Human sexuality seems to have always been a contentious topic. Looking from one extreme to another, it can sometimes seem that we will never all agree. Can sexuality be addressed in a sensible manner, free from any biases? To address this issue effectively, it is critical that we try to look at it with clarity. If we hope to thrive collectively, we must have a well-informed discussion about sexuality and its role in our society.
Hear Sadhguru speak on human sexuality, addressing both the challenges that modern humans face when it comes to sexuality, and the need for a broad discussion about where to go from here. If this basic aspect of the human species is handled with sense and care, we can create a possibility for a better future for all of humanity.
Challenges of Modern Society
Sadhguru says, “today our lives have changed because by the time you finish education, most people are minimum 24, 25 years of age. PhD means 30. So, let us say, average education time is 25 years of age. By the time they get employment and settle down somewhere to reasonable financial security, 30 years of time, all right? The peak of human hormonal function is between 15 to 30. You are not teaching people some ascetic way to live, you are not giving them some sadhana that they’re transforming their energy into some other possibility and attaining to something else – there is no such thing. And there is close proximity with the opposite sex. If you don’t want to address it, then you will create an unhealthy society, very unhealthy society, which unfortunately is finding expression in violent ways in our society, because we have not addressed the fundamental needs of a human being.”
The Fundamental Needs
Sadhguru says, “the first thing is nourishment; if nourishment is taken care of…you must understand, nourishment is survival. Once survival is taken care of, naturally the species – this is not even individual – the species that you are is longing to reproduce – this is how it’s built. It’s longing to reproduce because this is survival of the species. If people don’t reproduce, there is not going to be a human race, isn’t it?”
“So, your body and your mind plays many tricks, and how, when you look at somebody, you suddenly think they’re the most beautiful, suddenly you think they are the most fantastic. We will discover later many things, but initially, everything is clouded. See, I’m telling you… let us say you are 10-12 years of age, you looked at people, they’re quite normal. Suddenly you became 14, every little bump on somebody’s body is a world by itself simply because your hormones begin to influence everything. In a way, your intelligence is hijacked by your hormones.”
“Now, this is not to be judged as bad or good, this is a natural process. There may be a few people who will go beyond that; it’s fantastic for them if they can go beyond that. They’re not compulsive about it, they went beyond it – fantastic for that person. But you expect the whole society to go beyond that, you’re just stupid. Such a thing doesn’t happen.”
“So, definitely the debate of when and how sexuality should happen, has to come in. But now, we are still having a certain cultural aspect to us, that we are an emotional lot, we are still an emotional lot. People suffer immensely when things happen without the needed emotions, a whole lot of people at least, there may be a few people who are above that, but a whole lot of people suffer. So, for our country, for our society, how to deal with this without causing a major disruption in the social structure is something that we must debate. You must do research on it – how to do it.”