If at any time you find yourself being overcome by the lower impulses for some reason, or are tempted by others, follow these instructions:

1. Do not remain alone. Be in the company of a trusted friend, your parent or your teacher.

2. Practise a few rounds of breath control.

3. Chant some sacred syllable or the Divine Name loudly several times. Spiritual Darlings of the Divine Life Society repeat the all-powerful Sri Ram Mantra or call for Gurudev Sivananda by using the formula: Gurudev, please protect me, Gurudev. Choose any Mantra or sacred syllable and repeat it during times of temptation or danger.

4. Run fast for some distance. Play some vigorous games. Practise the Yoga postures. A refreshing cold bath or shower will invigorate you at once.

5. Ask: "To whom does this desire belong?" Feel that you are not the body and mind but the Soul.

6. Pray to God or to your Guru for strength and protection. Sing some elevating Kirtans or Bhajans.

7. Feel the Presence of God within you.

8. Engage yourself in the study of some elevating religious literature.

9. Pray to God with feeling: "O Sweet Lord, I am your child. At this moment of temptation, kindly protect me. Save me. Give me strength to overcome this difficulty. I surrender myself entirely to you." If you pray thus, then God or your Guru will at once come to your aid and you will come out of the temptation with flying colours. As Spiritual Darlings are pure and innocent, God will readily listen to their prayer.

10. Open your heart to your teacher or parents. Your teacher and your parents are your immediate guides and well-wishers. You will get instant relief if you do so. You will feel light at heart. Do not feel shy. Do not feel nervous. Pray to God for courage.

11. All girls should get into the habit of repeating the Sri Ram Mantra or any other Mantra or formula given by their Guru as many times as possible during the day. If they do this practice regularly and with faith and concentration, in time to come a powerful aura will develop around them. Saints can see this aura. If an intruder confronts them, the powerful aura will act as a protection and will immediately throw the assailant back. In times of danger girls should at once repeat the Mantra and call for God's protection. If they develop this power, they will know that they are not as weak as others think they are. Remember that God's unfailing divine power is the only power in the whole world that never fails. You cannot have the physical presence of your parents, guardians and friends at all times, but you can have the glorious divine protection of God at every moment of your life, even when physically alone. Always make use of it for your safety and strength.

The Sex Urge 

The Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, India, was one of the greatest occultists of recent times. Here is what she says about the sex urge:

There are also lots of little entities, quite repugnant, in very large numbers, which originate from that wretched sexual desire. If this desire-with its corresponding entities-is not dissolved at the time of death, these entities continue to exist and they come and settle in the atmosphere of sensitive persons to goad them, to egg them on. These entities feed upon the vital force emanated at the time of the act and naturally, their only desire is to get as much nourishment as they can. I have seen people enringed by dozens of these beings. It is a concrete thing.

I don't know if you have heard of Maurice Magre, the writer who had come here (Sri Aurobindo Ashram). He says in one of his books that people who have a strong sexual instinct are surrounded by a swarm of these small beings, who plague them to satisfy themselves, to feed upon the vital force. He knew the thing quite well; he had observed it. Even those who are tormented very often feel that the impulse comes from outside-it arouses something in them, but they feel that the excitation actually comes from outside, and there are hundreds of thousands of them, for unfortunately it is one of the greatest difficulties of mankind, it is a terrible slavery.

* The above article entitled: The Sex Urge has been reproduced with the permission of Sri Aurobindo Ashram.