Mating instincts
and encounters were known to profoundly effect a seeker’s journey and were assessed in detail. Brahmacharya, continence, started at the last mating experience. To facilitate healing of the inner bodies, distraught through mating, raja yoga meditation and bhakti yoga were performed. New monastics who were virgins, naishtika, cared for the animals, picked food and prepared prasadam in huge vats. Those who had mated, and perhaps lost their spouse, worked in the fields, as physical tasks softened the process of brahmacharya. Monasteries enshrined Siva Nataraja and other Gods, such as Ganesha. Two kinds of ceremony predominated, one quiet and meditative and the other akin to today’s puja rites. Potential monastics were trained in the homes of mature, celibate families. Aum.§