How Erotic Continence spiritualizes lovemaking
Author: Stefanie Aue
Category: Vedas/Yoga
Issue No: Special Issue Sexuality
Under the term Brahmacharya, “Erotic Continence,” Tantra teaches the control of sexual energy and the experience of spiritual highs during lovemaking. Those who embark on this tantric path can not only improve their love life and experience previously unknown states of ecstasy, but also come closer to God.
Sex lasts six and a half minutes on average internationally. This was the conclusion of a study conducted by the University of Queensland. And that in the sexually tending rather active age of 18 to 30 years. For the over-50s, the duration of an average lovemaking session is just over four minutes. The sexual act is over when the man ejaculates. Considering that many women need at least 20 minutes to reach orgasm, conflict and frustration are inevitable.
But why does this “short” experience occur, when we as humans are also capable of consciously enjoying “the most beautiful secondary matter in the world” for longer? Do we orient ourselves to the wrong role models today? Do the Internet and the film industry show us unrealistic scenes that we sadly try to emulate? This is exactly what the authors of the book “The multi-orgasmic man,” Mantak Chia and Douglas Abrams, say about the current situation: “Hollywood sex is not good sex; it’s just fast sex. The passionate, hurried embrace portrayed in most movies, in which the woman is instantly wet and instantly satisfied by a few minutes of coital quivering, would be hilarious if it didn’t leave so many viewers trying to emulate this unrealistic model of lovemaking.”
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However, more and more people are looking for a happy love relationship and a fulfilling sexuality. Quite a few of them end up in questionable extremes that neither do them any good nor bring them deeper fulfillment. On the contrary, they create suffering and dependencies through something that should bring happiness and joy. The Tantra Yoga system, on the other hand, offers a solution. Thousands of years ago, Tantrics were already engaged in practices of fulfilling sexuality. “Good sex” and increased pleasure, however, were not the main intention of the Tantrics of that time.
As in all styles of yoga, the primary intention of Tantric yoga is spiritual evolution, that is, the personal advancement of the individual. The ultimate goal of Tantra Yoga is enlightenment and thus the merging with the highest Absolute, with God.
Interested in learning more about how to improve lovemaking through the tantric teachings of erotic continence? Scroll down and click on the link to the full text!
BRAHMACHARYA
In the classic guide to yoga, the Yoga Sutra, the eight-step path to spiritual enlightenment, Erotic Continence (Sanskrit: Brahmacharya) is described by the sage and scholar Patanjali as one of the first rules of conduct (Yamas). Brahmacharya means continence, control or restraint and can refer – but does not have to refer – to a life of abstinence. At the same time, the word brahmacharya refers on the one hand to an orientation toward Brahman, the highest divine in the Hindu tradition, and on the other hand to Brahma, the creator god from the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This clarifies the spiritual orientation of this practice, which is realized mainly through transmutation (energetic transformation) and sublimation (energetic elevation). Brahmacharya consequently aims at perfect control of sexual energy. To achieve this, the yogi can
the yogi can choose from two possibilities: Either he renounces all sexual activity or he maintains his sexual activity.
If he chooses the path of renunciation, he refrains from all erotic and sexual activity, but strives to transform his sexual potential into higher forms of energy through the application of appropriate yoga exercises and techniques. This is called active abstinence, since sexual energy is nevertheless actively worked with, whereas the mere refraining from sexual acts (passive abstinence) is not considered brahmacharya. Swami Sivananda, for example, assumed that the lack of spiritual sadhana (spiritual yoga practice) is the main cause of all sexual attractions.
Would you like to learn what happens, on the other hand, when a yogi decides to practice his sexual activity? Download the full article at the end of the post!
EROS: A VERY IMPORTANT PREREQUISITE
An extremely important prerequisite for spiritualizing lovemaking is to learn to distinguish between the instinctual energies driven by the ego (Sanskrit: ahamkara), which are primarily sexual and serve reproduction, and the more sublime energies of pure eros, and to continually align oneself with the latter.
In the case of pure Eros, the boundaries of the ego in which we are trapped on the sexual plane can be transcended for a period of time so that love and altruism, for example, can be fully expressed.
While sexual excitement generates desires, restlessness, and specific emotions in the being that lead to contraction of consciousness, erotic excitement generates more vivacity and joy, and thus a great expansion of consciousness. Erotic energy helps to raise one’s vibrational frequency, promote idealistic thoughts and ideas, and nourish aspiration to something higher. In general, it can be said that so-called “raw sexuality” leads to a narrowing of the field of consciousness, whereas pure eroticism contributes to the expansion of consciousness. Erotic arousal is aroused much more slowly and also rises more slowly than sexual arousal. In return, however, love games with pure eros can last much longer than ordinary sex. Erotic arousal is much more affective and sensual than sexual arousal. In this state, the urge to ejaculate fades and no specific goal, such as orgasm, is pursued. Rather, the lovers are directed toward a euphoric merging with each other and toward comprehensive affective fulfillment.
Many of us have a typical picture in mind: the woman does not come to orgasm and the man comes too early. Erotic continence can bring the whole thing back into balance. What “erotic continence” means, you will learn in the whole article – at the bottom the link to it!
In both Taoism and the Tantric Kaula tradition, the biological transmutation of sexual creative potential and its sublimation into higher forms of vital, emotional, mental and spiritual energy is considered the key element of Erotic Continence. Transmutation describes a process in which an initial substance is transformed, i.e. transmuted, into another, more subtle (finer) substance. What is special about this process is the energy that is released in the process, which can be harnessed in this way. Tantric masters described the process of biological transmutation thousands of years ago. In the second half of the 20th century, this process was partially proven by modern science. The Frenchman Louis Kervran was the first to prove the process of biological transmutation with his research. By taking advantage of the process of transmutation, the practitioner can transcend the limitations of the physical body and spiritualize his life.
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Applied to Erotic Continence, this means that during biological transmutation, sexual material, i.e. semen and other sexual fluids, are transformed into other forms of matter and are absorbed and used by the organism. This transformation of matter is accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy, which can be expressed as physical, psychological, emotional, mental or spiritual energy.
About the author: Stefanie Aue
Stefanie Aue is a Tattva Viveka editor and freelance journalist. As a social and media scientist as well as a yoga teacher, she is interested in social and individual transformation processes. She is currently training to be a teacher for “Tantra for Women” groups.
This article has also been published on the German Website: https://www.tattva.de/sexualitaet-im-tantra/
