Q. Many Eastern religions have the tendency to view the flesh or the body almost as something to be discarded as garbage. I feel that when I came into this body, I signed a contract to care for it as best as I could, to make it function to live within the realm of this world. One has the powers of the mind, the God powers, but doesn't this require a sort of balanced view, trying to live well on both realms, as long as you live on both realms?

M. Yes, it should be so. It would be more balanced. What the religious texts mean is that we shouldn't overindulge in our fleshly sensations and desires, and forget the spirit. Sometimes it is said to an individual at that moment only, or to a group of individuals only, to people that need to hear that statement. Then it became a general guideline and it lost its meaning. When it was said at that moment, it was very strong and correct. But it is later recorded and given to other groups, and it is no longer correct. So, do what you feel like, but do not overindulge in any fleshly desires. How can you forget the flesh? You cannot starve the body and meditate. You must keep it, it means that you shouldn't always take care of the flesh and have no time for the spirit. Some people do that, therefore this statement is for them. Jesus also said to forsake the flesh for the spirit, but He ate and took care of His body as much as He needed.

Q. How do I escape from my flesh, my love and desire for the opposite sex!

M. Don't get away from it, otherwise we will have no more children. Just stay cool and have one at a time. (laughter) Have one partner only, okay? If you have a soul mate that you find is good for you, and a three-dimensional love, physical, emotional and mental, it is fine. And then, the so-called fleshly desire will lose some of its strong hold on you after you regulate it with a stable relationship or within marriage. So don't worry, it is just the beginning.

Q. Must one work or deal with sexual energy in order to gain enlightenment?

M. No, no, just relax. (laughter) All the energy and the struggle you spend to fight with your sexual urge, is better spent in meditation. Why should you torture your body so much! It is a natural phenomenon, and it will lessen its intensity with time. If you are married, everything, even passion will become very much lessened. The more you meditate, the more heavenly enjoyment you will find. Sex, I will tell you, is just a substitute for heavenly bliss. And because most of us lack the real pleasure, we ding to the lower substitute. But once we know the real thing, the other loses its charm. Just like when we grow up, all the toys, the plastic model cars have no more great meaning to us. It is because we have a Mercedes Bent, we have a Rolls Royce, a Cadillac, or any other car. We know it goes faster and is more useful. So don't worry about sexual problems, just get enlightenment.

After enlightenment don't fear that you will lose everything. You just enjoy things more intensively, but you know when and how, and do not abuse your power of enjoyment like you did before enlightenment. You might have sex now and again, if you wish and enjoy it. But enlightenment is your main aim in life, and it will never leave you after initiation. It keeps pushing you, you can't just not go forward, you can't just be ignorant again. And even if you have a little exercise now and again with your wife, so what? God doesn't care that much! (laughter) You fear too much of everything. Even a little sex scares you. Nothing is so scary!

Q. Do you have homosexual disciples?

M. Yes. Do I have to report to you their private business? You see, homosexuality is just a misconception about their awareness. They misunderstand their body's function. And when they become enlightened, this will be less and less, because they will identify themselves less with the body, but more with the spirit. Therefore there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, when the children are very young, they play with plastic models and they cling to their teddy bears, but when they grow up, they will leave them. So do not worry about your misidentification with your body or with your birth appearance. It's alright, just get enlightenment, and everything will fix itself in due course.

Q. You said You denounce immorality. What is meant by sexual misconduct? Is that wrong?

M. I do not denounce anything. I just propagate correct way of life. And you are free to follow it, okay?! I do not denounce anything. If you feel that is a denouncement, it's not true. Just that you go into the wrong direction. Now you should go back to the right one, if you want to arrive at your destination which is the Kingdom of God. Too much sexual abuse and indulgence tires your body, exhausts your mental power which should be conserved for the greatest enlightenment, and to help yourself and to help mankind. It's more noble that way. That's all, yeah. Sexual misconduct means you have too many girl friends, too many boy friends, too many husbands and wives. It exhausts your storehouse of energy, okay?!

Q. Master, what's fornication?

M. Why do you ask me? You already know what it is. If you are in it then please just correct it, get married, that's all. [Laughter] Nothing to worry about. But I may tell you, if it is love, then it's of no sin. Understand? If you are married, but hate each other every minute, then what is marriage good for? If the love is pure, God will accept it. It depends on if you have love or not, okay! I see love as a marriage bond, not the certificate. I see your heart's commitment as the marriage vow, not the magistrate's signature. Correct?

Q. Master, can You please advise me as to how I should control my monstrous sexual appetite? I need God grace.

M. This...? I don't have experience. You know what? There are many remedies. But most people when they ate too much meat and drink the wine and all that, it will excite more of their passion. We already have enough so-called animal passion within us, so we do many things like the animals do. This we can not control.

Because we inherit the animal quality while we live in this kingdom, part of it, because of this body. So now, if we want to control that, we must minimize the intake of intoxicants and exciting food, things like that. There are foods for sexual empowerment. The people look for that. Some people like that. So the old kings, they always eat special kinds of foods, because they have so many wives.

There are many foods to control the sexual drive. The first stage is vegetarian diet, pure vegetarian diet - no eggs, no fish, etc., and no liquor, alcohol, no intoxicating things. Many things we, the ordinary
people, pay high prices for, mostly are poison. And I am always wondering why people spend a lot of their money to poison themselves. But anyhow that's their private choice and free will.

So if you ask me how to minimize your sexual energy, there are many things to do. You switch to vegetarian diet, eat a kind of simple, not too much oily and excitement spice and things like that. And then drink plenty of cool water. No champagne, champagne is the worse thing, reserved only for wedding days. You know uh! I don't know. I heard about that. I don't know. They said like that.

But the most simple is to be busy, doing something meaningful, helping other people; and then you forget your own problem. I don't know how you have time to think about this drive even. You know, if you stay up all night long, reading like me, I think your sex drive will drive itself away (laughter and applause), because sex drives are scared, scared of the work.

Do something. There is so much suffering in this world, do some volunteer work in your spare time. Feel the suffering of your fellow beings. Merge yourself in the sacrifice and the joy, the pure joy of serving all of them. Bring happiness, bring noble happiness to other people. That will bring noble happiness to you, too.

You have read so much bad, maybe porno information. Now don't read it any more. Switch to holy books. Read the Bible, read the Buddhist sutras, read the Koran, read whatever information you have on holy life, okay? Hinduism books, anything you want, yoga exercise, holy saints' teachings, so much to read.