Answer
Our brain is not filled with chemicals; it is equipped with mechanisms that produce chemicals. If those mechanisms are not activated, the chemicals are not generated. There are karmic forces and natural triggers that activate these mechanisms. For example, you may be sitting calmly without any sexual agitation, yet the very same brain can become sexually stimulated under certain circumstances. What happens then? Specific centers in the brain are activated according to the laws of nature, chemicals are produced, and the mind becomes bewildered.
So it is not that a fixed quantity of some “sexual chemical” is already stored—like 50 ml waiting to be consumed. It does not work that way. Rather, the śāstra explains that the same underlying energy in the body—drawn from the blood and life force—is utilized by different centers for different purposes. One mechanism may channel that energy into sexual expression, while another can channel it into spiritual awareness.
The electricity analogy helps here: the current is the same, but when connected to a bulb it produces light, to a fan it produces motion, to a heater it produces heat, and to a refrigerator it produces cooling. Similarly, the same prāṇa or creative energy in the body can manifest as procreation, worldly creativity, or higher spiritual understanding. One of the highest uses of this energy is to understand and realize śāstra.
This is why brahmacharya is emphasized as extremely important for rising beyond the bodily concept of life. Without brahmacharya, it becomes very difficult—even for Brahman realization. If the creative energy is constantly spent in sexual indulgence, the subtle energy required for deep study, realization, and internal transformation becomes weakened. Thus, brahmacharya is closely connected with spiritual progress.
However, brahmacharya does not mean that one has completely eliminated sexual attraction. That is a misunderstanding. Brahmacharya means understanding the laws of nature and managing one’s life so that creative and spiritual energy is not wasted, but redirected. It is conscious regulation and purposeful engagement, not merely suppression.
The Māyāvādī approach often focuses on trying to become free from attraction to māyā through knowledge alone. That is not the Vaiṣṇava path. The goal is not “How do I become free from māyā?” but rather, “How do I become attracted to Kṛṣṇa?” When attraction to Kṛṣṇa increases, attachment to māyā naturally weakens.
One cannot defeat māyā simply by intellectual effort. Many examples in scripture show that māyā is extremely powerful; trying to confront it directly leads to defeat. The practical formula is simple: where there is Kṛṣṇa, there is no darkness. The solution is not to fight darkness, but to bring in light. In the same way, cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically dispels illusion.
