Sexual pleasure (sukranash): Hinduism
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Physical indulgences cause ageing
Yogi Ashwini, Nothing In Creation Exists In Isolation, Dec 29, 2016: The Times of India
There are equal and opposite forces at play in each and every aspect of Creation. For us to understand darkness, there needs to be light. To know happiness, there needs to be sorrow. Nothing in creation exists in isolation. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Every bhog, pleasure, has a rog, pain.
Whatever physical desires one indulges in, whether food or sexual pleasure, causes the body to age. Spices in food not only lead to corrosion of the top layer of the intestines but also cause hyperactivity that speeds up the process of ageing in the body . Similarly, sexual indulgence leads to the loss of vital fluid called sukra. The term coined in Ayurveda for sexual pleasure is `sukranash' or `loss of sukra'.
According to Ayurveda, human body is composed of seven dhatus or fundamental elements rasa, rakta, mansa, medas, asthi, majja and sukra.These seven dhatus are connected such that loss of one leads to the loss of those preceding it as well. So if one were to lose sukra, it would result in loss of all the other six dhatus as well.This is the reason that so much importance has been given to celibacy by our sages and rishis.
King Yayati, an ancestor of the Pandavas, indulged in a lot of physical pleasures through his life. When he started ageing, he performed severe penance to redeem his youth. He was then given the boon to exchange his old age with anyone who was willing to gift him their youth. He asked his son Puru, who willingly granted his father's wish.King Yayati regained his youth, and went on to enjoy physical pleasures for thousands of years. Yet, he still craved for more pleasure. It finally occurred to him that there is no end to physical pleasure. He returned Puru his youth back and told him to overcome physical desires.
The key to satisfaction is to rise over and above these desires, something which often eludes the greatest of ascetics... Long back, I met a Babaji who was performing penance in the Himalayas. I asked him how he took care of his sexual needs. His face turned red and instead of answering my question, he angrily told me to go away . I was stunned that a person who was living in the Himalayas could be affected by something so physical and basic and react so angrily at just the mention of the word. Had he risen over his basis senses, as Yayati had advised his son Puru to, he would not have reacted thus... Ayurveda may promote celibacy but it does not prescribe suppression of natural urges. If one has the urge to rest or to indulge sexually , and if instead one suppresses that urge, it results in disease in the body . Yoga therefore prescribes “ek tatva nirantar abhyas“, that is, one-pointed focus, under the guidance of Guru.
If the focus of the person remains on the One, then nothing can shake or affect that person and the need to suppress does not arise. Sanatan Kriya further details the techniques to conserve sukra and to transform the conserved sukra into ojas, a subtler dhatu, responsible for the extraordinary radiance around a person. At an advanced stage, ojas transforms into tej, which accounts for the magnetism exuded by yogis.
