LUST

LUST

Lust is the foremost on the list of animal instincts humans are born with. Beauty does not satisfy hunger; when the man sees beauty, he hungers even more. There are many pains as the result of the pleasures of the body. Beauty and sexual desire are friends just as hunger and tasty food are tied together.

Elephant, deer, fish, moth and black bee have one disease each, namely, attraction for lust, sound, enjoyment, beautiful appearance and fragrance respectively, and they are consumed by them.
The word lust means strong sexual desire but it is also used metaphorically for other forms of desire e.g. power etc. It is considered vice by many faiths. The other things are loneliness, wanting attention from others, seeking affirmation, desiring companionship, avoiding boredom, feeling close to someone else, and seeking excitement being the main reasons of lust. It is an inward sin, which leads to the falling away from God. It has its place in the consciousness being the center of all moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity. The lust of lower instincts leads the conscious mind to get engrossed in sexual desire, anger and Maya and thus lustful man is enticed by lust.

Some moralists consider lust to be a corruption of temperance, in the sense that when temperance fails, lust is the natural result of power, wealth; beauty, social status and youth. These thieves have plundered the world; no one's honor has been spared. Woman conquers the men of the world due to lust and thus engrossed in the intoxication of sexual desire and anger; people suffer from its consequences.

Love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person, an intense personal attachment or affection, a person toward who love is felt and a strong enthusiasm for liking.

It is a strong feeling of personal affection, care, and desire for the well-being of another. There are three kinds of love; meaning:

1. The love of God for people, which is the primary characteristic of God's nature toward people.
2. The love of people for God, which is friendship or brotherly love.
3. The unselfish love of people for others, which is erotic love. It is also defined as deep, tender affection, romantic attraction, a sense of oneness, intense desire, infatuation, sexual feelings, emotional attachment, and an enthusiastic predilection can all be called love, and to love is to feel or express any of these.

Love is of two kinds;

1. Divine Love.
2. Physical Love.

It is not easy to tell the difference between:

• Love and infatuation?
• Love and attraction?
• Love and sexual desire?
• Love and friendship?
• Sex and intimacy?
• A good relationship and one that is only pleasurable?

The meaning of love offers and explains that love is intense, clear, logical, and meaningful of all the relations. It involves three key elements:

1. Emotions --how we feel about each other?
2. Ethics --how good or bad we are for each other?
3. Joys --how much we satisfy or dissatisfy each other?

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things; believes all things; hopes all things; endures all things.

Lust is an intense sexual desire or appetite towards the other person bodily pleasure. It is the result of release of chemical neurotransmitters by the brain cells as a result of stimulation caused by food, sex, drugs, and social esteem. Brain cells release Dopamine and or Endorphins/Opiates floods and bathe the neurons of right ventral tegmental area and prefrontal cortex involved in memory and emotion regarding the above-mentioned activities causing pleasurable feelings of joy, while the amygdale, associated with fear, was temporarily inhibited.

Androgens and estrogens drive the craving for sexual gratification or lust. High dopamine and epinephrine and low serotonin levels drive attraction or passionate love with intense craving. Oxytocin and vasopressin hormones drive attachment.

Control of sexual behavior raises some questions:

1. How do men and women control their sexual behavior?
2. Is it really possible to stop impure thoughts?
3. How do we find purity in our sexual desires when we’ve indulged in relationships for many years?

Why doesn’t God just wipe out all our sexual desires, like pulling the plug from a wall socket?
Because our sexuality is an integral part of our humanness, meant for future progeny. Our sexual longings have become distorted, but they are nevertheless a marvelous creation and wonderful part of which we are as human beings.

Maturity comes as we learn to control our sexuality. Just as our body’s muscles are strengthened by exercise, so our spiritual strength is built up by exercising self-control and maturity in our sexual choices.

Ultimately, our deepest needs are met through our relationship with God. He has created us that way; no human being can reach deep inside us like He can, in order to meet our core needs for communion and intimacy with another. Then we need people to help meet other social and emotional needs for companionship and friendship. These needs are universal and powerful. They must be met before we will find freedom in our sexuality. Until these emotional needs are satisfied, we will continue to struggle with inappropriate sexual desires.

Modesty and righteousness are both qualities of those who are blessed with true wealth as they progress in spirituality.