Hi, I've been wondering: if we assume that maximum spiritual progress/purification is our top priority (and obviously most of us may wish to moderate that goal with other considerations like what may make our girlfriend happy, etc. but just for the sake of argument...) is it better to have more frequent stimulation but also more orgasms--let's say having sex 3 or 4 times a week and maybe one orgasm per week--or is it better to just avoid getting sexually stimulated at all by not having sex, masturbating, looking at porn or fantasizing, perhaps allowing the time between orgasms to stretch to once every month or two?
This question came up not only just based on my own curiosity, but also because I've read a couple of opinions, both on this forum and elsewhere (a quote from Ananda and Swami Sivananda's rather "hardcore" article on brahmacharya), that the very act of getting sexually excited is already kind of "separating" the semen and getting it ready to leave on the downward path rather than circulating/sublimating that energy. From this point of view, keeping that energy in the rest of the body and away from sexual function would seem best. On the other hand, sexual stimulation does seem to stimulate the ecstatic energies which help in the purification process, but can this compensate for the increased loss in energy that this will usually entail (I certainly find I can go much longer in between orgasms when I'm not having sex or otherwise stimulating myself)?
I'm sure this may to some extent be a matter of personal trial and error, but I'm just curious what others think. Thanks.
