Hinduism also accepts that all religions talk about the one God. It does not have concepts like the god of the Egyptians and the god of the Jews, which basically implies that there are many gods. Hinduism says that the god of the Hindus, Egyptians, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zorastrians, Aztecs, Mayans, Maoris, etc are all the same God. Hinduism says that all are worshipping the same God in different ways. Again, one way is not better than the other way. All ways to worship God are accepted by God if performed with faith and devotion.
In fact, it goes one step ahead than other religions. Not only that it says there is only one God; it says that everything in this universe are manifestations of God. In Hinduism, there is no the concept of "creation" in the literal sense of the word. It is God who becomes or manifests as the universe. The universe is not different from God. Everything is God. So, the devotee can take anything which appeals to him as a form of God, and worship Him. The omniscient God knows that the devotee is worshipping Him. The exact name and form do not matter. The attitude and sincerity is what matters.
Similarly a Hindu does not worship a tree or a hill just because it is a tree or a hill. The tree or hill is considered a symbol of God and it is the transcendent God who is worshipped through the natural objects. It is the Creator who is worshipped through the creation. So Hinduism is not pantheistic.
An abstract idea is expressed in a concrete form for the mind to grasp easily. For example, to depict the idea that God protects the devotee from the forces of evil, God is depicted with various weapons. Every small aspect of the forms of various Hindu Gods and Goddesses have a meaning behind them. There is a technical convention of symbology followed. For example, a bow indicated the mind; arrows indicate the senses; noose indicates death; drum indicates time; rosary indicates austerity. The symbology is very elaborate and quite context independant. The picture with all this symbology indicate the personality attributed for the particular form of God. If the devotee also has similar aspirations, he chooses the form of God for his worship. As he thinks about the various aspects in the form, he thinks of the aspect of personality the symbol indicates. This way the form is an excellent aid to think of God with certain attributes. For a person who does not know the language of this symbology, it is a fancy picture. But for a person who understands, it is an excellent aid for worship. Also, there is a lot of myths, legends and nice stories associated with every form of God. This allows the devotee to get a very good hold on to the personality and also have a personal psychological relationship with the personality. This offers great stability to the personality of the devotee. The characters which he is aspiring for are deeply engraved in his mind and provide a strong foothold. It is common in the picturization to use various human, animal and even mixed forms. All these have meanings. Any book on the particular aspect of God will give you the exact symbology.
To give further aid to the devotee, even historical characters like Rama, Krishna and various people who lived exemplary lives are given a form with a lot of symbols added. A good example is Hanuman, the monkey-faced. He was a highly self-controlled, learned, wise and loyal devotee of Rama. His devotion to Rama was outstanding. He was very strong in all aspects - physical, mental, moral, emotional andd intellectual. He is worshipped by devotees to grant them his qualities. The story of Rama has accounts of numerous incidents where his hero has showed his covetable qualities. These stories create a vivid picture in the mind of the devotees and encourages them to develop the same qualities.
The ancient Hindus were highly advanced in the science of psychology. There are numerous treatises on this subject. Different forms are found to create different psychological effects. It is by considering this that the various forms are given to various aspects of God. For example, the forms of elephant and mouse seem to arouse the security consciousness in the mind of man. These are used in the form of Ganesha. Thus the form of Ganesha will increase the alerness of the mind. So a worship of Ganesha is advocated before starting anything new. These symbols come from the technical expertise of the ancient Hindus in this field.
There is no single book for Hinduism. If you are looking for a source where all the principles are given, then there are three texts. They are called "Prasthana Traya" - the principal three. They all present the same truth.
The first is the Upanisads. These are parts of the Vedas. There are innumerable Upanisads. Ten of them were chosen by Sri Sankara, a great saint and philosopher, as to contain the ideas in all the Upanisads put together. This forms the first principal text. These are unadultered, raw, first-hand observations of spiritual phenomenon. They do not try to propose a model to fit the observations. The observers have not imposed their ideas or even tried to classify the observations.
The second is the Brahma Sutras. This was authored by Veda Vyasa, who masterminded the current organization of the Vedas and the same person who authored other great works like Mahabharata and Bhagavata. Brahma Sutras present the concept in the Upanishads in a logical and highly technical manner. It is a scholarly work which establishes the concepts in the Upanishads on a strong logical foundation.
The third is the Bhagavad Gita. This is a record of the conversation between Sri Krishna and Arjuna. This text talks about the practical application of the concepts in the Upanisads to everyday life.
Thus these three texts present the Hindu philosophy and religion in a scientific and practical manner as - observation, modelling and application.
As Hinduism considers all religions as equally valid paths to God, there is no concept of conversion. Hinduism is a sort of meta-religion. It encompasses the basic principles of religion. It helps you to fix your religious goal, choose any religion of your choice and encourages you to follow the religion with all sincerity. Understand the aim of religion. Weigh the pros and cons of various ways of worship available in world. Choose one of your liking and follow it with full zeal. In all probability, you are already worshipping God in your favorite way. Hinduism helps you to follow you religion more knowingly, with a clearer understanding of the goal and with more zeal.
Marriage is not merely a licence to give vent to lust. It has a lot of other duties also. The role of a family in the society is important as an institution to give birth to and grow physically, mentally and morally healthy children for the society. As a homosexual family does not cater to this important duty, it cannot be considered as a complete family.
Mastubration is another question often raised. Nature has a balance. No wealth or pleasure comes for free. Nature will extract the work from the enjoyer in some form of the other. In case of normal sex with spouse, there is a commitment in the form of a family and the individual repays to Nature for the pleasure he gets out of it. When the costs are not apparent, it has to be assumed that there are some hidden costs, which we may not understand or appreciate with our present perception and concepts. But, the law of cause and effect is universal and cannot fail. The costs can come in terms of impaired physical or mental health, a feeling of guilt, etc. So, it is better to enjoy something where the cost paid for it is apparent, than hidden.
As there is no concept of creation in the literal sense, there can be no concept of destruction also. There is a concept of unmanifestation. God withdraws Himself and creation vanishes. Manifestion is instantaneous, if the word can be used, because even time is a part of manifestation only. Similarly unmanifestation is also instantaneous. It is like a dream. How was the world in your dream created ? The dream world, including its own timeline were created instantly. When you wake up, the world just vanishes. Same is the case with this world too.
There are graphic and poetic descriptions about God creating the world, maintaining it and then destroying it. These are only figurative to explain the above concept. They should not be taken literally.
Hinduism cares only about vertical conversion. Hinduism encourages and helps a Christian to be a better Christian and a Muslim to be a better Muslim. Any Hindu saint will ask a Christian to have faith in Christ and go to Church regularly. He will ask a Muslim to have faith in Allah and perform the religious duties ordained in the Koran sincerely. Hinduism does not support horizontal conversion from one faith to another.
Hindus consider claims that "if you do not believe in Christ, you will be doomed" as a disparaging remark on Christ. Christ is a personification of selflessness. His love is unconditional. Putting conditions like this on Him is blasphemy.
Hinduism considers the cloned persons to be different from each other. Hinduism sees the soul and not the body. Even if the body is cloned, the soul is different. So from the religious point of view, there is absolutely no difference between a normal human being and a cloned human being. Biological issues like dangers of genetic disorders, etc are left to the biologists to discuss.
According to the Doctrine of Karma, a person cannot escape from his/her Karma by commiting suicide. Whatever has to be faced has to be faced. If one tries to escape from a problem in this birth, it will have to be faced in a higher proportion in a subsequent birth. Also, committing suicide adds a big Karmic burden on the individual.
Coming to Euthanasia, assisting the suffering person by giving moral and other form of support to bear with the difficulties and if possible to alleviate the difficulties is the best thing that his/her well wishers can do. Taking away the life is only postponing the problem. If the suffering person is not a party in the decision, then it is a mere postponement of the manifestation of the Karma for the suffering person. Whereas for the people involved in making the decision, the mental attitude is what counts.
To summarize, in the best case, it does not help anyone in any way.
Issues like pre-marital and extra-marital sex are social issues. From the religious point of view, uncontrolled lust is harmful for the spiritual development of the individual. Abortion and contraception for reasons like family planning, to avoid an unhealthy child, etc are perfectly acceptable. Even in case of unsocial conception, it is better to abort than to leave an uncared for child who may grow up into an anti-social human being.
The sign of showing respect in India is to join both the palms facing each other vertically. The level of the palms can be at heart, throat, forehead or above the head. At the heart level, it shows an expression of loving devotion. At the throat level, it shows an expression of a servant to the Master. At the forehead level, it shows an expression of respect because of the acknowledgement (by knowledge) of the greatness of God. At the level above the head, it is an expression to tell "Lord, it is You who has become everything in this world. There is nothing in this world but You."
The traditional prayer of the Hindus means this: "Oh Lord, You are the Light of the world. Please enlighten my understanding. Let me see everything in the right light." The prayer does not ask for anything else. This prayer is called the Gayatri. The idea is that we learn from mistakes and suffering in life. It is the hours of sorrow that remind us of God. So merely asking for freedom from misery and suffering may actually stunt our growth. What we need is strength to carry our load. Again, strength without understanding will be more destructive than constructive. Right understanding of the choices and experiences in life will enable us to take the right decisions, give us strength to carry out our plans and the fortitude to face success and failure. So the prayer asks only to "enlighten the understanding". Growth will follow naturally.
In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says, "Whoever worships in whatever form, by whatever name, by whatever means, worships Me alone. I am the recepient of all worship. I respond to their worship and strengthen the faith of people in the form and name they worship." Thus, what us needed is sincerity. Form, words, rituals, etc dont really matter. God looks into our hearts. The best prayer that one can offer to God is to tell Him from the heart "I love You".
Traditional Hindus tell a prayer before food. The prayer means this: "The food is God. The plates, spoon, etc are God. The eater is God. The fire of hunger is God. The act of eating is God." A peculiar prayer!! It implies that I dont eat for my sake. I eat as an activity ordained by Nature. The order of Nature is such that one organism lives at the cost of another. Life to one being is death to another. It is impossible to maintain the life of this body without taking the life of millions of germs, food grains, fruits, leaves, seeds, plants, animals, etc. So the prayer before food implies that life is being offered to life. It is not for mere enjoyment that you eat, but as a necessary action to keep the body alive. This attitude is applicable to almost all actions in life.
During the course of our life, we think and do so many things. Every thought and action has to bear fruit. Some of our thoughts and actions may be such that it is not possible for them to bear fruit in this life itself. This necessitates a subsequent life.
Bad things happen even to people who think and do good in life as the result of their thoughts and action in a previous life. So calamities in life should not discourage a person to sever from the path of virtue.
Now the question is, since we think and do things till the last breath, how is it possible to get out of this cycle of birth and death. The answer is that thoughts and actions are binding only when there is a sense of doership. Actions done for the sake of action, without a sense of reward or doership do not bind, and do not force personal effects.
You should also keep in mind that in most cases, right and wrong are relative to the person involved and cannot be judged rightly from the point of view of another person.
In most cases, you do not have to make a real search for the Guru. You need to understand that the aim of life is God realization and try to have the company of holy men and other aspirants as much as possible. In due course of time, you will naturally develop a liking towards one holy person and the person may become your primary Guru. Most of the holy men can quickly see your temperament and tell you if they can be your Guru and if necessary suggest another holy man as a possibility of being your Guru. What is needed is the zeal towards God realization. The rest will follow at the right time. You need not be too anxious about it.
Defects in these three realms of operation manifest as lust (desire for sensual pleasure and comfort), greed (desire for possessions and human relationship) and ego (desire for fame) respectively. All other defects like anger, jealousy and delusion result from these three basic defects.
These realms can be related to the three Gunas (qualities) of man. Tamas is when the goal of a person is in the physical realm. Rajas is when the goal of a person is in the mental realm. Sattva is when the goal of a person is in the causal realm. When a person goes beyond the three types of defects, he naturally goes beyond the three Gunas. The aim of human life is to overcome these three types of defects, transcend the three Gunas, and thus become perfect.
Karma Yoga defines three practices to free ourselves from these three defects. They are Yagna (activity), Daana (charity) and Tapas (austerity). Yagna helps us to move from Tamas to Rajas. Daana helps us to move from Rajas to Sattva. Tapas helps us to transcend Sattva. Every person has a mixture of all the three Gunas and so we should follow all the three practices.
The desire for physical pleasure is the vestigial remnant of animal nature in us. This has to be countered by Yagna.
Yagna is activity. Whenever there is a choice between action and inaction, we should choose to act. Action is different from reaction. Reaction is blind retort against a change in the environment. Action is a step taken not merely in reply to an environmental change but in view of positive development. Reaction should be avoided. We should always be engaged in some positive developmental activity. Activity is both physical and mental. Activity will free us from desire for physical pleasure. Activity results in wealth, which forms the basis of the next practice - Daana.
Daana is charity. The fruits of action should be put back into the environment (society). Nature follows a strict causal law. We will get what we deserve - nothing more, nothing less. But this is in the long run. There can be apparent violations to this in the short term, which is often misleading. If we take more than what we deserve, later we will have to part with something close to our heart. So, the best course is to give back to Nature anything more than what is barely necessary. This positive step to maintain the balance will free us from unnecessary anxiety and trouble. Charity leads to fame, which forms the basis of the next practice - Tapas.
Tapas is austerity. The doership of Yagna and Daana should be renounced. There is an underlying oneness in Nature. We are all instruments in the hands of God. It is God alone who has become everything and it is God alone who acts through everyone. Man is absolutely powerless before the Will of God. Man's capacity to help is very limited compared to the amount of help needed in the world. It is God who creates the seeds of activity and charity in the minds of men. We are all mere machines in the hands of the Operator. This renunciation of doership takes us beyond the three Gunas, which is the aim of human life.
Thus Karma Yoga takes us from wherever we are to the highest goal.
Most of the Upanisads start with one or many of the three questions:
The question "Why" is always a more deeper one than "What" or "How". Take any subject and put the question "Why" in any form, like "Why does this happen?", "Why should I do this?", etc Apply the same question to the answer. Repeat this again and again. Invariably you will land up with either "Why should I exist?" or "Why should I be happy?" or "Why should I know?". Thus, existence, happiness and knowledge are the three most fundamental quests and urges of mankind.
Thus, whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not, the aim of all pursuits and activites is towards Mukti or Freedom.
Now, let us go one more step ahead and put a final "Why?" to this urge itself. "Why these urges?" The answer given by the Indian scriptures is "Because that is the natural state." Our natural state is to have the three urges fully satisfied. The mind is under a state of delusion that they are not satisfied. The mind is under a hypnotic spell of dissatisfaction. The urge is merely the eagerness to return back to the natural state. When the mind gets dehypnotized, it gets back its natural state and that is Mukti. A dehypnotized mind clearly reflects the true nature, which is called Self. The Hindu scriptures describe the nature of the Self as Sat (Existence), Chit (Consciousness) and Ananda (Happiness).
The problem is in our expectation that the world should be free from evil and misery. Why should it be so? We assume that a world with a mixture of good and evil is imperfect. This assumption arises from our tendency to strive towards joy and avoid sorrow. We have taken the aim of our life to be happiness. When this is our aim, naturally a world which has a mixture of joy and sorrow, good and evil appears imperfect to us.
The aim of life is not happiness and not even virtue. Aim of life is wisdom. Misery and evil make us work towards their alleviation. This work gives us experience. We face joy and sorrow. We face success and failure. We face hopes and disappointments. This makes us think. We start seeking a general solution to this problem. Thus experience forms the foundation of our philosophical contemplation. This struggle towards understanding the Truth eventually leads to an intutive understanding. This wisdom is the aim of life.
Thus, without this mixture of good and evil in the world, no one can attain the ultimate aim of life. Thus, if we consider wisdom as the aim of life, we do not find this world imperfect. We find that the world has the right setup for every individual to attain this aim of life. There cannot be a more perfect world !!
Let us take the sun. It emits light. Assume that it does not emit light. It emits heat. Assume that heat is also not there. It has a gravitational field. Assume that that is also not there. It has a mass. Assume that mass is also not there. It has a form and occupies space. Assume that that is also not there. What is left? We have removed everything by which the sun can interact with our senses and various scientific instruments which basically extend our senses. Still the sun is there in our minds. Assume that everyone forgets about the sun. Now, in the words of Indian philosophy, we have removed the form (sense interactions) and name (mental image) of the sun. In short, we have removed all concepts of the sun. This does not mean that we have removed the sun. There is two more factors which remain. One is called "limitation". Still we distinguish the sun from other things. The other is called "existence". The existence of an object is independant of its name, form and limitation. Now let us remove the limitation. Now it is pure existence. Now there is no difference between the sun and any other object. So at the existential plane, there is only one that exists. There cannot be two. The concept of two comes only by the introduction of a factor called limitation. This One is called Brahman. The only attribute it has is that it exists. Thus we say that everything is Brahman. As there is no limitation, we say it is infinite. This gives us an idea of Brahman.
Now, let us see where do the other things come from. The first thing to come is limitation. How does this arise? We say Brahman is aware of itself. This creates a duality in the Whole. We cannot say why this arises. This limitation aspect of Brahman is called Maya. Brahman does not change. As Brahman has only existence as its attribute, the only way it can change is not become non-existent, which contradicts itself. So Brahman cannot change. So what is that which changes ? Nothing. So we say that the change is only an appearance. Once we assume that duality has arisen, then we have to see how the two parts interact. One part takes the role of the perciever and the other part takes the role of the percieved. Just as a person creates worlds when he day-dreams, the world with all its diversity is created. The mind arises as a means to percieve. "Brahman sees itself as the world." says Yoga Vasishta. A concept of "I am so and so." arises and we get entangled in what is percieved and forget the true nature.
With this background, what is the nature of the world ? It is only in the mind of the perciever. Who is the perciever ? "I" is the perciever. It is just like a dream. Dream starts abruptly and ends abruptly. A world is created in a moment where you are the daughter of so and so, born in some city, aged a number of years, with a few faculties and skills, etc. You do something in the dream and suddenly the dream ends abruptly, the dream world vanishes and another dream starts. This world is similar. It comes into perception suddenly, occupies the mind for a while and goes out of perception as suddenly as it came. Birth, death, etc are all mere concepts. As every dream world has its own timescale, every world has its own timescale. Just as one cannot say how long a dream will be in the mind, no one can say how long this world be in the mind. Just as you do not remember the incidents in one dream in another, you do not remember the details of one world in another. The appearance of a world in the mind is called birth and the disappearance of a world is called death. Karma (fruits of thought, word and deed) and Samskara (tendencies formed) are carried across. If you wish that you want to become a doctor, it will create a Karma and to satisfy it, a world will appear in your mind where you are a doctor. This happens just as a person who strongly desires to become a doctor gets dreams in which he is a doctor.
There is no difference between the waking state and the dream state. You see one world when you are awake. You "dream" into another world. Then you "wake up" into another world. It is pre-filled memory which makes you feel a continuity. Waking, sleeping, dreaming, etc are all concepts in the mind. The "present" is the most real of all these conceptual worlds. Why are the worlds created ? Because of Karma and Samskara. It is desire which creates these worlds. If a person is desireless, then there is no reason why the worlds should appear. There is no birth and no death. This is the state of Nirvikalpa Samaadhi.
Even before that, when a person fully understands this and is fully convinced, he sees the Brahman underlying this world. He is able to see through the names, forms and limitation and is able to see the Reality. Though the mind and the world have not vanished altogether, the person has seen the Truth. This brings about a profound change in the attitude of the person. Slowly desires die a natural death. There comes a time when they have totally died off and the world vanishes for the last time. He reaches the state of Nirvikalpa Samaadhi. What happens after that cannot be described.
Now what about the concepts of God, Guru, etc ? They all hold good. It is like a person in your dream comes and tell you that you are dreaming and asks you to wake up to the reality. There is no other way of a dreaming person to know that he is dreaming. It is Grace that appears in the form of scriptures, Guru, etc to indicate this to us. God is the name we give to a person who knows the truth. The knower of truth knows himself as the Truth itself. So the knower of truth is Truth itself. The various attributes we ascribe to God helps us to slowly realize the Truth.
What about the various forms of God, lokas like Vaikunta, etc ? They are all as real as this world. If you accept the world before your eyes, you should accept all these also.
All this happens without any real change in Brahman. The change is only an appearance. Why does this happen ? There can be no proper answer to this. We may dismiss the question by saying, "It is all a game", "Just to enjoy", "Just for fun", etc, but there are not real answers. The most convincing answer (to me) is "It is natural to happen like this". We do not ask "Why should the fire be hot?" It is similar to that.
Now the question is "What should a person do ?". Just because the world is unreal, do we idle away ? The answer is "The world is as unreal as your body and your hunger. If you can say "I will not eat because my hunger is unreal." then he can idle. One has to do whatever is expected in the situation he is in. But one should not get attached to the results or doership.
Theoretically speaking, it is possible for Brahman to exist without being aware of itself. All concepts and discussion about Brahman are by the mind, which exists only when Brahman is aware of itself. So, there is no way in which the mind can even get an inkling of a state when Brahman is not aware of itself. So such a state is beyond description of the mind. So one school of thought is to say Brahman cannot be without being aware of itself. This is to say that Brahman and Maya cannot be separated. This is reflected in the common paralance as "Without Sakti there is no Siva; without Siva there is no Sakti." This is to say that Existence (Siva or Brahman) and Manifestation (Sakti or Maya) cannot be separated. This is the only conclusion any mental process can arrive at. So from this point of view, I agree that Manifestation is also an attribute of Brahman. But the mind has the capacity of extrapolation. By extrapolation, the mind can intellectually imagine a state where Manifestation is not there. When you extrapolate thus, you are required to explain how Manifestation arises. This again is not possible for the mind. It is like a doctor being the gynaecologist to her grandmother during her mother's birth, which is not logical. This has been explained with so many analogies. Sri Ramakrishna says, "A salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean, but nothing was left to tell how deep the ocean was." He says this is what happens when a person enters Nirvikalpa Samadhi. From all these, we can assume that such Brahman can be there without Manifestation, but it cannot be described or discussed by the mind.
Basically do all your duties, but be unattached. An easy way to do this is to surrender to God. It is God who has become everything and everything happens by his wish. So everything will be for your good in the long run. Whereever the Lord places you, do whatever is expected of you and do not worry about the results and do not be attached to the doership. Every work is God's work. You are not indispensable. You only a medium through which God gets work done. It is ultimately He doing the work. Take whatever results that come as His prasad. Do not have preferences. If you are given a choice exercise it intelligently, but if you are not given a choice, accept whatever you get. Forget that you are interacting with the world. You are really interacting with God in various forms and roles. Approaching the world with this attitude will not bind you. Also do not take more than you need from the world. The world may thrust wealth in your hand. It is really the Lord's wealth. It has been given to you for proper disimbursement. Look upon yourself as a manager, while the wealth really belongs to God. Put the Lord in the position of an Employer and do every work as an offering to Him. Do not assume ownership of any possessions. Once you start doing this, all the details of this path will fall in their place. The path will become clear as you walk along it with the lantern of Faith in your hands. There is nothing to be anxious about. You have the zeal. You add faith to it. This chemistry will work wonders.
From the point of view of Jnana, we say everything happens by coincidence. The concept of cause and effect is only in the mind. So it is not proper to expect some results for our work. That does not mean we should be idle. We should merely rise up to every situation we face. When everything is coincidental, there is no concept of destiny or freewill. It is a state beyond both. With this attitude to total detachment from the fruits of work and from the sense of doership, live in the world naturally. Every occasion arises, exists and subsides in your mind. There is nothing external. The real "I" is both all inclusive and transcendent of all these. Be a mere witness.
Though both the paths sound different, essentially they are the same. A bhakta says "everything is God". A jnani says "everything is I". The bhakta says "everything happens by the will of God". The jnani says "everything happens by mere coincidence". Both mean the same - "I am not the doer".
There is a danger in accepting this state prematurely. There are two stages to this. The first is surrender of fruits of action. The second is surrender of doership. The second can be taken only after the first is perfected. Otherwise it will be a mere escape route. First you have to learn to accept whatever that comes, irrespective of your efforts. Not a thought of dissatisfaction should arise in your mind. Only when this is achieved, you are ready for the second stage. Till then, you have to take responsibility to your actions.
What is the result of this? Peace of mind. Unalloyed joy. Unshakable bliss. Nothing in the world can disturb you. Nothing can make you sad. Ultimate and permanent freedom from all anxiety and sorrow. In one word - "FREEDOM". This is called Jivanmukti. This is the goal of human life.
By freeing the mind from the psychological bondage of sex, the animal becomes a man. This is an essential step to Self realization. By freeing the mind from the idea of sex, the mind becomes capabale of thinking at a subtler plane. Self realization is the pinnacle of subtlity of the mind. So celibacy is essential to spiritual life beyond a certain stage. In the early stages, an aspirant may be able to get away with the mind still dwelling in sex, but in course of time, he will hit a wall. The mind will not be able to proceed further due to its inability to grasp subtler ideas. To cross that threshold, celibacy is a necessity.
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