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The Sex-Impulse and the Spiritual Sadhana · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  In his book The Mother, Sri Aurobindo describes sex as one
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  of the three forces quote power, wealth, sex that have the
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  strongest attraction for the human ego and the asura and are
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  most generally misheld and misused by those who retain
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  them. End Quote.
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  The force of the sex impulse is one that impacts not just a
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  specific individual, but social interactions and spiritual
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  sadhna. From a general perspective, the
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  sex impulse arises in the animal Kingdom and acts as a means for
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  ensuring the continuity of the race and as a means of creating
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  intimate human bonding, while also being used as a form of
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  control and domination. It provides a strong, vital
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  physical response that is experienced as highly
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  pleasurable and thus something that people and animals seek
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  after and try to repeat. The sex impulse is so powerful
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  and potentially disruptive to social bonds that it has been
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  surrounded by numerous and widespread taboos, has been
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  stigmatized by many as something sinful or dirty, and at the same
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  time treated as a strong allurement and motivating force.
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  In the modern world, sexualization begins even with
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  young children, who are frequently dressed in such a way
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  as to entice and provoke, and thus treated as an object of
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  desire by individuals who are unable to manage this force
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  effectively. Meanwhile, entertainment and
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  even the sale of goods is contextualized with sexual
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  innuendo, sexual content, and overt forms of sexual
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  enticement. The sexual energy can drive an
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  individual to extreme lengths and has been an underlying force
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  that leads to lust, jealousy, and other forms of disruptive
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  behaviour both for the individual and for the society.
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  Laws are developed to try to regulate the disruptive power of
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  sex. These laws, however, have little
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  impact on an individual under the influence of the
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  unrestrained sexual impulse. As a result, human society
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  confronts this issue with mixed results.
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  Laws, taboos and customs arise to hold the sexual impulse under
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  some form of control, while meanwhile the society itself
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  fixates on sex as a central theme, motive and forced to be
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  desired and developed in the life.
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  And when that is not possible, there are widespread occurrences
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  of rape, weaponizing of sexual violence in the context of war
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  or attempted domination, pedophilia and the proliferation
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  of sexual images. The role of the sex impulse in
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  life and the complexity surrounding it takes on a new
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  aspect when a spiritual seeker attempts to understand and deal
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  with it in a way that furthers his spiritual development.
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  This too has an individual as well as a social aspect,
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  especially if the individual has joined a community centered
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  around spiritual development such as a monastery, ashram,
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  cloister or other form of close knit community.
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  In such instances, the sexual energy can become an extremely
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  disruptive force in the community and can lead to far
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  reaching negative consequences for the group.
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  In most cases, this issue is addressed by segregating male
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  and female members, yet this does not solve the issue.
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  Witness the widespread occurrence of homosexuality or
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  pedophilia in various religious groups that suppress sexuality
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  with vows of celibacy without solving the underlying force of
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  the vital animal drive itself. Eventually, the underlying force
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  itself must be understood, addressed and transformed.
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  Due to the complexity and widespread role of sex in all of
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  human life, a step by step review will be required and in
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  the coming days we propose to take up these issues.
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  Since our primary focus is on the development of a new
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  transformative stage of conscious evolution, we
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  appreciate the eventual need to overcome the lower vital
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  physical nature of this force and use the energy liberated
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  from sex to develop the new higher consciousness.
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  What this implies and how this can be done must be the focus of
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  our forthcoming comprehensive review of the subject.
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  This requires breaking through all of the moral and social
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  rules and laws surrounding sex and seeing the vital physical
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  drive for what it is. Not sinful, not dirty, but a
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  basic force of evolution centered in the physical vital
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  nature and thus being able to understand, overcome and master
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  this first chakra energy. As with any power, there are
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  both positive and negative aspects in the most general
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  sense, and there is the evolutionary trend that requires
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  harnessing the raw first chakra energy and redirecting it
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  towards spiritual fulfillment. Trior Vindo writes quote The
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  sodic has to turn away entirely from the invasion of the vital
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  in the physical by the sex impulse 4 If he does not conquer
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  the sex impulse, there can be no settling in the body of the
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  divine consciousness and the divine Ananda.
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  End Quote reference Srioro Bindo basis of Yoga chapter 4 Desire
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  food sex page 69.