Jan. 13, 2026
Sex, Spirituality and Transformation of Human Life
reference: Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 4, Desire — Food — Sex, pp. 73-75This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2026/01/11/sex-spirituality-and-transformation-of-human-life/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are allavailable on the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of SriAurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
#Sri Aurobindo #yoga #integral yoga #Brahmacharya #spirituality #retas #ojas #evolution of consciousness #sexual energy #sexuality
1
00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:04,400
Most religious and spiritual
paths have addressed the issue
2
00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:08,280
of sexuality from a viewpoint
that turns it into some kind of
3
00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:13,040
sin or morality.
Concern and proscriptions about
4
00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:18,160
sex and responses to the sexual
impulse mirror this focus on
5
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,960
morality versus immorality.
People who engage in sexual
6
00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:28,400
behaviour outside the accepted
norm in a particular society are
7
00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,120
stigmatized by those activities.
The determination of what
8
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:38,000
constitutes moral or immoral is
clearly based on the view of
9
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,240
specific societies and thus can
be seen as a temporal
10
00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,720
determination, not some kind of
universal law or judgment.
11
00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,000
Obviously, forcing oneself
sexually on another person
12
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,480
without mutuality, or using sex
as a way to control, bully, or
13
00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,400
dominate another person shifts
the general conversation
14
00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,160
somewhat where it breaches
moral, legal, and interpersonal
15
00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,920
human constraints.
Regardless of how a particular
16
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:14,400
society views sex and sexual
practices, the spiritual seeker
17
00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,640
needs to strip away the
opinions, the prejudices, the
18
00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,240
prejudgments and the accepted
morality to understand how the
19
00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,920
sexual power functions, what
role it plays, and how it needs
20
00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,320
to be addressed in the context
of the evolution of
21
00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,440
consciousness and the
transformation of human
22
00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,360
existence.
In order to accomplish this,
23
00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,080
Srioro Bindo has taken an
entirely different view of sex
24
00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,520
and the sexual impulses.
He places it in the context of
25
00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,200
the evolution of consciousness
and the focus and use of the
26
00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:55,080
energy in relation to the
required focus and force needed
27
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,320
to accomplish the yogic
objectives.
28
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,080
As well as by looking at it in
the context of the high
29
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,320
probability of distraction by
the arising of the sexual
30
00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,800
impulse or by misuse of the
higher powers when they open the
31
00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:15,120
lower vital chakras and instead
of acting to transform the
32
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,960
energy, simply enhance the
action of the original vital
33
00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,480
powers through increase of
energy.
34
00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,080
There are numerous examples of
this misuse of spiritual force
35
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,360
to gain sexual power.
The idea that it can somehow be
36
00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:36,440
managed is for most people an
illusion perpetrated by the
37
00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:41,320
vital nature, eager to continue
its old ways with new forms of
38
00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,000
energetic support.
This can lead to serious
39
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,160
imbalances and failure in the
spiritual pursuit for the
40
00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,480
individual seeker and can cause
extreme disruption to the
41
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,160
environment within a spiritual
community.
42
00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:01,640
Sri Ro Bindu observes Quote I
have stated very briefly in my
43
00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,160
previous letter my position with
regard to the sex impulse and
44
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,640
yoga.
I may add here that my
45
00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:12,280
conclusion is not founded on any
mental opinion or preconceived
46
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:17,800
moral idea, but on probative
facts and on observation and
47
00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,120
experience.
I do not deny that so long as
48
00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,000
one allows a sort of separation
between inner experience and
49
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,120
outer consciousness, the latter
being left as an inferior
50
00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,280
activity, controlled but not
transformed, it is quite
51
00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,600
possible to have spiritual
experiences and make progress
52
00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,280
without any entire cessation of
the sex activity.
53
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,840
The mind separates itself from
the outer vital life parts and
54
00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,400
the physical consciousness and
lives its own inner life.
55
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,960
But only a few can really do
this with any completeness.
56
00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,120
And the moment one's experiences
extend to the life plain and the
57
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:05,280
physical sex can no longer be
treated in this way, it can
58
00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,040
become at any moment a
disturbing, upsetting and
59
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,680
deforming force.
I have observed that to an equal
60
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:19,720
extent with ego, pride, vanity,
ambition and rajasic greeds and
61
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,200
desires, it is one of the main
causes of spiritual casualties
62
00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,280
that have taken place in Sadhna.
The attempt to treat it by
63
00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:31,400
detachment without complete
excision breaks down.
64
00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,000
The attempt to sublimate it
favoured by many modern Mystics
65
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:41,240
in Europe is a most rash and
perilous experiment, for it is
66
00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,480
when one mixes up sex and
spirituality that there is the
67
00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,200
greatest havoc.
Even the attempt to sublimate it
68
00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,640
by turning it towards the
Divine, as in the Vaishnava
69
00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:57,440
Mathura Bhava, carries in it a
serious danger, as the results
70
00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,560
of a wrong turn or use in this
method so often show.
71
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,880
At any rate, in this Yoga, which
seeks not only the essential
72
00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,040
experience of the Divine, but a
transformation of the whole
73
00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:16,040
being in nature, I have found it
an absolute necessity of the
74
00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:20,520
Sadhana to aim at a complete
mastery over the sex force.
75
00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,520
Otherwise the vital
consciousness remains a turbid
76
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,000
mixture.
The turbidity affecting the
77
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,600
purity of the spiritual must
mind and seriously hindering the
78
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,920
upward turn of the forces of the
body.
79
00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,680
This Yoga demands a full
ascension of the whole lower or
80
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:43,200
ordinary consciousness to join
the spiritual above it, and a
81
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,840
full descent of the spiritual,
eventually of the superimental,
82
00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,240
into the mind, life and body to
transform it.
83
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:58,280
The total ascent is impossible
so long as sex desire blocks the
84
00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,560
way.
The descent is dangerous so long
85
00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,480
as sex desire is powerful in the
vital, for at any moment an
86
00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,880
unexcised or latent sex desire
may be the cause of a mixture
87
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,880
which throws back the true
descent and uses the energy
88
00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,080
acquired for other purposes, or
turns all the action of the
89
00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:24,960
consciousness towards wrong
experience, turbid and delusive.
90
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,240
One must therefore clear this
obstacle out of the way,
91
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,240
otherwise there is either no
safety or no free movement
92
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:41,200
towards finality in the Sadhna.
End Quote Reference Sri
93
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:48,720
Aurobindo Bases of Yoga, Chapter
4 Desire Food Sex pages 73 to
94
00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:49,720
75.
00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:04,400
Most religious and spiritual
paths have addressed the issue
2
00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:08,280
of sexuality from a viewpoint
that turns it into some kind of
3
00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:13,040
sin or morality.
Concern and proscriptions about
4
00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:18,160
sex and responses to the sexual
impulse mirror this focus on
5
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,960
morality versus immorality.
People who engage in sexual
6
00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:28,400
behaviour outside the accepted
norm in a particular society are
7
00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,120
stigmatized by those activities.
The determination of what
8
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:38,000
constitutes moral or immoral is
clearly based on the view of
9
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,240
specific societies and thus can
be seen as a temporal
10
00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,720
determination, not some kind of
universal law or judgment.
11
00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,000
Obviously, forcing oneself
sexually on another person
12
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,480
without mutuality, or using sex
as a way to control, bully, or
13
00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,400
dominate another person shifts
the general conversation
14
00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,160
somewhat where it breaches
moral, legal, and interpersonal
15
00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,920
human constraints.
Regardless of how a particular
16
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:14,400
society views sex and sexual
practices, the spiritual seeker
17
00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,640
needs to strip away the
opinions, the prejudices, the
18
00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,240
prejudgments and the accepted
morality to understand how the
19
00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,920
sexual power functions, what
role it plays, and how it needs
20
00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,320
to be addressed in the context
of the evolution of
21
00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,440
consciousness and the
transformation of human
22
00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,360
existence.
In order to accomplish this,
23
00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,080
Srioro Bindo has taken an
entirely different view of sex
24
00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,520
and the sexual impulses.
He places it in the context of
25
00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,200
the evolution of consciousness
and the focus and use of the
26
00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:55,080
energy in relation to the
required focus and force needed
27
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,320
to accomplish the yogic
objectives.
28
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,080
As well as by looking at it in
the context of the high
29
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,320
probability of distraction by
the arising of the sexual
30
00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,800
impulse or by misuse of the
higher powers when they open the
31
00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:15,120
lower vital chakras and instead
of acting to transform the
32
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,960
energy, simply enhance the
action of the original vital
33
00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,480
powers through increase of
energy.
34
00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,080
There are numerous examples of
this misuse of spiritual force
35
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,360
to gain sexual power.
The idea that it can somehow be
36
00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:36,440
managed is for most people an
illusion perpetrated by the
37
00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:41,320
vital nature, eager to continue
its old ways with new forms of
38
00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,000
energetic support.
This can lead to serious
39
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,160
imbalances and failure in the
spiritual pursuit for the
40
00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,480
individual seeker and can cause
extreme disruption to the
41
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,160
environment within a spiritual
community.
42
00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:01,640
Sri Ro Bindu observes Quote I
have stated very briefly in my
43
00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,160
previous letter my position with
regard to the sex impulse and
44
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,640
yoga.
I may add here that my
45
00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:12,280
conclusion is not founded on any
mental opinion or preconceived
46
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:17,800
moral idea, but on probative
facts and on observation and
47
00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,120
experience.
I do not deny that so long as
48
00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,000
one allows a sort of separation
between inner experience and
49
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,120
outer consciousness, the latter
being left as an inferior
50
00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,280
activity, controlled but not
transformed, it is quite
51
00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,600
possible to have spiritual
experiences and make progress
52
00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,280
without any entire cessation of
the sex activity.
53
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,840
The mind separates itself from
the outer vital life parts and
54
00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,400
the physical consciousness and
lives its own inner life.
55
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,960
But only a few can really do
this with any completeness.
56
00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,120
And the moment one's experiences
extend to the life plain and the
57
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:05,280
physical sex can no longer be
treated in this way, it can
58
00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,040
become at any moment a
disturbing, upsetting and
59
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,680
deforming force.
I have observed that to an equal
60
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:19,720
extent with ego, pride, vanity,
ambition and rajasic greeds and
61
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,200
desires, it is one of the main
causes of spiritual casualties
62
00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,280
that have taken place in Sadhna.
The attempt to treat it by
63
00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:31,400
detachment without complete
excision breaks down.
64
00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,000
The attempt to sublimate it
favoured by many modern Mystics
65
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:41,240
in Europe is a most rash and
perilous experiment, for it is
66
00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,480
when one mixes up sex and
spirituality that there is the
67
00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,200
greatest havoc.
Even the attempt to sublimate it
68
00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,640
by turning it towards the
Divine, as in the Vaishnava
69
00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:57,440
Mathura Bhava, carries in it a
serious danger, as the results
70
00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,560
of a wrong turn or use in this
method so often show.
71
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,880
At any rate, in this Yoga, which
seeks not only the essential
72
00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,040
experience of the Divine, but a
transformation of the whole
73
00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:16,040
being in nature, I have found it
an absolute necessity of the
74
00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:20,520
Sadhana to aim at a complete
mastery over the sex force.
75
00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,520
Otherwise the vital
consciousness remains a turbid
76
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,000
mixture.
The turbidity affecting the
77
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,600
purity of the spiritual must
mind and seriously hindering the
78
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,920
upward turn of the forces of the
body.
79
00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,680
This Yoga demands a full
ascension of the whole lower or
80
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:43,200
ordinary consciousness to join
the spiritual above it, and a
81
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,840
full descent of the spiritual,
eventually of the superimental,
82
00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,240
into the mind, life and body to
transform it.
83
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:58,280
The total ascent is impossible
so long as sex desire blocks the
84
00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,560
way.
The descent is dangerous so long
85
00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,480
as sex desire is powerful in the
vital, for at any moment an
86
00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,880
unexcised or latent sex desire
may be the cause of a mixture
87
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,880
which throws back the true
descent and uses the energy
88
00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,080
acquired for other purposes, or
turns all the action of the
89
00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:24,960
consciousness towards wrong
experience, turbid and delusive.
90
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,240
One must therefore clear this
obstacle out of the way,
91
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,240
otherwise there is either no
safety or no free movement
92
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:41,200
towards finality in the Sadhna.
End Quote Reference Sri
93
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:48,720
Aurobindo Bases of Yoga, Chapter
4 Desire Food Sex pages 73 to
94
00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:49,720
75.
