Jagat

After a discussion on Facebook, I posted two articles I wrote on "Sex and Bhakti Yoga" ( Part I and Part II )  Prisni responded by saying "The biggest problem is not sex, but the identification of love with sex, and the inability to feel love except through sex. Men want sex, then its over, and they can go on doing whatever they really want. Fixing cars, fighting with swords, or playing football, or becoming a celebrated scientist." This led to the following response: You have correctly described the material situation for sex. This is why the appropriate practice is to retain the semen. Nobody in the world learns this technique and so all the anarthas related to sex arise. It is not that retaining the semen on its own solves the problem, but it is an important ingredient in the solution. When orgasm ceases to be the goal of sex, then one's mind is freed to enter into other dimensions of meditation and awareness. I hope you will understand that this is ...

One of the subjects that I am confronted with on a regular basis is that of the woman's experience in India. As a self-avowed Sahajiya, any issues related to gender and sexuality are of particularly interest to me, so I am an observer of sexual attitudes in this part of the world. A recent event taking place in India has once again pushed the issue to the front pages of the newspapers and other media, primarily for its sensationalism. An Assamese reporter happened to film the brutalization and sexual harassment of a woman in the Guwahati streets at night by a gang of men. A discussion of the event and the general situation can be found in this Guardian article by Helen Pidd, Why is India so bad for women? . The litany of related news items in this article makes one hang one's head in despair. The land of the Goddess, of Shakti, of Radha... I truly want to weep, not only because I have been hearing this for so long, but once again this is brought to my attention so I wan...

Naomi Wolf has a new article on Huffington Post in which she speculates on the possible relation of the pornography culture to the rash of politicians like Anthony Weiner who have exposed themselves carelessly in the the social media. She refers there to an older article, The Porn Myth , published several years ago in New York magazine, in which she refers to a debate about pornography she had with Andrea Dworkin, one of the early feminist anti-porn crusaders. Dworkin felt that porn would result in the increased objectification of women and lead in turn to more sex crime. Wolf debunks this conclusion as a myth and postulates that it was rather resulting in different kinds of desensitization, especially among the young men who had become habituated to its use. One thing is certain though, the common thread in both their ideas is that those who are habituated to the use of pornography increasingly tend to depersonalize or objectify women. Towards the end of her article, Wolf come...

I just caught the last bit of a CBC interview with Robert Jensen, author of Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity . There was a great deal in this man’s ideas that resonated very strongly with me. Indeed, the words with which he ends his book verbalize one aspect of my own core concept very clearly: “I renounce masculinity and choose instead to be a human being.” Commenting on this statement, Jensen says that the model of masculinity that is the norm in our society, and is promoted in pornography (“a window to the sexual imaginations of our culture”) is toxic. It is based on ideas of conquest and control and hence leads directly to aggression and violence. It perpetuates and enhances sexual and racial stereotypes that have well-known negative consequences for both men and women. The increasingly pornographic culture of the West, and the predatory corporate capitalist system behind it, promote a cruel and misogynistic vision of women. It undermines the essential feminine q...

I just uploaded a new version of  Gīta-govinda  to the Grantha Mandir, with the commentary atttributed to Prabodhananda . Here are a few notes I jotted down while working on it, with no real theme. I can't tell you how, even with my limited sensibility, the  Gīta-govinda  shows its power. Just repeat these pieces of Sanskrit and let the rhythm and power of the words penetrate you. We cannot yet translate these words. We have other words that are true to our experience. But there is a rawness in Jayadeva; even in all the exaggeration there is a truth. vasati vipina-vitāne, tyajati lalita-dhāma  luṭhati dharaṇi-śayane, bahu vilapati tava nāma He dwells in the wide forest, He has given up his pleasant home. He lies restlessly, trying to sleep on the ground And repeats unceasingly your name. Prabodhananda in his commentary says that dhāma has many meanings--the body, home, effulgence, place, birth, influence. When it says that Krishna has given up h...

In answers to questions from Anuradha , Advaitaji makes the comment about Sahajiyaism: What is it? It is an identification with Radha-Krishna by sādhakas who express it in tantrik sexual practise ... It is dangerous because one identifies oneself with the divine lover and beloved. This is condemned by Rupa Gosvami as ahaṁgrahopāsanā . It is diametrically opposed to a service attitude. It can be quite subtle, that is why I presumed that my Guru and three other mahātmās urged me not to practise gopī-bhāva in a state of great sexual agitation or engagement - obviously one will then identify oneself with Radha Krishna more or less. [ My bold ] I thank Advaita for making this clear statement of his position on the question, which I am sure reflects that of orthodox Vaishnavas everywhere. In my opinion, Advaita is confusing ahaṁgrahopāsanā with āropa ; I personally do not recommend identifying with the Divine Lover and Beloved in the sense that Advaita means it, nor with comprom...