Brahmacharya

Hello there,

Good to know of your efforts at celibacy. Coming to your queries,

Q: How advanced does one have to be to be free from sexual arousal in the dream state? Also how long does it take to reach the state of a perfect Urdhvaretha and what is the standing of such a man of virtue in the cosmic cycle?
A: The events that unfold in a dream are due to existing desires in the sub-conscious mind. Hence dreams are nothing but the depiction of latent desires and urges in the deeper sub-conscious. Since the power of the intellect and discrimination are minimal in the dream state, the mind is unleashed and unbound to function as it pleases. Erections that occur in dreams accompanied by erotic thoughts are due to sexual arousal fueled by latent sexual desires, urges and tendencies present within oneself. The very same tendencies that are indulged in or with held while awake manifest in these erotic dreams. As and when the mind starts becoming more and more free of these urges and tendencies in the awake state, sexual dreams also start reducing in frequency and finally disappear into nothing. True Brahmacharya in thought, word and deed with the grace of god will eventually annul these dreams. The time taken is dependent on 2 important factors that determine freedom from these dreams/erections:

1. The ability and consistency in keeping the mind free from sexual thoughts, words and deeds while in the awake state.
2. Actions undertaken to wash away the past 'vaasanas' or tendencies stored in the 'Kaarana sharira' or the causal body. These can constitute cleansing and purification actions such as the 'Yama', 'Niyama', 'Praanayaama' of a life of Yoga.

Coming to your query 'Is Yamaraj the lord of death afraid of the perfect Urdhvaretha'? We first need to understand the concept of who 'Yamaraj' is. The term 'Yamaraj' refers to the title of an entity in the cosmic cycle who supervises and carries out the job of releasing mortals from their earthly and bodily existence through physical death and evaluates the merits and demerits accrued by these souls to determine their next existence. A perfect Urdhvareta is one who is non-semen producing. Having established himself in his native state of soul bliss the Urdhvaretha rests on the absolute rock of the one and only reality - The Brahman. The complete annihilation of relating oneself with sexual stimuli also follows and it becomes clear that such an Urdhvaretha is none other than the self-realized soul, for unless man has realized the supreme, the tendency for response to sense stimuli cannot be fully negated. Keeping in mind the purity, divinity and oneness that such a soul has with the Almighty Lord - Brahman, it follows naturally that all other entities working below the Brahman in the cosmic cycle also pay their respects to the Urdhvaretha and treat him with a high level of felicitation.

How many years or lifetimes this takes will differ from individual to individual depending on the evolutionary level that the soul has already achieved, the urge within to progress further and the efforts taken to reach such a state. But with honest and true Brahmacharya in thought, word and deed one can be rest assured that progress will eventually come and enlightenment will follow. Our job as Brahmacharis is to plod consistently towards purifying ourselves at all levels and strive to realize our self, following which all merits will come and cling by themselves at the appropriate time.

God bless and have a nice day :-)
Dhananjay