Difficulties in practice
Question
Hello Dhananjay,
Various difficulties are arising. In the 3rd month of brahmacharya. No lapse in physical act, few lapses in thought (And corresponding 1-2 night emissions when indulgence in thought was not curbed).
The practice is becoming very hard. Every sight of a beautiful blonde woman causes the organ to become engorged. Mind cannot think abstractly about how the body is just a filthy piece of flesh.
How should a practitioner in my stage proceed? Mind cooperates 50-50 and temptation is strong.
On a related note, how does brahmacharya improve the following factors: health, IQ, and wealth? I saw the irate question of a poster above who accused you of "copy-paste" answers but I know your answers are similar because you are self-realized and have atma gnyana.
However, in my case, please provide me with some elaborate answers. I am a beginner on this sinuous path and don't know whether it is the right thing to do esp. when most around me indulge in various pleasures on a daily basis-I stay aloof of these. I am still only a masters student and I have to support my family, gain material wealth to stand on my own, etc. while pursuing the self-awareness.
Thus far, the only way I can keep myself happy on both fronts is to tell myself-"It is OK to pursue material wealth and intelligence-boosting entities/studies but not to indulge in lust".
Your friend,
Jacob
Answer
1. Regular & unbroken Sadhana (accompanied by the required physical and mental work), development of Vairagya (dispassion towards the world & objects, knowing them to be temporary and not ultimately conducive to well being), surrender to God (with the complete trust that he will take care of everything) and strict adherence to the 8-Anga-s of Yoga are as much as one is required to do from his side.
Then, past Prarabdha karma will slowly work out (in the course of this existence or coming existences), without the addition of further unwanted karma, eventually delivering the Jiva into liberation.
2. One should first learn to be patient, realizing that karma accrued over innumerable births cannot be erased in the course of a few months or years. The immature Ego expects the Sun & the Moon, further to a few months or years of practice. The law of karma cares a tuppence for the Ego and its oscillations. Till the Ego & its desires are not completely destroyed, the Lord does not grant union with himself. Divine law takes its own course.
Perform Sadhana (as suggested in past answers), surrender to the Lord and be patient. Let it take as long as it is required. That which has to come (be it health, wealth or other material possessions) will eventually come, without the least doubt, to the one who follows this 'Atma Sadhana' meticulously. To him, and to him alone, 'Atma Gnyana' and deliverance into the self is certain.
ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)