Wet Dreams & Benefits from practice
Question
Greetings Dhananjay,
I am a 20 year old guy and I have been striving earnestly to practice Brahmacharya for a few years now. I completely left masturbation over a year ago but wet dreams seem to be a great obstacle for me and I would like to understand them much better. At the start wet dreams would come as often as twice a week but now have subsided to no more than once a month. And as I have progressed, sexual thoughts seem almost nonexistent in my waking state, but they seem to creep in during my sleep and cause me to discharge. So my questions are:
How much damage does the occasional wet dream cause?
Do I fail to receive the advantages of Brahmacharya by these infrequent accidents?
Do the advantages of Brahmacharya cultivate only in the time that one can maintain seminal continence, or do they cultivate in the long run despite occasional nighttime discharges?
Sometimes I feel that it is really not possible for me to forever be completely free from wet dreams and subconscious sexual desires, even though I feel very proud of myself that I don't masturbate and will only have sex for procreation.
If I can live the rest of my life with just a couple wet dreams a year, how much will I benefit from Brahmacharya?
Thank you very much.
Answer
1. If a life of Yoga, with Brahmacharya, is applied uninterruptedly in the waking state, the occasional wet dreams taper down to the very minimum, causing negligible harm. Wet dreams completely stop after attaining to Urdhvaretas.
2. The less frequent the nightfalls, the better is the result.
3. They cultivate in the long run, as long as the nightfalls are minimal and there is no lapse in the waking state. The Yogi who puts in genuine focus on Sadhana, with surrender to God, neither thinks about wet dreams nor about the advantages of Brahmacharya. He perseveres only to realize the self, asking nothing in return. Such a Yogi alone succeeds.
4. One should first let go of the pride of temporary success. One should not take credit for the results. Brahmacharya, like all other things occurs only by HIS grace and not by one's efforts. The great Lord pulls up the devotee with sheer compassion, looking at the efforts he applies, granting success. One's efforts do not lead to success, they help subdue the Ego, whereupon the Lord sends HIS grace.
Let go of measurements as regards benefit and loss. Reach and hold on to the state where you will no longer expect anything from Brahmacharya, where it becomes natural and effortless, and where there will no longer be any reason for practice, yet there is selfless practice. That which has to come will come.
ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)