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DISCOURSE 47
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sex. Just as, man desires to have a sexual contact with a woman, he may desire to have a sexual contact with a man. This lust and this sensual pleasure are pleasing to the jivatma. The speciality of lust is, it does not allow the jivatma to realise that it is an enemy. It does not allow him to realise this truth. “This is my enemy. First, it gives me an inkling of happiness but later it causes sorrow and misery to me". When lust is provoked or when it is awakened, the mind becomes, fickle and indecisive. As lust grows stronger, the fickleness or the indecisiveness of the mind also increases. The enjoyment of a sexual contact gives a momentary pleasure, but the experience of this gratification itself is deceptive. Man believes that this momentary gratification is happiness. He believes that it is a happy experience. But this experience of happiness is like the happiness experienced by a dog. When a dog has in its mouth a piece of bone, it tries to chew it and to suck it. The bone does not break, but it causes cuts in the dog's mouth and from those cuts blood oozes out and trickles. The dog fancies that the juice is dripping from the bone while actually it is its own blood. When its blood thus sinks into its gullet, it experiences happiness. Man's experience of happiness in respect of sensual enjoyments is of that type. Not happiness but an inkling of it.
The gratification that results from sexual contacts among animals, birds and human beings is of this kind. A very precious substance flows out of one's body yet the jivatma thinks that he gets happiness. He fancies that the object of enjoyment is giving him happiness. Therefore, he keeps searching for such an object. He feels restless and agitated until he secures such an object.
It is for this reason that the institution of marriage has been established. The institution of marriage has the purpose of enabling human beings to experience the happiness of sexual contacts as they like. It is intended to enable those people, who are enthralled by lust; who believe that there is happiness in sensual enjoyments and who are desirous of having the happiness of sexual contacts, to have that happiness. In that case, they need not search for an object. Man becomes intimate and friendly with woman through marriage and woman becomes
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