Saivite Virtue PDF

CHAPTER ONE
BRAHMACHARIYA
Page 2 MONDAY Lesson 1
Transmutation: Energy Transformed

Brahmachariya is transmutation—the changing of a grosser form or force into a finer one, and
can be likened to the boiling of water into steam to give a greater power. As the fluids are reab-
sorbed by the bloodstream, the actinic force of them feeds each of the seven chakras in turn.
Transmutation of the sacred fluids does not mean to suppress, repress or inhibit.
Just lift your arm. It took energy to lift it. If you were tired, it took even more energy than
usual. This energy does not come from a power plant outside you. It comes from within you,
of course. Your stamina, the actinic glow in your eyes, the radiance of your personality—these
are all manifestations of energy, of your creative life force. And so are the male and female
reproductive fluids. They comprise passive and aggressive forces drawn from the ida and the
pingala currents within the soul body. They are sparked with pure spiritual force from the
door of Brahm, the sahasrara chakra. When correctly channeled, the subtler forms of this cre-
ative energy are the essence of artistic, intellectual and spiritual expression.
Those who practice transmutation awaken many latent talents from within. It
becomes second nature to create and express, being in tune with the essence of
creative energy.
GURUDEVA’S “RAJA YOGA”
A GOAL AND A PRACTICE

The goal of perfect brahmachariya (literally “Godly conduct”) is the continual re-channeling
of sexual desire. This is also the practice, for one does not suddenly reach a point where desire
goes away. Desire is life. Desire can be directed according to the personal will. Living life
according to basic spiritual principles is your sadhana. Through sadhana you can gain mastery
over all the forces of your mind and body.
As man leaves his instinctive-intellectual nature and unfolds spiritually, the

forces of that nature must be brought under his conscious control.
RAJA YOGA
REVIEW
1. The successful practice of brahmachariya creates a deva-like person.
2. Desire is life. It can be channeled according to choice.
3. Brahmachariya is essential to spiritual culture.
Lesson 2 TUESDAY Page 3
Learn While You Sleep

We hope that you have been able to set aside a half-hour, or at least fifteen minutes a day, for
your study of these lessons. If not, don’t be discouraged. Keep trying. If nothing more, please
try to read a little from your daily lesson each night before you go to sleep. These holy teach-
ings will then draw you naturally into the more spiritual areas of the Devaloka when you are
asleep. You are not alone in your study and desire for spiritual unfoldment. Many inner-plane
people are there to help you as you sleep.
It is known by all mystically minded people that “As we think, so we become.” Thinking of the
great Mahadevas and Deities of high evolution stimulates our own evolution. Our spiritual
unfoldment is hastened.
INNER-PLANE STUDY
Each night you are taught many wonderful things on the inner plane during sleep. You may
not realize this or even remember what you have learned upon awakening. This is because the
astral brain functions at a much higher rate of vibration than the physical brain. Most nights
you probably spend several hours learning from gurus and guides in Saivite schools within the
spiritual areas of the Devaloka, the astral world. Sometimes dozens, even hundreds, of devo-
tees with similar interests gather together to learn. They are all in their astral bodies, on the
astral plane, while their physical bodies are asleep. When one is firm in the practice of brah-
machariya, it is possible to remain for long periods of time in inner plane schools and absorb
much more of the teaching being given there. Those who are not strong in brahmachariya are
often seen appearing and then disappearing from among the group as they are drawn back to
their physical bodies by emotions and desires.
Remember, your own soul knows the reasons why you were born in this life. It knows what you
need to accomplish in this birth. As a soul you know what obstacles and challenges you need to
face and overcome to grow stronger and conquer past karmic patterns through fulfilling your
chosen dharma. These and other matters are examined by you and your teachers in the Deval-
oka schools while your physical body sleeps. The more fully established you are in bra-
machariya, the more religious you become and the more able to face the world with a positive
mental attitude.
Review
1. Read from your lesson before sleep and attend inner-plane schools.
2. Your soul knows the challenges you need to meet in this life.
Page 4 WEDNESDAY Lesson 3
The Guru-Sishiya Relationship

Before books were invented, the traditional way of conveying information was through the
spoken word. This is called sampradaya. Sampradaya, verbal teaching, was the method that all
Sat Gurus used. A Sat Guru can only give his sishiya as much as he can hold in his mind at any
one time. If the sishiya comes with an empty cup, the cup is filled by the guru. But if the sishiya
comes with a cup that is already full, nothing more can be added by the guru.
Many Sat Gurus work with their devotees in unseen ways. They have the ability to tune into
the vibration of a devotee anywhere his physical body might be on the planet, feel how he is
feeling and send blessings of protection and guidance. The guru-sishiya system of training is
personal and direct. Much is unspoken between them, so close is the mental attunement. The
traditional practice of brahmachariya helps to stabilize this relationship.
An advanced sishiya is one whose intuition is in absolute harmony with that of his Sat Guru.
This harmony does not occur in the beginning stages, however, when the devotee is probing
the subject matter of the guru’s teachings for answers. Only after he has conquered the fluctu-
ating patterns of the thinking mind does an inner flow of harmony begin to become apparent
to both guru and sishiya.
The sishiya is expected to cultivate his inner life as well as his outer life. The more sincere and
consistent he is with his inner work and his inner friends—God, Gods and guru—the more
safe and secure and blessed he will be. Your relationship with your guru is growing stronger
even now as you come to better know yourself and proceed in your study of these daily lessons.
Blessed are the worshipful devotees,

for theirs are the refreshing Feet of the Lord.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
REVIEW
1. Sat Gurus help their sishiya in unseen ways.
2. Cultivate your relationship with your guru. Be a good sishiya.
3. Cultivate your relationship with God and the Gods.
Lesson 4 THURSDAY Page 5
Making a Personal Vow

To best observe brahmachariya, a vrata (vow) must be taken. When you feel that you have
understood brahmachariya and are ready, you may take your brahmachariya vrata. This can be
done as a simple ceremony and vow-giving before parents, elders, or a temple priest. In your
vow, specify its duration, whether you are taking it until marriage, for one year or for two, or
for some other length of time. If your vrata expires, you may renew it again through another
formal vow-giving.
The fact that you have taken a vrata and are now a brahmachari or brahmacharini should be
made public knowledge and not kept a secret. Then everyone will understand and respect your
intentions. You may indicate this in your name as well. Men append the title “Brahmachari,”
before their name, and ladies, “Brahmacharini.” This is traditional in Hindu culture, but it is
not mandatory.
Before you take your vrata and begin the practice of brahmachariya, you should understand
the process, and that is the purpose of these lessons. The benefits of brahmachariya are many.
Brahmachariya will help you to continually advance in life and improve yourself. It will awak-
en within you the ability to throw all of your energies into your work, studies and religious
pursuits. The practice of brahmachariya will also deepen your religiousness. Saivism will take
on greater and deeper meaning for you. This is because the vital energies, life forces, creative
forces, of your physical and astral bodies are preserved and transmuted to a higher and deeper
expression.
THE BRAHMACHARIYA CORD

A simple white cord which has been blessed in the temple is worn around the waist by the
brahmachari and the brahmacharini as a constant reminder to keep the mind centered above
the waist in thought, word and deed. When you feel you are ready to take your vrata, do so.
You can obtain a brahmachariya cord from a Himalayan Academy temple or make one your-
self and have it blessed in your local temple. After taking your sacred vrata tie the cord around
your waist. When time comes to renew your vrata, obtain a new cord and repeat the process.
REVIEW
1. The vrata aids you in brahmachariya, which is the transmutation of your energies into posi-
tive endeavors.
2. The brahmachariya cord is a reminder to keep awareness centered in the chakras above the
waist.
Page 6 FRIDAY Lesson 5
A Brahmachariya Vrata
I, (your name), seek the blessings of God, Gods and guru as I declare of my
own volition my firm intention to live a pure and virtuous life and now take
this brahmachariya vrata.
I vow to value and protect purity in thought, word and deed, and chastity in
body, to sublimate and transmute the sexual energies and the instinctive im-
pulses of anger, jealousy, greed, hatred and selfishness.
I promise to remain chaste and pure (state here the duration of your vow—for
example, “until marriage”) and wear this sacred brahmachariya cord around
my waist to betoken this solemn oath. At such time that I marry, I promise to
marry a Saivite Hindu virgin by arrangement of both families and with the
blessings of my guru.
BENEFITS OF THE VRATA

Once a brahmachariya vrata has been taken, a new energy is released within the individual.
Then the devotee finds the mind free to study, study, study—free from the temptations of the
instinctive world. The vrata has the effect of actually cutting one off from the instinctive world
of the lower nature.
If the sacred seed is retained, life does not ebb; great strength, energy, intelligence
and alertness: all these are attained.
TIRUMANTIRAM: VERSE 1948
Once the vrata is taken, you will no longer be as inclined to become emotionally attached to
those of the opposite sex. You will also avoid many unnecessary distracting karmic entangle-
ments and much unhappiness and emotional duress. If you have already had a mental-emo-
tional love affair, you know exactly the energy used, anxiety experienced and perhaps
heartache finally felt. Once it was over you would have had to agree that it consumed a great
deal of time and precious vital energy.
REVIEW
1. Your brahmachariya vrata helps free you from instinctive drives.
2. Your brahmachariya vrata helps you avoid karmic entanglements.
Lesson 6 SATURDAY Page 7
Lord Ganesha Welcomes You!

You have truly come to the Holy Feet of Lord Ganesha by seeking knowledge about brah-
machariya. Did you know that the elephant is one of the most intelligent creatures on the plan-
et? No wonder that the great Mahadeva Lord Ganesha works through the etheric form of the
elephant—so wise, so charming, so humble, yet so grand and powerful. It is Lord Ganesha
who is guardian on the path of dharma, who with His millions of helpers guides and protects
those who worship Him and pray for clarity of mind and divine grace. During your time as a
brahmachari you will come to know Him personally. This may sound beyond your ability, but
it is not.
Oh Divine Beings of all three worlds, let us bring our minds to rest in the dar-
shan of Him Who has one tusk. Let us meditate upon Him Who has the form of
an elephant with a curved trunk. May He guide us always along the right path.
THE GANAPATI GAYATRI
COMMUNICATING THROUGH THE VEILS

Though you may not see Him, you will feel His mind guiding you, protecting you. You will feel
His comforting spiritual vibration. He and His devas can see you and will respond quite readi-
ly to your prayerful thoughts. We can assure you of this. Faith is a necessary ingredient to
beginning brahmachariya by taking the vrata—faith strong enough to waylay discouraging
onslaughts of doubt and uncertainty. Perhaps you are not sure that you have the faith needed
to penetrate the veils of ignorance and discover the Truth of life for yourself. But you do have
enough faith in yourself to know that you can at least try to experience right thought, deed and
action. Even if you fail to live up to your vrata to your highest ideals, you have the faith right
now that you will have learned a good lesson from the failure and will begin again.
Open yourself to Lord Ganesha and let your loving thoughts blend with His. Let your prob-
lems dissolve in His Love. Mentally pour out your heart to Him. He will hear you. Think of
Him as a friend, one of your closest friends. A more wise, magnanimous and kindly being you
will never find.
REVIEW
1. Lord Ganesha is the guardian of dharma.
2. Communicate with him through prayer.
3. Think of Him as the closest of friends.
Page 8 SUNDAY Lesson 7
Set Positive Goals for Your Life

You are living this life to fulfill certain goals that you have set for yourself in lives gone by.
Among these goals are:
• inner growth and advancement,

• becoming a better and more religious person,
• fulfilling your brahmachariya vow,
• devoting your vital energies, as a brahmachari or brahmacharini, toward your cho-
sen vocation and major personal aspirations.
Without such goals, you would not be reading this lesson today. This course is meant to help
you fulfill your goals and make the best choices as you exercise your power of decision from
day to day. Therefore, don’t neglect these daily lessons. And don’t end your study of the course
until you have fully understood and mentally digested all the subject matter within it.
Brahmachariya, or spotless chastity, is the best of all penances.

Such a celibate is God indeed.”
ADI SANKARACHARIYA
Brahmachariya is transmutation. The goal of brahmachariya is not to repress the sexual ener-
gy, but to transmute it.
A perfect brahmachari shines like a noonday sun in

all spheres of life.
SWAMI NARAYANANDA
CELIBACY IN PERSPECTIVE
It may interest you to know that nearly all religions teach their young to follow the practice of
remaining virgin until marriage. Only in the past 30 years have ideas about “free sex” or free-
dom without responsibility become so widespread.
Review
1. Try to cognize your goals for this incarnation.
2. Brahmachariya is transmutation, which gives power to the higher nature.
Personal Challenges for Chapter One

√ when
completed Discipline
❏ 1. Visit a Ganesha temple or shrine and sit before the Deity for twenty
minutes or more. Strive to tune into His comforting, motherly shakti.
Open yourself to His love.
❏ 2. Write down your personal goals in life. Keep a copy for yourself, and
send a copy to the devas through the homa at Kadavul Hindu Temple
with a note asking them to help you fulfill these aspirations.
❏ 3. Lift your arm and feel energy, as explained in lesson 1. Then feel the
same energy within your spine.
❏ 4. On two occasions consciously work to place yourself in an inner plane

school by reading your lessons before sleep. In the morning, see if you
can recall the results.
❏ 5. Visit your guru, or if you don’t have a guru, visit any holy person.
Before your visit, consciously empty your mind of preconceptions.
Try to become an empty vessel, ready to receive the grace and bless-
ings the soul has for you.
❏ 6. Once you have prepared yourself, take the brahmachariya vrata.

CHAPTER TWO
WILL AND WISDOM

Prepare for a Rewarding Life Ahead

Brahmachariya allows the individual to use his vital energies as an adolescent, or young adult,
to prepare for a rewarding life, to develop his mind and talents for his chosen vocation. Brah-
machariya is a traditional practice in Saivite Hinduism. The first of the four stages, or ashra-
mas, of life is actually called the “brahmachariya ashrama.”
Love (including sex) is one of the legitimate four goals of life according to our religion. Sex is
not bad. Its place, however, is properly within the confines of a sanctified marriage. Nor are sex
drives unnatural. The goal of the brahmachari and brahmacharini is not to become fearful of
sex, but to understand sex and the sexual impulses in a balanced way. During the time of brah-
machariya, the goal is to control the sex urges and transmute those vital energies into the brain
to gain a great mental and spiritual strength. Yes, this vital life force must be focused on studies
and spiritual pursuits. Brahmachariya maintained until marriage helps enable the devotee to
merit a good wife or husband and a happy marriage. The Hindu Catechism explains,
When a young virgin man and woman marry and share physical intimacy with
each other, their union is very strong and their marriage stable. This is due to
the subtle, psychic forces of the human nerve system. Their psychic forces, or
nadis, grow together and they form a one body and a one mind. This is the
truest marriage and the strongest, seldom ending in separation or divorce. Con-
versely, if the man or woman have had intercourse before the marriage, the
emotional/psychic closeness of the marriage will suffer, and this in proportion to
the extent of promiscuity.
Most religions also provide a tradition of monastic life in which young men take lifetime vows
of celibacy. The spiritual value of celibacy in the Hindu tradition has long been understood.
Many of our greatest spiritual lights were celibate throughout their entire life, including Siva
Yogaswami, Sankara and Swami Vivekananda. Others, such as Buddha, Gandhi and
Aurobindo, became celibate after a period of marriage. For the individual preparing for
monastic life, brahmachariya is essential in harnessing and transmuting the powerful sexual
life energies into spiritual and religious concerns.
REVIEW
1. Sex is natural, not bad, but it is best confined to the sanctified marriage.
2. For monastic life, brahmachariya is essential.
A Creed for Saivite Hindus

We could compare the twelve beliefs of our Saivite Creed to the scientific laws governing the
creation of molecules, upon which all life, all form, is constructed. Scientific laws express in a
capsulated form the basic building blocks of the physical universe. Our twelve beliefs summa-
rize metaphysical reality. Today, study beliefs one through six.
1.
I believe Lord Siva is God, whose Absolute Being, Parasivam,
transcends time, form and space.
2.
I believe Lord Siva is God, whose immanent nature of love is the substratum or Primal
Substance and Pure Consciousness flowing through all form.
3.
I believe Lord Siva is God, whose immanent nature is the Primal Soul, Supreme
Mahadeva, Siva/Sakti, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer
of all that exists.
4.
I believe that each individual soul is created (through emanation) by Lord Siva and (its
uncreated essence: Pure Consciousness and Absolute Being) is identical to Him, and
that this identity can be and will be fully realized by all souls when the triple bondage of
anava, karma and maya is removed through His Grace.
5.
I believe in three worlds of existence: the First World (Bhuloka or gross plane), where
souls take on physical bodies; the Second World (Devaloka or subtle plane), where souls
take on astral or mental bodies; and the Third World (Sivaloka or causal plane), where
soul bodies, Mahadevas,
exist in their own self-effulgent form.
6.
I believe in the Mahadeva Lord Ganesha, Son of Siva/Sakti,
to whom I must first supplicate before beginning any worship or task.
REVIEW
1. Scientific laws describe the building blocks of the physical universe.
2. Our Creed summarizes metaphysical reality.
These Are the Beliefs of Your Soul

As you study these twelve beliefs do not mistake them for mere theory or one person’s idea.
They are the revelations of countless realized souls. They are the beliefs of your own soul. As
you begin to understand and practice brahmachariya, new light will be shed upon these
beliefs, because brahmachariya helps to open the inner mind. And the inner mind is the home
of pure intelligence.
7.
I believe in the Mahadeva Lord Muruga, Son of Siva/Sakti,
whose Vel of Grace dissolves the bondages of ignorance.
8.
I believe that religion is the harmonious working together of the three worlds and that
this harmony can be created through temple worship, wherein the three worlds become
open to one another, and the beings
within them are able to communicate.
9.
I believe in the Law of Karma—that one must personally reap the
effects of all actions he has caused—and that each soul will continue to reincarnate
until all karmas are resolved and Moksha,
Liberation, is attained.
10.
I believe that there is no intrinsic evil.
11.
I believe that the performance of Chariya (virtuous and moral living),
Kriya (temple worship) and Yoga (internalized worship and union with Parasivam
through Grace of the living Sat Guru) is absolutely necessary
to bring forth the state of Jnana.
12.
I believe in the Panchakshara Mantram, the five sacred syllables
“Na Ma Si Va Ya,” as the foremost and essential mantram of Saivism.
REVIEW
1. Study the 12 beliefs daily with renewed interest.
2. Knowledge from within is experiential knowledge.
You Are On the Sadhana Marga

My Sat Guru, Siva Yogaswami, spoke of Saivism as the “Sadhana Marga,” “the path of striving,”
explaining that it is a religion not only to be studied but also to be lived. He taught that much
knowledge comes through learning to interpret and understand the experiences of life. Brah-
machariya helps us open up the inner faculties so that divine knowledge flows easily and we
are blessed with valuable insights.
See God everywhere. This is practice.

First do it intellectually.
Then you will know it.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
To avoid the Sadhana Marga is to avoid understanding the challenges of life. We must not fail
to realize that each challenge is brought to us by our own actions of the past. Yes, our actions in
the past are our life’s experiences today. All Hindus accept karma and reincarnation intellectu-
ally, but the concepts are not active in their lives until they accept the responsibilities of their
own actions and the experiences that follow. In doing so, no blame can fall upon another. It is
all our own doing. This is the Sadhana Marga—the path to perfection.
Read quickly through each of the twelve beliefs each day during the time you are studying this
course. By doing so you will begin to open the great book of knowledge within yourself. This
inner book is unlike any you have ever read. It is sacred and it is within you in the akasha of
your superconscious mind. Each day, pray to Lord Muruga to unfold the mysteries of your
deep, inner intelligence. Lord Muruga is the God that helps the brahmachari on his way to per-
fection. He will protect you from temptation and inspire you onward and upward.
CONCENTRATE YOUR STUDY

Let this wonderful teaching about brahmachariya enter your mind in its fullness day by day as
you perform the sadhana of these daily lessons.
REVIEW
1. Avoid conflicting teachings and allow these lessons to impress your mind deeply.
2. Our religion is a Sadhana Marga.
Life Is a Classroom of Experience

Our creed tells us in belief nine: “I believe in the Law of Karma—that one must personally reap
the effects of all actions he has caused—and that each soul will continue to reincarnate until all
karmas are resolved and Moksha, Liberation, is attained.” There is no getting away from our
own karma. Eventually all past actions must be faced. The practice of bramachariya in
thought, word and deed helps us attain the emotional stability to accomplish this.
LESSONS FROM LIFE TO LIFE

Each experience in life offers a challenge. The Siva bhaktar, through Lord Siva’s constant grace,
is never given a challenge that he is not able to meet and conquer. Always try to remember this.
There is another thing that you should try to remember and that is that life, consciousness,
goes on and on. We pass through “death” from this incarnation into the inner world, where we
also are when we sleep at night. Then we take on a new physical body. This process repeats
time and time again until all the lessons that life on the physical plane has to offer have been
learned and Moksha has been attained. Moksha is freedom from rebirth in the physical body.
One goes on living after that in the astral body and/or the body of the soul on the inner planes.
It is for this reason that we need a vibrant, experiential religion such as Saivism to help us get
through all of the karmas, which are our own creation, and to artfully avoid creating more kar-
mas and the many discomforts that come as a result. It is through applying the wisdom our
religion offers that this can happen. The tenets of our religion hold true not only in this physi-
cal world but in the inner worlds of the Devaloka and Sivaloka, as well.
Each Saivite knows that it is up to him or her to understand and practice the religion properly.
No one can do this for someone else. We know this. The practice of brahmachariya, along with
a continuing study and deepening understanding of Saivism, will guide the brahmachari and
brahmacharini around the boulders and away from the pitfalls of emotions. It will guide them
safely along the edges of ravines and through the storms of their own karma as it manifests
through others.
REVIEW
1. Life is a classroom of experience based on karma.
2. Our religion is the greatest aid in facing our challenges.
The Yamas and Niyamas, Introduction

Our religion teaches us how to become better people, how to live as spiritual beings on this
earth. This happens through living virtuously, following the natural and essential guidelines of
dharma. These guidelines are recorded in the yamas and niyamas, ancient scriptural injunc-
tions for all aspects of human thought, attitude and behavior. Through following the yamas
and niyamas we cultivate our refined, spiritual nature while keeping the instinctive nature in
check. We lift ourself into the consciousness of the higher chakras of love, compassion, intelli-
gence and bliss and naturally invoke the powers and blessings of the divine devas and
Mahadevas.
The yamas and niyamas are the most pervasive of Hindu ethical obligations and are thousands
of years old. They are recorded in numerous Saivite scriptures, including Saint Tirumular’s
Tirumantiram, Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Sri Gorakhnath’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the
Yogadarshana, the Sandilya Upanishad of the Atharva Veda and the Varuha Upanishad of the
Krishna Yajur Veda. All the texts mentioned cite ten yamas and ten niyamas with the exception
of Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Patanjali listed only five yamas and five niyamas, which are the
ones often solely listed in modern books on yoga. The fullness of all twenty disciplines is a
complete outline for Saivite religious life and the foundation for the practice of yoga.
Purity, compassion, frugal food and patience, forthrightness, truth and

steadfastness—these he ardently cherishes. Killing, stealing and lusting he abhors. Thus
stands with virtues ten the one who niyama’s ways observes....Tapas, japa, serenity and
faith in God, charity, vows in Saiva Way, Siddhanta learning, sacrifice, Siva puja and
spiritual intelligence—with these ten, the one in niyama perfects his way.
TIRUMANTIRAM, VERSE 556-557
Yama means “to rein” or control. The yamas include such injunctions as non-injury (ahimsa),
non-stealing (asteya) and moderation in eating (mitahara), which harness the base, instinctive
nature. Niyama, literally “to unleash,” indicates the release or expression of refined soul quali-
ties through such disciplines as charity (dana), contentment (santosha) and incantation (japa).
In tomorrow’s lesson are listed the Sanskrit yamas and niyamas from the Upanishads, with
translations & explanations.
REVIEW
1. The yamas and niyamas are the Hindu ethical “restraints and observances.”
2. They harness the base, instinctive nature and cultivate the soul nature.
The Yamas and Niyamas

YAMAS: RESTRAINTS NIYAMAS: PRACTICES
1. Ahimsa:: Noninjury 1. Santosha: Contentment

Do not harm others by thought, word or Seek joy and serenity in life.
deed.
2. Satya:: Truthfulness 2. Tapaha: Austerity

Refrain from lying and betraying promises. Perform sadhana, penance, tapas and sacrifice.
3. Asteya: Nonstealing 3. Dana:: Charity

Neither steal nor covet nor enter into debt. Tithe and give creatively without
thought of reward.
4. Brahmachariya: Sexual Purity
Control lust by remaining celibate when sin- 4. Astikya: Faith
gle and faithful in marriage. Believe firmly in God, Gods, guru
and the path to enlightenment.
5. Kshama:: Patience
Restrain intolerance with people and impa- 5. Isvarapujana:: Worship
tience with circumstances. Cultivate devotion through daily
worship and meditation.
6. Dhriti:: Steadfastness
Overcome non-perseverance, fear, indecision 6. Mati:: Cognition
and changeableness. Develop a spiritual will and intellect with a
guru’s guidance.
7. Daya: Compassion
Conquer callous, cruel and insensitive feel- 7. Siddhantasravana: Scriptural Study
ings toward all beings. Study the teachings and listen to the wise of
your lineage.
8. Arjava:: Honesty
Renounce deception and wrongdoing. 8. Hri:: Remorse
Be modest and show shame for misdeeds.
9. Mitahara:: Moderate Appetite 9. Japa:: Recitation

Neither eat too much nor consume meat, Chant holy mantrams daily.
fish, fowl or eggs.
10. Saucha:: Purity 10. Vrata:: Sacred Vows

Avoid impurity in body, mind and speech. Fulfill religious vows, rules and observances
faithfully.
Personal Challenges for Chapter Two
√ when
❏ 1. Memorize the twelve beliefs of the Creed and then recite them to a
family elder from memory.
❏ 2. Memorize the yamas and niyamas and recite them to a family elder
from memory.
❏ 3. Go two full consecutive days without getting angry.
❏ 4. Read the chapter in the Hindu Catechism “Marriage and Family Life.”
❏ 5. Spend ten minutes on three consecutive mornings praying intensely

to Lord Muruga to unfold the mysteries of your inner intelligence.
❏ 6. Look at yourself in the mirror and ponder the fact that you have had
many bodies in your many incarnations on earth. Realize that you are
not your body, your mind or your emotions, but the immortal soul.
❏ 7. The next time you feel yourself getting depressed, call on your inner
forces to lift yourself into an unburdened state of mind.
CHAPTER THREE
VIRTUE
The Pancha Nitya Karmas

In addition to the yamas and niyamas, our religion provides us with a second group of guide-
lines to help us become better people. These are the pancha nitya karmas, “five constant
duties.” We could say that they are an amalgam of all the counsel of the Vedas and Agamas to
guide daily and yearly religious life. These five obligatory religious practices are simple and
applicable for all. Study them and put them into practice in your own life.
1. VIRTUOUS LIVING (Dharma)

Proper conduct follows the laws of dharma and includes observing the teachings of the Holy
Kural, remaining celibate until marriage, obeying sthree dharma for women and purusha
dharma for men. It is goodness in thought, word and deed.
2. WORSHIP (Upasana)
Personal worship in the home shrine includes performance of puja, sadhana, japa and reli-
gious study. Regular devotions in the home and temple bring forth love of God and prepare
the mind for the practices of meditation.
3. HOLY DAYS (Utsava)

The observance of Saivite festivals in the home and temple, including guru puja days, brings
deep communion with God during highly spiritual times of the year. This includes fasting and
attending the temple on Fridays, the Hindu holy day.
4. PILGRIMAGE (Tirthayatrai)
At least once each year every Saivite must make a pilgrimage to a holy place, whether near or
far. This is a time when all worldly matters are set aside and God becomes the central and sin-
gular focus of life.
5. SACRAMENTS (Samskaras)
Sacraments are special ceremonies which mark our passages in life and sanctify these experi-
ences. They include the rites of birth, first feeding, learning, marriage, death, monastic vows
for monks and more.
REVIEW
1. Our constant duties as Saivites are the pancha nitya karmas.
2. They are virtuous living, worship, holy days, pilgrimage and sacraments.
The Importance of Virtue

The Saivite religion, when properly practiced, brings the devotee close to the Holy Feet of
supreme God Siva. The practice is outlined in the yamas and niyamas and the pancha nitya
karmas. They should be followed ever more strictly by the brahmachari and brahmacharini.
They are the foundation for spiritual life. To live an unvirtuous life while performing sadhana
would be to waste time, as adharma brings the mind into crude states of consciousness.
An ascetic did penance for many years and gained great merit and spiritual power. An enemy
plotted to destroy his power. The technique was simple. He made the ascetic frightfully angry.
In that one fit of rage, the painstaking penance and hard work was dissipated.
There are many Saivites who have taken the brahmachariya vrata and eagerly look forward to
learning “advanced” yoga techniques. They have mastered the difficult sadhana of the art of
controlling and channeling the sexual energies of the body, emotions and the mind. The
ascetic in our story had not accomplished this sadhana. He had not conquered anger, and it
cost him the benefits of his austerities. As Chellachi Amman, a saintly lady who was a respected
elder to my Sat Guru, Siva Yogaswami, once said, “The spiritual path is like a bridge of hair
over a river of fire.”
THREE GREAT PILLARS

The Saivite religion has three great pillars upon which it stands. These are the temples, the
scriptures and the Sat Gurus. These three powerful increments form a perfectly balanced and
natural vehicle for Truth to shine through on this planet. Like anything else, however, the
Saivite Hindu religion must be used effectively by the individual who wishes to enjoy its lasting
effects. Studying about it is not enough. Saivism is to be lived. Each member must put what
has been learned into practice to the best of his ability. Use the temples for prayer and as places
of worship. Read and heed the scriptures and apply their teachings to daily life. They are not
mere theory. They are divine law. Obey your guru and reap the benefits.
REVIEW
1. Virtue is the one and only foundation for spiritual unfoldment.
2. You must use your religion if it is to help you.
3. Brahmachariya is control and channeling of your forces.
Control Your Dreams and Fantasies

Those who have resolved to follow the path of brahmachariya but are troubled by sexual fan-
tasies and nightly encounters during their dream state should not despair. These are simply
indications that their creative energies are not being used to capacity. They should work hard-
er, mentally and physically, get up early in the morning and do sadhana, go to bed early and
seek the more refined areas of consciousness during the dream states.
How can you seek these more refined areas during sleep? This is done through chanting and
meditating before going to sleep, and through praying for guidance from Lord Ganesha.
To aid in the depolarization and transmutation of creative forces, certain

mantrams are chanted. These logically concentrate the conscious mind and har-
monize its subconscious. Mantrams draw the creative forces from the instinctive
to the intellectual and superconscious regions.
The mantram AUM aids the most in the depolarization and transmutation pro-
cess. This mantram harmonizes the physical, mental and spiritual forces.
RAJA YOGA
HOW TO CHANT AUM

To chant the mantram AUM, intone A (pronounced ah) and center the sound in the solar
plexus region of the body. Next intone U (pronounced oo) and center this sound through the
throat area. Then intone M (pronounced mmm) and send this vibration through the cranium
by placing the front teeth tightly together. In chanting the mantram A-U-M, first intone each
sound separately, then blend the sounds together forming AUM, a steady hum or drone. The
mantram AUM is the essence of sound itself. All sounds blended together intone AUM.
As you intone AUM, you are releasing your creative energy. This energy pours through your
mental, emotional, and physical bodies, opening a new world for you.
REVIEW
1. Sexual dreams and fantasies indicate energies are not being utilized.
2. Learn to chant AUM to unleash and sublimate your creative energies.
Be Pure in Thought, Word and Deed

Purity is the natural state of the soul. It is clarity and clearness in all dimensions of being. One
who is successful in the sustained practice of brahmachariya and the performance of sadhana
radiates this purity as the sun radiates warmth and light.
Brahmachariya may be thought of as wisdom in handling the forces of the mind and body,
most especially the sexual impulses. In this sadhana, the innate purity of the soul shines forth.
Striving for this purity is the practice of brahmachariya. As a brahmachari or brahmacharini
you must attune yourself to the inner worlds, the Second and Third Worlds. You must strive to
live the contemplative life. You must associate with other Hindu devotees, seeking the compa-
ny of good and holy men and women. You must be pure in your thoughts, never allowing your
mind to indulge in sexual fantasies. You must speak pure words that reflect the purity of your
thought. Never use harsh, angered or indecent language.
Do not harbor any harmful thoughts. Discard anger and jealousy. Be modest,
disciplined and happy, and you will reach the top. Know thy Self by thy self.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
The too great loss of [the reproductive fluids] soon produces the effects, . . . such
as weakness, dejection of mind, debility, and pusillanimity, together with all
that mental timidity which exaggerates the least dangers and succumbs under
the most trivial apprehensions.
JOHN DAVENPORT, CURIOSITIES OF EROTIC PHYSIOLOGY
IMPORTANCE IN CULTURE
The observance of brahmachariya is perhaps the most essential aspect of a sound, spiritual cul-
ture. This is why in Saivism, boys and girls are taught the importance of remaining celibate
until they are married. This creates healthy individuals, physically, emotionally and spiritually,
generation after generation.
REVIEW
1. Strive for purity in thought, word and deed.
2. Preservation of the sacred seed gives strength.
3. Its loss is the dissipation of life force.
Guide and Protect Your Awareness

How should you regard members of the opposite sex? Do not look at members of the opposite
sex with any idea of sex or lust in mind. Do not indulge in admiring those of the opposite sex,
or seeing one as more beautiful than another. Boys must foster the inner attitude that all young
women are their sisters and all older women are their mother. Girls must foster the inner atti-
tude that all young men are their brothers and all older men are their father. Do not attend
movies that depict the base instincts of humans, nor read books or magazines of this nature.
To be successful in brahmachariya, one naturally wants to avoid arousing the sex instincts.
Purity is but freedom from desire

and that is achieved by desiring to know Truth.”
HOLY KURAL, VERSE 364
GOOD COMPANY, EXERCISE AND WORSHIP

Be very careful to mix with good company—those who think and speak properly—so that the
mind or emotions are not led astray and vital energies needed for study used up. Get plenty of
physical exercise. This is very important because exercise sublimates your own instinctive
drives and directs excess energy and the flow of blood into all parts of the body.
Morning, noon and evening we will chant with joyful hearts the blessed name of
Siva. We will sever in our minds the root of all desire and lust and, sweetly as we
please, we will abide where night is not nor day.
If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.
That will make you rule the mind, which treads the senses’ path.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
In the Tirumantiram, the 10th book of the Tirumurai, Saint Tirumular speaks of the values of
brahmachariya. He insists that it is very important that the brahmachari and brahmacharini
strive to keep awareness in the refined areas of the mind so that beneficial, constructive
thoughts can be created. Then the energies are properly employed so that spiritual unfoldment
can be experienced in this and future lives.
REVIEW
1. Do not view others through the veil of lust.
2. Keep good company, get plenty of exercise and worship God.
Explain the Life Force to Your Children

Every Hindu mother and father must explain to their boys and girls the basic principles we are
describing here. It is the parents’ duty to provide a sound education in the use and misuse of
the life forces and teach their children how to control the forces within them as they grow into
adulthood. Only in this way will they have the knowledge required to face the challenges of
their own instinctive/intellectual nature. If you have chosen family life, here are some helpful
suggestions to put into practice when you have children.
PRANA AND THE CHAKRAS

There are a two main areas that parents can feel free to speak with their boys and girls about as
they are growing up from a very young age. These are prana and the chakras. Once your chil-
dren have a clear idea of what prana actually is and what the chakras actually are, they will be
confident in lifting up the pranas into the higher chakras when puberty is upon them.
Explain it in this way: “You are a person with a great deal of energy, and this energy is called
prana. This prana will increase within your physical body until you are about forty years of
age. After that the prana increases in power within the mental body until you are about the age
of seventy. Then the prana continues to increase within the spiritual body of the soul.” Careful-
ly explain time and time again to your children that it is up to them to control their prana,
their life force, which is the total energy of their body. Until forty years of age this is done
through education, exercise and hard work. After forty until seventy, this is done through
study, caring for those younger than themselves, community service and additional education.
After seventy this is done through worship, sadhana, tapas and deep meditation.
The Lord who not a whit is separated from you, those of impure mind can never
see. The mind is a temple; the soul is its lamp. Meditate, meditate! The truth
will dawn for you.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
REVIEW
1. Teach children about prana and the chakras to equip them to control their sexuality when it
awakens.
2. Through life’s stages, prana increases and feeds first the physical body, then the mental body
and then the body of the soul.
Nourishing the Chakras

Children have an abundance of energy, and sometimes it can make them rather wild. How
should this be controlled by the parents? When children run around excitedly, refer to their
energy as Siva’s prana within them. Congratulate them each time they exercise control over it,
but don’t punish them when they don’t. Instead, explain that it is important that they learn to
control and use their energies in positive ways. Have them sit with you and breathe deeply.
Teach them to feel energy. Go into the shrine room and sit quietly with them until their pranas
become quiet, and then help them observe the difference. To hit them or to yell at them when
they are rowdy is only sending more prana into them from you. Another technique is to with-
draw your prana from them and pretend to be hurt by their actions. Put on a sour face. Gradu-
ally, by teaching about energy in this way you pave the way for a positive outlook on sex that
will remain with them throughout their life. They will see the sexual energies, when they begin
to awaken, as increased creative life force. And they will have the tools to transmute this force
into the higher chakras.
CHAKRAS ARE LIKE LOVELY FLOWERS

When explaining the chakras to your children, refer to these force centers as lovely flowers
within them that need to be fed by their vital energies. Teach them to breathe deeply and lift
the energy from the lower chakras to the higher ones and hold it there, as if to feed and water
these flowers. Teach them that chakras are also rooms of consciousness, and energy we put into
the chakras awakens this consciousness and makes us very alert and intelligent.
In other words, as soon as your children can understand you, you can begin teaching them
about their energies. In this way you give them the tools to handle their sexual nature so that
their forces do not run away with their mind during puberty. In this way, you will open chan-
nels to talk freely with them about sex when the time comes. Many parents give absolutely no
guidance in this area to their children, who then have to learn from other children about this
natural function of their life. So, be a wise parent and begin early. Remember, there are only
two areas to cover: prana and chakras. Your own intuition will guide you as to how to proceed.
REVIEW
1. Do not punish rowdy children, but guide them gently and teach about energy.
2. Teach children that the chakras are like flowers within them which they feed and water by
lifting their pranas.
Personal Challenges for Chapter Three
√ when
❏ 1. Memorize the pancha nitya karmas and their meanings.
❏ 2. Work on your preparation for sleep. Resolve on three separate occa-

sions before sleep that you will be true to your highest
ideals even during sleep. Each morning upon awakening, observe the
results.
❏ 3. Chant the mantram AUM for a 15 minute period and observe the
change this brings about in your consciousness.
❏ 4. Practice speaking more kindly to others than you usually do. For two
days, surpass your normal standards for relating with others and
observe the reaction in your mind and the minds of your family,
friends and acquaintances.
CHAPTER FOUR
ENERGY, LIFE,
PROCREATION
Pranayama: Harnessing Life Force

Seated in the lotus position, the brahmachari and brahmacharini who have taken
their vrata may perform pranayama in the following way while sitting with spine
erect, head gently balanced on top of the spine, both eyes crossed, looking at the nose,
then rolled back into the head, gently stimulating the nerve currents of the inner eye.
To perform this pranayama, place the thumb of your right hand on your right nostril
and your middle finger upon your left nostril. Without closing either nostril, simply
breathe evenly for a few moments until your breathing is completely relaxed. Then
close the left nostril, by gently pressing on the side of your nose with your middle fin-
ger, and breathe in through the right nostril. Slowly mentally repeat “AUM, AUM,
AUM, AUM, AUM.” Then press the thumb on the right nostril and breathe out
through the left nostril to the count of five heartbeats, mentally repeating “AUM,
AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM.” Then breathe in through the left nostril, again to five
heartbeats, while repeating AUM. Then close the left nostril and expel the breath
through the right nostril. Inhale next through the same nostril, and so on, chanting
AUM to five heartbeats each time you inhale or exhale. Perform pranayama in this
way for ten to fifteen minutes and feel the pranic power begin to rise within you. The
devotee seated thusly in meditation becomes strong and unshakable.
Later, after you have adjusted the physical body to breathing in this way and it is no
longer an effort or strain, you may perform the next phase of this pranayama. This is
the holding of the breath for five counts, mentally repeating Aum five times before
you exhale. While you retain the breath these five counts, hold the two nostrils closed
with your thumb and middle finger gently pressing upon them both. A lovely
rhythm will be attained as awareness becomes centered in the inner mind.
Consciously relax your physical body. Breathe deeply and diaphragmatically. Let go
of tensions in your solar plexus. Breathe as a baby breathes, not by moving the chest
up and down, but by allowing the diaphragm to lower and expand naturally, moving
the abdomen out and in. Think of the action of a bellows, which when expanded cre-
ates a vacuum and allows air to enter.
REVIEW
1. Perform the alternate nostril pranayama for greater balance of your energies.
2. Work to be relaxed and breath diaphragmatically during pranayama.
Mental Maintenance
Regular introspection and religious study can be thought of as “mental mainte-
nance.” It is the setting aside of a period of time each day for making small adjust-
ments, as well as for working through major difficulties—a time in which we face our
present mental condition and apply our knowledge to keep the mechanism running
smoothly. Regular mental maintenance assures good mental health. Mental health is
a positive frame of mind in which all problems are regarded as challenges and are
faced and handled on a day-to-day basis with the help of God, Gods and guru.
The body is a temple, the controlled mind the acolyte. Love is the puja.
Know that! Through this device you’ll find that naught is lacking. That is
what the Vedas all declare. SIVA YOGASWAMI
INNER KNOWING
You will find that knowledge awakened from within you is quite different from sur-
face intellectual knowledge. It is more useful, for it is your own. You have earned it
through controlling your mind and developing a sensitive nature. Knowledge awak-
ened from within you is experiential knowledge. One such inner knowing is to real-
ize from within yourself that Brahmachariya is the conduct by which one may attain
prolonged experiences of Satchidananda, the all-pervasive presence of God Siva.
HELP FROM THE DEVAS

During your vigil each day, you are keeping an inner appointment with the devas.
You are not alone. Often the devas hover around you and give you psychic protection
through chanting “OM NAMASIVAYA” and sending colorful rays of blessing. Their
service to you is to help you grow and advance spiritually, and in turn they, too, grow
and advance themselves. They will lend more help and assistance if they are asked,
in the same way that you are more inclined to lend your assistance to a friend in this
physical world if he asks for your help. If he does not, you would assume that he is
managing quite well on his own. Your prayerful thoughts are the permission the
devas require to help you in more specific ways. The further along one is in brah-
machariya, the easier it is for the devas to read his thought messages.
REVIEW
1. Daily mental maintenance is essential to peace of mind.
2. The devas want to help you, and will if you request their aid.
Choosing Your Path in Life

It is essential that each devotee make a firm decision as to which of the two paths he
or she will follow in life. As you know, the two paths are that of the grihastha and
that of the monastic. Both are secure dharmas, or patterns of life, within our Saivite
tradition. When firmly grounded within one or the other, the individual is guided
along through traditional training, pressures and responsibilities.
CHALLENGE IS THE GRIST OF THE MILL

Occasionally a devotee will try to remain between the two paths, unwilling or afraid
to submit to the responsibilities and challenges that will have to be faced. Those who
understand the laws of dharma, however, know that these inherent challenges are the
grist of the mill of life which helps each devotee to grow and evolve spiritually, emo-
tionally and intellectually.
By avoiding the choice of dharmas, one only delays his progress and makes it diffi-
cult for the community of devotees to respond to him in the proper way. In addition,
he denies himself many of the joys of a traditional life within the secure confines of
one of the two paths. This is not to say that the devotee should rush headlong into a
decision. But generally a direction should be set in early years so that the proper
training can be obtained. As our Catechism states:
Most will choose married life, and they should be schooled—

the boys in technical skills and education and the girls in household arts and
culture. If a young boy expresses a desire to become a monastic, the parents
should not discourage that inclination. It is a great blessing for the family to
have a son become a Saivite monastic.
If you are interested in monastic life, write to me, and together we will determine if it
is your proper dharma to enter a Saivite monastery to serve Lord Siva and continue
your spiritual unfoldment, having settled the patterns of your karma with your fami-
ly and friends. Monastic life is an essential part of Hinduism, today as it always has
been and always will be.
REVIEW
1. To make spiritual progress, following one of the two paths is essential.
2. Each dharma, monastic and householder, guides the individual along through tra-
ditional training, pressures and responsibilities.
Arranging a Happy Marriage

Saivites have always recommended arranged marriages over any other kind.
Arranged marriages are not old-fashioned, they are wise ways of mating people for
long-term happiness and healthy, happy, intelligent children. In every country today,
arranged marriages are found to be the best in the long term and free from many
problems when arranged properly. Anyone who is going to follow the householder
path should know that this is the proper way to proceed.
ASSURING COMPATIBILITY
Hindu Vedic astrology plays the most important part in arranging a marriage. The
horoscopes of both the boy and girl have to be compatible. Both families also are
involved. For a proper marriage, with the necessary support group to see it through
the hard times, the blessings of both families are essential. A marriage is often looked
at as a marriage of two families. The potential bride and groom must realize this and
know that if they go against their parents’ wishes, or if the two families do not accept
each other and blend as one, the couple will be on their own to swim together or sink
together. If one match is not agreeable, another should be sought. Another important
factor is that both must be of the same religious sect for long life and a happy mar-
riage. This may not seem important if both are not religiously active, but this may
change in future years and can lead to separation and divorce.
The first and the last important factor in a good marriage is that both the boy and girl
must be comfortable with each other. Love marriages that are not arranged by the
parents are fully acceptable if the astrology is excellent and the parents on both sides
agree and both the girl and the boy are of the same religious denomination. This
seems a lot to ask or even hope for in this modern, fast-moving world, but it is the
ideal. Most families begin early in finding the proper mate for their children from
among the children of other families that they know. They consult astrologers regu-
larly until a match is found. Sometimes the boy and girl are allowed to get to know
each other long before they are aware that a marriage is being arranged for them. Of
course, if they do not get along well, the matter is dropped and the search is on again.
REVIEW
1. Marriages wisely arranged are generally the most successful.
2. Compatibility of nature, astrology and religion is essential.
3. Most important is a natural affinity between the partners.
Secrets of Life and Procreation

It is said that when man first killed a kinsman that great strength came into the nerve
system of the animal body of all upon this planet. Normal, seasonal cycles of mating
turned into promiscuity. The population increased and is increasing even now with
this intensification of kundalini fire through the sexual nature of men and women.
Through the ancient traditions of Saivite monasticism, the inner laws of brah-
machariya have been preserved down through the centuries to help guide humanity
through the Kali Yuga.
This knowledge records the methods of how to preserve the vital energy within the
body of men and women so that Saivism, the remembrance of Siva and His crystal
clear shakti, can be passed through the darkness of the Kali Yuga in unbroken conti-
nuity. For only through the power of the tapas of brahmachariya can His shakti be
passed on from one to another until the individual’s shakti finally accrues enough
intensity so that the brahmachari becomes as Lord Siva Himself.
Brahmachariya is holding the power of the divine within the core of the individual
spine so that, as Lord Siva sends His power through the five great winds of the astral
body within the physical body, the winds adjust among themselves and emanate a
shakti strong enough to adjust the five great psychic fluids within everyone around.
This power of brahmachariya is disseminated through sublimation then transmuta-
tion of the sexual force.
Transmutation occurs automatically through regular daily sadhana, the rigors of pos-
itive living and adherence to the ceremonial customs of our religion. It is when fear
pervades a country or the planet that the impulses of the animal nerve system cause
desires for mating to occur for the prolongation of the species. During intercourse,
the astral bodies of the man and woman merge together and conception may occur,
as a person in the Devaloka gains a body from the woman to enter this world.
REVIEW
1. The intensification of kundalini fire through the animal nature gives rise to fear
and intensity in the sexual instincts of the population.
2. Brahmachariya is holding the power of the divine within the spine.
3. This same force, through conception, brings a soul into physical birth.
The Metaphysics of Brahmachariya

The connection formed between a man and a woman during intercourse makes a
psychic, astral, umbilical cord-like tube in the lower astral plane world which lasts
for twelve years or more. Providing no other connection with the same or other indi-
vidual occurred in the meantime, the tube would slowly wear away during the ensu-
ing years. This is provided that, at the same time, sadhana or tapas is performed and
regular pilgrimages and visits to Saivite temples are made.
Brahmachariya sadhana begins once a vrata is taken by the virgin boy or girl. For oth-
ers, brahmachariya sadhana begins after the last sexual encounter with a member of
the opposite sex has occurred and when a conscious decision is made to begin the
practice of brahmachariya.
All the energy of the body becomes directed in the channel of sex when the
consciousness is coupled or coordinated with the will to release or dissipate
this energy. The mental processes then become slow and sluggish, as does
the body, if carried to excess. A remedy to this is the reverse. The mind will
then become awakened, and the body will begin to glow.
RAJA YOGA
ASTRAL MAGNETISM AND TEMPTATION

While in the process of brahmachariya, those who have had sexual encounters with
one or more members of the opposite sex experience times of trial. Great temptation
may occur on the physical plane as the astral matter of the animal nerve system and
systems of fluids and odors that attract the opposite sex store up in great abundance.
This causes a magnetism which attracts those of the opposite sex. Especially attracted
will be those of a similar nature and deportment as those of past encounters.
REVIEW
1. Intercourse between a man and woman creates a psychic connecting tube in the
astral world which lasts for twelve years.
2. The requisites for formal brahmachariya practice are the start of celibacy, knowl-
edge of brahmachariya, and the performance of sadhana.
3. Those beginning brahmachariya may experience strong temptation because of
magnetism and past habit patterns.
Energy is Harnessed in a Sanctified Marriage

The force of kundalini flows as a river through men and women. Sexual intercourse
gives that river an outlet, creates a channel, a psychic astral tube between their
muladhara chakras. After the first intercourse, awareness is turned outward into the
external world and the man or woman is more vulnerable to the forces of desire. The
ramification of the intellect can now be experienced more than ever before. If the
force is contained within the marriage convenant with blessings from the Devaloka
and Sivaloka, rays similar to the astral tube established between the couple are estab-
lished between each of them through the higher chakras with the Mahadevas and
devas. A holy state of matrimony has been entered into. The Hindu Catechism states,
When a young virgin man and woman marry and share physical intimacy
with each other, their union is very strong and their marriage stable. This is
due to the subtle, psychic forces of the human nerve system. Their psychic
forces, or nadis, grow together and they form a one body and a one mind.
This is the truest marriage and the strongest, seldom ending in separation
or divorce. Conversely, if the man or woman have had intercourse before the
marriage, the emotional/psychic closeness of the marriage will suffer, and
this in proportion to the extent of promiscuity.
Through marriage a man and a woman each fulfill their dharma. A man and
a woman are physically, emotionally and spiritually complete in marriage.
He needs her tenderness, companionship and encouragement, while she
needs his strength, love and understanding.
HIGHER RAYS AND LOWER ASTRAL TUBES

Higher rays and the lower astral-psychic tubes that are created between husband and
wife can contain the forces of desire within them. They also control the instinctive
curiosities of the intellect, allowing its full power to manifest and create a productive
and abundant life for the family which has continuity and consistency. A life of dhar-
ma can be lived.
REVIEW
1. Sexual intercourse creates a psychic, energy channel.
2. These energies are contained and guided within a sanctified marriage.
Personal Challenges for Chapter Four
√ when
❏ 1. Send a prayer to Lord Muruga at the Kadavul Hindu Temple

on two occasions, requesting His aid and blessings in your
brahmachariya practice.
❏ 2. Learn the pranayama practice in lesson 23.
❏ 3. Try to feel and inwardly observe the exchange of energies that

occurs when you are speaking with a member of the opposite
sex.
❏ 4. Go one week without engaging in lustfully watching any

member of the opposite sex.
❏ 5. Inwardly observe a happily married couple and try to discern

the quality of oneness and psychic protection which surrounds
them.
❏ 6. Ponder one or two marriage matches that you know of and see
if your conclusions agree with those of lesson 25.
❏ 7. Think deeply about your choice of dharmas for this life and if
you have not already made this decision, take at least one
small step closer to it in your mind.
CHAPTER FIVE
PSYCHIC TIES
Channels of Thought and Feeling

The release of the sacred seed into the woman during sexual intercourse establishes,
through the first chakra, a connecting psychic astral tube which can be clearly seen on
the astral plane. It is through this psychic tube that desires, feelings and even tele-
pathic messages can be passed from one to another. This connecting tube is generally
about six inches in diameter.
A man and woman touching in other ways—kissing, embracing—also establishes a

temporary connecting link of astral matter which penetrates their auras and com-
pletely covers their forms. This is sometimes called the great magnetism, for it
appears in the Second World as a psychic mass connecting the two of them as wide as
the length of their bodies. This astral matter is created from the diverse expulsion of
emotional energies, blending their auras together.
This psychic channel is magnetic enough to repeatedly pull them back together or
cause emotional pain if they are separated. But unless the encounter is repeated, the
astral matter will wear away in three or four days, a month at the most. In this way,
touching or caressing someone of the opposite sex causes an abundant release of
magnetic force to occur.
Now, because of promiscuity, masses of people are connected one to another in this
way. A great bed of astral matter envelops them as they go from one to another. This
causes the forces of intense fear to persist. From an inner perspective, their soul bod-
ies are obscured by this astral matter and it is most difficult for those living in the
Devaloka to contact anyone on the earth plane who is thus involved. Such individu-
als must fend for themselves without protection from the Devaloka or the Sivaloka,
as do the animals who do not have benefit of the intellect to guide their actions.
It is the brahmachari’s duty to be the channel of the three worlds. In this way he can
help stabilize humanity through the Kali Yuga so that the forces of promiscuous
desire do not blot out our culture, creativity and all connection with the Sivaloka.
This is why the sadhana of brahmachariya is so extremely important for each unmar-
ried Saivite to understand and observe.
REVIEW
1. The connections among the population appear as a great web on the astral plane.
2. The brahmachari’s duty is to be a channel for spiritual energies.
Align Yourself With the Inner Worlds

As a brahmachari or brahmacharini you must endeavor to hold the force of the Sival-
oka and the Devaloka in line with the higher forces of the Bhuloka, the earth plane.
This happens naturally through the transmutation process and living a contempla-
tive life. Regular personal sadhana and non-involvement in the emotional nature of
others is the practice to be observed.
A great aid to the accomplishment of this is to invoke Lord Siva daily. Then the high-
er chakras open within your psychic body. Peace of mind comes unbidden and bliss
flows forth from your aura for all to feel.
Regular puja invoking the assistance of Lord Muruga will also greatly aid in a prema-
ture banishing of connections with the external world and in severing the tubular
connections with inhabitants in it. When Lord Muruga is reached through your puja,
He will also give wisdom and the divine understanding of the transmutation process.
THE ORIGINAL ‘STATE OF BRAHM’

Each person is born in a full state of brahmachariya. Upon reaching puberty, those
boys and girls who remain virgins maintain the inherent state of brahmachariya.
They are are able to ward off, and may not even notice, many emotional and sexual
temptations that would be troublesome to the non-virgin. This is because the psychic
shield surrounding the virgin’s aura has never been penetrated.
They are the ones “who walk in the rain without getting wet, sit long in the sun with-
out getting burned.” They are the ones for whom reading about worldly experiences
nurtures only their curiosity, whereas had they established psychic tubular connec-
tions with a member of the opposite sex, the reading would nurture a much deeper
sexual desire. It is the virgins performing brahmachariya sadhana since puberty who
can, if they persist, live in “Brahm,” or God, consciousness most of the time, even
without performing intense sadhanas. This is because they have never consciously
entered into world consciousness. Instead they look out into it as if through a veil.
REVIEW
1. The virgin is far less vulnerable to the tugs and pulls of worldliness.
2. Brahmachariya is returning to, or remaining in, the “Brahm” state.
The Sacred Fluids of Procreation

An occasional loss of the reproductive fluids does not “break” or interrupt brah-
machariya sadhana, though this should be avoided and is minimal when the brah-
machariya sadhana takes hold. If one does have a “wet dream,” this should not cause
undue concern. Rather, this should be regarded as simply the natural release of
excess energy. The brahmachari or brahmacharini should simultaneously resolve to
work more diligently in guiding the flow of thought through the day.
It is only sexual intercourse between a man and a woman that breaks brahmachariya
sadhana, causing an astral umbilical-like psychic cord about six to twelve inches
wide to form in the inner ether between them. It is within this psychic tube that the
forces of energy and desire flow from one to another. These are the same forces
between mother and father which culminate in the birth of a child and surround and
protect him or her through earthly consciousness until age twenty-five.
CONNECTION WITH THE PARENTS

The psychic connection between mother and father emotionally stabilizes all children
of the family. But if there are other tubes involved due to pre-marital promiscuity or
new ones being created with members of the opposite sex outside of the home, the
children suffer emotionally while growing up. The unleashed forces of instinctive-
ness may often cause them to be disturbed or frustrated.
As a child grows to maturity, he detaches himself year by year from the connection
between his father and mother. The detachment is complete by the age of twenty-
five. But if the son (or daughter) develops a psychic/astral tube with a member of the
opposite sex before this age, he disconnects from his father and mother immediately.
From that time onward he no longer relates to them in the same way as he once did.
Through the sexual act, he now has “left home” and entered the world. The mother
and father can feel the difference and so can the son.
REVIEW
1. The ties between husband and wife create the psychic environment of the home,
giving rise to children and influencing their growing up.
2. A child’s primary psychic connection with parents generally wears away by age 25.
Walk Away From Temptation

Virgins also have strong temptations with the opposite sex from time to time, espe-
cially if they meet former spouses from past lives. Unless a strict understanding of
brahmachariya is observed, these encounters with past-life lovers may move their
fluids and emotions to the point of intercourse.
Each parent should explain to their children at an early age the importance of remain-
ing virgin brahmachariya until married. They must be taught that the elations and
the depressions that follow from disciplining oneself are a part of life on this planet.
They can be gently but firmly taught the practice of mentally and physically “walk-
ing away” from temptation.
In most cultures, from primitive to advanced, young people are taught to

postpone sexual fulfillment for some time. During this waiting time, sexual
tension increases and when it does not get released, it gets transformed into
a more complex social awareness which has been awakened by the desire.
THE NEW CELIBACY, GABRIELLE BROWN PH.D.
Learning to walk away from a situation in dignity is more effective than almost any-
thing else in protecting the brahmachari and the brahmacharini from the overpower-
ing temptation to allow their sacred power to flow out to those of the opposite sex.
Walking away from temptation, mentally, emotionally and physically, is so easy to
remember, so easy to practice. Teach it to the children. Practice it yourself. And
through the grace of Lord Siva a new generation of knowledgeable people will walk
the path to His Holy Feet.
To consciously understand the functions of the physical body as against an

educated subconscious knowing of the emotional unit, coupled with a
subsuperconscious cognition of the mind as an object, is the result of
transmutation—the essence of raja yoga.
RAJA YOGA
REVIEW
1. Virgins also experience temptation & should be clearly taught the value of chastity.
2. The technique of “walking away” is a simple key to overcoming temptation that
anyone can practice.
Be True to Your Higher Self

If you are having trouble staying out of astral situations with members of the oppo-
site sex at night during sleep, ask yourself where you keep your awareness through
the day. For example, if you are watching TV and a provocative scene comes on the
screen, what is your reaction? Are you unwittingly programming your subconscious
to seek sexually stimulating input? Boys: do you view all young women as sisters
and older women as mothers? Girls: do you view all young men as brothers and
older men as fathers?
It may surprise you to know that sex is primarily mental. From impressions in the
conscious or subconscious, subtle desires arise in the mind through imagination.
Imagination gives rise to excitement. Then, from the mental images follow sexual irri-
tation, sexual craving. The path to controlling the sexual nature, therefore, is the con-
trol of the mind or control of desire. Desire is the force that drives humanity onward
and through all phases of the mind. By changing our desires, we change our life. By
changing our life, we change those around us.
BE FIRM BY KNOWING WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

It is when a devotee allows himself to go against his vrata that his forces begin to
become congested. This is because it is difficult to lift awareness out of the denser
areas of consciousness once entered, they are so magnetic. It takes far less effort and
mental pain if one does not enter into them in the first place. Naturally, you must be
strong and firm-minded. Strength of mind comes from knowing what YOU want. It
comes from taking charge of your forces rather than letting them take charge of you.
There are many helpful practices:
1. Keep good, religious company. 7. Follow a balanced diet and eat

2. Practice japa and meditation. only when hungry.
3. Perform daily vigil without fail. 8. Protect the mind’s purity.
4. Worship at the temple regularly. 9. Relax and enjoy the beauty of life.
5. Obey your parents. 10 Do hatha yoga, exercise, get ac-
6. Follow the tenets of our religion. quainted with the body’s currents.
REVIEW
1. Be patient and diligent in your brahmachariya sadhana.
2. Be honest with yourself.
A Transmutation Technique
Occasionally during meditation or at other times, you may find that awareness tends
to drift to the area of the sex organs, and sexual arousal may be experienced. Do not
be alarmed if this occurs. Remain relaxed. Do not think that this is in any way wrong
or unhealthy. In fact, sexual excitation and sexual fantasies are to be expected occa-
sionally during the early stages of meditation.
DRAW THE ENERGY UPWARD

If this occurs, begin repeating AUM in an easy, rhythmical way. Feel the body from
within, then bring the attention gently to rest at the center of sexual excitation at the
base of the spine. Breath in gradually, and as you breath in, move awareness slowly
and steadily up the length of the spine to the base of the skull and into the head.
Visualize white energy being drawn up the spine as you inhale.
Exhale gently; smoothly moving awareness down the front of the forehead, down the
chest and stomach to a spot about two inches behind and slightly below the navel.
When the exhalation is complete, contract the diaphragm slightly further, pulling it
up and back as if you were expelling the last bit of air from the lungs. Then return
awareness to the base of the spine and repeat the process, inhaling while drawing
awareness up the spine and exhaling as you move awareness downwards.
See the energy moving upward as you inhale. As you exhale, allow that energy to
remain in the head. With each new breath, bring more energy up into the spine and
head. Repeat this procedure several times. This is a practice which you can perform
not only during meditation, but anytime sexual arousal occurs. It is a wonderful way
of consciously transmuting the vital energies.
But remember, consistency is the key. Do not indulge in sexual fantasies or lustfully
watching members of the opposite sex. If you do, you are only teasing the instinctive
mind and making your brahmachariya sadhana more difficult for yourself. Keep the
mind fully occupied with your studies and religious work.
REVIEW
1. Avert sexual thoughts with divine thoughts.
2. Follow the simple transmutation technique when arousal occurs.
The Kundalini Force

Realize that the powerful life energy being expressed through sexual arousal is the
same life energy or kundalini which will propel you inward during meditation into
refined and blissful states of consciousness. When used wisely, it becomes the essence
of artistry, intellectual discovery, creativity and spiritual awakening. When abused it
brings attachment, confusion and lethargy. It is a pure form of energy, there to be
directed as is your will.
When one becomes steadfast in abstention from incontinence, one acquires

spiritual energy.
THE YOGA SUTRAS, PATANJALI
When channeled into sexual union, this potent force lends its power to procreation, to
the bearing and raising of children. It is very magnetic and generates in a man and a
woman the power to not only have children but to rear and provide for them. When
directed inward through brahmachariya, this same power awakens inner faculties
and gives birth to a deeply religious and spiritual life. It gives greater energy to cre-
ative ideas and expression than ever before.
The kundalini energy within the body must flow. It flows either outward toward
external objects or inward through the more refined states of consciousness. These
energies must be systematically rechanneled from outer to more subtle expression.
The secret lies in conscious and subconscious redirection or transmutation. Then,
instead of being dissipated, the sacred reproductive fluids can be reabsorbed into the
bloodstream and their energy drawn up the spine. As these fluids are reabsorbed into
the bloodstream, their concentrated force feeds the seven chakras, bringing a more
creative and abundant life. This is accomplished through following the tenets of our
religion and performing sadhana on a regular basis as described in this course. The
secret is in physical and mental control. The understanding of these laws of brah-
machariya and transmutation is a tremendous control, in and of itself.
REVIEW
1. Sexual arousal is an expression of the pure energy within you.
2. This energy is available to use as your will directs.
3. Preserving and concentrating this force promises a fuller and more abundant life.
Personal Challenges for Chapter Five
√ when
❏ 1. Learn and practice the transmutation technique described in

lesson 34.
❏ 2. If you have a sexual fantasy, stop yourself and redirect your

awareness to positive areas that are in line with your chosen
discipline.
❏ 3. Look at the list of helpful practices in lesson 33 and see how

many you currently follow. Pick one that you are weak on and
work to strengthen it in your life.
❏ 4. Practice the discipline of “walking away from temptation” on

two different occasions and observe the power that you can
exercise over your mind simply by withdrawing awareness
from a particular area at will.
CHAPTER SIX
HEALTHY BODY,
HEALTHY MIND
Hinduism: The Way of Gentleness

Some people who are unaware of our scriptural heritage will say that Hinduism is
bereft of ethical guidelines. How erroneous this is may be seen by the Hindu ethic
that one must not cheat or harm another, even in one’s dreams. Denying ethics gives
excuse to deceit and even lying to one’s guru to advance in position and life. But a
scan of Hindu scripture reveals that creeds of conduct exist in the historical canons of
every Hindu sect. And every great Hindu thinker, from King Janaka to Sankara,
Manikkavasagar and Jnanesvara to Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagavan Ramana
Maharshi, offers primacy to ethics as the bedrock of social and spiritual progress.
Ethics begins with the keepers of the home and family. The Vedas list five primary
duties of the householder: study of and teaching the Vedas; daily worship of the
Gods through rituals; bestowing honor upon ancestors; being kind to domestic ani-
mals; extending hospitality to guests and the impoverished. In the Taittiriya
Upanishad is given one of the most eloquent and sweet-voiced creeds. It became the
traditional farewell advice from guru to pupil:
Speak the truth. Practice dharma. Do not neglect the study of the Vedas. Do
not neglect your duties to the Gods and ancestors. Treat your mother and
father as God. Treat your teacher as God. Treat your guest as God.
THE PRIMARY ETHIC: AHIMSA

Primary among Hindu ethics is ahimsa, “non-injury or non-violence.” From ahimsa
Hinduism imparted to the world the practice of vegetarianism. When Hinduism and
Buddhism migrated out of India, much of Asia became vegetarian. The American
Dietetic Association states, “Most of mankind for most of human history has lived on
vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets.”
Hindus are vegetarian because they revere all animal/fish bodies as vehicles for vari-
ous astral and soul beings, and know that diet can either heighten or lower one’s con-
sciousness. Exposure to Christian schooling by many Hindus has distorted this
paramount knowledge.
REVIEW
1. In every Hindu sect, ethics are the bedrock of social and spiritual progress.
2. Hindu ethics means honoring, serving and respecting others.
We Are Not Carnivores

Hindu scripture speaks clearly and forcefully on vegetarianism. In the ancient Rig
Veda, we read: “O’ vegetable, be succulent, wholesome, strengthening; and thus,
body, be fully grown.” The Yajur Veda summarily dictates: “Do not injure the beings
living on the earth, in the air and in the water.” The beautiful Tirukural, a widely-read
2,000-year-old masterpiece of ethics, speaks of conscience: “When a man realizes that
meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he must abstain from eating it.” In the
yoga-infused verses of the Tirumantiram, warning is given of how meat-eating holds
the mind in gross, adharmic states: “The ignoble ones who eat flesh, death’s agents
bind them fast and push them quick into the fiery jaws of hell [lower conscious-
ness].”
Having well considered the origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and
slaying of corporeal beings, let one entirely abstain from eating flesh.
When the diet is pure, the mind and heart are pure.
THE MANU SAMHITA
Vegetarianism today is practiced by nearly a billion people, including 10 million

Americans and 1.6 million Britons. Most people become vegetarian by conscience.
European geniuses—Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein—were
vegetarian by conscience.
PHYSIOLOGY
As the health and ecological sciences have recently discovered, vegetarianism is
man’s best and natural diet. The intestinal length of carnivores (meat-eating animals)
is three times the body length to allow for quick removal of flesh wastes that putrefy
in the intestines. Man’s intestinal length, like other herbivores, is six times his body
length and is designed for digesting vegetables, grains and fruits. Carnivores don't
chew their food. Herbivores, including man, chew their food and have a similar pH
value in their saliva. Our digestive system is closest to fruit-eating primates.
REVIEW
1. The noblest reason for vegetarianism is reverence for all beings.
2. Our digestive system is not suitable for digesting meat. It is closest to fruit-eating
primates.
Be Healthy, Be a Vegetarian
The meat industry injects and feeds livestock with some 2,700 drugs to sustain and
fatten them. Those drugs are passed to the meat-eater. Meat itself is directly linked to
arterial and heart disease and cancer, man’s major killers. Powerful hormonal secre-
tions are released by livestock at the moment of slaughter. These are absorbed by
meat-eaters and directly affect their mental and emotional tranquility. Conversely,
medical evidence demonstrates that a balanced vegetarian diet provides all the right
kinds of protein, minerals, amino acids and nutrients that the body requires. In 1961,
the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that 97% of heart disease can be
prevented by vegetarianism. Current studies show the vegetarian diet as cancer-pre-
ventative. Brussels University proved vegetarians perform physical tests two to three
times longer than non-vegetarians and recover from fatigue five times faster.
The World Health Organization states that 45 grams of protein eaten per day is ideal
for tissue regeneration. This is easily acquired through grains, legumes, vegetables
and dairy products. Meat-eaters ingest over 100 grams, an unhealthy overdose. Meat
protein is poor quality. The Max Planck Institute reported that vegetables, fruits,
seeds, nuts and grains are excellent sources of complete proteins and are easier to
metabolize.
EARTH ECOLOGY
One quarter of the world’s vital rain forests have been destroyed to create pasture for
beef cattle. Deforestation is changing global weather and could lead to polar melting,
desertification of the major food-producing regions and oxygen reduction. Meat-eat-
ing is the engine behind this environmental destruction. The rain forests could be
gone early in the 21st century. Further, beef cattle are consuming 85-90% of the West-
ern world’s grain. The average meat-eater uses five times the food resources of a veg-
etarian because cattle require fifteen pounds of vegetable protein for every pound of
flesh protein. An acre of grain produces five times as much protein as that of beef
pasture; legumes & leafy vegetables from ten to fifteen times as much. The world
hunger problem would be vastly improved by converting all pasture land to farming
use.
REVIEW
1. A good, balanced vegetarian diet provides excellent nourishment for mind and
body, including more than adequate amounts of protein.
2. Vegetarianism is good for our planet, while meat-eating is not.
Purity of Food
All foods can be roughly grouped into one of three categories, known by the Sanskrit
words, tamas, rajas and sattva. These are three basic qualities or rates of vibration by
which in the ancient Hindu science of Ayurveda all things are classified. Simply stat-
ed, the sattvic tendency is ascending, superconscious, and connotes orderliness and
sublimity. The rajasic tendency is expanding, intellectual, and connotes activity and
restlessness. The tamasic tendency is descending, instinctive, and connotes inertia
and stagnation. Tamasic foods, such as meat, fermented or stale foods and overripe
fruits, imbue the astral and physical body with heaviness and inertia and arouse the
instinctive nature. Overeating is also tamasic.
Rajasic foods, such as hot or spicy foods, strong herbs, onions, garlic, coffee and tea,
fish, eggs and salt, invigorate the heat of the physical and astral bodies. Too much
rajasic food will over-stimulate the body and excite the passions, making the mind
restless and uncontrollable. Eating in a hurry also creates a rajasic vibration in the
body and mind. Sattvic foods, such as natural fruits and vegetables, help refine the
astral and physical bodies, allowing the superconscious forces to flow and permeate
and invigorate the entire being.
Especially as a brahmachari or a brahmacharini, it is best to try to eat plenty of sattvic

foods, to be moderate in the intake of rajasic foods and avoid the tamasic ones. The
traditional Saivite diet naturally provides this important balance and is based on
these Ayurvedic principles.
TRANSITION TO VEGETARIANISM
But we also want to avoid becoming fanatical in diet. Those whose diets include meat
should not necessarily become vegetarians all of a sudden. Any such changes, if
desired, should be made gradually to allow the body to adjust slowly and without
upsetting the family. The type of work that you do is also important to consider if
you are thinking of adjusting the ratio of sattvic and rajasic foods in your diet. Those
who do more physical types of work may need to eat more foods in the rajasic cate-
gory.
REVIEW
1. Purity of food brings purity of mind.
2. Eat a balanced diet, relying mainly on sattvic foods.
3. Avoid becoming fanatical; blend transparently with the customs of your family.
Coping With Peer Pressure

The practice of celibacy until marriage is a natural part of a sublime culture. There is
nothing odd about remaining celibate until marriage. In fact, nothing could be more
traditional and wise. Yet, devotees are occasionally troubled from time to time by
“peer pressure” from students or friends who make fun of their purity and call them
old-fashioned or worse. My response is, “If you are secure within yourself, such idle
criticism will not affect you. And when others see that their kidding or ostracism
does not bother you, they will probably cease their harassment. Perhaps they will
come to you for some good advice!”
EVERYONE FACES THE CHALLENGE OF SELF-CONTROL

Take heart in realizing that the challenges you face in your practice of brahmachariya
are not in any way unique to you. To the contrary, control of the sexual instincts is
something faced by everyone, even those not practicing celibacy. The married person
raising a family, too, must control and direct his or her energies, and this is part of the
householder culture.
Throughout history, a universal idea has prevailed that sexual energy for
non-procreative purposes can either be ’used up’ in sexual activity or ’con-
tained’ for upholding the development of the body and the mind. This sex
energy was seen as the fuel for opening these channels of experience, not
only in the East but in the alchemy of the Europeans during the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries.
THE NEW CELIBACY, GABRIELLE BROWN PH.D
You are progressing nicely in your understanding of brahmachariya. Certainly you

are to be commended! Keep striving! Approaching this study with consistency will
give a great firmness of purpose and make possible steady progress on the spiritual
path to Lord Siva’s Holy Feet. Some people merely scratch the surface of this study
and never go deeper. But those with firm patterns of consistency like yourself sustain
their effort and are able to plunge to the depths of the subject and discover the pearls
of knowledge within it.
REVIEW
1. If you are secure in your self, you can face any criticism positively.
2. Through the ages, the most astute have known the laws of transmutation.
Your Mind is Your Own

Each brahmachari or brahmacharini faces a constant challenge of working with his
or her nature, setting personal standards so that awareness actually lives two-thirds
in the inner worlds and only one-third in the outer world of external consciousness.
This means that the base or point of reference and security is within. What is external
consciousness? Mental pictures, or thinking, or visualization, or fantasy—these are all
directly related to the First World, and though devoid of emotion in themselves, they
can stimulate emotion when concentrated upon.
DON’T DWELL ON FANTASIES

Pressures of the building force of brahmachariya may often take expression through
intense mental visualizations of members of the opposite sex. Mental arguments may
also occur while attempts at meditation are being made. The conscientious sishiya
resists these impulses and works to subdue the sexual impulses and their corre-
sponding fantasies. These visualizations are to be avoided. How? By just letting them
go and not dwelling on them. This takes willpower based on firm resolve which is
based on the desire to control the mind rather than be controlled by it. In your
moments of quiet, let holy spiritual and constructive thoughts prevail in your mind.
Use your energies constructively to fulfill your personal goals.
Of all disciplines chastity is the foremost and fundamental,

and all other disciplines will follow naturally if one practices this primary
virtue. He who leads an unregulated life and thinks impure thoughts loses
all powers and strength of mind. He is at the mercy of the passing desires
and feverish cravings of the senses.
SWAMI SARADANANDA
After brahmachariya is practiced for an extended period of time, the energy is well-
placed within the astral body and the mind is keenly alive. Do not dissipate this valu-
able mental energy by allowing yourself to day-dream it away.
REVIEW
1. Avoid mental fantasies. Simply let them go.
2. Brahmachariya builds a store of energy, but this can be dissipated through careless
mental habits.
3. Good health and vitality instill pure, positive consciousness.
Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga is an ancient Hindu system of exercise for health and vitality of mind and
body, specifically designed as a preparation for meditation to balance the energies so
the spiritual currents flow most strongly. On the following pages are drawings of
hatha yoga postures. This is a very simple routine which can be performed in about 7
to 10 minutes and is designed to balance the energies of the body and thereby con-
tribute to mental poise. Please try to perform the postures daily. Do them in the pri-
vacy of your own room, without drawing attention to yourself. Naturally, they
should not be performed after eating.
You will notice that the postures, which are known as asanas, are organized into eight
sets of three to be performed in series. In each position, sensitize yourself to feeling
just when the body has been in the position long enough to tune the nerve currents
involved. Then take a deeper breath and shift the body smoothly into the next asana.
Once you have memorized and learned to correctly perform the postures of the sim-
ple system outlined here, just a few moments of practice will facilitate concentration
almost effortlessly. You will automatically be concentrated because you will have no
nerve strain to distract your mind or “bottle up” the pranas of the body. Needless to
say, hatha yoga is a tremendous aid to transmutation of the vital forces.
FEEL ENERGY
As you perform the asanas, concentrate on feeling the energies within the nerve cur-
rents. Do not stretch unduly or force the body. Rather, relax into the poses as best you
can. Do not worry if you can’t perform the poses perfectly. In time, you will find the
body becoming more flexible and supple. This suppleness is a reflection of the mind’s
condition of flexibility and alertness, and a subconscious free of repressions.
You may have already discovered that when mind tensions are released or resolved,
tensions within the physical body are released as well. Likewise, when physical ten-
sions are released through exercise and hatha yoga, mind tensions within the astral
body are automatically dissolved. It is here that the tensions actually originate. Free
the mind of thoughts and tensions. You will be more aware, more alive, more serene.
REVIEW
1. Make these asanas a part of your regular daily sadhana.
2. Hatha yoga is a great key in governing the forces of mind, body and emotions.
Personal Challenges for Chapter Six
√ when
❏ 1. Be especially kind to animals this week, striving to see them as

divine beings just as are humans.
❏ 2. Ponder the difference in consciousness between those who eat

meat and those who don’t. Discover something about the dif-
ference for yourself.
❏ 3. Observe vegetarians and non-vegetarians, determine for your-

self which group seems the most healthy.
❏ 4. Examine your diet, including your eating habits, and evaluate

it for yourself on the continuum of the gunas: sattva, raja and
tamas. Resolve to make any adjustments you feel are needed.
❏ 5. Look inside yourself and determine if you have secret doubts

about the wisdom of celibacy. Know that such doubts will
make you susceptible to the criticism of sceptics and con-
sciously strive to strengthen your convictions in your brah-
machariya sadhana.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE WORLD
WITHIN YOUR
MIND
The Moonlight Screen of Consciousness

Keep performing your pranayama each day during your vigil and deeply studying
your lessons. Progress is being made. The path of each devotee is unique, as chal-
lenges and obstacles loom up to be faced and resolved.
The concentration of the true spiritual aspirant is attained through faith,

energy, recollectedness, absorption and illumination.
THE YOGA SUTRAS, PATANJALI
Feel close to your guru and all will be well. The inner strength is beginning to build
and the inner you will prevail over the instinctive/intellectual mind. When you begin
to see the clear, moonlight screen as you look back into your head (as if looking
through the back of your eyeballs), know that you are entering a new phase of your
sadhana. This moonlight colored screen is clear and should remain clear as you look
inward during meditation (with your eyes partially open). Do this by looking back
into your head as if you had a second set of pupils on the other side of your eyes. This
is the necessary state to attain in order to proceed onward.
VIEWING THE WITHIN AND THE WITHOUT

While viewing the white screen perpendicular to your eye level, you are simultane-
ously conscious of your breath and whatever you are looking at with your physical
eyes. Therefore, you are seeing into two worlds simultaneously. Think over this con-
cept carefully, for it is a key to controlling the mind and a necessary step to further
inner unfoldments.
Remember, it is not wise to mentally fight with lustful, impure or antagonistic

images, thoughts and feelings that you may experience while trying to attain the
sight of this moonlight screen behind your eyes. It is best to simply let them pass.
Should you be having experiences such as we have just described and we chance to
meet, it would be well that we discuss them personally. Proceed with confidence. All
will be well through the all-pervading grace of Lord Siva.
REVIEW
1. Be patient with your progress and face each challenge as it arises.
2. Learn to see the moonlight screen within.
3. Do not fight with lustful thoughts.
Entanglements in the First World

One must be very careful about lustful thoughts directed toward other people one
sees in the First World. This also includes allowing mental and verbal argument with
them to occur. When this does happen, a temporary psychic connection is made with
them. Such connections, made through careless lustful thinking or mental bickerings
are strong enough to recreate the image of the person in your sleep at night and con-
tinue the escapade. This is not dharma. It is creating unwanted karma which you will
face in the future.
THE DEVAS ARE WELL AWARE

This kind of mental and emotional behavior may even go unnoticed by you for long
periods of time. But the devas of the Devaloka observe your behavior during sleep
and know that it is the result of careless management of your sadhana and awareness
through the day. Your personal behavior, as one who has taken a brahmachariya
vrata, does not go unnoticed by the devas, nor should it go unnoticed by you, for you
are the one who has taken the vrata and who is bound by dharma to uphold it in
your daily life. Should you allow this kind of loose living to persist (“girl-watching”
or “boy-watching” as well as the other areas that have been mentioned), this indi-
cates that new psychic pulls are developing toward beings within the First World.
Remain pure, true to your vrata, and proceed unhindered on the spiritual path.
My sweet one, dear as a parrot, arise awake, for ’tis dawn. With fresh flow-
ers come to worship at the guru's feet. Adhere not to lust, anger or desire.
Search not, pursue not. We are That, my dear, we are That.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
When you have gained your inner strength, you will be able to sit in meditation for at
least a half hour every day and practice being the guardian of every thought and the
ruler of every feeling within your body. If you do this, eventually you will realize
That which is the center of your Being. You will be uplifted, elevated through the
purification that you have brought to your mind.
REVIEW
1. Lustful thoughts toward others & mental argument create new psychic connections.
2. Such improper behavior during the day leads to its continuation during sleep.
3. The devas are aware of and disapprove of such behavior by the brahmachari.
The Price of Carelessness

If the situation described in yesterday’s lesson applies to you, you will be experienc-
ing a difficult time, depending on the degree of your involvement. Your meditations,
or now feeble attempts at meditation, will suffer. And the resultant mental confusion
will practically blots out the beautiful religious feelings once experienced. So rapid is
this change that there will be great temptations welling up from within to “go out
and have a fling.” “Why not? Everyone else is doing it.” Contention will rule the
emotions of the day. Should this occur to you (which it probably will from time to
time if your karma is rather heavy and you are not living around those who are per-
forming the same kind of sadhana), be assured that this is only a temporary state
which you are experiencing. It is a state of your own making.
It is easy for the mind to be torn by the desire to disagree with

its findings out of habit. It is also easy for our awareness to be propelled by
the emotional nature, thus falling into a state of confusion born of
unqualified intellect.
RAJA YOGA
GETTING BACK ON TRACK

The fact that you regret that you have swerved from your chosen path shows that
you have taken the first step toward correcting the difficulty. The fire of remorse
helps to absolve the karma and turn you toward dharma. If you persist (and you
must), the condition will pass away by your own efforts. Study the contents of this
course which apply to your problem and revive your initial enthusiasm.
As you come out of this state, you will naturally feel a certain amount of suffering
and self-condemnation. You will be sorry that you engaged in such sloppy mental
behavior and thus became trapped in an uncomfortable strata of mind. Experiences
are not without their scars, which only heal through a systematic adherence to and
eternal vigilance of mental purity. Go to the temple and place your penitent thoughts
at the Feet of the Deity. The God will soothe your feelings and bring clarity to your
mind. If you keep striving, a great lesson will have been learned.
REVIEW
1. An improper outer life disrupts the best intentions for a successful inner life.
2. Setbacks can be reconciled through penitence, vigilance and resolve.
Just Before Sleep Each Night

Another warning that would be wise to mention at this time is that quite often a
brahmachari feels he is exempt from his daily disciplines just prior to sleep. He is tak-
ing mental liberties and developing sexual thoughts. But, unbeknownst to him,
through this practice he is deliberately opening the channel within his mental states
to the area in the lower astral plane that he will enter when he drops off to sleep.
Naturally, taking these kinds of liberties, no matter how momentary, should be strict-
ly avoided. If such lapses do occur, they should be corrected before dropping off to
sleep by sitting up for a few moments and chanting AUM. For once asleep, you
would continue in the lustful or morbid state for many hours. It is prayers to the
devas and the chanting of the mantram to your personal Deity that should be the last
thoughts and feelings prior to sleep. This, too, will open many inner doors—obvious-
ly, different ones than those opened through sexual fantasy.
Now you see that you are not alone on this inner path. Nevertheless, it is you who
must master the skills that have been clearly outlined in this study, and in doing so
build a strong, knowledgeable, spiritual foundation within yourself for your future
life and that of your family. This is the path that lies ahead, of course, unless you
renounce the world and go on into monastic life following the ancient path of the
natha swamis.
This is bliss indeed to melt in love and realize forever the Being True,
to rest in the calm of felicity, bereft of grief, and live always without fear of
birth or death. You are not the five elements, nor the five senses. You art not
the five sensations. Thou art Anma. May your life be an endless ecstasy of
Being, illumined by the Truth that Anma is inseparable from Siva. Being is
harmony, with mind subdued and serene. Restrain desire, anger and arro-
gance on earth. Be unattached like drops of water on the lotus leaf. Thus
enlightened, may you live in tremulous awareness.
SIVA YOGASWAMI
REVIEW
1. The nature of your destination during sleep in the astral plane, whether whole-
some or unwholesome, depends on your thoughts prior to sleep.
2. Prayers and chanting should be your preparation for sleep.
From Darkness Into Light

The mind of each individual tends either toward light or toward darkness. Depend-
ing upon the self-created condition of the mind, a person lives either within the light
of the higher consciousness or outside of it, in the realms of darkness. What is it like
to be in the light? It is as simple as sitting in a darkened room, closing the eyes in
meditation and finding the entire inside of the cranium turning to light. At first, the
experience of this light may only be a dim, pale flicker, but eventually it becomes as
bright and intense as the radiance of the noon-day sun. It all depends upon the make-
up, or the composition, of the mind.
THE LIGHT OF UNDERSTANDING

People speak of the “light of understanding.” Before the bright light of spiritual per-
ception is experienced, the light of understanding must be laid as a foundation of
philosophical training and appreciation—learning to understand life, for instance,
through action rather than reaction. The purified, integrated mind, so perfected in its
own understanding, lives in close communion with the soul radiance so that light
becomes the constant experience of the mind. It is this to which the yoga student
aspires. Living in the light, everything that formerly was hidden becomes revealed.
Answers to questions that you had been pondering for many years become instanta-
neously unraveled in the light of the superconscious. But the mind has a way, in its
instinctive, intellectual nature, of casting shadows over the natural radiance of the
inner light. What are some of these shadow qualities that bring anguish & suffering?
Attachment is at the root of much suffering, for attachment to material objects or peo-
ple keeps the soul bound in a limited dimension, incapable of expressing itself in full
freedom. People who are deeply attached are prone to resentment, for they are not
able to cognize the various experiences which upset them as they occur.
Resentment burrows deeply into the mind, undermining much of a person’s creative
endeavor. The reactionary conditions resentment is capable of agitating are subcon-
scious, and cast a shadow upon the light of the soul for long periods of time.
REVIEW
1. The purified mind is naturally filled with radiant light.
2. If the inner light cannot be seen, this means the instinctive/intellectual nature is
casting shadows of negative thought and feeling.
Dispel the Shadows With Light

Jealousy is another shadow or character weakness which stems from inferiority, a
limited view of one's real Self. With an increasing control of the mind, an expanded
consciousness is born which frees the bound soul from the experience of jealousy.
Anger. When the mind is attached to static conditions, pressures of various sorts build
up and the uncontrolled mind releases itself to the emotion of anger. Anger is a good
example of a state of consciousness which renders one blind to the existence of light
in any degree.
Fear is another quality which undermines or robs the mind of its essential sanity. Fear
is the inability to face a critical moment, but fear is a protective process of the instinc-
tive mind, since it allows a person, at least temporarily, to avoid what he must later
face. We must remember that what we fear we will attract to eventually face.
Worry is primarily a subconscious state brought on by the conscious mind’s irrational

jumping from one subject to another, unable to centralize on any one point long
enough to complete it, stimulating the imagination into the unresolved and an-
guished emotion of worry. Worry also provokes fear.
Doubt, another mind weakness, is the by-product of the intellect’s inability to cope
with light. When a person depends upon memory or reason for meaningful answers,
the mind will break down in doubt. Only when the higher elucidation of the intuition
is sought is doubt dispelled.
By becoming conscious of the way the mind operates, it is easy to replace the shad-
ows with shafts of light. Then you are strong enough to be kind when you could have
become angry. You are spiritual enough to be generous when you might have reacted
selfishly. As you sit in meditation in a darkened room, practice directing your con-
sciousness inward, to the center of your brain. If you are able to perceive light within
your body, you are living in the light. But should darkness prevail, work diligently
each day to clear out resentment, jealousy, fear, worry and doubt from your nature.
REVIEW
1. Jealousy, anger, fear, worry and doubt are shadows of the lower nature.
2. Understanding your mind will enable you to dispel dark areas.
Be Equal to Whatever You Meet!

How do we actually dispel the shadows of the mind and then keep them from being
recreated? The answer lies in finding a better way to react to life. It is accomplished
simply by meeting everything with understanding. If you feel that everything hap-
pening to you is a play of universal love and you are able to maintain that conscious-
ness of universal love in yourself, then you are beyond the happenings of the world.
Lifted in consciousness, you can see through and enjoy all the states of consciousness.
The circumstances of your life will reflect this change.
Watch for those small incidents that gently “get under your skin” and create an erup-
tion a few days later. Little things that do not contribute creatively to your life are an
indication that there is some kind of subconscious disturbance that you have not
resolved. Look your nature right in the face in meditation, without squirming, and
you will discover that the little disturbance is some issue over which you are rational-
izing, a small resentment or worry that is keeping a part of your mind confused, and
thus, necessarily, most of your circumstances confused.
OBSERVATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Concentrate your mind when you are feeling confused and you will bring peace to its
disturbed states. Peace is control, and control is freedom. Are you able to assimilate
and understand everything you put into your mind? Or do you carry experiences
with you for days, mulling over the past? Some of the things that you see, hear, read
about or think about impress you deeply. Other things do not. Turning our backs on
everything that may be unpleasant to us is not the answer, but if you observe your
reactions as they are taking place and then later the same day turn a calm, detached
eye to your experience, you will re-enter understanding through the controlled state
of your meditation. Do not wait for muddy waters of the mind to settle down in their
own good time when you feel confused. Rather, hasten your evolution by making
your mind silent and composed by using a dynamic willpower to restore order when
you feel least disposed to do so.
REVIEW
1. Meeting with love and understanding all that comes to us is the key to keeping the
mind free of the shadows of confusion.
2. When you become confused or upset, review experience and pinpoint the distur-
bance. View it with love and detachment to restore order.
Personal Challenges for Chapter Seven
√ when
❏ 1. Practice the discipline, described in lesson 43, of looking

inward during meditation and strive to see the moonlight-
colored screen.
❏ 2. Study in your own experience the concept, described in lesson

44, that thoughts or feelings directed to other people establish
temporary channels of communication with them.
❏ 3. Go to a temple. Take with you any accumulated problems that

you are carrying in your mind and place them at the feet of the
Deity to be dissolved in rays of light.
❏ 4. Repeat aloud the lovely verse by Siva Yogaswami in lesson 46.

Meditate on its contents.
❏ 5. Check this box when you are able to see light within your
mind, as described in lesson 47, even if it is just a faint glow.
❏ 6. Study the five weaknesses described in lesson 48 and deter-

mine which present the greatest challenges to you. Make a res-
olution to dispel them diligently as they arise.
❏ 7. When feeling confused, resentful, angry or worried, sit down

and follow the instructions in the last paragraph of lesson 49
and successfully regain your natural composure.
PERSONAL QUIZ
Test your knowledge and personal experience of brahmachariya by asking these
questions of yourself. You may enjoy writing down the answers and then researching
through the course to see how correct you were.
1. What is brahmachariya?
1. Why are the Saivite precepts essential for a brahmachari or brah-
macharini?
2. What should the brahmachari and brahmacharini avoid and why?
3. What can you as a disciple do to strengthen your relationship with
your guru?
4. What can you do to strengthen your relationship with God and the
Gods?
5. What benefits can one hope to attain through the practice of brah-
machariya?
6. What did Siva Yogaswami mean when he described Saivism as the
“Sadhana Marga?”
7. What are the yamas and niyamas?
8. What are the three pillars of Saivism?
9. Why is virtue so important for spiritual unfoldment?
10. Gurudeva says the object is not to eliminate desire, but to channel
and control it. Please explain what he means.
11. What is transmutation?
12. How is brahmachariya both a goal and a practice?
13. Why are the reproductive fluids so sacred? What happens if they
are dissipated?
74
14. How can one prevent sexual fantasies and nightly encounters?
15. What did you experience as a result of regularly performing the
pranayama technique described in the course?
16. What happens on a psychic/astral level as a result of sexual inter-
course?
17. How is a virgin who is practicing brahmachariya different than the
brahmachari who has had encounters with the opposite sex?
18. What are some of the various ways that psychic connections are
made with other people?
19. What does sanctification by marriage mean from an inner perspec-
tive?
20. How does the practice of brahmachariya help preserve Saivism on
the planet?
21. Describe the practice of “walking away.”
22. What can happen if the brahmachari is not honest with himself in
the handling of awareness in relation to his vrata?
23. Please list from memory eight helpful practices for the brah-
machari and brahmacharini.
24. What is transmutation?
25. Please explain the inner effects of creating sexual fantasies on your
mental screen.
26. What practices have you adopted to protect your awareness dur-
ing sleep?
27. Please describe the effect of your hatha yoga practice on your total
being.
75
REGISTRATION FORM
You have come to the end of this course on brahmachariya and are to be congratulat-
ed. You may refer back to these lessons any time in the years to come. The teachings
will serve you well throughout your life.
Perhaps you are interested in pursuing further studies. If so, here are a few questions
to help us to get to know you. Please write the questions and your answers on a sepa-
rate sheet of paper. Please include your name, birthdate, nakshatra and religious
background.
1. What teachings within the course were the most helpful to you?
2. Did the study of this course and the practice of its disciplines
improve the quality of your life? How?
3. Do you have a guru or spiritual teacher? What is his or her name?
4. Did you take the brahmachari vrata? What changes did you expe-
rience as a result?
5. Do you use the name brahmachari or brahmacharini before your
name?
6. Are you planning to marry?
7. Are you interested in monastic life?
8. Would you like to be registered with Himalayan Academy as a
devout brahmachari or brahmacharini?
9. Are you studying The Master Course? If not, would you like to?
76

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CHAPTER ONE

Transmutation: Energy Transformed

A GOAL AND A PRACTICE

As man leaves his instinctive-intellectual nature and unfolds spiritually, the

Learn While You Sleep

The Guru-Sishiya Relationship

Blessed are the worshipful devotees,

Making a Personal Vow

THE BRAHMACHARIYA CORD

BENEFITS OF THE VRATA

Lord Ganesha Welcomes You!

COMMUNICATING THROUGH THE VEILS

Set Positive Goals for Your Life

• inner growth and advancement,

Brahmachariya, or spotless chastity, is the best of all penances.

A perfect brahmachari shines like a noonday sun in

Personal Challenges for Chapter One

❏ 4. On two occasions consciously work to place yourself in an inner plane

❏ 6. Once you have prepared yourself, take the brahmachariya vrata.

WILL AND WISDOM

Prepare for a Rewarding Life Ahead

A Creed for Saivite Hindus

These Are the Beliefs of Your Soul

You Are On the Sadhana Marga

See God everywhere. This is practice.

CONCENTRATE YOUR STUDY

Life Is a Classroom of Experience

LESSONS FROM LIFE TO LIFE

The Yamas and Niyamas, Introduction

Purity, compassion, frugal food and patience, forthrightness, truth and

The Yamas and Niyamas

1. Ahimsa:: Noninjury 1. Santosha: Contentment

2. Satya:: Truthfulness 2. Tapaha: Austerity

3. Asteya: Nonstealing 3. Dana:: Charity

9. Mitahara:: Moderate Appetite 9. Japa:: Recitation

10. Saucha:: Purity 10. Vrata:: Sacred Vows

Personal Challenges for Chapter Two

❏ 3. Go two full consecutive days without getting angry.

❏ 5. Spend ten minutes on three consecutive mornings praying intensely

The Pancha Nitya Karmas

1. VIRTUOUS LIVING (Dharma)

3. HOLY DAYS (Utsava)

The Importance of Virtue

THREE GREAT PILLARS

Control Your Dreams and Fantasies

To aid in the depolarization and transmutation of creative forces, certain

HOW TO CHANT AUM

Be Pure in Thought, Word and Deed

Guide and Protect Your Awareness

Purity is but freedom from desire

GOOD COMPANY, EXERCISE AND WORSHIP

Explain the Life Force to Your Children

PRANA AND THE CHAKRAS

Nourishing the Chakras

CHAKRAS ARE LIKE LOVELY FLOWERS

Personal Challenges for Chapter Three

❏ 1. Memorize the pancha nitya karmas and their meanings.

❏ 2. Work on your preparation for sleep. Resolve on three separate occa-

Pranayama: Harnessing Life Force