Chetan D.

Parikh

Bangalore
December, 2020
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“The soul hath been created for the remembrance of
the Friend; safeguard its purity.”

[Baha’u’llah, The Tabernacle of Unity]

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 Chastity
“Chastity implies both before and after marriage an
unsullied, chaste sex life. Before marriage absolutely
chaste, after marriage absolutely faithful to one's
chosen companion. Faithful in all sexual acts, faithful
in word and in deed.”
[From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer,
September 28, 1941]

This quote and its implications will form the basis of our
discussions in Part 1.
In Part 2, we will discuss the steps we can take to be chaste.

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“Chastity implies ... an unsullied, chaste sex life.”

Chaste means pure.

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We will look at three broad aspects of a chaste sex life:

A. The joys of marriage

B. Adultery, and
C. Chastity in word and deed

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A. The joys of marriage
Between a husband and wife:

Sex is one of the “wondrous bounties” of God.

[Baha’u’llah]

The All-Loving Creator has enriched the world with

sex so that human beings may “derive… manifold
joys, beauties and pleasures” from it.

[Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice]

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Between a man and a woman, if a spiritual union is
combined with a sexual union, then it is a true union
which will endure forever:

“If marriage is based both on the spirit and the body,

that union is a true one, hence it will endure. If,
however, the bond is physical and nothing more, it
is sure to be only temporary.”
[Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha]

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Sex is ultimately intercourse between a man and a
woman.
The purpose of sex is procreation.
“Marry, O people, that from you may appear he who
will remember Me amongst My servants.”
[Bahá’u’lláh, Baha’i Prayers]

In humans, sex is an intertwining of the biological,

psychological and spiritual, and it has
manifestations in our thoughts, words and deeds.

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B. Adultery
Adultery has been forbidden in practically all
human cultures since the beginning of human
civilization.

What is adultery?

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“Men who commit adultery with the wives of others,
the king shall cause to be marked by punishments
which cause terror, and afterwards banish.”
[Manu Samhita, 8:352]

“You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.”
[Bible, Ten Commandments]

To not covet is to eliminate the desire for whatever

does not belong to us.

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“Ye are forbidden adultery, homosexuality and
unfaithfulness.”
[Baha’u’llah]

People committing adultery will experience a

“humiliating torment” in the next world.
[Kitab-i-Aqdas]

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C. Chastity in word and deed
Let us begin with two of the most important quotes:

“He is My true follower who.... if he met the fairest

and most comely of women, he would not feel his
heart seduced by the least shadow of desire for her
beauty. Such a one indeed is the creation of spotless
chastity.”
[Baha’u’llah, Gleanings, LX]

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“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who
looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.”
[Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:27-28, Bible]

How many times in a day do we look at women and

men, and are ourselves looked at?!

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To not let our heart be seduced by the least shadow
of desire is chastity.

And when we do let our heart be seduced by desire,

we are committing adultery in our heart.

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Implications – Individual
What are the practical implications of this standard
of chastity in our daily lives?

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 “Such a chaste and holy life ...involves the exercise
of moderation in all that pertains to dress,
amusements. It demands daily vigilance in the
control of one's carnal desires and corrupt
inclinations… It condemns ... infidelity in marital
relationships, all manner of promiscuity, of easy
familiarity.”
[Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice]

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Implications – Societal
What are the practical implications of this ideal of
chastity in society – in media, in social norms?

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Consequences of chastity
“The brightness of the light of chastity sheddeth its
illumination upon the worlds of the spirit, and its
fragrance is wafted even unto the Most Exalted
Paradise.”
[Baha’u’llah, quoted in The Advent of Divine Justice]

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Consequences of desire - Individual
“The pursuit of passion and desire will wrap the eyes in
a thousand veils that rise out of the heart to blind the
sight and the insight as well.”

“Desire is a flame that has reduced to ashes uncounted

lifetime harvests of the learned, a devouring fire that
even the vast sea of their accumulated knowledge could
never quench.”
[The Secret of Divine Civilization, Abdu’l-Baha]

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“Haply the peoples of the earth may cleanse their
hearts from the stain of evil desire .. and attain unto
the knowledge of the one true God.”
[Baha’u’llah, Gleanings, XXXV]

“Lust, which originates from passion, know this to

be the enemy. Lust is insatiable and is a great devil.
As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror by dust…
knowledge is covered by lust.”
[Bhagavad Geeta, 3.37-38]

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http://tsproofsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Smoke-Vent-Skylights-and-Fire-Safety.jpg
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old-dusty-mirror-wooden-ancient-260nw-24648499.jpg (316×280) (shutterstock.com)
“The kissing that goes on in modern society … leads
[young people] to go too far, or arouses appetites
which they cannot … satisfy … and the suppression
of which is a strain on them.”

[Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 19 Oct. 1947]

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Video
You can find out so much more about a person if you
are not having sex, because if you are having sex
when you first start dating, then that’s all you want
to do until you get tired of it, and then you want to
find someone else to do the same thing with. But
when you don’t have sex, you really learn how to
communicate with that person, you get to know who
that person really is.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMb72iponn
8, 2:54]

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Consequences of desire - Societal
“All the peoples of Europe, notwithstanding their
vaunted civilization, sink and drown in this
terrifying sea of passion and desire, and this is why
all the phenomena of their culture come to nothing.”

[Secret of Divine Civilization, Abdu’l-Baha]

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“The peoples of the world are fast asleep…So
bewildered are they in the drunkenness of their evil
desires, that they are powerless to recognize the
Lord of all being.”
[Baha’u’llah, Gleanings, LXXI]

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In summary
Sex is beautiful and wonderful between a husband
and a wife. But when it is manifested outside of
marriage, in thought, word or deed, it harms the
soul, it causes our own destruction, and it corrupts
society and culture.

The more pure and chaste we are, the more

psychological and spiritual powers we will have, the
closer we will be to God and to our own selves, and
the more happy and joyful we will be.
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It is extremely difficult!
“Truly the mind is restless and difficult to subdue.”
[Bhagavad Geeta, 6.35]

“If a man conquer in battle a thousand times a

thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is
the greater of conquerors.” [Gautam Buddha]

The sage Vishwamitra performed strict austerities

(tapas) for 1000 years. After this time, he was
seduced by the beauty and charm of Menaka.
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Impact of culture
“In Rama’s realm, chastity was sacred.”

“Sex [has] assumed far too great an importance in

the thinking of present-day society.”
[From a letter of the Universal House of Justice]

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The culture we live in has come to regard sexual
activities as acceptable, appropriate and even
desirable, and chastity in thought, word and deed is
not regarded as a valuable virtue.

These are signs of a civilization that has lost its way.

When we recognize this, it will enable us to keep

ourselves aloof from our culture, and not be carried
away by its very powerful forces and manifestations
all around us.
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Study and understanding
“Truly the mind is restless and difficult to subdue.
But it can be subdued by study and renunciation.”
[Bhagavad Geeta, 6.35]

Study of our own psychological selves. Getting to

know our own lower and higher natures within
ourselves.

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Our two natures
“In man there are two natures; his spiritual nature
and his material nature.. In his material aspect he
expresses untruth, cruelty and injustice [and lust]..
The attributes of his Divine nature are shown forth
in love, mercy, kindness, truth and justice.”
[Abd’ul-Baha, Paris Talks, Chapter 18]

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Life is a constant battle between our two natures.

Every occasion to act in a lustful way causes such a

battle – a test.

When we win a battle, we cleanse the mirror of our

heart a little; when we lose, we add a little dust to it.

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“To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God, for a
heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost joy and
gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but the
coward is afraid and trembles and utters moaning and
lamentation. Likewise, an expert student prepareth
and memorizeth his lessons and exercises with the
utmost effort, and in the day of examination he
appeareth with infinite joy before the master... [Test]
removeth the rust of egotism from the mirror of the
heart until the Sun of Truth may shine therein.”
[Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha]

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The battle can be violent, and it will cause suffering –
the suffering of the ego being defeated.

Hence it is said,
“Men who suffer not, attain no perfection.”
[Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, Chapter 14]

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“O my God! But for the tribulations which are
sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be
recognized; and were it not for the trials which are
borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such
as yearn for Thee be revealed?”
[Baha’u’llah, Baha’i Prayers]

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Free will and choosing our desires
“Certain matters are subject to the free will of man,
such as acting with justice and fairness, or injustice
and iniquity—in other words, the choice of good or
evil actions…For example, should he so wish, he can
pass his days in praise of God, and should he so
desire, he can occupy himself with that which is
other than Him... All these deeds and actions are
under his own control, and he is therefore
accountable for them.”
[Chapter 70, Some Answered Questions, Abdu’l-Baha]

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“Your deepest desire in this life will shape your next
life. So direct your deepest desire to knowing the
soul.”
[Chandogya Upanishad, 3:14.1-4]

“The desire of the sanctified souls is always for

sacrifice in the path of God, attraction by the
merciful fragrances, the vivification of souls, the
proclamation of universal peace, the establishment
of the oneness of humanity and the enkindlement of
the fire of the love of God in the hearts of men.”
[Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha]

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Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsE30T7ohiA
[1:30 – 2:30]

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We need help and forgiveness
When we lose a battle with our lower nature, we
acknowledge that we lost, and that our actions, etc.
were wrong. We pray for forgiveness.

Note that our lower self (our ego) will battle with us
to prevents us from acknowledging this and from
seeking forgiveness!

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“How can I succeed unless Thou assist me with the
breath of the Holy Spirit?”
[Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i Prayers]

“Cast upon me, O my God, the glances of Thy mercy,

and forgive me my trespasses ... Cancel Thou,
moreover, our sins which have shut off our faces
from the splendours of the Day-Star of Thy favours.
Powerful art Thou to do Thy pleasure.”
[Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, CLXXXIV]

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“I implore Thee, O my God, not to abandon me to
myself, for my heart is prone to evil!”
[Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, CXXIV]

“O My son! The company of the ungodly increaseth

sorrow, whilst fellowship with the righteous
cleanseth the rust from off the heart.”
[Baha’u’llah, Hidden Words, Persian-56 ]

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 To end

“The soul hath been created for the remembrance of

the Friend; safeguard its purity.”

[Baha’u’llah, The Tabernacle of Unity]

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