The text discusses the concept of transmuting sensuality as articulated by R. Assagioli. It emphasizes that the self, confined by the body and obscured by passions, has forgotten its divine origin.
By Roberto Assagioli. (Assagioli Archive – Florence). Original Title: La Transmutazione della Sensualità. Translated with Notes by Jan Kuniholm
Abstract: The text discusses the concept of transmuting sensuality as articulated by R. Assagioli. It emphasizes that the self, confined by the body and obscured by passions, has forgotten its divine origin. Assagioli argues that many passions and vanities are detrimental to spiritual evolution, as they waste energy and lead to future suffering. He defines good as what aids evolution and evil as what hinders it. The text advocates for a balanced approach of self-control and obedience to the inner spiritual self, contrasting ancient ascetic practices with a more constructive method of transmutation. This method involves transforming physical sexual instincts into emotional love and redirecting sensual cravings toward higher aesthetic, intellectual, and spiritual pursuits.
Infinite Life, for countless ages, has been immersed in form, in matter . . .
. . . Thus our I or self, imprisoned and limited in the body, obscured by dense clouds of passion, continually agitated and distracted [. . .], has lost the memory of its divine origin and its intrinsic nobility.
We live amid a great deal of passion and vanity that are always harmful, like wasted resources, even when they appear simply useless. This is the conclusion to which anyone who considers the point of view of spiritual evolution is forced, without wishing to be ascetic.[1]
“Good is what benefits evolution, evil is what hinders it.” Thus, any dissipation of any [of our] energies is evil. Therefore, excessive luxury, avarice, and debauchery are causes of future suffering.
The principle, value, and necessity of asceticism lie in the attainment of complete self-control and inner freedom through purification, detachment, and discipline. Let us maintain a twofold attitude: maximum control over external things and our inner elements, and maximum obedience to the “King” who has his throne in the mysterious center of our soul — let this be the motto of each of us. Lord of the world, servant of the Spirit.
Ancient asceticism was effective and often heroic, but it used overly violent artificial methods: it aimed too much at producing physical pain, was conceived in too separative a way, and often tended to become an end in itself.
However, there is another alternative, a more dynamic and constructive way. This method is based on a fundamental property of biological and psychological energies, namely their possibility of transmutation. Through elevation, the purely physical sexual instinct can in fact be transformed into emotional love, and the craving for sensual pleasures can be transformed into the aspiration for aesthetic, intellectual, and spiritual joys.
[1] The author has written a short essay on “modern asceticism” (Archive Doc. #23086) in which he suggests that “Asceticism is psychic, moral and spiritual gymnastics.” —Ed.
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