What is Celibacy / Brahmacharya?

It is worth repeating that a true celibate possesses tremendous energy, a clear brain, gigantic will-power, bold understanding, retentive memory and good power of enquiry.

Brahmacharya is not mere bachelorhood. There should be strict abstinence not merely from sexual intercourse but also from auto-erotic manifestations, from masturbation, from homosexual acts and from all perverse sexual practices. It must further involve a permanent abstention from indulgence in erotic imagination and voluptuous reverie.

The vital energy, Veerya which supports your life, which is the Prana (life-force) of Pranas, which shines in your sparkling eyes, which beams in your shining cheeks, is a great treasure to you. It is the quintessence of blood.

From food, chyle is manufactured; out of chyle comes blood; out of blood comes flesh; out of flesh comes fat; out of fat comes marrow; out of marrow comes semen. Semen is the last essence.

The effect of wasting your semen

Those who have lost much of their semen become easily irritated. They lose their balance of mind quickly. Little things upset them. Those who have not observed the vow of celibacy become slaves of anger, laziness and fear. If you do not have your senses under control, you venture to do foolish actions which even children will not dare to do.

Note carefully the evil after-effects, once the Veerya is lost. Prana gets unsteady. It gets agitated.. The body and mind refuse to work energetically. There is physical and mental lethargy. Exhaustion and weakness are experienced. You have to take recourse to milk , fruits and other articles to make good the loss of energy. Remember, these articles can never, never repair loss. Bad memory, premature old age, impotence, various sorts of eye diseases and nervous diseases are attributable to the heavy loss of this vital fluid.

Whenever sexual (vital) fluids are lost (especially if too often) one's spiritual inspiration and enthusiasm for living, if any, tends to mysteriously fade into the background. One can't meditate as deeply or feel as excited about the benefits of higher consciousness, or even feel the same joy or enthusiasm for life, yoga, and meditation as one did before the loss of sexual energy during one's previous period of abstinence. Sex is a natural addiction that one easily gets stuck in over and over again. This effect is part of nature's plan or intent at fooling all of us into giving away a lifetime of subtle, spiritual joy, progress and accomplishment for a few moments of concentrated pleasure. When that excitement is over and completely used up, reality sets in, enthusiasm drains out, and one is left basically with nothing but a sense of regret. A mild laziness, lackluster, or tiredness takes over, while everything else in life immediately becomes boring or even depressing compared to the intense excitement once had. One may even start to feel a lot older than one did just five minutes ago! The diminishing effects of sex may not always be noticed, but the overall effect is still quite real to one extent or another and according to the degree of one's spiritual development and sensitivity. In other words, sex (especially if too much) can short circuit one's enthusiasm to stride life's challenges! This unfortunate fact of life seems to get even worse as one gets older especially if one forgets to take proper care of one's health. As time marches on, time also seems to wear one down. 

Symptoms of loss of sexual fluid from a lifestyle of regular conventional orgasms include the following:

# Right after sex, one may suddenly feel somewhat weak, tired, drained, wasted, bored and/or much, much older.

# One may feel a loss of focus and concentration in meditation or on one's work.

# One may experience a constant lack of spiritual progress and frustration over hitting some upper limit in one's meditation that is never passed, even after years of practice.

# One may experience a lack of enthusiasm and excitement in general... especially during the practice of yoga and meditation.

# Going into samadhi may become difficult and even if achieved not very long lasting and enjoyable.

# Nerves may overheat, kundalini energy may become bothersome instead of thrilling and blissful.

# One may become easily bored with spiritual subjects and feel rather stuck in the body or depressed about one's situation in life.

# Even the simplest of tasks could be harder to concentrate on and/or a meaningless punishment instead of an inspiring duty.

# Many projects may be harder to complete causing one to be more flaky, fickle, and unreliable.

# One may tend to forget one's higher purpose and natural sense of duty and fail to carry it through.

# One may encounter much less enthusiasm or courage to face a stressful or challenging situation.

# One may feel a lack of competitiveness, commitment, strength, resilience, gusto and zest.

# One may find one's self "missing something" or sense emptiness inside along with a feeling of loss or regret.

# One may try to fill in the void (or gaps between orgasms) with drugs, alcohol, overeating, or other addictive or compulsive activity.

# If alone, one may feel a lack of love or feel very unloved and suffer from a strong, addictive urge for companionship and love from a member of the opposite sex.

# If in a relationship, there is the strong tendency to become codependent and/or to expect more giving from the other person.

# Strong emotional dependency on or attachment to others.

# One's marriage or relationship may go through a period of withdrawal or disinterest until the sexual energy builds up again.

# In some cases, one may even start to look for another partner and/or suddenly feel very bored or even impatient with one's present mate. 

The symptoms of having gone through several weeks of successful abstinence and transmutation while using the principles of the "wholeness" lifestyle are as follows:

# Increasing bliss, day after day!

# One's body feels lighter and lighter, and charged full of blissful energy!

# To one's astonishment, one discovers one can get by with less and less food yet enjoy more energy, strength and bliss.

# Addictions to food, love, relationships, drugs, etc. seem to drop away and are replaced by a sense of self-control and easier decision making.

# One becomes more and more "breathless" and all the highest states of samadhi obtainable.

# Nerves may feel great, while kundalini energy becomes thrilling and blissful.

# One becomes less sensitive or concerned about heat and cold, hunger, or other outside conditions.

# Ever deeper meditations, much more focused, clear thinking, deeper and deeper serenity and joy!

# One may experience an increase in enthusiasm and excitement in general... especially regarding the practice of yoga and meditation.

# Going into samadhi becomes easily achieved, very long lasting and enjoyable.

# One's daily tasks become more and more easy and exciting to fulfill and sensed as an inspiring duty.

# Many projects become easier and easier to complete, one seems to become more and more together, intent, and reliable every day.

# One may feel a daily increase in a sense of competitiveness, commitment, energy, strength, resilience, gusto and zest.

# One finds one's self deeply fulfilled, full of ever increasing joy along with a feeling of prosperity, success and contentment.

# One naturally becomes inspired by spiritual ideals and becomes ever more free from ego, attachment to the body, and ever more transcendent to one's situation in life.

# Most amazing of all, there is an ongoing accumulation of bliss (ojas) that lifts one up to ever deeper and deeper levels of ecstasy and fulfillment. One easily progresses through ever higher spiritual states of inner joy, peace and finally enlightenment!

 Regards,

MK