Question: The analyst tells us that if we can bring our sex desires to the surface and express them we can become emotionally mature. But spiritual teachers say that sex desire stands in the way of inner growth. Who is right?

Sri Chinmoy: Freud claimed that sex was in practically all relationships, beginning with the infant-mother relationship. I do not agree with this. Freud failed to notice the sweet purity and self-giving quality of genuine mother love. Although Freud was a pioneer in his field, others have gone much further both during his time and since then. One of his colleagues, Carl Jung, disagreed with Freud's limited view. Jung placed more emphasis on the blossoming of the soul, the flower within. He said that in the soul lies intuition, the psyche and the promptings of the unconscious with its accumulated knowledge and experience of many lifetimes. The soul is the source of healing and inner growth and is in direct touch with the wisdom of the Beyond.

It is foolish to try to reduce all human and divine impulses to the so-called sex drive. When we enter into the spiritual life, our aspiration alone can feed and sustain us, bringing the light of consciousness into our life. Then we react differently to all experiences. Life's occurrences are seen consciously in the light of the soul, instead of looming up as problems constantly to be solved.