating before the stomach gets full.

Gradually reduce the frequency of sexual activity. When this is achieved, increase the periods of Brahmacharya longer to months, many months and then life long. True spiritual progresses starts only after completely giving up recreational sex. As long as man enjoys sexual pleasure, the gates of spirituality do not open. Sex is for procreation and not recreation. Always bear this in mind.

Further to one year of unbroken Brahmacharya in thought, word and deed and a strictly spiritual life, meditation becomes longer and deeper and the bliss - 'Ananda' of the Almighty Lord starts to trickle down. This will help further advancement leading to real spiritual progress.

For details on Pranayama, asanas and the techniques please go through the book written by Swami Sivananda, available at : http://www.dlshq.org/download/pranayama.htm

ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)

[an error occurred while processing this directive]---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: namaste sir, many many thanks for answering to my previous question and i will do my best to follow.i m really impressed by the prompt attention given, may God bless you for helping more people.
i want your opinion as to in present day world , what should be the limit of use of computers/laptops and television,even though they are part of our life but still they have the drawbacks.
also if we are living a spiritual/near celibate life, how to enjoy the life and be away from monotonous life as not many people will be with you and you have to be more or less alone.
present day world has degraded and not much of the food and water is pure, so is there need of any natural or herbal supplements .what about green tea in moderate amount.
thank you in advance for giving your valuable time

ANSWER: Those spiritual aspirants who want to progress seriously in the path of Brahmacharya and self-realization would do well to limit use of the computer, T.V, internet, newspaper and all other forms of media interaction to the basic minimum and under the strict limit of necessity. The mind is very vulnerable to the onslaught of senses during the initial stages of Brahmacharya and spending much time aimlessly on these mediums fires up unwanted thoughts and emotions and leads one astray. Hence exposure to these should be limited and under one's discretion. One should also reduce excessive talk and completely give up loose talk, gossiping, tale carrying and partying. Much energy and Ojas is lost through talk and this results in a mind that becomes prone to irritation further to the random thoughts that arise in the mind as a result of excessive talk. A successful Brahmachari maintains silence to the best possible extent and talks a few words where necessary and to the point.

Following such a routine will save much Pranic energy from getting lost and thereby helps in increasing Ojas. The mind becomes calm, serene, peaceful and eligible to enjoy the 'Ananda' (bliss) that accrues from meditation & Brahmacharya. Facial features become relaxed, knots in the forehead and eyebrows disappear and the composure of the Brahmachari becomes one of calmness and peace with a smiling and cheerful demeanor, decorated by the ornament called silence. This peace from within works as a cycle, making one more prone to frequent meditation and God-contemplation. It becomes easier to come to terms with the fact that this world and its events are unreal and only a part of the cosmic dream, while the only reality is the Almighty and we ourselves are an integral part of the Almighty.

The path of spirituality and Brahmacharya are lonely in terms of the world but full of joy and bliss in terms of the closeness one feels for God. As one progresses, the tendency and the need for contact with anything external such as people, situations, relationships, events and worldly happenings will gradually reduce. One feels a strong need to get back into Yogic activities such as God-contemplation, meditation, reading spiritual literature and discussing matters connected to spirituality as soon as one gets done with work in one's occupation. Married couples who have a common interest in the practice of a life based on spirituality & Brahmacharya will be able to offer excellent companionship to each other through being supportive and understanding. Discussions of experiences and matters related to such a life will be well received from both sides and make life meaningful and interesting.

It is not necessary to apply much intensity in such activities all of a sudden. These things happen gradually and very naturally when the body and mind whilst being purified by a life of Brahmacharya and Yoga automatically feel like associating themselves with virtue and dissociate themselves from things external and false. Man is ultimately the Atman (pure soul) and can get no happiness or joy higher than the bliss of the true self. All pleasures derived from contact of the senses with external objects through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch are temporary and impermanent. They have a beginning and an end and cannot bring lasting happiness. It is the bliss of the Atman alone that is beyond beginning or ending and the only source that can make man completely content and peaceful for eternity; and this bliss is tasted through efforts at self-realization through Yoga and Brahmacharya.

It is not necessary to cut off one's life all of a sudden from contact with the external world. Let that which has to happen take place naturally. If there is a tendency or urge to eat a particular kind of food, watch a movie or meet some people, let it be done judiciously and with alertness reminding oneself not to get carried over by the senses. For example, if a man has a craving for a particular dish, let him limit himself to eating it once a week. As Brahmacharya and spirituality progresses, these external urges and past tendencies will give up the aspirant. Rather than one giving them up, these objects will give up the practitioner! A man who is addicted to meat will realize upon progressing in true Brahmacharya that meat will shortly give him up, if he does not give up meat . The forces of purity, Godliness and cleansing which are working within him will not give him the mind to continue with meat eating beyond a certain limit and it will completely stop eventually. Similarly, a man addicted to watching movies starts feeling a sense of worthlessness and pain in doing the same upon progressing in Brahmacharya. While he earlier spent many hours a week watching movies, his mind now feels pain and revulsion at doing the same now and instead tells him not to bombard himself with all the sense stimulation that comes from such an indiscreet habit. He will automatically reduce upon the number of movies he watches and limits it to an occasional watch and that too if the content is clean and healthy.

One can indulge in playing sports and participate in hobbies, activities that are constructive and healthy to the body, mind and psyche. Anything constructive and not against the path of maintaining one's purity and equilibrium can be indulged in. As progress in spiritually furthers, one will naturally get drawn into longer periods of meditation and God-thought. This is natural and in the course of things.

Conserved and transmuted semen is the best supplement and medicine that one can ever give the body. No external supplement or tonic can equal the life giving and revitalizing power of semen. So a Brahmachari does not require any external supplement as long as he is eating a healthy and balanced vegetarian diet. Dry fruits are very beneficial in imparting valuable nutrients to the Yogi. Small quantities of unsalted dry fruits such as dates, raisins, almonds, walnuts and cashew eaten on a daily basis impart good health and remove deficiencies.

A Yogi should gradually endeavor to become independent of dependence on any particular kind of food, beverage or activity. There should not be the least dependence or temptation for any particular kind of food or activity, for all these are the non-self (Unatma) and not the self (Atman). But this cannot be achieved all of a sudden. It should be kept in mind and worked at slowly and gradually. Consumption of any form of tea or coffee, including green tea on a regular and daily basis leads to dependence and addiction to these drinks in the long term. Hence it would be recommendable to gradually work at lessening the quantity and frequency of the drink and slowly get free of the need.

ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: namaste sir and many many thanks for your elaborate answer, i m trying to grasp what you means and i m finding it better. i now have the courage to have conversation with you i the form of questions and answers.
actually what should be the time given for meditation/yoga etc. in morning and evening, what form of meditation you recommend and what are the good sources/places  of meditation and yogasanas etc. in india which you recommend naming few choices, which we can follow, after going through them .any good books and publication you recommend for a spiritual aspirant like me.i m 43, a open minded spiritual person and follow the good of all religion esp Sikh and Hindu, my wife is 40 , more devoted in Sikhism.what is the role of music in our life .i understand your ideals of solitude, but till we gradually  reach such stage we do find some recreation in TV programmes like discovery channel and animal planet and some news and sports programme, otherwise its difficult to motivate self, we need some motivation in our life and presently either the seniors are too busy or an ideal senior/guru is difficult to be found.
thank you sir for your valuable time.