In the modern world, we are bombarded with sensory triggers that keep our minds in a state of constant agitation. Swami Vivekananda, the warrior-monk who brought Yoga to the West, viewed this not as a moral failing, but as a waste of potential electricity.
He believed that sexual energy is the highest form of energy in the human body. When “leaked” through lustful thoughts, it dissipates. When “transmuted,” it becomes Ojas – a spiritual force that grants immense willpower, a magnetic personality and a sharp intellect.
Here is Vivekananda’s three-tiered strategy to reclaim your mental power.
1. Stop Fighting the Wave
Vivekananda explained that a lustful thought is a Vritti – a wave in the “lake” of the mind. Most people try to suppress these waves by force.
If you try to suppress a thought, you are just pushing a cork underwater. It will only pop back up with more force.
Starve the Wave A thought only has power if you feed it your Prana (attention).
- The moment a lustful thought arises, don’t judge yourself or get angry. Instead, immediately pivot. Engage in a high-intensity mental task or a “heroic” thought.
- You shift the energy to a different part of the brain before the “wave” becomes a “storm”.
2. The Science of Pratyahara
Vivekananda was a firm believer in Pratyahara, or “withdrawal of the senses”. He argued that lust isn’t just a feeling that appears out of nowhere; it’s a reaction to what we allow in through our “sensory gates”.
Plug the Leaks Every time you look at something with lustful intent, you are “leaking” your willpower.
- Treat your eyes like high-security gates. Practice “Internal Filtering”. If you don’t let the “image” enter the lobby of your mind, the “thought” can never take root in the subconscious (Chitta).
3. A Radical Perspective Shift
This was Vivekananda’s most famous and perhaps most challenging practical tip. To break the habit of objectifying others, you must fundamentally re-categorize them in your mind.
Re-wire the Emotional Response
- Whenever a lustful thought about a person arises, consciously and forcefully address them in your mind as “Mother” or “Sister” (or “Father/Brother”).
- This creates an immediate psychological “short circuit.” The human brain is neurologically wired to respect certain roles. Vivekananda argued that the mind cannot hold “lust” and “maternal reverence” for the same person at the same moment. By choosing the latter, you instantly neutralize the former.
Ojas
Why go through all this effort? For Vivekananda, the goal was Biological Alchemy. By conserving and directing this energy upward through the spine, it is stored in the brain as Ojas.
- A person with high Ojas possesses a “tone of voice that can move worlds.”
- A person with high Ojas has a brain that functions with “tremendous energy and gigantic willpower.”
Mastering lust isn’t about being “holy”—it’s about becoming a giant.
Sources & Further Reading:
- Raja Yoga (Chapter on The Psychic Prana)
- The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 1 & 5.
Vedik Mind 